Carnival Freedom Fire Reimbursement questions

[Gaprofitt]

 

Hi All,

 

   Had a question.  First and foremost I understand unforeseen circumstances regarding the fire.  I'm sitting in Orlando and Carnival simply emailed me that my cruise was cancelled. No offer to find me another cruise or suggest cruises that may have unbooked staterooms. Just boom, it's cancelled.  They did offer reimbursement back to my original payment method, which is unfortunately Carnival gift cards as well as credit for a future cruise. 

 

  Here is where I am.  I'm in Orlando, off work and my son wants to enjoy a vacation. Now that bill is on me as my cruise is cancelled.  Would it be unreasonable to ask Carnival to pay my lodging expenses for what would have been the length of the cruise?  Has anyone had success doing this?

[Elaine5715]

7 minutes ago, Gaprofitt said:

 

Hi All,

 

   Had a question.  First and foremost I understand unforeseen circumstances regarding the fire.  I'm sitting in Orlando and Carnival simply emailed me that my cruise was cancelled. No offer to find me another cruise or suggest cruises that may have unbooked staterooms. Just boom, it's cancelled.  They did offer reimbursement back to my original payment method, which is unfortunately Carnival gift cards as well as credit for a future cruise. 

 

  Here is where I am.  I'm in Orlando, off work and my son wants to enjoy a vacation. Now that bill is on me as my cruise is cancelled.  Would it be unreasonable to ask Carnival to pay my lodging expenses for what would have been the length of the cruise?  Has anyone had success doing this?

No one has had success doing anything other than what was offered,  Your travel insurance should reimburse you for other expenses

[firefly333]

14 minutes ago, Gaprofitt said:

 

Hi All,

 

   Had a question.  First and foremost I understand unforeseen circumstances regarding the fire.  I'm sitting in Orlando and Carnival simply emailed me that my cruise was cancelled. No offer to find me another cruise or suggest cruises that may have unbooked staterooms. Just boom, it's cancelled.  They did offer reimbursement back to my original payment method, which is unfortunately Carnival gift cards as well as credit for a future cruise. 

 

  Here is where I am.  I'm in Orlando, off work and my son wants to enjoy a vacation. Now that bill is on me as my cruise is cancelled.  Would it be unreasonable to ask Carnival to pay my lodging expenses for what would have been the length of the cruise?  Has anyone had success doing this?

Maybe get busy on carnivals website and see if there is another cruise being offered you can get to?

 

I'd be looking if it were me, unless you are happy just staying in orlando. 

[MJSailors]

You could look line for a last minute Carnival cruise leaving this weekend. Also consider other cruise lines leaving Port Canaveral,such as Royal Caribbean or Disney.

 

[Lane Hog]

Carnival is issuing a full cash refund.  That's what you use for your do-over vacation.  

If you don't have travel insurance, this is a good example of why you should.

[tallnthensome]

Carnival is not going to pay your lodging expenses for a week. File an insurance claim. You did buy travel insurance, right? 

[DGNewton]

7 hours ago, Gaprofitt said:

 

Hi All,

 

   Had a question.  First and foremost I understand unforeseen circumstances regarding the fire.  I'm sitting in Orlando and Carnival simply emailed me that my cruise was cancelled. No offer to find me another cruise or suggest cruises that may have unbooked staterooms. Just boom, it's cancelled.  They did offer reimbursement back to my original payment method, which is unfortunately Carnival gift cards as well as credit for a future cruise. 

 

  Here is where I am.  I'm in Orlando, off work and my son wants to enjoy a vacation. Now that bill is on me as my cruise is cancelled.  Would it be unreasonable to ask Carnival to pay my lodging expenses for what would have been the length of the cruise?  Has anyone had success doing this?

Your not serious I hope....that's what insurance is for....read the contract....

[Gaprofitt]

12 minutes ago, DGNewton said:

Your not serious I hope....that's what insurance is for....read the contract....

Insurance?  This is on Carnival.   They made no effort. That's the issue. 

[Yankeegirl49]

2 minutes ago, Gaprofitt said:

Insurance?  This is on Carnival.   They made no effort. That's the issue. 

They gave you your money back and a free cruise, they did all they needed to. This is literally the point of having insurance no matter who it's on or what effort was made. 

[ColeThornton]

10 minutes ago, Gaprofitt said:

Insurance?  This is on Carnival.   They made no effort. That's the issue. 

 

 

Exactly the point.   If you don't know what the cruise line will do for you then you fall back to your insurance where the reimbursement conditions are already clear in black and white.

[Gaprofitt]

6 minutes ago, Yankeegirl49 said:

They gave you your money back and a free cruise, they did all they needed to. This is literally the point of having insurance no matter who it's on or what effort was made. 

 

I called and got $700 OBC for our next cruise.  I'm happy now.  It's easy to just say they gave me a free cruise. This was an extremely low cost cruise.   You also are required to go within a year, which a lot of people can't do.  So it's useless. 

[2wheelin]

When you are fully reimbursed by Carnival why would insurance help? Insurance plans clearly state they cover non reimbursable expenses. They may help with flight changes—if Carnival had not extended the $200 or it does not cover it.

I am struggling right now with what insurance to get for a trip so am reading lots of policies. A question I have is what terms cover you if you need to extend a trip due to covid or flight cancelations. Is it interruption, delay, something else? The coverage limits are quite different for each of these and are not necessarily inclusive of all you expenses.

[Elaine5715]

37 minutes ago, 2wheelin said:

When you are fully reimbursed by Carnival why would insurance help? Insurance plans clearly state they cover non reimbursable expenses. They may help with flight changes—if Carnival had not extended the $200 or it does not cover it.

I am struggling right now with what insurance to get for a trip so am reading lots of policies. A question I have is what terms cover you if you need to extend a trip due to covid or flight cancelations. Is it interruption, delay, something else? The coverage limits are quite different for each of these and are not necessarily inclusive of all you expenses.

I think it is called "common carrier" cancellations when an airline cancels you (not you cancelling).  COVID issues are a completely separate add on.  You can pay extra for COVID coverage that would cover all expenses related to COVID cancellation and quarantine expenses.  

[Homosassa]

The Carnival Paradise, five night, departs Tampa May 30, still has cabins according to my TA's website.

[Megan_Strick]

3 hours ago, Gaprofitt said:

Insurance?  This is on Carnival.   They made no effort. That's the issue. 

If you read your cruise contract I'm sure it is covered somewhere about cancelling cruises and they not be liable.

[BallFour4]

3 hours ago, Gaprofitt said:

Insurance?  This is on Carnival. They made no effort. That's the issue. 

 I get your frustration. It's akin to a Kübler-Ross response. And in reply to your post several have said the Carnival Cruise Contract you and all of us that sail in the shadow of a funnel agree to is referenced. That document was written by a legal team well versed in maritime events, things that go astray, Murphys' Law, etc. I'd be  in the anger phase as well.
 

 The bottom line is Carnival has limited their liability and offered compensation. I haven't seen them flex in 46 years of cruising. I posted the link and relevant paragraph below.

 

I wish you and your family well on your new vacation plans. If you were stuck in Galveston I'd come get your family, we're grilling burgers and chicken and enjoying the pool this evening. Sometimes it's time to paint your bottom white and run with the antelope. Come on, food's hot, drinks are cold.

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract.aspx

 

Carnival has the right without previous notice to cancel this contract at the port of embarkation or any time during the voyage and shall thereupon return to the Guest, if the Contract is completely canceled, his Cruise Fare, or, if the Contract is partially canceled, a proportionate part thereof. Under such circumstances, Carnival shall have no further liability for damages or compensation of any kind. In the event a voyage is terminated early due to mechanical failure of the Vessel, Guest is also entitled to transportation to the Vessel’s scheduled port of disembarkation or Guest’s home city, at Carnival’s discretion and expense, as well as necessary lodging at the unscheduled port of disembarkation, if required, at Carnival’s expense.

.
 

Edited May 27, 2022 by BallFour4

[Virga]

If he HAD booked standard travel insurance, what exactly would have been covered?  In my - admittedly very limited - experience with using trip insurance, policies are similarly restricted to the cost you paid, not the value of what you had booked.  If the carrier provides you that 'full' refund, what exactly does the trip insurance cover?  

 

I guess my question is, say I'm convinced and want to purchase the kind of policy that will make sure I still get to have a $2000 vacation if the '$500' cruise I booked during mid-plague-promotions is cancelled abruptly - what kind of policy coverage am I looking for?  What kind of insurance covers the VALUE of a trip, not the cost paid?

[cruisingguy007]

3 hours ago, Yankeegirl49 said:

They gave you your money back and a free cruise, they did all they needed to. This is literally the point of having insurance no matter who it's on or what effort was made. 

 

This! Some folks got some nerve. Sheesh. 

[cruisingguy007]

7 minutes ago, Virga said:

If he HAD booked standard travel insurance, what exactly would have been covered?  In my - admittedly very limited - experience with using trip insurance, policies are similarly restricted to the cost you paid, not the value of what you had booked.  If the carrier provides you that 'full' refund, what exactly does the trip insurance cover?  

 

I guess my question is, say I'm convinced and want to purchase the kind of policy that will make sure I still get to have a $2000 vacation if the '$500' cruise I booked during mid-plague-promotions is cancelled abruptly - what kind of policy coverage am I looking for?  What kind of insurance covers the VALUE of a trip, not the cost paid?

 

None, the point of insurance isn't to profit off of it or to guarantee you a higher value vacation, it's to make you whole, cover you in emergencies/medical and help cover things like your car breaking down on the way, flights cancelled, luggage lost etc. Yes, you are limited to what you paid to cover a trip but the medical benefits/coverage is why most get it (myself included). You can add riders for addition coverage with some policies,  but you'd pay a lot more for it and I'm not aware of any that will let you declare something is of higher value than you paid unless specifically declared in the policy.  

[Virga]

10 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

None, the point of insurance isn't to profit off of it or to guarantee you a higher value vacation, it's to make you whole, cover you in emergencies/medical and help cover things like your car breaking down on the way, flights cancelled, luggage lost etc. Yes, you are limited to what you paid to cover a trip but the medical benefits/coverage is why most get it (myself included). You can add riders for addition coverage with some policies,  but you'd pay a lot more for it and I'm not aware of any that will let you declare something is of higher value than you paid unless specifically declared in the policy.  

 

Then why are we giving him a hard time about insurance and telling him that's what insurance was for?  To my knowledge, no standard insurance policy would have put him up in Florida at current last minute rates for the length of his cruise, they'd have said that Carnival's refund made him whole there, covered the cost of his flight change fees and told him to go home, right? 

 

Edit: I do agree that everyone should get insurance - we keep an annual policy for medical/evac as well as high-end credit cards for things like delays and baggage loss.  I just don't think insurance would have really come into play here in any way that would have salvaged his vacation.  Carnival's original offer covered nearly all the costs insurance would normally protect.  Telling him that Carnival won't cover his lodging and he should instead file an insurance claim is misleading - insurance wouldn't pay for an Orlando vacation instead either.  If there is the kind of policy that would cover that, I would definitely be interested in looking into it to see if it's something that makes sense for us.  

Edited May 27, 2022 by Virga

[cruisingguy007]

28 minutes ago, Virga said:

 

Then why are we giving him a hard time about insurance and telling him that's what insurance was for?  To my knowledge, no standard insurance policy would have put him up in Florida at current last minute rates for the length of his cruise, they'd have said that Carnival's refund made him whole there, covered the cost of his flight change fees and told him to go home, right? 

 

That's how the world works. What's the problem? 

[blueskadoo]

MSc is hanging out in port Canaveral and often  will have great deals last minute, and they are sailing pretty empty lately. Probably a lot cheaper than Orlando over a holiday weekend. 

[fuddrules]

8 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Carnival is not going to pay your lodging expenses for a week. File an insurance claim. You did buy travel insurance, right? 

 

I self insure.  Same with auto beyond state requirements.  Same with life.

[Cricket98]

Excellent time to remember Carnival is not a personal friend…they are a big corporation and do what’s best for their bottom line.  They don’t care about you, your family, your ruined holiday plans, wasted vacation days, or how much money you’ve spent on hotels or other expenses. 
 
 

 

[volk904]

Carnival has several cruises out of Port C and Miami between the 28th and 30th. Call them and use your credit to rebook or use the cash credit to book on Royal Caribbean who also has cruises.