Canceled Our Trip

This thread is not meant to depress everyone and should be looked upon as a positive and learning experience. This was to be our 5th river cruise but our first Holiday Market trip (Danube). The ship departs Budapest tomorrow and we should be attending the Nutcracker Suite tonight at the Hungarian Opera House as we speak, along with many other plans we had. A few weeks ago my wife developed low back and leg pain but even so, we thought we could still make the trip and slow it down a bit. However, it reached the point we she can barely walk, and come to find she will need a hip replacement next week. The good thing is that I at least, now have the time off from work to deal with this. The other thing is we have good trip cancellation insurance from TripInsuranceStore.com, whose owner, Steve, has spoken to me and corresponded with me several times to make sure we file our claim properly, etc. So the question I raise is how much planning do you put into a trip? (pre-paid hotels, guides, pre-paid concert tickets, train tickets, airport transportation, etc.). You have no idea how much time I put into researching and planning this trip! Sometimes I think it's best just to go on the cruise and forget the rest of the stuff, but I know that I'll never do that, and neither many of you! The other important point is you should get good trip insurance as soon as you book the trip so you have the pre-existing (very important as you get older). When it is all settled, I'll let you know how it works out. I thought I would be giving feedback on thermal baths and Salzburg vs. Steyr in Austria! I never thought I would be the one to tell CruiseCritic how trip cancellation insurance works!

That is really too bad... hope the surgery goes well for your wife.

I second your feelings about travel insurance. We buy a yearly policy - and then top up for any trips that are more expensive.

My TA was telling me about a client who had to cancel 3 weeks out due to an unforseen health issue. No travel insurance... The loss was in excess of $10K.

Keep us posted!!

Fran

I'm so sorry to hear about your wife and that you had to cancel your trip. I am like you and do an excessive amount of research. I find the time I research to be part of the fun all year as I plan.

Your timely advice about insurance came at just the right time for me. I have a few days to get insurance and still qualify for pre existing. DH and I were considering just getting medical insurance from American Express, but now I will take another look at the Travelex policy that will have trip cancellation coverage because you never know, and that is the purpose of insurance I guess.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your wife and hopefully another cruise in the not too distant future.

That is too bad, best of luck on your wife's upcoming surgery. Hopefully she will recover quickly and you can plan another cruise soon.

Oh, no! :( I'm really sorry that your wife has developed trouble with her hip and that she has to have surgery. I guess if we're looking for the silver lining here, it's a good thing that the problem accelerated before you left home and not on the trip. You were very smart to have purchased the right insurance.

I'm the planner in our family and I have been planning this trip too. You get so deep in the details, its almost like you are virtually taking the trip. I'm sure you could visualize all the ports. It must be especially disappointing for you to not be able to realize those dreams right away. But at least you have something to look forward to when your DW recovers and perhaps planning a nice relaxing ocean cruise would be a good diversion for you and a relaxing venue for your DW to recuperate.

Good luck and best wishes to your DW for a successful surgery and rehab. :)

First - best wishes to your wife. It is a difficult surgery and recovery but so worthy! My mom had this surgery a few years ago and it was night and day from before surgery and after. Rehab is difficult but necessary. 3 months from now, she will be in good shape!

Research - don't consider your time wasted. Book this same cruise for a later time and use your knowledge to rebook the same hotels, tours, etc...

Glad you had good insurance!

SOShrink ~ all I can say is that your wife is a very lucky person to have you as her husband! In all you wrote I never detected a hint of resentment or anger or bitterness!

I also think you've taught all of us some very good lessons ~

Roll with the punches when things happen we really can't control - getting angry doesn't help the situation!

Be prepared - get good insurance well in advance!

And I can understand the many hours you put into planning - I do the same! I also check out all sorts of alternates "just in case"!!!

We've been very fortunate so far - worst experience was my checked bag was "delayed" (not considered lost!) for 4 days - but I did get it!!! But every year we're just that much older and I find I'm always "holding my breath" until we arrive home safely. I only hope and pray, that in the event of a forced cancellation/postponement, I'll have the positive attitude you have!

Hope you re-book and are able to put all that planning to use!!!

Thanks, everyone, for such support. I would never get upset over something like this. When you think of all the suffering people in the past and present have gone through all over the world, this is extremely minor! And thank God it is not a worse illness (easy for me to say, she says!). Speaking of silver linings, I heard from my Hungarian friend that they had closed the Budapest Airport for technical reasons when we were supposed to arrive, and that many tourists didn't arrive on time to stay in their hotels. We probably would have been stranded in Frankfurt Airport for a day or two, so, you see, anything can happen, and maybe we were meant to be spared that inconvenience! But I truly hope that airport problem didn't ruin anyone else's trip. If someone is there now, can you tell us what happened?

That is really too bad... hope the surgery goes well for your wife.

 

I second your feelings about travel insurance. We buy a yearly policy - and then top up for any trips that are more expensive.

 

My TA was telling me about a client who had to cancel 3 weeks out due to an unforseen health issue. No travel insurance... The loss was in excess of $10K.

 

Keep us posted!!

 

Fran

Hi Fran,

I would be interested in any info you can provide with regards to buying a yearly Travel Insurance Policy that covers all trips for the year? I did not realize those existed. Do they cover cancelled air flights as well if attached to an overseas trip? I have only known to purchase Trip insurance on a trip by trip basis, which is not inexpensive but very valuable.

Any insights you can provide would be welcome.

Thanks

Many insurance firms offer annual or multi-trip travel coverage. If you do a search on travel insurance and go into the web sites, you can find information.

Hi Fran,

 

I would be interested in any info you can provide with regards to buying a yearly Travel Insurance Policy that covers all trips for the year? I did not realize those existed. Do they cover cancelled air flights as well if attached to an overseas trip? I have only known to purchase Trip insurance on a trip by trip basis, which is not inexpensive but very valuable.

 

Any insights you can provide would be welcome.

 

Thanks

Hi there -

Our yearly policy covers up to $1500/person before we leave, and unlimited while away. It is for both cancellation and health insurance - for any number of trips up to 16 days away. And - it does cover for things such as lost luggage.

We top up when we put our final payment on any large trips. But the $1500 is usually enough to cover the flight (if we book ourselves) and any deposit. We have close friends in the US - so this means we don't have to stop to get health insurance before we cross the border.

It also meant that we didn't need extra when we went to London to see our daughter. The $1500 more than covered the flight, and would have covered the cost of hotel cancellation if I had to cancel last minute. I had the unfortunate experience of having my wallet stolen when we were in London, and was able to recoup the cost of the Gatwick Express tickets that were in there, as well as the cost of the wallet itself.

Not sure that the company we purchase from does business in the US, but jacksonnh has suggested a search on travel insurance. We found out about this about 4 years ago from out TA - and haven't been without it since.

Does that help?

Fran

Hi Fran,

 

I would be interested in any info you can provide with regards to buying a yearly Travel Insurance Policy that covers all trips for the year? I did not realize those existed. Do they cover cancelled air flights as well if attached to an overseas trip? I have only known to purchase Trip insurance on a trip by trip basis, which is not inexpensive but very valuable.

 

Any insights you can provide would be welcome.

 

Thanks

These have always been far more common for Canadians then US. I looked at some for US individuals a few years ago and they were lacking compared to the policies Canadians could buy. I then choose to buy individual trip policies. I haven't looked at them recently.

I would be interested in any info you can provide with regards to buying a yearly Travel Insurance Policy that covers all trips for the year?

Coincidentally, I was searching the internet for info on such insurance myself just yesterday. I found policies from Seven Corners, USI, HTH and Travel Guard. All of these companies have good ratings and there is some customization available. They also didn't seem too expensive.

tripinsurance.com is very affordable. We always use it. Unlike other websites e.g. insuremytrip they do not resell partucular brand.

Coincidentally, I was searching the internet for info on such insurance myself just yesterday. I found policies from Seven Corners, USI, HTH and Travel Guard. All of these companies have good ratings and there is some customization available. They also didn't seem too expensive.

CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) offers annual policies. Not sure if AAA in the US has the same coverage.