Coronavirus and Insurance

[babs135]

22 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

We did a similar cruise a couple of years back on Saga Sapphire, and it was extremely good - well worth doing.

Please - Before reading my next bit, be aware that I am an extremely pessimistic person with a tendency to see potential problems that MAY NEVER HAPPEN (as hubby regularly reminds me).

Did you get anything in writing about a full refund? especially for a change in itinerary? (it may be mentioned in the small print of your booking contract).

Since you booked, the FCO advice has changed which, if it does not get changed back, may mean that you will be invalidating your insurance if you continue with the cruise - again, double check what your insurance says about travelling against FCO advice. 

I believe there is also a real risk that many destinations will still be closed to cruise passengers in October, which is why I asked about a refund because of an itinerary change.

We are in a similar situation, with two cruises booked for this year (August and December) and I suspect that we will not be able to go on either - waiting , like many others, to see what happens.

We booked before any warnings were issued so as I understand it we would have some level of cover from our insurance company.  However, as the date to pay the balance looms (mid-June) we keep changing our mind as to what is the best course of action.  I am pretty certain that the October sailing will be cancelled and if Cunard are not giving cash refunds do we really want to give them money which will be returned in the form of FCCs.  Whilst interest rates are rock bottom we'd rather have the money in our bank than in Cunard's.  I'm also aware that should we pay the balance and then transfer the booking to 2021 it will be classed as a new booking and almost certainly our insurers will not cover us for Covoid19 and probably any complications that may arise from this, especially as we are in the over-70s age bracket.

 

All said and done it is a mess and I doubt that we are the only ones in this situation.

 

I think that we will just forfeit the deposit (thank goodness it wasn't a huge amount) and see what happens with the cruise industry as a whole before booking anything.  Even if the pandemic was declared completely over by the end of the month I'm personally reluctant to get either on a plane or a ship at the moment.  Shame really as the itinerary appealed to us, but health is the more important factor right now.

[nosapphire]

Check your insurance. As the FCO advice is now indefinite, which gives you a valid reason to cancel, you may find that you can recover the deposit via your insurance.

[babs135]

We will certainly be having a word with our insurance company before the final balance is due and confirm exactly where we stand.  

 

Muddying the water is the fact that the 2021 cruise is actually cheaper (just checked) than the one we would be doing (or not) in October!!!!!

[Sancho_proudfoot]

On 4/13/2020 at 1:27 PM, nosapphire said:

Check your insurance. As the FCO advice is now indefinite, which gives you a valid reason to cancel, you may find that you can recover the deposit via your insurance.

I would be very careful about doing this. The insurance company may deem it as "disinclination to travel" which is NOT covered. I would wait until the cruise line tell you it's off.

[babs135]

31 minutes ago, Sancho_proudfoot said:

I would be very careful about doing this. The insurance company may deem it as "disinclination to travel" which is NOT covered. I would wait until the cruise line tell you it's off.

If we were to wait until Cunard cancelled the cruise we would have to pay the balance which is part of the dilemma.  As of this morning DH has announced he is not prepared to give any more money to the company as he doesn't want FCCs.  I hate the thought of it, but we could only be marginally better off this time next year; it all depends on whether a vaccine has been found and then manufactured to accommodate the whole world.  That's an awful lot of vaccine.  We also have to take into account our age 70+ and the cost of travel insurance.  I dread to think how much it will cost.  We may well find ourselves priced out of cruising 😔

[nosapphire]

If the vaccine is a live one, until it is in general use, nobody will know what side effects may happen. That alone makes me nervous.