May have to cancel cruise

[cruiselvr04]

Looking for experience on booking a cruise last minute. We are getting close to final payment for a September cruise. The DH is now having severe neck pain and tingling down his arms which means a neurosurgery consult and possible or probable surgery. We have been down this road once before. We are still waiting to be seen and then will need to schedule surgery. Of course his health is most important but we also know if surgery works he could probably cruise in as much as a month later. Just rest and relax and no excursions. ( he travels for work and was back on a plane two weeks after the last one.)

 

What complicates this a little is I can not take vacation October thru December so just moving the date back is not an option.

 

Since it is now preexisting insurance will not cover if I cancel after final payment. ( I always get insurance but not until final. Live and learn.)

 

Our best option I think at this point is cancel, save our vacation dates and hope we can book in the last two or three weeks for the same cruise. Of course we will have to take what is left for cabins. ( we had a great D 1 ). Otherwise we may lose money if we totally can not go. Do I make sense? Any experience booking last minute would be helpful.

[marci22]

If you don't need airfare, I would just wait until he's clear and get whatever cabin is left at a decent price.

 

Unfortunately you can't get a pre-existing condition waiver at this point: The Pre-Existing Condition exclusion will be waived provided you meet all of the following:

 

"...the payment for this plan is received prior to/or within 24 hours of your final payment for your Covered Trip; and

you are not disabled from travel at the time you make your plan payment." Here: http://www.insuremytrip.com/popup/certificate/CSACUSTL/all.html?quoteId=LC_riEHpCY57&rev=50

 

Technically he is not disabled for travel by a doctor as he hasn't been seen yet. You might want to call and ask about that. Then confirm the answer in writing, if they say they will cover him.

Edited June 24, 2014 by marci22

[Starry Eyes]

Have you considered non-cruise line insurance? You might be able to get preexisting condition coverage, especially since you have not made final payment. I use squaremouth.com to shop for insurance. Others report happiness with other web sites, too.

[Creepella]

Is there any reason you can't push it back to January? If things work out, I would imagine you could probably bring it forward again.

[cruiselvr04]

We could push it back until the first of the year but cruising out of Galveston in the winter in chilly at least the first and last day . And then we have another cruise planned for April.

 

I think we will take our chances with a.last minute cruise in September and if he is not able to go we just will skip this one.

 

Just wanted some feedback about last minute cruises and others experience with them as we always plan months if not years ahead. I suppose it is just a gamble on prices and what is left for cabins.

 

I will check with the insurance I usually use but I remember it has a clause about pre existing conditions not covered unless you buy it within 24 hours of first deposit. I suppose I can do that after I cancel this one. In other words book last minute and buy insurance the same day and it will most likely be covered by the policy I usually use. I would not do that to screw the insurance agency but just in case he has an unforeseen complication after he is cleared by his doctor.

[Starry Eyes]

I just went to squaremouth and I can see a couple policies for Texas residents with pre-existing condition coverage that can be purchase well after the deposit (one needs to be purchase before final payment, the other within days after final payment). No knowing ages, dates, trip cosy, etc, I cannot tell you the insurance cost. enter your data, filter for preexisting condition coverage and see what pops up for you...if you want this cruise, it is worth a few minutes on the web. I get the impression you both think he might very well be able to cruise in September; if you really believe that, you are not messing over the insurance company in any way.

 

I have done a number of last minute cruises. sometimes good deals are available in the fall, so it may work out well for you. Your odds of scoring a good last minute deal would be better if you are flexible...can you sail from different ports or just the one? just that week or maybe a little before or after? just that ship or would you consider other cruise lines/ships? if it must be that port, that ship, that week, you still might get lucky, but it is a much bigger gamble that if you are flexible.

[cruiselvr04]

Thanks starry eyes - I will look there.

 

Yes I think he will be okay for travel...if depends more on WHEN the surgery can be done which we may not know until after final payment. That is what makes it hard. If they can not get it done before say mid August to late August he may not be ready.

 

We could fly and cruise out of another port if airfare is reasonable. The week is set due to my work.

[MichaelCMTX]

We could push it back until the first of the year but cruising out of Galveston in the winter in chilly at least the first and last day .

 

Oh, but the joy of going so quickly from the cold winter to the purty Caribbean makes it worth it, you appreciate it a lot more going in a day from a high of 38 to 83. There's been snow on the road leaving Dallas on the drive down. January may have that, but the ships are fairly child-free, and the rates for January tend to be really good.

 

Let my signature do the talking there...

[karmacats]

There is one insurance company on insuremytrip that waives the preexisting conditions clause if you purchase the insurance within 24 hrs of final payment. i think it's CMA. they have very high ratings on insuremytrip; that said, twice we've called to find out if things were covered (once my mom was hospitalized for a heart issue, and once we had a death in the family), and they were very discouraging on the phone, so much so that we ended up going on one of the trips rather than cancelling (which is probably why they act that way - trying to get you not to use the insurance). (as for the second trip, royal was great and let us reschedule). however, the insurance is there if you want it - maybe you would have better luck.

 

We used to book all of our trips last minute and had great success. Always got balconies, usually in decent locations, never right below the pool deck or anywhere noisy. Once we snagged a crown loft suite at a great price. I actually prefer to book last minute - i think the deals are the best (except for maybe opening day of a new cruise).

[bayportkat]

We use CSA for insurance. They cover pre existing conditions as long as you buy insurance by final payment I believe. It costs a little more, but not terrible. We buy through our TA-not sure if that makes a difference. We have also made use of the insurance-my mom had to fly home mid trip (land based) because my dad had a medical problem flare up and she was reimbursed her flight difference, room costs, etc

 

Good luck and I hope it all works out!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Starry Eyes]

Thanks starry eyes - I will look there.

 

Yes I think he will be okay for travel...if depends more on WHEN the surgery can be done which we may not know until after final payment. That is what makes it hard. If they can not get it done before say mid August to late August he may not be ready.

 

We could fly and cruise out of another port if airfare is reasonable. The week is set due to my work.

 

The timing of final payment is awkward this time, isn't it? I do not know if an insurance policy is better or if cancelling with hopes of rebooking later is better...tough call, but at least you still have options. Being willing (and hopefully physically able) to fly to another port opens up substantially more options if you decide to cancel and rebook. In my experience, after final payment if prices are going to drop on a cruise, I often see the drop 4-7 weeks pre cruise...maybe you'd know what DH's odds of sailing are by then. Whatever you decide to do, best wishes for DH's health and your time together.

[FLACRUISER99]

Looking for experience on booking a cruise last minute. We are getting close to final payment for a September cruise. The DH is now having severe neck pain and tingling down his arms which means a neurosurgery consult and possible or probable surgery. We have been down this road once before. We are still waiting to be seen and then will need to schedule surgery. Of course his health is most important but we also know if surgery works he could probably cruise in as much as a month later. Just rest and relax and no excursions. ( he travels for work and was back on a plane two weeks after the last one.)

 

What complicates this a little is I can not take vacation October thru December so just moving the date back is not an option.

 

Since it is now preexisting insurance will not cover if I cancel after final payment. ( I always get insurance but not until final. Live and learn.)

 

Our best option I think at this point is cancel, save our vacation dates and hope we can book in the last two or three weeks for the same cruise. Of course we will have to take what is left for cabins. ( we had a great D 1 ). Otherwise we may lose money if we totally can not go. Do I make sense? Any experience booking last minute would be helpful.

My advice is to cancel. No Insurance is going to cover you unless you really pay through the nose for it, and even then they will make it real difficult to collect on it.

[EGG]

Personally, I would cancel. Otherwise you will worry about this until the day you sail and you have enough to worry about. Even if your husband does not need an operation, you probably do not want to go until his condition has cleared up. If he does have need an operation, you may need to take vacation time yourself to take care of him (assuming you work). The good news is that September is one of the least busy months to cruise and you may be able to snag a great last minute bargain.

 

If you do decide to cruise, you need to have medical insurance. And I also suggest you buy it from now on. Personally, we buy the insurance for the medical, dental and evacuation and the cruise coverage is a bonus. We use an outside carrier.

[cruiselvr04]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. After much discussion we have decided to cancel until we know more. We will plan vacation that week and hope for a last minute cabin to be open. Even with insurance it would be a big hassle to get our money back. We always get insurance and I usually do use CSA luxe which I will get again if we go. It is good to know that 4-6 weeks out is a good time to look as surely he will be thru surgery by then and we will know if he can go. Otherwise I will look at January but it will be hard to wait until then! Thanks again for your input.

[Iamthesea]

I'd at least wait until the next to final day to cancel. Hopefully, you will see a doctor by then. Perhaps your DH will not need surgery. Hope he feels better. :)