Missed port

[Vampiress88]

Any idea what we are supposed to do when we miss a port? 
captain has said we aren’t doing lanzarote due to high winds and iona can’t handle which is annoying so is it claim on the insurance? Or do they give us on board credit etc? 
pity it was there as I really wanted to go. Wish it had been Cadiz or Lisbon instead 

[sandancer]

We missed Bermuda this year (not a P&O ship) and our insurance paid £150 each. Nothing from the cruise line. 

[pete14]

You will be able to claim on the missed port part of your cruise cover insurance, but only if your policy includes missed port cover. You will need a copy of the letter that they will make available onboard to support your claim. 

[SarahHben]

You need to go to reception on ship and ask for a missed port letter. 

[Vampiress88]

So my insurance will pay £150 per person per port but seems I have silver cover which is £100 per person excess. 
 

so £200 in total for four of us. Better than nowt I suppose

[Vampiress88]

Do you think this letter will be good enough?

[galeforce9]

Normally the excess doesn’t apply to missed port compensation.   Mine doesn’t.  I missed three ports on a Seabourn med cruise Oct 18 when there was a Mediterranean hurricane.  A nice little payback for the two of us 

[Valfan]

I've lost count of how many ports P&O have missed out on all my cruises over the years, but it's a lot. I never bothered about it. But now that P&O are insisting on cruise specific travel insurance I am entitled to payment for missed ports. And, as stated above, there is no excess to be paid for missed ports. So that will be a nice little earner.

[sandancer]

No excess on our policy. £300 was the full payment. I suppose it depends on your insurance provider

[9265359]

12 hours ago, Valfan said:

But now that P&O are insisting on cruise specific travel insurance

 

They don't.

 

They just require travel insurance that doesn't exclude cruises, which is different from travel insurance specifically for cruises.

[kruzseeka]

7 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

They don't.

 

They just require travel insurance that doesn't exclude cruises, which is different from travel insurance specifically for cruises.

And with standard travel insurance, cruise cover, if available, will be generally be an up-grade i.e. an extra cost.  

 

I wonder how many people are cruising with insurance perhaps not realising cruise cover (cabin confinement, missed ports) isn't necessarily a given.  We tend to be more aware because we read the forum but we have friends who use the same travel insurers as us but until very recently they hadn't bothered with the additional cruise cover - our experience of being confined to cabin on our last cruise and getting a payout certainly opened their eyes.  They have bought it now! 

[cheshire]

Iona had a number of missed ports in the Norwegian series this summer.  Are these huge ships not suited to cruising to some destinations at certain times of the year? 

[9265359]

21 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

I wonder how many people are cruising with insurance perhaps not realising cruise cover (cabin confinement, missed ports) isn't necessarily a given.  We tend to be more aware because we read the forum but we have friends who use the same travel insurers as us but until very recently they hadn't bothered with the additional cruise cover - our experience of being confined to cabin on our last cruise and getting a payout certainly opened their eyes.  They have bought it now! 

 

Depends on how you weigh up the risk and whether it is worth the cost of the additional insurance.

 

Some people will insure for anything and everything no matter how trivial the impact (e.g. people insuring household appliances) because they are risk averse, others will 'self-insure' and take things as they go and if things go bad think 'hey ho' but remember about how much has been saved over the previous years.

[kruzseeka]

12 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Depends on how you weigh up the risk and whether it is worth the cost of the additional insurance.

 

Some people will insure for anything and everything no matter how trivial the impact (e.g. people insuring household appliances) because they are risk averse, others will 'self-insure' and take things as they go and if things go bad think 'hey ho' but remember about how much has been saved over the previous years.

True - but our-pay out this year was 40x the premium for two of us.  Of course we could have not bothered with the extra cover but it has gone half way towards paying for our next cruise and hopefully will allow us to visit the ports we missed this year.  

But as you say, personal choice. 

My concern though is that people who may wish to take advantage of this additional level of cover but are unaware that the standard travel insurance may not be providing it.  And they, therefore, are not in a position to make an informed choice. 

[arlowood]

OP has 2 young children with her so I'm guessing there would be more entertainment options available ashore in Lanzarote ( Lido's, beaches, water parks etc) than Cadiz.  Maybe that's why she's apparently a bit miffed about the missed port.

[Gettingwarmer]

Deleted 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Gettingwarmer

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, cheshire said:

Iona had a number of missed ports in the Norwegian series this summer.  Are these huge ships not suited to cruising to some destinations at certain times of the year? 

Iona is certainly not suitable for the Ffijords. Why P&O keep it there is a mystery as they have missed a number of ports this year and will do so again.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, arlowood said:

OP has 2 young children with her so I'm guessing there would be more entertainment options available ashore in Lanzarote ( Lido's, beaches, water parks etc) than Cadiz.  Maybe that's why she's apparently a bit miffed about the missed port.

I would guess the kids don't get to go up a volcano very often and will probably love the Island. When I grow up I may tire of places like that, but I'm only 73.

[bbtablet]

20 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

Do you think this letter will be good enough?

Yes, that's the one.

 

This one worked for us when we forgot to get the letter issued on board and had to ask P&O for a letter after we had returned :

Booking reference:    Dear .............   Further to your recent request, please find the following information to assist you with your travel insurance claim. This serves to confirm that on 11 November 2020, Mr and Mrs .........  booked on Aurora R209, to sail with P&O Cruises, which sailed from Southampton 8 July 2022. Your confirmation invoice issued to you at the time of booking should serve as costing for this holiday for your insurance claim. During the cruise, due to adverse weather conditions, Aurora’s call to Visby on 15 July 2022 was cancelled and the ship remained at sea.  However, to ensure that guests were able to enjoy time ashore, Tallinn, Estonia, was added to the itinerary and the port of call was successfully achieved on 16 July 2022.   I can confirm that no refunds or compensation have been given by P&O Cruises in light of this amendment. I trust this information is suitable for your claim, should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us. Yours sincerely Guest Support Department P&O Cruises             P&O Cruises is a trading name of Carnival plc, a company incorporated in England with company number 04039524 and with registered office at Carnival House, 100 Harbour Parade, Southampton SO15 1ST. VAT reg no: GB 761 4300 58. ATOL 6294 ABTA V8764.

Edited November 18, 2022 by bbtablet

[bbtablet]

The insurer will still pay even if another port was substituted. 

They will not pay if you received some compensation - e.g. on board credit - from P&O.

 

I notice the letter Vampiress88 shows does not refer to compensation, but if some were being paid it would surely say so on the letter to further "sweeten the pill", so I would expect most if not all insurance companies to accept Vampiress88's example without further query - i.e. the issued on board type.

[9265359]

7 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

True - but our-pay out this year was 40x the premium for two of us.  Of course we could have not bothered with the extra cover but it has gone half way towards paying for our next cruise and hopefully will allow us to visit the ports we missed this year.  

And in a dozen years of cruises, I have never had a missed port, so all those premiums would have been wasted!

 

7 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

But as you say, personal choice. 

Of course.

 

7 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

My concern though is that people who may wish to take advantage of this additional level of cover but are unaware that the standard travel insurance may not be providing it.  And they, therefore, are not in a position to make an informed choice. 

 

An informed position is a good position.

[Ardennais]

I think we’ve only missed two in a dozen years too - Casablanca and Le Havre. 

[Snow Hill]

15 hours ago, Ardennais said:

I think we’ve only missed two in a dozen years too - Casablanca and Le Havre. 

We have missed 5, Lisbon, San Sebastián de La Gomera, Ravenna and Amsterdam twice. 
 

Ravenna was missed due to a delay in getting into Venice due to very thick fog, so there was an overnight stay in Venice slotted in its place and a late afternoon departure. 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Snow Hill

[zap99]

27 minutes ago, Mim Lloyd said:

I haven't booked a cruise going to the Canaries and I wouldn't! I've been to all the Canary islands so I've had plenty of opportunity to make an informed opinion that they're just not pleasant places to visit.

As you say, your opinion. Vamps and her family were quite looking  forward to visiting Lanzarote.  Our opinion  is that they are very pleasant places to visit, but each to their own.

[terrierjohn]

Just now, zap99 said:

As you say, your opinion. Vamps and her family were quite looking  forward to visiting Lanzarote.  Our opinion  is that they are very pleasant places to visit, but each to their own.

There are far worse places to visit than the canary islands, the only problem I have with Lanzarote, is that the shuttle now drops you off in the marina complex, leaving you with twice the distance from the ship into the town centre than used to be the case.