Help! Daughter had stroke but Cruise NOT Refunded? WHY?

[nelblu]

19 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They will need a letter from Royal for the insurance company and Royal can't provide the letter as she was technically not cancelled.  

Maybe I'm missing something, but this was a medical event and since the Op is talking about getting the refund for the affected individual (daughter) wouldn't a letter from the medical professional necessitated to get the proper claim refund from the insurance company.

Edited July 17 by nelblu

[Ken at the beach]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but this was a medical event and since the Op is talking about getting the refund for the affected individual (daughter) wouldn't a letter from the medical professional necessitated to get the proper claim refund from the insurance company.

You need a letter from tje cruise line showing yhe cancellation penalty. 

[CruisingWalter]

On 7/15/2024 at 5:25 PM, Papau Krikac said:

Hey All:

 

Sure can use some help. We returned from our 15th Criuse, this time on Wonder of the Seas. Had a blast and took 8 of us, 4 grand kids, son, daughter in love and us grandparents. Unfortunately my daughter had a stroke two weeks before we left and the doctors forbid her from going. She has special needs. We finally got over the bummer and disappointment and after flying my sister our from California to have camp in our home, we got some rest we desperately needed. Here is the major bummer-we purchased cruise insurance and after sending all the required paperwork to RCCL they denied refunding my daughters cruise monies. How is this possible? It was so clugie when they explained that they moved people frpm room to room around the 4 rooms they had and therefore we didn't cancel, just reconfigure? We paid over $1,000 for insurance just in case and when the unthinkable happened they did not honor the deal. Do we get a lawyer? How do I bubble this up to someone who cares? God Bless

 

When you say you moved people around, does this mean you didn't actually cancel the cabin? That's usually the trigger for the cruise line travel insurance. I believe through RCCL the insurance covers the cabin itself. If you did not actually cancel any cabins, that would be a reason for your insurance to be denied. That's from my general knowledge of how cruise line insurance works and may not apply to your situation. 

 

If a specific person cancelled their trip, they would have needed travel insurance on themselves through a third party and then would have to show the documents on how much they individually paid for the cruise. 

[CruisingWalter]

21 hours ago, Papau Krikac said:

Such wisdom here. It is clear you all are seasoned cruisers. One key point is we ONLY called AFTER the cruise was over to make the claim.You would think that there should be a refund if my daughter did not show up. Worse case scenario we lose the money. We are certainly thankful that  we had a great time on a great ship. We tip big because we so appreciate all the staff. As far as my daughter - she is doing GREAT. God is good.

 

Unfortunately, no 'automatic refund' if your daughter doesn't show up. Per the Cancellation Policy you would have been subject to the 100% cancellation penalty at the port. You would have been owed port fees and taxes back for the no-show person, but unfortunately nothing else. 

 

Very happy to hear your daughter is doing well! 

[CruisingWalter]

20 hours ago, Papau Krikac said:

The Royal agent would not give us a cancellation letter because in her mind my Daughter did not cancel, She was replaced. AON Wrote wrote me a note "After a thorough review of the claim documentation, we have been advised that no cancellation charges were imposed on the booking by Royal since no cancellation charges are being withheld, we are closing your claim"

 

From the cruise line perspective, what the agent said is correct. You made a passenger swap, that's not a cancellation. If it was a cancellation, i.e. the cabin was cancelled, you would have been subject to a 100% Cancellation Fee.  If Royal Caribbean did not issue a Cancellation Fee to you, then there is no claim to be filed. That's why the claim was denied by the insurance carrier. 

 

For your situation, it would have needed to have been an independent insurance policy that specifically covered your daughter. BUT you still might have needed cancellation fees from Royal Caribbean to file an independent claim. 

 

In this situation you are caught in that 'grey area' where one person cancelled, but the cruise itself wasn't cancelled. You made a passenger swap and a TA would have been able to explain that situation for you at that time. They would have made you aware that this was not a 'cancellation' but a passenger swap.  Hopefully you'll have a good one moving forward.

 

Sending positive vibes to you and your family for continued recovery for your daughter.

[DCGuy64]

15 hours ago, BND said:

I know several people who call their DIL's that.  It's how I feel about both of ours.

OK, thanks.

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You need a letter from tje cruise line showing yhe cancellation penalty. 

I did not have to show any actual Royal cancellation penalty.  When my wife was rushed to the hospital, I knew that we could not make the Harmony Easter 2020 sail.  Prepared an analysis showing the total initial amounts charged to my CC and included the actual details of refund for my wife's portion.  I did not expect this refund from Royal.  I called my CC company and claimed my portion of the fare thru the travel interruption/cancellation clause (Federal Insurance Co.)  Along with the financial analysis, I needed to include any Hospital tests & MDs observations.

 

Ps.  This was a few months before Covid came into our lives.

 

This was my experience and never required any Royal notification but included detailed analysis of what I was expecting as a refund.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

I did not have to show any actual Royal cancellation penalty.  When my wife was rushed to the hospital, I knew that we could not make the Harmony Easter 2020 sail.  Prepared an analysis showing the total initial amounts charged to my CC and included the actual details of refund for my wife's portion.  I did not expect this refund from Royal.  I called my CC company and claimed my portion of the fare thru the travel interruption/cancellation clause (Federal Insurance Co.)  Along with the financial analysis, I needed to include any Hospital tests & MDs observations.

 

Ps.  This was a few months before Covid came into our lives.

 

This was my experience and never required any Royal notification but included detailed analysis of what I was expecting as a refund.

How did the shutdown impact the refund/insurance process (or was your refund processed prior to the shutdown)? We were scheduled to do a cruise the week of Easter in April 2020 but obviously that didn’t happen since the cruise industry was shutdown by the CDC in March 2020. 

[cynt]

I know this is after the fact but for anyone else in this situation. 

No Show! No show! No Show when someone cancels close to sailing date or after final payment and you don't have a replacement.  This usually will yield a refund through the vacation insurance. Do not call. Just no Show. 

 

Notify insurance after cruise and file claim to be reimbursed through your insurance. 

 

There are numerous different and scenarios but in general NO SHOW.

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

How did the shutdown impact the refund/insurance process (or was your refund processed prior to the shutdown)? We were scheduled to do a cruise the week of Easter in April 2020 but obviously that didn’t happen since the cruise industry was shutdown by the CDC in March 2020. 

The refund by Royal was posted to my CC on March 9, 2020, and my claim to the CC/Insurance Co was signed by me on March 17, 2020.  I believe it was prior to the shutdown.

[mjkacmom]

40 minutes ago, cynt said:

I know this is after the fact but for anyone else in this situation. 

No Show! No show! No Show when someone cancels close to sailing date or after final payment and you don't have a replacement.  This usually will yield a refund through the vacation insurance. Do not call. Just no Show. 

 

Notify insurance after cruise and file claim to be reimbursed through your insurance. 

 

There are numerous different and scenarios but in general NO SHOW.

I’ve heard the first thing you do is call your insurance.

[Papau Krikac]

7 hours ago, cynt said:

I know this is after the fact but for anyone else in this situation. 

No Show! No show! No Show when someone cancels close to sailing date or after final payment and you don't have a replacement.  This usually will yield a refund through the vacation insurance. Do not call. Just no Show. 

 

Notify insurance after cruise and file claim to be reimbursed through your insurance. 

 

There are numerous different and scenarios but in general NO SHOW.

Yup. 20 20 hindsight,I did write a letter  so I will report back IF there is any favorable response from RCCL.

[Papau Krikac]

GOOD Morning All: I am back to report after writing a detailed letter about the way the cancellation was handled and the fact that other options were not offered, RCCL made it right. Our confidence in RCCL is 100% restored and we received a credit for my daughter on a future cruise. and I am happy with that. We are now looking forward to taking her in the future now that her health is getting better every day. Thanks for having a place to share our concerns and have the collective wisdom available we all can benefit from.

[EbayCruiser]

I'm glad it worked out for you.  Hope you can plan another cruise with your daughter soon.  Best Wishes and God Speed her recovery.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

On 7/16/2024 at 8:25 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

I can understand your frustration with the situation, but your daughter’s cruise was not cancelled, it was transferred to another individual which was REQUIRED because the other person in the cabin was a minor. I realize part of the problem is likely that you are not familiar with the cruise industry, but RCI did not do anything wrong. Maybe RCI could have been more sympathetic concerning your situation, but the bottom line is they did not do anything wrong and they do not owe you any kind of refund based on all the information you have provided. 

IMO, I think Royal has an obligation (morally if not legally) to help their customers.  A "good" agent, again IMO, would have understood & advised what should have been done (move the minor into another room and cancel the room).  If they so advise and the customer says "no, I want to keep the 4th room", it's a different story.  

 

So, while I agree Royal is legally justified in what they did, I wouldn't say they did "nothing wrong".