Come On Folks......Please Give Me your Opinion......

[digby]

Who were you insured with? We had a VERY positive situation with Berkley Care in getting a full refund(minus the insurance cost itself) when we had to cancel a cruise due to a medical emergency with a family member.

 

Marie

 

 

We took the insurance offered by NCL. Don't remember the name, but I think they were located in NJ.

[LoveLifeAtSea]

Hi Sail :)

If I understand your original question correctly, you are questioning your decision to purchase vs. not to purchase insurance based on hurricanes. Am I right? If so, then I'm pretty sure that the insurance policies sold through the travel agents or purchased independently do NOT cover for weather conditions. If there is one that does cover both, and can be purchased at any time, I would be interested in knowing about it.

To my knowledge, the only thing that would cover that would be HAL's "Cancellation Protection Plan" (CPP). In fact, the CPP plan covers cancellation for ANY reason, however, it has to be purchased at time of booking, when the deposit is taken. Now, with that said, I want to point out that there are 2 CPP plans. The Standard Plan would refund 80% of the applicable cancellation fee and does NOT have any insurance coverage. The Platinum Plan would refund 90% of the applicable cancellation fee and does cover some sort of insurance. I believe the details are posted on HAL's site.

 

As far as Pier 66, I (coincidently) called them a couple of weeks ago, along with the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and The Ritz-Carlton on Key Biscayne. Cancellation policies vary based on the hotel and time of year, however, the minimum is 72 hours prior to arrival up to 14 days. My question was if they would waive their cancellation fee due to hurricane conditions and all said that they would. Of course, that is not in writing, but you can only hope that they would honor this.

Now I have a question for anybody that is very familiar with Priceline. If I had booked through Priceline a hotel for this past weekend, do I lose all of my money .... PERIOD ??? I know they have a "no refund" policy, however, if the hotels allow for cancellation due to hurricanes, would Priceline make exceptions to their rules under these conditions? I think it would be more than fair for them to keep their commission and rebate the difference back to the purchaser.

I also investigated the insurance sold through Priceline and even spoke to a representative of the insurance carrier who stated that her opinion was that the policy would NOT cover such conditions.

[sail7seas]

Hi Lovelife.... I understand about the HAL policies but will not ever take those as I refuse to pay a premium predicated upon the brochure rate when I have paid (for example) the brochure rate less 42%. If we were to cancel, we would only be reimbursed the total of the sum we paid. So HAL is making us pay premiums on an amount that you could never collect. Therefore, since this change in the insurance (about 4+ years ago), it is not 'good business' IMO to buy theirs.

 

As to would Pier 66 waive cancellation notice in the event of conditions such as existed this weekend, I think they have no choice as there was a "mandatory evacuation order" in place issued by governmental authorities. People who were already guests in the hotel would have to leave and no check ins would be allowed. They cannot possibly charge a penalty to someone who was barred from checking in.

 

Very good point about restrictions on policies that do no allow for weather.

[sail7seas]

Sorry....meant to add that I have no experience at all with Priceline so cannot comment what their policy would be.

[Nliedel]

I have kids and you never know with kids!!! Also things can get delayed for so many reasons.. With a land vacation I really am not as worried about it.. Anything that can sail away without me (gasp) get insurance...

[LoveLifeAtSea]

Sail .... I totally agree with you which is why I don't usually purchase HAL's CPP plan either.

As far as the hotel situation goes, of course I agree with what you noted. What I should have stated was that my concern is prior to even leaving home, just knowing that the destination, such as Fort Lauderdale, was in the "projected path", even though days away. Like all hurricanes, you sometimes don't know until it gets closer as to what the more accurate projection will be.

 

Hurricane Ivan is a great example of what I am talking about. From where it is located today, it could start turning north, northwest and head up toward the eastern seaboard, as far south as Miami, or it could continue it's current path and come into the Gulf of Mexico. It all comes down to the question of when does a final decision have to be made.

[gliles]

[Originally Posted by gliles

Aren't the people who were scheduled for 9/4 refunded with or without insurance? The HAL site doesn't indicate that the refund is just for those insured.

 

 

 

Yes, Gretchen. I think you are correct as to THIS time. Who says they will do it again if there is a NEXT time? They are not required to. It is way more than they need to do.__________________

/QUOTE]

 

Ok, just wanted to make sure so Sail, that would be another reason for you not to because there are the odds that there would be another hurricane and also that they wouldn't allow people to cancel with a refund! Still a risk but as you have stated, all you would be out would be the cost of the cruise and factor in all you have saved through the years. Plus I figure if something not weather related were to happen, God forbid, the cost of the cruise would be the least of your concern. And then of course there is number 3 reason, DH told you no need!

[darnapar]

We do buy insurance mostly for travel in the event of a family death Husband has 3 living grandparents) etc. that could require us to leave the ship early. Or flight delays which cause you to miss the ship.. If you live somewhere up north and cruise during the winter snowstorms are also an issue. Most people seem less frazzled with glitches when they have insurance to reimburse them. In your case you would not have lost anything as HAL was reimbursing people who chose not to go.

[Nasmas]

We had insurance thru Travel Guard for our cruise on 09/04 that we had to cancel because we couldn't get to FLL today. Thurs. before HAL announced anything, I called the insurance company. I was told the only way they'd pay is if we couldn't get there or for some reason we couldn't get to the boat, they would pay. Otherwise, if the boat sailed and we weren't on it, no dice. I told the lady we were afraid to go. She said, 'too bad'. But, as it turned out, we are supposed to get our money back, We're still out $300 for the insurance. I don't suppose we can get that back?

[imsulin]

Would you get your car insurance premium back if you were in a car accident and your insurance paid for the damage? Would you get your Homeowner's insurance premium back if you had damage to your home that the insurance company paid? Of course not. Why would you expect to get your trip insurance premium back if they are going to refund you in full for your missed cruise? Travel Guard DOES cover weather-related circumstances. If you had a flight that was cancelled because the airport was closed and the flights were cancelled you WOULD get your money back. The fact that you told the Travel Guard agent that you "were afraid to do" is NOT a covered reason. Cancelled flights, sailings, and debarkation port closures due to weather ARE covered reasons. You made the mistake of telling Travel Guard that you "were afraid to go", rather than the fact that you couldn't get to FLL due to weather. But...it looks like you are getting your money back anyway. READ YOUR POLICY FOR ITS COVERAGES!

[gliles]

Would you get your car insurance premium back if you were in a car accident and your insurance paid for the damage? Would you get your Homeowner's insurance premium back if you had damage to your home that the insurance company paid?

I believe it was posted that the insurance didn't pay a dime, HAL was nice enough to refund. She/He also said that they couldn't get to FLL.

 

I guess another good reason for S7S not to buy, she would have been out $300 but by not having insurance, she wouldn't be out a thing.