Celebrity No Refund Virus

[Forecheck]

If you purchase Celebrity Cruise Care Insurance before your sailing and decide to cancel - is the Cancel for any reason option still available ? Can you purchase this anytime prior to Sailing?

 

With the CruiseCare® Cancellation Penalty Waiver (non-insurance feature provided by Celebrity Cruises^®), if you need to cancel your cruise, Celebrity Cruises^® will waive the non-refundable cancellation provision of your cruise ticket contract and pay in cash the value of the unused portion of your prepaid cruise vacation in the event you or your travel companion need to cancel your cruise vacation (for specified reasons). Also, if you or your travel companion need to cancel for "any other reason," you may be eligible for Cruise Credits (up to 75% of the non-refundable, prepaid cruise vacation cost). Guests must cancel their cruise prior to departure and must request a refund through the program administrator to be eligible for cash reimbursement or future cruise credits, as applicable. Credits expire one year after the issue date, are nontransferable, and are not applicable to holiday or inaugural sailings. Credits have no cash value and, if applied to a booking of lesser value, will not result in a cash refund of any difference. Credits may not be used for deposits, only final payment, and can be used only on the cruise brand originally booked. Only original copies of credit letters will be accepted; copies or altered letters may not be used.

 

UPDATE:

 

Called Celeb - this is not available after final payment - 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Forecheck
update

[sr4mjc]

Really dumb question maybe, but if the Japan to Vancouver cruise is cancelled,  how will that effect the Alaska cruises in May ? Or is the ship sailing over with crew only?

[Baron Barracuda]

Who is your air with?  Some airlines are allowing cancel without penalty on Asia flights.

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-airlines-are-waiving-flight-change-fees-because-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak-2020-03-03

[sanger727]

14 minutes ago, sr4mjc said:

Really dumb question maybe, but if the Japan to Vancouver cruise is cancelled,  how will that effect the Alaska cruises in May ? Or is the ship sailing over with crew only?

 

My first thought upon reading this is that they may be trying to bring the ship back early. I believe some of the Asian cruise ships have been redeployed for pacific coast cruises until Alaska season starts. I would expect Alaska to continue as planned.

[Hllb]

4 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Travel Insurance will cover this epidemic "IF" one purchased insurance before 20 January 2020, this is per a few travel insurance professionals.

 

bon voyage

 

Not true.  Some policies would cover it, but most have always excluded it, mine included. I purchased mine in November and it's excluded.

[Hllb]

6 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

I’m aware of that. It Celebrity themselves cancels the cruise, good travel insurance policies will cover losses like hotels and such . A person just wanting to cancel their cruise for themselves over virus fears is a different issue. 

 

I'm hoping that's true, but Allianz posted an update on their site that makes it sound like they wouldn't cover anything, even indirectly related to the epidemic. So, if the cruise was canceled due to the epidemic, you're out of luck.  I emailed them asking this very question and after a week, still no response.

[davekathy]

11 hours ago, James E H said:

would advise those who are planning a cruise to avoid Celebrity.

Very poor advise. We would never book or not book a cruise line, ship or itinerary based on someones positive or negative experiences or opinions. 

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, Hllb said:

 

Not true.  Some policies would cover it, but most have always excluded it, mine included. I purchased mine in November and it's excluded.

So you are saying that when you purchased your policy it was a 'known' epidemic and at that point, excluded?

 

Your insurance company has a great crystal ball, to be sure AND is taking good advantage of its' purchasers.

 

No way, personally, I would use them again, to be sure, grandfathering coverage based on a future event not even contemplated at the time of issuance.

 

Maybe you will want to check with them on your specific coverage and timing in this instance, to be sure.

 

bon voyage

Edited March 3, 2020 by Bo1953

[Hllb]

Just now, Bo1953 said:

So you are saying that when you purchased your policy it was a 'known' epidemic and at that point, excluded?

 

Your insurance company has a great crystal ball, to be sure AND

No, I'm saying that many, if not most policies, have a standard exclusion for epidemics and travel advisories.

 

Actual wording in the exclusion section: "an epidemic" and "Acts, travel alerts/bulletins, or prohibitions by any government or public authority;"

 

These are present in many policies, though obviously not all.

[Bo1953]

3 minutes ago, Hllb said:

No, I'm saying that many, if not most policies, have a standard exclusion for epidemics and travel advisories.

 

Actual wording in the exclusion section: "an epidemic" and "Acts, travel alerts/bulletins, or prohibitions by any government or public authority;"

 

These are present in many policies, though obviously not all.

Okay, I did the homework for those who did or have not gone to read, it was quick and easy.... directly from Allianz's website:

 

"In addition, for customers booking trips to China and other impacted areas, the Coronavirus became a known event on January 22, 2020. Travel protection plans generally exclude losses caused by events that were known or foreseeable at the time the plan is purchased.  Customers who purchased their plan prior to January 22, 2020 may still have coverage for a covered loss for a trip booked to China or other impacted areas."

 

There are a few paragraphs before and after this, but this one re-states my posit.

 

As such, one needs to review their policy on this and to be sure, if your policy was purchased before the cutoff date, it will be covered.

 

bon voyage

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Bo1953

[cruise kitty]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here,  I've noticed on quite a few of the  threads related to Covid-19 that people are piling on with cries of "that's what insurance is for"  Unfortunately many policies exclude this type of situation.   We have Insurance for our upcoming Alaska (ends in Seattle, we have a 4 night stay there before flying home)  From what I can read in our pouchy, we'd be excluded if Seattle ends up on a warning list. (& that's a very big if, I don't want to be a fear monger)

 

Right now I'm 99% hopeful that no changes will be necessary, but as we've seen in the last few weeks, the situation is very fluid,   Our flights are through Celebrity, so I feel protected there, but I'm wondering if our cruise is going to become a RT to Vancouver instead.  

[Hllb]

12 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Okay, I did the homework for those who did or have not gone to read, it was quick and easy.... directly from Allianz's website:

 

"In addition, for customers booking trips to China and other impacted areas, the Coronavirus became a known event on January 22, 2020. Travel protection plans generally exclude losses caused by events that were known or foreseeable at the time the plan is purchased.  Customers who purchased their plan prior to January 22, 2020 may still have coverage for a covered loss for a trip booked to China or other impacted areas."

 

There are a few paragraphs before and after this, but this one re-states my posit.

 

As such, one needs to review their policy on this and to be sure, if your policy was purchased before the cutoff date, it will be covered.

 

bon voyage

 

You seemed to have missed the very first paragraph of that posting:

"As of February 3, 2020, both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have recognized 2019 Novel Coronavirus as an Epidemic.  Many travel protection plans exclude losses caused directly or indirectly by an Epidemic.  Please refer to your plan to learn whether this exclusion applies to you.  Customers whose plan includes the Epidemic exclusion may still have coverage for a covered loss occurring on or prior to February 3, 2020."

[MamaFej]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

 

My first thought upon reading this is that they may be trying to bring the ship back early. I believe some of the Asian cruise ships have been redeployed for pacific coast cruises until Alaska season starts. I would expect Alaska to continue as planned.

Yes. The Millennium is coming to the West Coast of North America. There are four free 2-day cruises for military and first responders (we we able to get in on this deal), revenue fund-raiser cruises benefitting first responder organizations (we are doing one of these as well), and regular revenue cruises (yup, got one of those, too). 

 

The prices on the revenue cruises have been quite attractive, and we appreciate Celebrity supporting military and first responder personnel (including retired). RCCL are doing similar in Australia with another ship relocated from Asia.

[JBare]

11 hours ago, James E H said:

My prepaid non-changeable and non-refundable hotels and airfare cost would only be reimbursed up to a maximum amount of $300 upon submittal of the cancellation receipts.

 

To add insult to injury, the email stated that I would be receiving a $300 voucher for a future cruise with Celebrity. I would like to tell them what they can do with there voucher only my complaint on this board might not be posted.

 

 I will never book a Cruise with Celebrity again and would advise those who are planning a cruise to avoid Celebrity.

 

I would advise you consider booking your air fares in future with Celebrity, then you would get back more than the $300 they're not really obliged to give you.

[Bo1953]

8 minutes ago, Hllb said:

You seemed to have missed the very first paragraph of that posting:

"As of February 3, 2020, both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have recognized 2019 Novel Coronavirus as an Epidemic.  Many travel protection plans exclude losses caused directly or indirectly by an Epidemic.  Please refer to your plan to learn whether this exclusion applies to you.  Customers whose plan includes the Epidemic exclusion may still have coverage for a covered loss occurring on or prior to February 3, 2020."

No, I did not, the first paragraph just set the timeline for the following paragraph which specifically states when coverage will be declined, when a policy is purchased anytime after 22 January 2020 when the novel virus became a 'known' event/epidemic.

 

That is what insurance is for 'unknown events' at time of purchase.

 

Otherwise what is the need for the policy?

 

Yet, if you choose to believe/think otherwise and advise individuals accordingly, that is fine. Check with your insurance professional to be sure, everyone! The written statements from the insurance company are clear to me, and a few others about what is covered in relation to this and when it is not.

 

bon voyage

 

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Bo1953

[llawrence]

Insurance is a good idea....but is doesn’t always cover what we expect.   Celebrity needs to understand today’s situation and give unsettled cruisers a reasonable option.   Who wants to cruise if you are concerned or worried about the current situation.  No cruise line can guarantee our safety.  I don’t think anyone of us can say we haven’t been in contact with someone that may carry the virus ( with the current information we have).  Giving people options is know as creating good will....

[Hllb]

3 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

No, I did not, the first paragraph just set the timeline for the following paragraph which specifically states when coverage will be declined, when a policy is purchased anytime after 22 January 2020 when the novel virus became a 'known' event/epidemic.

 

That is what insurance is for 'unknown events' at time of purchase.

 

Otherwise what is the need for the policy?

 

Yet, if you choose to believe/think otherwise and advise individuals accordingly, that is fine. Check with your insurance professional to be sure, everyone! The written statements from the insurance company are clear to me, and a few others about what is covered in relation to this and when it is not.

 

bon voyage

 

 

 

The items listed in the covered section are why you buy the policy (job loss, illness, terrorism, etc.).  I do disagree with your interpretation.  I too think their statement is very clear - if your policy states it excludes epidemics (it does NOT say known epidemics), then you are not covered here, even if the epidemic was an indirect cause. My policy very clearly excludes epidemics and travel advisories from being a covered event. I did not say this will be the same for everyone, but I advised them that they should not count on their insurance.  Please read your policy and contact your insurer.  I have contacted mine, but not gotten a response yet.  I give it a small possibility that I would be covered in the event of a cruise cancellation, but no chance an 'epidemic' by itself is covered.

[JBare]

12 hours ago, James E H said:

 My prepaid non-changeable and non-refundable hotels and airfare cost would only be reimbursed up to a maximum amount of $300 upon submittal of the cancellation receipts.

 

 To add insult to injury, the email stated that I would be receiving a $300 voucher for a future cruise with Celebrity.

 

I will never book a Cruise with Celebrity again and would advise those who are planning a cruise to avoid Celebrity.

 

And I would advise you consider booking your air fares in future with Celebrity, then you would get back more than the $300 they're not really obliged to give you.

[JEDMELK]

So, I went back and read the OP's post in this thread and in the other thread he started with the same topic.
One thing that I noticed is that he says he booked this cruise in the US but is now in Europe. NOTE, he did not say that he was "LIVING in the US" when booked. My point is, he may have decided to book while in the US for a previous trip (cruise, vacation, business or whatever) so that he could take advantage of the differences in refundable vs non-refundable  options that also exist between booking in the US or in the UK. 

This may have saved quite a bit of money just as booking non-refundable hotels can save and I can understand wanting to do that. So, this all may be the result of finding a way to navigate the system for one's benefit but then complaining when the plan blows up.  Just a wild thought I wanted to share.

Happy Cruising to All

Jed

[jp45atcc]

How does an open ticket work?

While Singapore Airlines  will not refund a flight I was unable to take because of Celebrity's rerouting of the Constellation, it does offer an open ticket.  I have no idea how it works.  Must the "open" ticket also originate in Singapore, or does it apply anywhere Singapore flies?  Is it "spent" to full value, or just the original route?  A ticket originating in Singapore would be of no use to me, yet I don't want to lose the money.  I've gone through this with several Singapore Airlines reps, but they say their guidelines simply states that an open ticket is offered. Trying to straighten this out has been a nightmare.

[Nachosdelux]

1 hour ago, jp45atcc said:

How does an open ticket work?

While Singapore Airlines  will not refund a flight I was unable to take because of Celebrity's rerouting of the Constellation, it does offer an open ticket.  I have no idea how it works.  Must the "open" ticket also originate in Singapore, or does it apply anywhere Singapore flies?  Is it "spent" to full value, or just the original route?  A ticket originating in Singapore would be of no use to me, yet I don't want to lose the money.  I've gone through this with several Singapore Airlines reps, but they say their guidelines simply states that an open ticket is offered. Trying to straighten this out has been a nightmare.

 

I doubt anyone here can give you an accurate answer, especially if Singapore agents are unable to offer one.

 

What I would recommend is to book (by phone) a dummy booking, an itinerary that you would perhaps use, and see if the voucher can be applied to the ticket.  Then do not complete the transaction.  That could give you some idea of the flexibility of the voucher.

 

Frankly it is ridiculous that Singapore agents cannot tell you the terms and conditions.  Maybe in a couple of weeks they will have better guidance.

[hcat]

Simple question:

 If Celebrity cancels my cruise after final payment has been made, do we get a full refund?

 

  No airfare or hotel involved

[CruiserMickey]

5 minutes ago, hcat said:

Simple question:

 If Celebrity cancels my cruise after final payment has been made, do we get a full refund?

 

  No airfare or hotel involved

 

Yes...that is what my Celebrity Vacation Planner told me yesterday when I called about final payment.

[cruiserchuck]

8 minutes ago, hcat said:

Simple question:

 If Celebrity cancels my cruise after final payment has been made, do we get a full refund?

 

  No airfare or hotel involved

 

They did give a full refund for the Asia cruises that were recently cancelled.  

Edited March 4, 2020 by cruiserchuck

[hcat]

Thanks for the replies..that's what I surmised.  Glad we picked something close to home...great Summit itin from Port Liberty ( Bayonne).. Newport, Bermuda Charleayon