No-Show or hope to be denied boarding

[Sunburg1]

Here is the situation. Cruise booked leaving from home town, no air or hotel etc. involved. No insurance. A day prior to leaving I come down with a nasty cold. The morning we were to leave on the cruise I knew I could not go so we were a no-show.

My question is what would have happened if we had gone to check in and filled out the health form truthfully. Could we be sure that we would have been denied boarding? If we had been would we have gotten the full fare refunded?

[jazzydiver]

My suspicion is that if it's just a cold you would not be denied boarding.  IIRC, the health form asks about gastrointestinal issues and fever.  My impression was that they are looking for people with GI issues along with fever - not really the same as a nasty cold.

 

What they do concerning the people who answer yes to both of those questions, I really don't know.

[Essiesmom]

There would have been no refund without insurance.  But most cruise lines are no longer requiring the health formand in any event, what they are looking for is GI illness - vomiting and diarrhea.  Not a cold.  EM

[clo]

13 minutes ago, Sunburg1 said:

A day prior to leaving I come down with a nasty cold. The morning we were to leave on the cruise I knew I could not go so we were a no-show.

Why couldn't you still travel? Not being mean. Sincerely asking.

[kerryincork]

I have read here what happens is that you visit nurse/medical officer who makes the decision. But if you answered truthfully on the health form you might have only had one yes (if you had a temp). The second part of the health form about vomiting and diareah you would answer truthfully no.

 

I have allergies that can make me cough/wheeze/sneeze etc. I was worried about being stopped but I asked and they said that's not they were looking for.

I am not sure if they give you a denied boarding letter or something as I think you can claim on your insurance.

[kerryincork]

Sorry I forgot to mention that you should have gotten your port fees, taxes and any excursions etc. You paid returned to you.

[sparks1093]

You likely would have been allowed to board with just a cold. Personally I'd rather recover on a cruise than at home, even if I had to self-quarantine. 

[SRF]

Bottom line, denied boarding, for what ever reason, you have to file a claim with your insurance.  No insurance?  No claim.

 

Look up the stories about people denied boarding for not having their documents.  Or not having a state issued birth certificate.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Sunburg1 said:

Here is the situation. Cruise booked leaving from home town, no air or hotel etc. involved. No insurance. A day prior to leaving I come down with a nasty cold. The morning we were to leave on the cruise I knew I could not go so we were a no-show.

My question is what would have happened if we had gone to check in and filled out the health form truthfully. Could we be sure that we would have been denied boarding? If we had been would we have gotten the full fare refunded?

So many after-the-fact questions end up being before-the-fact planning. 

Can you imagine how many folks who are in the 100% penalty phase for cancelling, go to embarkation and hope that "being sick" will get them denied boarding AND declared eligible for a total refund?

Of course, there'll be no refund. And that's why there's travel insurance.

[sparks1093]

One must keep in mind that even with insurance a traveler would still need an MD's certification that they were medically unfit for travel. Not sure how many MD's would for a cold.

Edited December 6, 2019 by sparks1093

[leaveitallbehind]

So the bottom line to the OP's questions is no, you could not have been sure you would have been denied boarding.  In fact, if it was nothing more than a common cold, you probably would have been permitted to board.  And no, without insurance you would not have received any refund of the fare paid other than port fees, taxes, and any extra on board extras and excursions booked.

[geoherb]

I don't think I'd cancel for a cold. I do like Princess's platinum insurance that lets us cancel for any reason with a 100 percent credit toward another cruise.

[Hidden Minnie]

I don’t think anyone even asked on our last couple of cruises - they certainly didn’t have us do a form.....

[spookwife]

 a mere cold would not have  been a reason to deny boarding.

 

 all you are getting back is port fees and taxes.  you need to have insurance( and  I bet  deciding   at the last second that you have a cold and don't want to board  still would not have resulted in a full refund)  

[thinfool]

Is HAL still using the Liars Form?  Princess stopped a couple of years ago.  I don't remember ever seeing one when boarding a HAL ship.

[Joebucks]

This is how most "poor service from this company" threads start. Guessing, and guessing wrong.

[Elaine5715]

Just because there isn't a form doesn't alleviate one from disclosing illnesses that can be denied boarding with no refund from Carnival    

 

[Toofarfromthesea]

On 12/6/2019 at 1:38 PM, sparks1093 said:

One must keep in mind that even with insurance a traveler would still need an MD's certification that they were medically unfit for travel. Not sure how many MD's would for a cold.

 

I would imagine that being denied boarding would satisfy any such requirement.  it doesn't do anyone any good if a Dr. says they are fit to travel but the cruiselines denies boarding.

[sparks1093]

5 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I would imagine that being denied boarding would satisfy any such requirement.  it doesn't do anyone any good if a Dr. says they are fit to travel but the cruiselines denies boarding.

That is possible, but the insurance company will make it's own call. In any event as many have stated it's very unlikely that anyone would be denied boarding for a cold.

[spookwife]

6 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I would imagine that being denied boarding would satisfy any such requirement.  it doesn't do anyone any good if a Dr. says they are fit to travel but the cruiselines denies boarding.

 

doubtful.  you can claim all you want that the ship's doctor denied boarding, but without official documentation from the cruise line,  there's no proof.  

[ger_77]

If you are denied boarding, it's on you.  Without insurance, you receive nothing but your port charges back and any excursions/indulgences you had prepaid.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂

[nascarcruiser]

A cold I definitely would not have cancelled.   Fresh air and sunshine would definitely help you get over it.  No insurance no refund period.   That's the gamble you take when you don't get insurance 

[clo]

Has @Sunburg1 returned to say why they would want to cancel or on what premise they think they would have a valid reason to cancel? 

[sparks1093]

6 minutes ago, clo said:

Has @Sunburg1 returned to say why they would want to cancel or on what premise they think they would have a valid reason to cancel? 

This is what they said in the original post "A day prior to leaving I come down with a nasty cold. The morning we were to leave on the cruise I knew I could not go so we were a no-show." I read that as they thought they would be denied boarding so they didn't even go to the pier (they live in the port city).

[sfaaa]

On December 6, 2019 at 9:15 AM, clo said:

Why couldn't you still travel? Not being mean. Sincerely asking.

And spreading cold gems all over the ship? OP did the right thing to stay home.