Covid refund

[weregoingcruising]

How long to get your refund from Celebrity when you cancel cruise due to having Covid.

[sdnich]

We got Covid on our Sept cruise and It took 2 1/2 months . We had a 2024 cruise to South America cruise and they canceled our second half of our B2B that was bringing us back to LA. So we decided to cancel the first leg and we are still waiting for the refund.Almost 3 months $1100 !! 

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

I've seen some as quickly as 3 weeks and some as long as 7 months.

[Lastdance]

I found that it really helps to call Celebrity, as I did that initially to get the ball rolling and had my refund within a month, after my call.

[weregoingcruising]

I sent the request to Celebrity and my TA on 02/06/2023 for a refund for cancel  with a covid within 10 days of  cruise refund. I received the refund 02/21/2023. I consider that excellent service fro Celebrity and my TA.

[zitsky]

It was less than a month for us.  A very good experience.

[soycapitan]

I just booked our 16 night South American Voyage on the Eclipse. I am new to the forum and to cruising and would like to know if the refund came directly from Celebrity or through some Tavel Insurance? I am trying to decide if I should get travel insurance or not since we already have SkyMed for emergency evacuations and our medical insurance has worldwide coverage.

Thank you, for your input

[zitsky]

20 minutes ago, soycapitan said:

I just booked our 16 night South American Voyage on the Eclipse. I am new to the forum and to cruising and would like to know if the refund came directly from Celebrity or through some Tavel Insurance? I am trying to decide if I should get travel insurance or not since we already have SkyMed for emergency evacuations and our medical insurance has worldwide coverage.

Thank you, for your input

Do not count on Celebrity to fix all problems.  I mean that nicely.  Anything could change over night.

 

Even though Celebrity DID give me a full refund, I still choose to have trip insurance.  Just in case I am kidnapped by pirates……

[alcpa1]

Soycapitan,

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Check out the Insurance forum. It has a wealth of information.

Independently booked travel insurance covers more than evacuation and medical needs. 

As a first time cruiser be sure to arrive at least a day prior to sailing. 

Check out flights via Celebrity and compare those rates to flights you can book. You will have more control of the air portion if you book yourselves. 

Scroll down the main page to Roll Call and find your ship and sailing date. The Roll Call is the best way to plan your shipboard experience and excursions.

Feel free to come back and ask as many questions as you want. There will always be someone to help.

[soycapitan]

zitsky, did you get K&R ins.? 😂😂 But seriously, it could happen. The thing is I've read tons of reviews on travel insurance and haven't found many that mention being reimbursed in a timely manner for their "covered" expenses. Most of them tell tales of complete frustration of the ability to even file a claim or being able to contact their adjuster, or they speak of how easy it was to file the claim online or speak to a compassionate employee. In both cases the end result is a common theme of, I am still waiting to hear back from or get my reimbursement from the insurance company.

A lot of reviews ending in "but I am still waiting!"

I was inspired by your glorious account of victory! Good on ya! 

 

May I inquire as to the T.I. you purchased? or is it the Kidnap & Ransom coverage you have?😁

[islabahia]

We buy our insurance through Allianze.  We had to file a claim for a missed trip to Vegas and once I submitted all of the requested documentation we received our refund with 21 days.

[zitsky]

5 hours ago, soycapitan said:

zitsky, did you get K&R ins.? 😂😂 But seriously, it could happen. The thing is I've read tons of reviews on travel insurance and haven't found many that mention being reimbursed in a timely manner for their "covered" expenses. Most of them tell tales of complete frustration of the ability to even file a claim or being able to contact their adjuster, or they speak of how easy it was to file the claim online or speak to a compassionate employee. In both cases the end result is a common theme of, I am still waiting to hear back from or get my reimbursement from the insurance company.

A lot of reviews ending in "but I am still waiting!"

I was inspired by your glorious account of victory! Good on ya! 

 

May I inquire as to the T.I. you purchased? or is it the Kidnap & Ransom coverage you have?😁

The insurance forum will help you.  I’ve never filed a claim.  But I buy it anyway.  Two good websites for quotes are InsureMyTrip.com and Tripinsurancestore.com.

[miched]

We were told it would be automatic and that we wouldn’t need to do anything.   After waiting 1 month I called Celebrity to find out the status.  There was nothing on file .  It was as if it was out of sight out of mind.  I told them our situation and was told it would be looked into.   

 

I received a call back but missed it.   I made many calls and also received call back calls from them telling  me what documentation I need to submit. .  After  many more calls to Celebrity and being on hold for hours and talking to different departments I was finally told that since it was thru a TA they would have to make the submission.  
 

Called my TA and had to submit the documents to them.  2 weeks later we received our refund.

 

Keep a journal of the calls you make listing the time, date and who you talked to.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[soycapitan]

Thanks to all for the valuable information.

Miched, was your refund because you got Covid? Did your refund come from travel ins. or was it just the cruise line that reimbursed you?

[miched]

1 hour ago, soycapitan said:

Thanks to all for the valuable information.

Miched, was your refund because you got Covid? Did your refund come from travel ins. or was it just the cruise line that reimbursed you?

We did a self test when on board because we were feeling a little different and had the tests.   They showed positive.  We never took those test before and we weren’t sure If we did them right.   We wanted to know if we had Covid as we didn’t want to expose others if we did.  We called medical and they told us to come down.  We went there and were treated as If we shouldn’t be there.   We told them why we were there and they acted as if they didn’t know what to do.    We sat there and eventually someone came out and gave us a test and told us to go back to our cabin and wait for the results.  We did as instructed.   About 2 hours later we got a call that we tested positive and would have to be confined to our cabin for 5 days.  After that If tested negative we were free to go.    
 

We didn’t have insurance thru Celebrity.  We have a policy thru a 3rd  party to cover medical.   I don’t feel the need to insure the cost of the cruise as that is money spent.   I don’t want the medical catastrophe expenses.  Our refund came from Celebrity pro rated for the days in isolation. 

Celebrity was very fair and accommodating.  We have no complaints except they should have told us that the TA had to apply for the refund. 
 

We are tired of room service.   We were in a suite and learned a lot about room service.   If you don’t order it you don’t get it.   Ex order Celebrity burger and fries and that is what you get.   No condiments.   Nothing on the burger.  

 

Most of the stuff arrived cold.  It was because of the distance from the restaurant to the cabin.  
 

Medical checked up every day but didn’t provide anything.   We actually felt like we had a cold.  We probably could have ignored our tests but morally we didn’t want to be responsible for Infecting others by ruining their cruise or possible death.   The crew  knew what we did and were grateful that we that we did.   When we came out of isolation they all recognized us and thanked us for our concern about their health and safety. They said that they know many don’t do what we did.   We did the right thing and would do it again.   I don’t want to be responsible to jeopardize the health and safety of others.😒
 

As a side note we heard that Felix a server we had many times in Blu died from Covid.   I would have a very hard time knowing that I was cause of anyone dying because I was selfish and wanted to “enjoy” the cruise I paid for.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by miched

[bigbeergut]

Unfortunately, I've had to cancel a couple of cruises and shore excursions, specialty restaurants, internet upgrades, hotel costs, etc., do to Covid.  Here's my rule of thumb.  If you don't get the refund in 10 days it likely isn't going to happen and you need to call and bug them.  Several times the refunds have come seamlessly and others have required several phone calls.  I received the final portion of my refund in January for a cruise I cancelled in the beginning of October.    Each cruise is handled separately.  Good Luck.

[bigbeergut]

Welcome Soy.  I've had to cancel several cruises in the last year, some due to medical issues and some due to Covid.  I have always used the Celebrity insurance to cover the cost of the cruise and GeoBlue for Medical coverage.  The Celebrity insurance is relatively inexpensive way to insure the cost of the cruise that is effectively cancel for any reason coverage if you are happy with cruise credits and the cost is independent of age.  I have also cancelled due to medical reasons and received a cash refund quickly.  All Covid refunds have come directly from Celebrity.  The medical and evacuation coverage is a little light with the Celebrity insurance and I supplement that coverage with GeoBlue.  As others have stated, I wouldn't count on Celebrity for any future refunds because things can change quickly.

 

Good Luck