Not the cruise line you want to cruise with

[Sdockendorf]

We booked this cruise as part of a back to back 2 week cruise with Symphony of the Seas being the other ship. We booked them both almost a year out. We were to sail 12/1/2-18. Then in August my wife and I found out she has breast cancer. So these cruises and a trip we had booked to an all inclusive in the Dominican had to be cancelled. EVERYONE with the exception of NCL refunded the money had put down on these trips. Delta, Barcelo and Royal Caribean all returned our deposits or refunded our tickets. We repeatedly requested NCL to at least give us a credit for a future cruise, no was the answer, nothing. We cruise often, and on NCL three times prior to booking this cruise. We also paid for their cruise next plan which will not use because how can you do business with a company like this? Bottom line there are a lot of great cruise lines out there, why choose NCL? 

[TrumpyNor]

Will you not get the full refund of all your expenses through your travel insurance company???

[shof515]

This is why you need travel insurance. after you submit final payment, the cruise lines OWE YOU NOTHING!!..read the contracts you are suppose to agree to when you book a cruise.

[JamieLogical]

What did your travel insurance say?

[ColeThornton]

37 minutes ago, Sdockendorf said:

We booked this cruise as part of a back to back 2 week cruise with Symphony of the Seas being the other ship. We booked them both almost a year out. We were to sail 12/1/2-18. Then in August my wife and I found out she has breast cancer. So these cruises and a trip we had booked to an all inclusive in the Dominican had to be cancelled. EVERYONE with the exception of NCL refunded the money had put down on these trips. Delta, Barcelo and Royal Caribean all returned our deposits or refunded our tickets. We repeatedly requested NCL to at least give us a credit for a future cruise, no was the answer, nothing. We cruise often, and on NCL three times prior to booking this cruise. We also paid for their cruise next plan which will not use because how can you do business with a company like this? Bottom line there are a lot of great cruise lines out there, why choose NCL? 

 

 

Well, if you cruised with NCL three times prior you must have a good reason to choose NCL.

[justhappy]

First, let me say I hope for your wife a full recovery.

 

I feel that just because NCL sticks to their rules for refunds does not mean the are a bad company.

 I buy travel insurance because I know stuff happens and it’s up to me to protect my investment.

I think everyone should if they can’t afford to lose what they paid.

I’m sorry so many people seem to learn this the hard way.

[NLH Arizona]

Hope your wife has a full recovery.

 

What did your insurance company say?  

[Warm Breezes]

This is what travel insurance is for.  It is not the cruiselines responsibility to insure your trip so why blame NCL?

[GeezerCouple]

2 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Well, if you cruised with NCL three times prior you must have a good reason to choose NCL.

 

And surely you are already familiar with the payment terms and penalties at NCL.

You *do* read the contracts you sign, right? 

The NCL cancellation penalties are in a very handy, easy to read chart anyway.

 

If they made exceptions to their policy, why have a policy? More and more people would start expecting/demanding exceptions.  That would force costs to skyrocket for everyone.

 

This IS one of the reasons many people get travel insurance that includes coverage for costs due to cancellation/interruption.

 

GC

[Son of a son of a ...]

MIL diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after final payment.  NCL refunded port fees and gratuities, but imposed the 100% cancellation penalty.  There is no mercy from NCL with cancer.  

[NLH Arizona]

1 minute ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

MIL diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after final payment.  NCL refunded port fees and gratuities, but imposed the 100% cancellation penalty.  There is no mercy from NCL with cancer.  

Where would you think they should draw the line?  Should they refund for cancer, but not for a death in the family or someone being diagnosed with a brain tumor or someone who has several broken bones from a car accident?  

[All-ready2cruise]

Op, I'm really sorry your wife has been afflicted with this horrible disease and wish her a complete and speedy recovery.  I also understand your feelings of disappointment and anger regarding NCL's policy, however, since you've cruised with them in the past, you are aware of their policy, surely.  

 

When my DH passed away less than 3 weeks prior to our cruise last year, had we not had insurance, there would have been no refund then, either.  It's up to you to make choices regarding many things, where you go, how you go and whether or not you take out appropriate protection for any mishaps, including this unfortunate happening with your wife. 

 

Hoping for a long and healthy future for you and yours. 

[Son of a son of a ...]

14 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

Where would you think they should draw the line?  Should they refund for cancer, but not for a death in the family or someone being diagnosed with a brain tumor or someone who has several broken bones from a car accident?  

 

‘I think they should follow United Airlines’ model and accept a physician’s letter that travel was impossible due to life threatening medical condition.  United gave a full monetary refund.  Delta gives credit for a future flight.  Heck, even Alliegant Air gives credit after imposing a change fee.  

 

If NCL wants to book the revenue, then give a credit.  If they want to inflict some pain, then take 20%, but 100% is heartless.  What is the overall exposure to NCL?  One or two cabins a cruise?  NCL had a $759 M profit last year.

 

Being a hard a@@ in the hospitality industry does not contribute to good will.

Edited November 11, 2018 by Son of a son of a ...

[brookie848]

I am sending good thoughts to everyone who needs them health-wise, but insurance -- there's a reason for it!

 

If you can't afford to eat the costs of something, get the insurance. If you don't just NCL insurance (which has worked for us in the past when we had to cancel the DAY BEFORE the cruise), there are plenty of other options.

 

This is a company, they have policies, and those policies are very clearly stated. There are reasons for policies. And as NLH Arizona mentioned, where should they draw the line? By having strict policies and offering insurance as protection, it keeps things simple for everyone.

 

And as an FYI, this is coming from a person who has no idea if we are going to be able to go on our cruise at the end of February because of health reasons. However, we have insurance (bought through a third-party because it is a pre-existing condition) and we are hoping for the best. If the worst happens (or the best and my husband gets called for a transplant), then we know our costs are covered because we did the smart thing and protected our investment.

[SeaShark]

2 minutes ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

 

‘I think they should follow United Airlines’ model and accept a physician’s letter that travel was impossible due to life threatening medical condition.  United gave a full monetary refund.  Delta gives credit for a future flight.  Heck, even Alliegant Air gives credit after imposing a change fee.  

 

If NCL wants to book the revenue, then give a credit.  If they want to inflict some pain, then take 20%, but 100% is heartless.  What is the overall exposure to NCL?  One or two cabins a cruise?  NCL had a $759 M profit last year.

 

Being a hard a@@ in the hospitality industry does not contribute to good will.

 

Or alternatively, NCL could automatically add insurance to the cost of each person's cruise or they could simply refuse to accept bookings from uninsured travelers. 

 

Not sure why NCL should bear the financial risk for those who choose to not be insured.

[Robb]

We missed a cruise 16 years ago because I had to have open heart surgery........we lost all the costs except the port charges, over $5000.  Now, 65 cruises later we would never consider traveling without full insurance coverage.  I hope your spouse has a speedy and full recovery.  Read those contracts in the future.

 

It is a hard way to learn the importance of having travel insurance, but facts are facts.  

[jpcdds6]

I am a loyal NCL customer. In this case, a refund should be granted. Damn the contract.

[mjkacmom]

6 minutes ago, jpcdds6 said:

I am a loyal NCL customer. In this case, a refund should be granted. Damn the contract.

I disagree, I’m assuming there are dozens of passengers who have to cancel cruises after final payment every sailing, illness, death, injury, late to the ship... I fork out several hundred dollars for insurance, because if something happens, I want my money back. If I was able to cancel or even postpone, I’d never buy insurance.

 

OP I’m sorry about the diagnosis, my mom had a cruise booked when she got hers, but she had insurance so she was refunded.

[tallnthensome]

Let's see what the original poster has to say about being cheap and deciding not purchase cruise insurance for just this sort of possibility. Then get mad and tell everyone how bad that NCL is for not kicking the rules aside for you. Perhaps they should refund everyone's money that purchased cruise insurance and didn't use it as well .

[cdnsteelman]

To the OP - my heart goes out to you and your wife and everyone touched by this insidious hell that is cancer.

 

To all the posters asking what the insurance company said, I think we all know what the insurance company would have said if there had been insurance. The fact is, there isn't any insurance or the OP wouldn't be on here venting. I say to the OP - given your circumstances - vent away... it won't help you get money back but sometimes just screaming in the face of this disease is part of the process. The challenge with making exceptions that are outside the contract is that you then create expectations that this is the the default practice (and can be legally held to it).

 

I have always self insured for trip cancelation (not medical, ever). What I mean by that is that I'm already well ahead of the game in having not taken out trip cancelation insurance in the past so that when my time comes, I'll eat the loss. I will say when we took a family cruise that was worth of $20,000 we did make sure we were covered for TC because I wasn't willing to eat that one.

 

Again, my deepest sympathies.

Edited November 11, 2018 by cdnsteelman
typo

[jpcdds6]

2 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I disagree, I’m assuming there are dozens of passengers who have to cancel cruises after final payment every sailing, illness, death, injury, late to the ship... I fork out several hundred dollars for insurance, because if something happens, I want my money back. If I was able to cancel or even postpone, I’d never buy insurance.

 

OP I’m sorry about the diagnosis, my mom had a cruise booked when she got hers, but she had insurance so she was refunded.

I’m saying that IN THIS CASE, the right thing to do is grant a refund. I buy insurance too. All other carriers refunded their reservations.

[BirdTravels]

Check the credit card used to pay for trip insurance. 

 

The cruise line should follow their written contract. Otherwise everyone who wanted to get out of a cruise could gen up a fake doctor’s note and cancel their cruise. There is not enough hours in the day to investigate every doctor’s note. 

[mjkacmom]

3 minutes ago, jpcdds6 said:

I’m saying that IN THIS CASE, the right thing to do is grant a refund. I buy insurance too. All other carriers refunded their reservations.

What is different about this case? Illness is probably the most common reason for canceling. Is a cancer diagnosis the only reason folks who turn down the insurance should get a pass? What about death? After hurricane sandy, many had to cancel because they lost their homes. Just because the other carriers allowed cancellation means that NCL should go against their policy, the same policy that has denied others with sad stories? The OP is lucky to get some compensation, that’s a big trip to refuse insurance for.

[brookie848]

13 minutes ago, jpcdds6 said:

I’m saying that IN THIS CASE, the right thing to do is grant a refund. I buy insurance too. All other carriers refunded their reservations.

Most of the other carriers (not all) don't offer insurance when you purchase their services. I've never been offered it on a hotel or airline ticket. The only places we've been offered insurance by the vendor is a cruise and when we rent a condo at the beach.

 

So if they don't offer insurance, it is less likely that they will stick to their policies since the consumer was offered nothing to fall back upon. NCL does offer this service. If you choose not to take it, you are self-insuring and indicating that you are willing to take that risk. It is really quite simple.

[cdnsteelman]

1 minute ago, brookie848 said:

Most of the other carriers (not all) don't offer insurance when you purchase their services. I've never been offered it on a hotel or airline ticket. The only places we've been offered insurance by the vendor is a cruise and when we rent a condo at the beach.

 

So if they don't offer insurance, it is less likely that they will stick to their policies since the consumer was offered nothing to fall back upon. NCL does offer this service. If you choose not to take it, you are self-insuring and indicating that you are willing to take that risk. It is really quite simple.

I use a variety of travel aggregator sites now for pricing out trips and when I go to book there's always a step now where you ahem to wive or accept various insurance options before you get the the book / pay page. Insurance has become a BIG sideline profit centre for travel providers.