Cancelling a cruise - with insurance

[cruizinwithkids]

I'm booked on a cruise and my traveling companion might have to cancel. We have travel insurance. This would be a non-covered event and we'd be entitled to a 75% of cruise credit.

 

Does anyone know if he could cancel and I could still travel. Would he still get his cruise credit?

[Kingofwylietx]

You can travel.....but if your rate was based on double occupancy, you will have to pony up some $$ to cruise. This assumes you were sharing a room, so you will pretty much have to pay his portion to keep the room.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Kingofwylietx

[bonvoyagie]

See if you can find another traveling companion and change names.

 

Or just show up for the cruise and allow your companion to simply be a no show - they would refund the taxes and port charges and it would be the same as you cruising solo.

[RuthlessBoss]

If the other cancels, wouldn't you be able to put in a claim due to the loss of a cabin mate so insurance pays the other portion?

[luvtheships]

If the other cancels, wouldn't you be able to put in a claim due to the loss of a cabin mate so insurance pays the other portion?

 

That assumes that cruisers actually read the policy they bought

 

I know I read mine and it says exactly what you posted.

 

 

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[Kingofwylietx]

While insurance might pay for the no-show cabin mate up front, they can go after him on the back end.

If he causes them to pay, they would have a legal claim to sue him for their losses. This would be of particular concern, because of the relationship you have with the cabin mate and that you surely have the same trip insurance company (though this is actually irrelevant). You also mentioned that their backing out is not a covered event on their insurance policy, which would be an entirely different situation.

 

There are special laws for the insurance industry. Subrogation works to keep them from incurring unjust losses and pay you prior to them getting money from the person responsible for an event. Just as your insurance company will pay to fix your car if an uninsured motorist hits you, they will sue the uninsured motorist to recoup their loss.

 

IF that were not the case.........we could all book Garden Villas, get insurance, then have 6 of the 8 people not show up so we can make a claim and get a cheap room. It doesn't work like that. Someone has to pay, and the insurance lobby has spent millions of dollars to be sure it's not them.

 

You may handle this as you wish. Just realize that your insurance claim may trigger a lawsuit against your cabin mate.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Kingofwylietx

[Kingofwylietx]

That assumes that cruisers actually read the policy they bought

 

I know I read mine and it says exactly what you posted.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Also, the insurance company paying the no-show passengers portion hinges on their cancellation being caused by a covered event. In this case, as the OP stated, it is not a covered event.

 

I'm not arguing a point, I just want readers to understand that it can be tricky to get insurance to pay for events. Cruisinwithkids isn't trying to get a free ride, but bad info was put out there and people need to understand how insurance works.

 

I took this quote from our very own Cruise Critic website. Read it carefully and you will see that Cruizinwithkids will have to pay the other half of the cabin cost to take a solo trip.

 

Sue and Jim are traveling together. Sue buys an insurance policy, but Jim does not. A week before the cruise, Jim gets appendicitis and must cancel his trip. Since he doesn't have trip insurance, he forfeits all of the money he's paid to the cruise line and airline. Since Sue has insurance, she can cancel her trip and make a claim on this "event" (her traveling companion getting sick and canceling). She can do this since her policy includes traveling companions in its cancellation coverage.

 

But it gets trickier. Say it's Jim's father, not Jim, who gets sick, forcing Jim to cancel his cruise. In this case, Sue, despite her insurance policy, is also out of luck. That's because her policy protects her if something happens to her travel companion and he's forced to cancel -- but not if he cancels because something happened to a member of his family. However, if they both had travel insurance, Jim could be reimbursed for canceling his cruise because his father's illness is covered, and Sue would also be reimbursed because her travel companion canceled for a covered reason.

[zqvol]

The OP said that this cancellation is a non covered event.

 

OP: you may of course sail alone, but you will be responsible for the cost of a solo passenger, which is usually, but not always, the same price as two passengers, but you only pay one tax and one port fee.

[Kingofwylietx]

......we'd be entitled to a 75% of cruise credit.

 

Does anyone know if he could cancel and I could still travel. Would he still get his cruise credit?

 

In summary:

You will need to call NCL to see if he would get any credit if you continue on solo. There may be some caveat since you would not be cancelling the room, just a passenger in the room.

 

You will have to pay solo price of cruise (approx. double your original fare). In which case, it may be cheaper to personally refund 75% of his fare to him and drop his name from the room. This would depend on the other 25% being more than port fees and tax.

 

 

Option: find another companion to take his place.

[GeezerCouple]

While insurance might pay for the no-show cabin mate up front, they can go after him on the back end.

If he causes them to pay, they would have a legal claim to sue him for their losses. This would be of particular concern, because of the relationship you have with the cabin mate and that you surely have the same trip insurance company (though this is actually irrelevant). You also mentioned that their backing out is not a covered event on their insurance policy, which would be an entirely different situation.

 

There are special laws for the insurance industry. Subrogation works to keep them from incurring unjust losses and pay you prior to them getting money from the person responsible for an event. Just as your insurance company will pay to fix your car if an uninsured motorist hits you, they will sue the uninsured motorist to recoup their loss.

 

IF that were not the case.........we could all book Garden Villas, get insurance, then have 6 of the 8 people not show up so we can make a claim and get a cheap room. It doesn't work like that. Someone has to pay, and the insurance lobby has spent millions of dollars to be sure it's not them.

 

You may handle this as you wish. Just realize that your insurance claim may trigger a lawsuit against your cabin mate.

 

Yes, this is a good example of one way this little "scheme" can easily be used for insurance fraud.

 

And for that reason, it can't be allowed for those who want to use it for honest reasons, which is a shame.

 

It's quite counter-intuitive, and when we first heard about it, we were astonished about the way it would be handled.

Seemed totally wrong and unfair...

... until we realized "how it could be used"...

 

It's really too bad, as there *are* honest cases where this should work the "intuitive" way. And it probably did for a while, until the insurers realized what some folks were doing.

 

GeezerCouple

[cruizinwithkids]

Thank you for the replies.

 

He bought the insurance (obviously for both of us) because he's looking for a new job. Quitting a job and then not having vacation time is not a covered reason. Now as the cruise is getting closer he's had some very promising interviews and I really need a vacation.

 

Oh well, seems like cancelling for both will be the outcome. Boo hoo :)

[garycarla]

I'm booked on a cruise and my traveling companion might have to cancel. We have travel insurance. This would be a non-covered event and we'd be entitled to a 75% of cruise credit.

 

Does anyone know if he could cancel and I could still travel. Would he still get his cruise credit?

 

Folks are giving lots of answers, some of which did not read the above post, which I personally find very confusing.

 

It says NON COVERED, but then says 75% cruise credit. Very, very confusing what a 75% cruise credit means, and if non-covered, why would you get anything?

[djmess]

Everyone on here will give you lots of information. Very few if any will have had your particular situation. I learned that when posting something about insurance a while back.

 

My advice is CALL the NCL Insurance number. I did and they were very helpful in my situation.

 

In my case 2 people out of 5 in the cabin could not go. We are currently submitting the paperwork for the claim.

 

Our cabin price did not change. I did not have to pony up any additional money for the cruise. I did get the port charges refunded almost immediately. The cruise fare is what has been submitted and we expect to get that money back.

 

In my case, even though I was still able to go on the cruise, the Insurance company told me that if I had to pay extra, then I would need to add my name to the claim and it would be reimbursed. As I said, we did not pay extra, so that was a mute point for us.

 

As to the 75% credit that some don't seem to understand. When you buy insurance through Norwegian, if the insurance company deems the claim, "not covered", then you receive a 75% credit to be used on a future cruise. I think there is a time limit like a year, but at least you get something back

[cruizinwithkids]

Everyone on here will give you lots of information. Very few if any will have had your particular situation. I learned that when posting something about insurance a while back.

 

My advice is CALL the NCL Insurance number. I did and they were very helpful in my situation.

 

In my case 2 people out of 5 in the cabin could not go. We are currently submitting the paperwork for the claim.

 

Our cabin price did not change. I did not have to pony up any additional money for the cruise. I did get the port charges refunded almost immediately. The cruise fare is what has been submitted and we expect to get that money back.

 

In my case, even though I was still able to go on the cruise, the Insurance company told me that if I had to pay extra, then I would need to add my name to the claim and it would be reimbursed. As I said, we did not pay extra, so that was a mute point for us.

 

As to the 75% credit that some don't seem to understand. When you buy insurance through Norwegian, if the insurance company deems the claim, "not covered", then you receive a 75% credit to be used on a future cruise. I think there is a time limit like a year, but at least you get something back

 

Interesting. Thank you. I just don't know if I'm supposed to be keeping my fingers that he gets a new job or that he doesn't. LOL

[Kingofwylietx]

Not to make light of your situation, but won't he have all the time in the world if he doesn't have a job?

 

My wife was out of work for a while. We still planned a vacation when she wasn't working. She found a job and told them about needing the time off when she was on her final interview. They didn't have any issue with it and she is still there today.

 

If they want him, they will most likely not bat an eye at letting him have the time off. It's really not a big deal. I wouldn't let some time off stop me from hiring a good candidate. Qualified candidates are hard to find....plus, it would help build loyalty to the company.

 

However it works out, I hope it's in your favor.

[sfaaa]

Many employers need a new hire to start asap because the previous employee left and work place is short handed. You can pop the question about delaying the starting date for a good valid reason but I wouldn't consider going on a cruise first to be one of them.

[luvtheships]

Many employers need a new hire to start asap because the previous employee left and work place is short handed. You can pop the question about delaying the starting date for a good valid reason but I wouldn't consider going on a cruise first to be one of them.

If I were the employer and a new hire told me they stood to lose a lot of money should they cancel a cruise I most certainly would consider it a valid reason.... I would value an employee who didn't want to lose the money....but that is just me....

 

However...

 

 

No need to mention a cruise.....out of town pre arranged important family function is all that needs to be said or personal business that needs to be tended to before they can start the job

 

Any employer that delves further or questions your honesty is umm,,,, not all that professional and probably breaking a few laws as well

 

If the employer makes you choose....then it is up to you to decide... Plain and simple

 

 

Btw the employee is NOT being deceitful if they say..... Out of town pre arranged family function....

 

Because that is what a cruise is!!!!

 

If they are cruising solo or with just friends.... And for the purists here ....just drop the word family or just say personal business to tend to

 

 

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Edited February 25, 2015 by luvtheships

[garycarla]

Many,many, many people have delayed start dates for a variety of reasons. And, often a company will delay while they go through the paperwork on their end.

 

Yes, the hired person is often replacing someone that left, but that does not always mean they want the person TODAY.

[zqvol]

Folks are giving lots of answers, some of which did not read the above post, which I personally find very confusing.

 

It says NON COVERED, but then says 75% cruise credit. Very, very confusing what a 75% cruise credit means, and if non-covered, why would you get anything?

 

OP is within the 75% refund cancellation period.

[RuthlessBoss]

I'm booked on a cruise and my traveling companion might have to cancel. We have travel insurance. This would be a non-covered event and we'd be entitled to a 75% of cruise credit.

 

Does anyone know if he could cancel and I could still travel. Would he still get his cruise credit?

 

When is the cruise? Your terminology is confusing using the word credit.

[garycarla]

OP is within the 75% refund cancellation period.

 

Refund and cruise credit are two entirely different things.

[RuthlessBoss]

When is this cruise?

[Kingofwylietx]

Many,many, many people have delayed start dates for a variety of reasons. And, often a company will delay while they go through the paperwork on their end.

 

Yes, the hired person is often replacing someone that left, but that does not always mean they want the person TODAY.

 

My wife didn't delay her start date. They simply agreed in advance to give her the time off.

 

She told them that we had a family vacation planned and that she didn't want to miss it.

 

Frankly, if they had said no to her taking the family vacation, I would have suggested she continue her job search rather than work for them. That DOES tell you a lot about your future employer and whether or not they respect family values.....and how you may expect to be treated as an employee.

 

Back on topic: It looks like you still have a couple of options. You can find another cabin mate, take the 25% hit on your refund, or hope your buddy can get the time off at their new job (assuming they get the new job). None of those are catastrophic, so I think you'll be okay.

[NCMtnBoys]

Also to be clear, through NCL's basic insurance it's 75% of the cancellation fees assessed that would be received as a cruise credit, not 75% of what was paid for the cruise. And for their platinum insurance the figure rises to 90% of the cancellation fees assessed. All of this, of course, if Berkely Care denies the claim and won't pay.

Edited February 25, 2015 by NCMtnBoys

[RuthlessBoss]

When is this cruise?

 

I guess our OP left us;) Any update would be nice.