TDMA

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. Regarding the vacant cabin, I've heard that the lines have pre-qualified individuals who will happily accept a last-minute trip. If that's still true with all the TSA requirements, the cruise line received my payment as well as some kind of discounted fare from someone else for the same cabin, or at least for a lower level cabin if they upgraded other passengers into our cabin. Also, I would assume that upgraded passengers would spend more on board, although that would be hard to prove unless you work in that industry. I have also heard that cruise lines make more money from new passengers, although I'd be surprised if that were true for those in our situation. We pay more upfront for suites (rarely discounted), are very generous with onboard purchases (because we can afford more these days) and cost the lines very little with the extra perks we receive (early boarding, small onboard discounts and the like). If it's true that all cruise lines have this attitude toward their best customers, maybe we need to re-think how we spend our vacation dollars. If you work for any of the cruise lines or used to, I would be very interested in your thoughts on this topic.

D4, as I mentioned in my original post, we had always purchased insurance in the past, except for this trip. No, I did not expect the cruise line would reimburse us for the cost of the trip. Most businesses, however, who value their customers and recognize that we're not all perfect and do mistakes and suffer misfortunes as human beings, will provide something as an incentive to keep a good customer. I guess this line just didn't see it that way. I posted my original message, however, to determine if the reaction we received from the line was typical or not, so I can plan accordingly in deciding which lines to book in future.

Thanks for the reply and good wishes, Playa. I did check our credit cards at some point for possible coverage. Unfortunately, our cards didn't have that feature. Enjoy your Alaska cruise. It's a a beautiful place.

Two days prior to our recently scheduled cruise, we were forced to cancel due to a serious emergency medical situation that required immediate surgery and numerous follow-up visits to the doctor. Although we usually purchase insurance, unfortunately, we didn't do so this time. The cruise was on a major line, which we have sailed on many times, usually booking full suites (as we had done this time). Our TA attempted to help us with obtaining some kind of refund or, perhaps, a discount on a future cruise. We were very surprised to learn, however, that the cruise line was completely unwilling to assist us in any way because the medical emergency wasn't life-threatening. We will, of course, purchase insurance in future. I was wondering, however, if this has happened to anyone else and if the outcome was any different to ours. I know that cruise lines are in business to make money from cabin sales, onboard purchases and insurance premiums and that the line had no obligation to help us out, but I really expected they would offer something to their loyal customers.