Need totally cancellable cruise

[ammcem]

I have a huge project due to be implement March 1st 2008.

My kids have Spring Break March 27 thru April 6th, 2008.

I want to book a vacation hoping the project either goes in on time or is delayed significantly...hedging my bets and all that.

I need the vacation to be totally cancellable in case my employer won't let me vacation as planned.

I assumed I could book a cruise including air and be okay.

 

I have booked the March 30, 2008 sailing of the Caribbean Princess from Fort Lauderdale. I want to spend four days before in Orlando. I will need to pay an air deviation fee in order to arrive early. Does this mean my airfare is still cancellable? more expensive than regular cruise air? do I understand that the deviation fee is $75 per person and not refundable?

 

I will know whether we will/won't be implementing well in advance, so any cancellations/changes would be made 90 days in advance.

 

I tried to call Princess and they couldn't answer my questions since I can't book air yet (more than 320 days in advance). I searched this forum and didn't find the applicable answers.

 

Can anybody help? Thanks in advance.

[lvtotrvl1]

Access America has cancel for work reason, however you do have to book it within a certain number of days after deposit. I believe it's only 14.00 extra. That would cover everything.

[ciana]

We booked cruise air for our last November Tahitian Princess cruise. We booked well in advance and then still searched to see if we could find better airfare. We were told by our agent that we could cancel our cruise air up until final payment time with no penalty; however, since we had air deviation charges they would not be refundable ($150 for 2) but the other air would be refundable. We never did find anything cheaper than Princess air so stayed with it. We had been told the same thing by another travel agent who said she always recommends people book Princess air when it is a more difficult itinerary then search for cheaper air.

ciana:)

[giustot]

I had to cancel a cruise on the Caribbean Princes in March due to work. Having to work is not a covered reason for a refund on almost all insurance policies.

 

Since I had Princess Gold I received a 90% credit under "cancel for any reason," which is a lot better than nothing.

 

You should try to find a policy that will allow you to cancel for any reason, and also includes air. If you find a policy that allows you to cancel for work, I'd make sure the coverage is absolute. It wouldn't surprise me if the fine print only covered canceling for work if the work was unforeseen. In your case, you know now there is a significant chance you may have to work. Good luck. Tom.

[Casshew]

Keep in mind you have to purchase the insurance for everyone, say it's 200 per person... the insurance is nonrefundable so you will be paying 800.00 to save X amount (based on 4)

[hillslife]

One nice thing about purchasing the Princess insurance is that even though we travel with our daughter, we only have to purchase insurance for DH and me and our daughter is included on that policy with no charge- so we purchase regular insurance for 2 and are upgraded to Gold since we are Platinum.... You might check out this option and see if it is more cost efffective for you.

[MercedMike]

I have booked the March 30, 2008 sailing of the Caribbean Princess from Fort Lauderdale. I want to spend four days before in Orlando. I will need to pay an air deviation fee in order to arrive early. Does this mean my airfare is still cancellable? more expensive than regular cruise air? do I understand that the deviation fee is $75 per person and not refundable?

 

I will know whether we will/won't be implementing well in advance, so any cancellations/changes would be made 90 days in advance.

 

I tried to call Princess and they couldn't answer my questions since I can't book air yet (more than 320 days in advance). I searched this forum and didn't find the applicable answers.

 

Can anybody help? Thanks in advance.

 

Positively, you need a very knowledgable local Travel Agent on your side to answer all the many questions involved here! You are never going to get accurate answers from a message board or a Princess rep.

 

Most likely, cancellation of a cruise 90 days in advance will be without penalty. Air tickets are another thing altogether. The requirements and regulations vary from type to type of ticket, and from airline to airline.

 

Insurance is another tricky question. Cancellation for work-related reasons would not be covered on most insurance. Again, a good full service Travel Agent should be able to lead you through the murkiness.

 

This is a tough one. You need all the expert help you can get!

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[GoodAsGold]

Re: Travel insurance: Children are also free when sailing with their parents through Travelex insurance.

 

 

One nice thing about purchasing the Princess insurance is that even though we travel with our daughter, we only have to purchase insurance for DH and me and our daughter is included on that policy with no charge- so we purchase regular insurance for 2 and are upgraded to Gold since we are Platinum.... You might check out this option and see if it is more cost efffective for you.

[tsj]

Re: Travel insurance: Children are also free when sailing with their parents through Travelex insurance.

 

Good as Gold, Thank you, I have been checking out insurance on insuremytrip.com, Travelex offers a lower rate for our family w/ 2 kids, couldn't understand why so I was reluctant to use them, not anymore! Thanks agsin. Teri

[willysgrandma]

Just make sure you read the fine print for any insurance you buy - most do not allow you to cancel for any reason. Make sure you find one that does.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Insurance that allows cancellation for any reason can be found. Understandably it is more expensive than standard travel insurance.

[FuzzyMelton]

If you are going to know 90 days in advance then you should review the princess cancellation policies. I am not accountable for this but I do believe it states you can cancel up to 75 (90 for holiday sailings) days in advance with 100% refund of your monies.

 

Go to the princess website and download the passage contract and read section 6. No insurance is required for this instance. You may want insurance for other non-foreseeable circumstances, but it really isn't required if you will know 90 days out if you need to cancel or not.

[critterchick]

I think your only issue will be changing your airline arrangements. As another poster said, you can cancel your cruise 90 days out without penalty. Discounted airfare, however, is generally non-refundable, but you can change your flights - it will cost you $xx dollars plus any difference in the airfare.