I have paid for a cruise in August - I did not take out any insurance. Now - something is going on with my daughter's health - the doctors are putting her thru alot of test. But I'm not sure if she is going to be well enough for this cruise. What should I do? Will they give me my money back - a credit? The cruise is with Carnival.
First of all, did you book your cruise through a travel agent? We have purchased insurance every time,but it seems to me that we had a large window of time to be able to purchase the insurance., what I am saying is it may not be too late for you to purchase the insurance.
However, make sure you read the policy on what is and isn't covered.....my daughter had a pre-existing health issue that would not be covered if that would have been the reason to cancel.
I would advise you to talk directly to whom you booked your cruise from and see what can be done at this point regarding your daughter's health issue. I would hope that they could help you to set your mind at ease.
Again, we have always purchased insurance....so If I am not a help to you, then maybe someone else on this board can offer advice.
Hope all goes well with your daughters health!
DSR, I'm so sorry to hear that your daughter's health may not be up to par. I hope she'll be fine.
If you have already passed the date when final payment was due for your cruise, you are within the penalty period. You lose more and more of your money the closer to sailing date you cancel. At some point, like a week or two before sailing, you lose all of your money.
Buying insurance at this point won't help you because your daughter's illness is now a pre-existing condition, and for insurance to cover pre-existing conditions, it must be purchased within a week or two of your initial deposit on the cruise.
Check with your travel agent or with Carnival to determine how much of a penalty you're liable for now, and when it goes up, etc. Then you just have to decide if you want to keep the reservation in the hope your daughter can travel, or cancel it and forfeit some or all of your money.
By the way, if final payment date has not yet passed, you should be able to get all of your money back. I think it probably has passed, however, since most cruise lines' final payment date is somewhere around 75 days before sailing.
One of my good friends travels out of the country quite a bit, and she always takes out insurance in case she has a problem and has to cancel soemthing big.
She uses Access America. I think the website is www.accessamerica.com. I'll ask her tomorrow and post it again then if I'm wrong.
Good Luck!! I hate dealing with insurance of ANY type!!
DSR, I am so sorry to learn of your daughter's condition. I've been there as a parent, and I know how difficult it is.
Sandy's advice is excellent. The closer you get to the cruise date, the lower the refund should you cancel. Talk to your travel agent to find out exactly when the cutoff dates are for each refund amount -- for example, it might be 75% up to a certain day, then drops to 50%, and so on.
And, as Sandy said, insurance will not cover this situation as it is now a pre-existing condition.
I know this is not an easy decision, and of course your mind is on your daughter right now. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers.
DSR,
You never stated how long of a cruise it was. It actually makes a difference. I happen to have a Carnival cruise line book in front of me and it goes like this.
2,3,4,&5 day cruise
up to 61 days no penalty
60 to 30 days lose deposit
29 to 8 days 50% of total cruise
7 days or less no refund
6,7 and 8 day cruises
up to 76 days no penalty
75 to 30 days lose deposit
29 to 8 days 50% of total fare
7 days or less no refund
I hope this helps. You can always call and see if they can offer you any help due to your circumstances. I will pray that all goes well with you daughter.
If you aren't able to go or get a refund, would the cruise line let you transfer your reservation to someone else? Maybe a relative or friend would pay you for your reservation.
If you are to lose alot of money then ask if they would consider giving you credit to use at a later date. They might do this and put a time limit that it has to be used by. Good Luck.
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