Disney Cruise Trip Insurance

[wfm58]

Cruise date: Feb. 23rd

Ship: Fantasy

Last week we had to cancel our upcoming family Disney cruise due to medical issues with our grandson’s Exema.  When I cancelled our two reservations, I spoke to a supervisor named Lauren at (866) 325-3489, who told me we will have to forfeit the over $800 we paid for trip insurance and could not roll our trip insurance over to a future cruise. I told the supervisor that we were able to roll-over our trip insurance a few years ago with our travel agent when Oceania cancelled their Asian itinerary due to an earthquake and tsunami.  The supervisors response was she could not accommodate us.

 

My question and hopefully you can help us: Do we have to forfeit the $800  we paid Disney Cruise Line for the travel insurance for our two reservations? Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.

[1025cruise]

At this point you are in the 100% cancellation period, so the $800 you paid for insurance is what is allowing you to get your money back for the cruise.

[wfm58]

I was hoping we could roll it over like we did with Oceania Cruiseline. We used a travel agent with  OnLineVacations.  Oceania reimbursed us for over $14,000 for the Asian cruise and On Line Vacations  allowed us to rebook a Mediterranian cruise with Carnival.  However, in this case we booked directly with Disney Cruiseline, so I figured we could rebook on one of their future cruises. 

We haven't filed the claim yet so hopefully we will get get our money refunded? We have a letter from the Pediatrician so there shouldn't be a problem.   

Thanks for your quick response!

[msmayor]

There's a big difference though when it is YOU cancelling the trip vs. the cruiseline.

 

In the case of your Oceania sailing, if the cruise line cancelled the trip then you definitely have a case to roll the insurance to another voyage.

 

The other poster mentioned that you are in 100% cancellation phase...is this true?  Have you already made final payment?  If so, then you are indeed 'using' the policy to obtain the refund and would not be able to transfer it to a new trip.

[wfm58]

Hello msmayor,

Yes, we made the final payment by the October deadline; Our cruise is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2019.

Actually, Oceania did not cancel the cruise, but instead changed the entire itinerary due to the earthquake and tsunami. Instead of cruising Japan they changed it itinerary to Viet Nam, etc. Anyway, not wanting to go to Viet Nam, we were able to cancel. Maybe we had "cancel for any reason"? It just seems strange that Disney won't work with us because I told the supervisor that we were willing to rebook a future cruise.  However, I understand what you are saying about "using the policy to obtain the refund". 

We haven't filed the claim yet so hopefully we will get get our money refunded? We have a letter from the Pediatrician so there shouldn't be a problem.   

Thanks for your quick response!

[1025cruise]

Since you are in the final payment period, you are not do any money back from DCL for canceling. In order to get any money back, you will need to file a claim against your insurance. 

 

Consider the $800 spent to get your $5000 (or whatever it cost) back.

[cantgetin]

The difference is that in your first situation the cruise line canceled the cruise.  Therefore, they had to make you "whole," including the cost of the insurance.  In this case, YOU canceled the cruise.  No line that I'm aware of will refund the insurance in that case.  Before your next cruise, you may want to look into purchasing insurance privately rather than thru the cruise line.  Many private companies provide a free child's policy with the purchase of a policy for a parent or grandparent (one child free with each adult...if you cruised with 2 adults and 4 kids, you'd pay for 2 of the kids).  In addition, we've found that we typically get more coverage at less cost.  The down side is that with insurance thru the cruise line and cancel for a reason that is not covered, a portion of what you paid can be applied to another cruise; if you cancel for a non-covered cause with private insurance you are out of luck.

 

Just so you know, when DCL canceled all or a portion of our cruise, they did more than make up every penny we'd spent--like 100% of what we paid applied to a future cruise, which was discounted 25% for us; any balance due refunded to us....or just take the 100% refund.

[wfm58]

Lots of good information. I will post the outcome of our claim once I file it. I like your suggestion to purchase travel insurance thru an independent company instead of the cruise line.  That's what we did with Oceania Asian trip. We booked with Online Vacation and it seemed like we had more control; lesson learned, lesson taken. Between our two Disney reservations we spent over $16K before we cancelled. With that amount of money I would have thought Disney would have done something to keep us connected to their line for a future cruise?  

[1025cruise]

Another gotcha you may run into. You had two reservations. Depending on the policy that DCL offers (not familiar, I always buy Cancel for Any reason through a third party), one reservation might have met the requirements for a refund, but the other one might be denied (no reason you couldn't go just because the family with your grandson wasn't going). 

 

I'm sorry you are running into this issue.

[wfm58]

I hope that's not the case? I believe our policy says we can cancel if other family members cancel, but I'll know for sure once we file the claim next week. I appreciate all of the helpful comments I have received from everyone. I will let you know the out come. Hopefully, it will be a happy/magical one. just like Disney wishes when they answer the phone. 

[MarLieb]

The information you received from DCL is by-the-book in regard to their change and cancellation policies.   Changing dates after the PIF date is considered a cancellation and is subject to whatever penalty phase you are in when you cancel.  You canceled more than 29 days prior to your cruise so DCL should refund 50 percent of your cruise fare.  Did the agent tell you that?  You will need to submit a claim to the insurance co. for the rest.  If the insurance co. denies your claim, call DCL back as they will apply 75 percent of whatever wasn’t covered toward a future cruise.  Trip insurance can never be applied to another trip.  You purchased it to cover this trip and are filing a claim against it.  Think of it this way - if you have home insurance and your house burns down, you can’t expect your insurance to cover your burned down house plus a new house you might purchase.  Also, when you purchased the insurance, you actually purchased it through an insurance company.  DCL just facilitated the transaction and it’s non refundable once purchased.  So DCL isn’t going to cover the cost of a new policy to cover a new booking.  I’ve had to file claims on a few cruises and have had positive experiences, so I hope it goes well for you!

[wfm58]

Lots of good information. However, I'm still confused with the Oceania Asian cruise situation where our travel agent allowed us to roll over the travel insurance to Carnival Mediterranen cruise (stipulated we book new cruise within one year). Anyway, for whatever reason, that worked out with full refund from Oceania. From the different comments from Community travelers, I've come to the conclusion it was because Oceania changed the entire itinerary.          

I will keep in mind  if insurance company denies our claim I will contact DCL for additional reimbursement via a future cruise.  However, we have a letter from the Pediatrician, so hopefully the claim will not be denied. Yes, the supervisor at DCL said they would be crediting our cc for a portion of it, but not sure if it is 50%, but will crunch the numbers when we return home tomorrow. We've been gone a month so lots to catch up on.   Your analogy with the home insurance covering fire  was very helpful. You sound like a very seasoned traveler that has dealt with various trip insurance situations. 

Happy travels!

[wfm58]

Lots of good information. However, I'm still confused with the Oceania Asian cruise situation where our travel agent allowed us to roll over the travel insurance to Carnival Mediterranen cruise (stipulated we book new cruise within one year). Anyway, for whatever reason, that worked out with full refund from Oceania. From the different comments from Community travelers, I've come to the conclusion it was because Oceania changed the entire itinerary.          

I will keep in mind  if insurance company denies our claim I will contact DCL for additional reimbursement via a future cruise.  However, we have a letter from the Pediatrician, so hopefully the claim will not be denied. Yes, the supervisor at DCL said they would be crediting our cc for a portion of it, but not sure if it is 50%, but will crunch the numbers when we return home tomorrow. We've been gone a month so lots to catch up on.   Your analogy with the home insurance covering fire  was very helpful. You sound like a very seasoned traveler that has dealt with various trip insurance situations. 

Happy travels!

[wfm58]

I forgot to ask, do you usually use a travel agent and what travel insurance do you use? From this experience, I decided not to book directly with the cruise line or use their travel insurance.  I've heard good things about USAA travel agents and their travel insurance.   

[cantgetin]

Depending on the insurance company, you are often allowed one "change of dates" for a canceled cruise.  We have encountered this several times, although private companies are becoming more strict about allowing this.  That MIGHT have been part of what happened on your Oceania cruise.

Insurance thru DCL will cover you for an illness in an immediate family member, so I don't think you have issues there.  Each cabin number is a separate reservation number, but presumably you had insurance on both reservations.  Most insurances will cover even if the family member is NOT a cruiser--for instance, if I cancel because my father had a heart attack, that is covered even if he was not on going on the trip.

 

I've always had better experiences booking thru a TA who specializes in DCL and using their recommendation regarding insurance companies than going thru the cruise line.  We are not allowed to name TAs on this site.  I would suggest that you look at different companies on "insuremytrip.com" or one of the other web sites that list multiple companies.  You can compare coverages and rates.  We have found that many companies offer multiple policies, and the cheapest may not be the way to go.  Moving up one notch adds very little cost, but may offer twice the coverage for medical issues which is the main reason I buy insurance.  My medical insurance does not cover me outside of the US.  I could afford to lose the cost of the cruise (not happily, but.....) but I certainly don't want to be in a position of having a huge hospital bill, repatriation costs, etc.  We've only ever filed two small claims (one for using the ship's medical center and one for costs when a cruise was delayed), but I'm not getting any younger and my daughter has a chronic medical condition.  Thus, I prefer the security of the insurance.

[Shmoo here]

On 1/12/2019 at 6:04 AM, wfm58 said:

My question and hopefully you can help us: Do we have to forfeit the $800  we paid Disney Cruise Line for the travel insurance for our two reservations? Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Typically, insurance costs are non-refundable/transferable.  If a cruise line allowed you to transfer your insurance to a different cruise, it was probably a one-time deal.

 

Basically it's like asking for your insurance payments back when you house burns down (after the insurance has paid the coverage).  You've had the benefits of the insurance, but now you want the money back that gave you those benefits.

[wfm58]

Yes, I think Oceana allowed us to transfer to Carnival because they are owned by Carnival.  In that case, it worked out for us because the Carnival cruise (new ship) was a lot inexpensive (go figure Ha!). The over $14K Asian Oceana  refunded more than paid for the Carnival Mediterranean cruise.  This definitely has been a learning experience, but I'm grateful for all the Community comments that have been provided.