Complicated Travel Issue

Hello,

We booked a Carnival Cruise with friends....departing July 1 from a local dock (no flight involved). Our daughter's soccer team, very unexpectedly, just won State Cup and is now qualified for Regionals. They will play June 29, 30th and July 1st. If they do not advance, they are then finished. We did purchase the "cancel for any reason" policy. Problem is, we need to give notice 48 hrs ahead. Does anyone have any advice for us?? We really want to go on our cruise and our friends are depending on us to do so. We, more than likely, will be able to travel. But we won't know until, at least, July 30th....and that is only 24 hrs ahead. Do we write to the ship or insurance co and explain our plight....and see if they will work with us? Or, are we just in a very unfortunate situation? Thanks for any advice!

If the policy says 48 hours you really better comply with it and in the end it doesn't mater what anyone else has to say on this. If this is what it says, doing anything different will likely cause you to not get your refund.

Keith

Appears to be just an unfortunate situation you find yourself in.

If the policy says 48 hours you really better comply with it and in the end it doesn't mater what anyone else has to say on this. If this is what it says, doing anything different will likely cause you to not get your refund.

 

Keith

Agreed. I have never seen an insurer "waive" that 48 hour rule.

Agreed. I have never seen an insurer "waive" that 48 hour rule.

+1. This is the contract you agreed to. They aren't going to "waive" that requirement. You'll have to gamble and decide what to do.

Thanks for the feedback. The timing couldn't be much worse. We will very likely be able to go, but won't be sure until one day prior to sailing (due to the regional soccer tournament schedule)....and the necessary time to cancel is within 48 hours. I have made phone calls to all involved....Carnival, Cheap Cruises, the Trip Insurance Store and Worldwide Trip Protector. There is one thing that is very wrong. We have paid for two rooms. Carnival is paid for those rooms. If we cancel, we receive a 75% refund from the insurance policy that we purchased. One of the possibilities is that we cancel my daughter and her friend. My husband, myself and my son all go on the cruise. We still want the two cabins that we paid for (and that Carnival has been paid for). We are told....no...we all have to go in one room and carnival gets to sell our other room and make double. Very greedy and poor service to one's customers.

Thanks for the feedback. The timing couldn't be much worse. We will very likely be able to go, but won't be sure until one day prior to sailing (due to the regional soccer tournament schedule)....and the necessary time to cancel is within 48 hours. I have made phone calls to all involved....Carnival, Cheap Cruises, the Trip Insurance Store and Worldwide Trip Protector. There is one thing that is very wrong. We have paid for two rooms. Carnival is paid for those rooms. If we cancel, we receive a 75% refund from the insurance policy that we purchased. One of the possibilities is that we cancel my daughter and her friend. My husband, myself and my son all go on the cruise. We still want the two cabins that we paid for (and that Carnival has been paid for). We are told....no...we all have to go in one room and carnival gets to sell our other room and make double. Very greedy and poor service to one's customers.

I have no idea what the cruise contract for Carnival says; you'd have to read through it and see if this is correct. If you cancel her room and receive payment back, then of course you couldn't use it.

But, what would happen if you did nothing at all, and your daughter and her friend just didn't show up? Perhaps someone on the Carnival board could advise you.

 

But, what would happen if you did nothing at all, and your daughter and her friend just didn't show up? Perhaps someone on the Carnival board could advise you.

The insurers typically ask for proof of cancellation in order to verify that the cruise was cancelled outside that 48 hour window. Failing to officially cancel the cruise (and you should always get a faxed/emailed confirmation to have some sort of proof of date/time) would probably result in not being able to get paid on the claim.

The insurers typically ask for proof of cancellation in order to verify that the cruise was cancelled outside that 48 hour window. Failing to officially cancel the cruise (and you should always get a faxed/emailed confirmation to have some sort of proof of date/time) would probably result in not being able to get paid on the claim.

Yes and thus:

I have no idea what the cruise contract for Carnival says; you'd have to read through it and see if this is correct. If you cancel her room and receive payment back, then of course you couldn't use it.

Not suggesting OP try and commit insurance fraud. She seems to want to use the already paid for cabin if she can't cancel in time to file an insurance claim.

There is one thing that is very wrong. We have paid for two rooms. Carnival is paid for those rooms. If we cancel, we receive a 75% refund from the insurance policy that we purchased. One of the possibilities is that we cancel my daughter and her friend. My husband, myself and my son all go on the cruise. We still want the two cabins that we paid for (and that Carnival has been paid for). We are told....no...we all have to go in one room and carnival gets to sell our other room and make double. Very greedy and poor service to one's customers.

You can either

A) Not cancel anything, daughter and friend NOT go and use both rooms.

B) Cancel daughter and friend's cabin, Receive your refund, and 3 of you stay in 1 cabin.

Sounds like you want to cancel 1 cabin, receive refund, PLUS use both cabins? If you receive the refund, you've no longer paid for both cabins.

And you're saying the cruiselines greedy? Not sure I foloow the thought process.

if you cancel within the 48 hour window to comply with the insurance provision.

The next day, if it turns out that you can go, you call the cruise line and the insurance company and tell them it was an error and you do not need to cancel.

The insurance company doesn't have to pay the claim and the cruise line is not out any money, cabin, or inconvenience either.

Never heard of an insurance company that forces you to accept their payment -- if logic rules, any insurance company would gladly keep their money if you withdraw the claim.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

Carnival won't let you have the cabin anyway for several reasons:

- They want the on-board revenue from the cabin. If you are just using it as space to stretch out, they won't get it.

- Yes, they want the revenue from the cabin itself. There's a chance they'll be able to sell it to a local for cheap at the last minute.

- Even if they don't, they could use it for a free upgrade (or customer-service move) for another passenger.

I really appreciate everyone's very thoughtful advice. Perhaps I really don't understand the manner in which the insurance works. It is my understanding that once we pay for our cruise, Carnival is covered for that cabin on that sailing. Just as, if I book a hotel room and don't show up (without cancelling), the hotel can charge my credit card and they have now been paid for the room. By purchasing insurance from a separate company, they are responsible for reimbursement to me....not the cruise line. The cruise line has already been paid and will keep their money. The insurance company now has a loss....against the, I would imagine, overwhelming number of customers who do not have to make a claim. Plus, my husband and I want our own cabin and that is what we did take the insurance out on...two cabins. Two patrons require reimbursement out of five.

I think you understand the insurance aspect just fine but perhaps you don't understand all of the aspects of your cruise booking.

It is my understanding that once we pay for our cruise, Carnival is covered for that cabin on that sailing.

No, Carnival is only covered for your cabin fare once you reach the 100% penalty period (I'm not up to date on their penalty structure but perhaps at the 14 day prior to sailing mark?). Prior to that point they will refund to you a portion of your cruise fare. Once cancelled, Carnival will have the opportunity to re-sell the cabin at whatever fare they can collect at the last minute. Yes, this does result in the occasional situation where your reservation is possibly worth more to CCL "dead" than "alive" if they can double-dip. If you cancel last-minute they keep everything they collected from you plus they can re-sell the cabin. Sometimes they can, sometimes they can't. If they can't they will have made some on the cruise fare but foregone any of the on-board revenue they would have gotten which in many cases is where the only profit comes from the booking.

It's not clear from your posts how the five of you are split among the two cabins. Parents in one cabin, all kids in the other? Parents + (non-cancelling) child in one cabin, both cancelling children in the other? Can you clear that up?

I do understand what you are saying about the on-board revenue. We planned on three kids in one room (2 17 year olds and a 15 year old) next to our cabin of 2 adults. I guess that there is a rule of someone over 18 or 21 in each cabin....but, of course, people do as we have planned all of the time.

We planned on three kids in one room (2 17 year olds and a 15 year old) next to our cabin of 2 adults. I guess that there is a rule of someone over 18 or 21 in each cabin....but, of course, people do as we have planned all of the time.

You say you "planned" on having all three kids in one room. Does that mean that's not how everyone is actually booked? It sounds like officially you're booked as 1 adult + 1 kid in one room and 1 adult + 2 kids in the other. And that is probably the root of your problem.

I do understand what you are saying about the on-board revenue. We planned on three kids in one room (2 17 year olds and a 15 year old) next to our cabin of 2 adults. I guess that there is a rule of someone over 18 or 21 in each cabin....but, of course, people do as we have planned all of the time.

There was a misunderstanding between you and whomever you booked with. Carnival allows families to book kids in one cabin and parents in another as long as they are next door or across the hall.

There was a misunderstanding between you and whomever you booked with. Carnival allows families to book kids in one cabin and parents in another as long as they are next door or across the hall.

Plus, if they booked 1 adult + i kid in one room plus 1 adult + 2 kids in the other room I'm not coming up with any scenario in which they can't keep the second room.

Each cabin would still officially have 1 adult.

If originally both kids that might have to cancel are in a room with one adult then them cancelling still leaves the adult as a single.

If for some reason the two kids that might have to cancel were split between the two rooms you'd still have one cabin with a solo adult and one cabin with an adult and the remaining kid.

Either way, I'm not seeing how a last-minute cancellation would force them to give up one room.

Will Carnival charge a single supplement for a one-person cabin, even though they have a fully-paid cruise fare?

Will Carnival charge a single supplement for a one-person cabin, even though they have a fully-paid cruise fare?

No, because they've already paid for 2. That's in effect a 100% single supplement. They simply won't refund anything.

Seems to me that you have just a couple of reasonable choices: cancel now and cheer loud enough to push your DD's team all the way; or plan to leave her behind and wish her luck. A variant of the second would be to plan on flying her to the next port-of-call once her team finished - this might be cost prohibitive given the last minute nature of such a booking.

Hmmm... that's interesting.

This would be a way to get a single supplement at a discount provided at an insurance company's expense. Simply recruit a friend to appear on the booking, purchase an Any Reason cash policy, front the fare, cancel after the 100% penalty period, and presto! Single cabin for 25-50% + insurance premium! Given that many lines charge a 100% single supplement, that's a killer deal.

However, the insurance companies aren't stupid... I wonder how they prevent this, other than cutting you off after you try it more than once.

It's not even insurance fraud... Any Reason is just that, Any Reason. "The other person in the cabin doesn't want to share it with someone" is as good a reason as any.

Hmmm... that's interesting.

 

This would be a way to get a single supplement at a discount provided at an insurance company's expense. Simply recruit a friend to appear on the booking, purchase an Any Reason cash policy, front the fare, cancel after the 100% penalty period, and presto! Single cabin for 25-50% + insurance premium! Given that many lines charge a 100% single supplement, that's a killer deal.

 

However, the insurance companies aren't stupid... I wonder how they prevent this, other than cutting you off after you try it more than once.

 

It's not even insurance fraud... Any Reason is just that, Any Reason. "The other person in the cabin doesn't want to share it with someone" is as good a reason as any.

I suspect you will find that a cabin constitutes the insured "booking" regardless of the occupant count.