Ken076

I'm hoping someone can answer this for me...I have an immediate family member that was very recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She is not traveling with us on this cruise. She has several radiation treatments between now and the time of our cruise, and just 2 weeks before the cruise she will be going in for major surgery (removing the tumor, along with spleen and kidney).

 

What happens if we decide we should not go on this cruise because of her medical prognosis?

 

I asked Berkley Care (the insurance carrier), and they said we would need a doctor to complete the claim form stating that "we are unable to travel due to the illness". I don't really understand what that means. I asked the question, if that would mean that the doctor would need to say that the family member is terminal, and potentially won't "make it", and she said, no, not terminal, but "we are unable to travel due to the illness". Basically I couldn't get a straight answer.

 

Has anyone had this unfortunate type of circumstance? I really hate to ask the question, but I just don't know if the insurance will cover this type of scenario or not.

 

Thank you.

With the Carnival Berkeley Policy -

Worst case, you should be able to "Cancel for Any Reason" and receive 75% future cruise credit and have your Govt Fees & Taxes and Pre-Paid Gratuities refunded.

The "pre-existing condition" exclusion looks to only apply to those traveling and not stay behind relatives, so this should not be an issue.

The "not being able to travel due to illness..." statement is better stated in other policies to include the patient being terminal or it being necessary for you to stay near to help treat, transport or to handle medical, personal matters for the patient. You might have to "negotiate" the wording with the Doctor.

Ken

The Cruiselines quote fares as "CruiseFare" + "Government Fees & Taxes".

Travel Agents do not get commission on the entire Cruisefare and breakout the "NonCommisionable Fare" (NCF) portion separate from the Cruisefare (and often lump it with "Government Fees and Taxes"). The TA quote is generally "Commissionable Cruise Fare" + (NCF + Govt Fees & Taxes).

Ken

The one Sunshine Cruise is I think in October, I think out of Port Canaveral. Carnival is not a big player in Bermuda. For some of the Bermuda attractions it might be better to go in August or Early September. Checkout Royal Caribbean out of Baltimore. Ken

The Oasis (or Allure) is IMO well-worth the difference in cruisefare, but I'm not so sure about the added airfare. If you've got the bucks, the Oasis/Allure is a total experience and you probably won't be able to experience everything in 7-days. Ken

We live 37 miles from the port and have only toured the Magic prior to Valentines Day. Finally, after 9 other ships and 31 cruises we sailed!

 

Here are our photos:

 

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117499626016771042173/albums/6117948553660808977?authkey=CMXKzt6wkefFdg

 

 

.

BallFour4 - Excellent photos (composition, framing, color....) - my "standard" was Gambee's pohotography - yours equals and maybe surpasses!!!!

Thanks, Ken

mpcaruth - Really a great review and outstanding photos and useful "tidbits"! Thanks, Ken

Just found a significantly lower rate for my cabin category-8c- on the Pride on 5/17/15 on a discount on-line travel site ******* . Does Carnival accept fares found on other sites for the Early Saver Price Protection? If they do, I just saved $290!

"...Early Saver fare is backed by a unique price protection policy (only available to bookings made in USD currency) that allows you to adjust your cruise fare to the best available fare for a like category stateroom (no downgrades allowed) advertised by Carnival and available to the general public. Price protection will be subject to the prevailing Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses and/or fuel supplement if applicable...." Ken

We are doing this same itenerary in October. By any chance do you have your fun times that you could scan? I would love to see them for the whole cruise if possible.

 

This will be our second cruise on the Conquest. We really liked her last time. We were going to do the Liberty out of Port Canaveral but she was moved to San Juan. So, it was back to the Conquest for us.

 

Thanks for the fun times if you have them!

Ditto on the Fun Times scans! We're sailing that itinerary in September. Thanks, Ken

Actually the Carnival plan (admittedly not the best) does include Cancel for Any Reason for 75% future cruise credit. You should be able to purchase any of the 3rd party plans from CSA, TravelEx, TravelInsured, etc but (except for CSA) you won't be able to get "Waiver of Pre-Existing Conditions or Cancel for Any Reason (to get these you have to purchase 14-21 days after booking. ken

We're booked same itinerary in September - would also appreciate seeing the Fun Times! Thanks,

Ken

Most of the Insurers listed are good companies, including CSA, TravelEx and TravelInsured (TravelInsured also offered cheaper at USAA if you're military). Different Policies are suited to slightly different needs, like kids insured free, cancellation for extended school year, etc., that you might want to look for. All of them should include "Waiver of pre-existing condition" if you purchase within 14-21 days of booking. ken

Many just print out the flimsy tags then wrap them in clear packing tape. ken

I've got a 4G on the Breeze. Anyone know what that is??? These room categories are also confusing to me.

I would love if it looked on to a walkway.

Go to Ships | Breeze | Breeze deckplans and find your Cabin number and it will show the color-coded category, location and surrounding cabins, walkways, elevators... ken

On the menu where they show the Super Saver (the lowest priced fare) , look for small print below that "show other fares"??? ken

What are pros and cons of taking the first cruise after a ship comes out of dry dock? Our next cruise is on a ship directly out of dry dock. Have never done this before.

Thanks for your replies!

I wouldn't even consider booking a cruise until several weeks after dry dock, so as to let them finish unfinished dry dock work and let them resolve problems from the dry dock work. ken

So If I want to ES book for May 31st I'm too late?

Look at the cruises/dates you're interested in and see if ES is being offered. As stated above, usually expires some 3 months out for shorter cruises and some 5 months out for longer cruises.

ken

So If I want to ES book for May 31st I'm too late?

Look at the cruises/dates you're interested in and see if ES is being offered.

ken

Thanks in advance for any help..

 

We currently have a cruise booked on the Breeze for December 2015.

Some friends of ours decided they MAY want to take a cruise on the Dream in November 2015.

Would we be able to change reservations from one ship to another, and what penalties would incur?

If you're booked Early Saver you'll have to pay $50pp penalty and the rest of your deposit will be applied to the balance (not the deposit) of the alternative cruise.

If you're booked any of the Promo rates like Past Guest, Military, Resident..... then as long as you make the change prior to your Final Payment deadline, there should be no charge.

ken

i'm not sure but you may have to cancel and rebook to get the lower price.

No...with promo rates like Past Guest you can get price drops up to Final Payment date. After that, if the fare for a higher category cabin occurs, you can usually upgrade. ken

Is there really a downside to telling them at check in that my daughter will not be joining us on our cruise? (as opposed to just letting her be a no show and not saying anything)

Is insurance involved (is she cancelling for a covered reason?)?

If insurance not involved, then you should be OK with a no-show, in which case she should get back Gov't Fees & Taxes and any pre-paid gratuities; I'd first confirm this with your booking agent.

If insurance is involved, I'm sure you'll find that all "cancellation coverage" requires that you Cancel in order to make a claim. I'd call the insurer's 800 number to discuss the specifics.

ken

With Early Saver, 'downgrades' from assigned cabin to GTY is not supposed to be allowed.

For what it's worth - when we booked ES several months ago, our PVP tells us the unwritten policy is that you're allowed to "downgrade" from your ES to GTY once, you give-upo your assigned cabin and you lose price protection from there on. I don't know of anyone that's been refused this, but as always with Carnival some had to work harder than others to make it happen.

For the OP, if you can live with the Early Saver's restrictions, you can somewhat limit your non-refundable deposit liability (for awhile) by booking when ES with 50% deposit is offered (but be aware you have to pony-up the other 50% if you try to price match to a rate that doesn't offer 50% deposits - so you might wait for a sauper deal to price-match).

Ken

Your hard sided cooler can only be 12x12x12.... ken

Thanks all! I took a chance and bought the ticket. I am super excited to give it to my brother, now just crossing my fingers that he can go. His oncologist thinks he has a pretty good chance of making it to March and being able to enjoy it. I did purchase the insurance within minutes of booking. Now I can't wait for christmas! My brother has never gotten a gift like this for sure. Whoop!!

Did you buy a third party policy or the Carnival Policy (which does not have a waiver of pre-existing conditions)?

For most policies the insured has to be able to travel the day the policy is purchased.

Ken

If you check guest notes on your confirmation, I've never seen the booking type specifically identified, but always the Terms and Conditions for that booking type, which you have to go back to the web page to "match-up" (there's a page on the site that lists all the current bookings and their T&C). Military and Past Guest are pretty obvious, Early Saver will have terms like "non-refundable deposit" etc.

With Early Saver you can get any price drop that you're eligible for (past guest, military.....) for same cruise, date, cabin category.

Be aware that the FareViewer does not display Military rates.

ken

What happens if I decide to change the date on my sailing? It is a more expensive date and I will be adding another room. Do they transfer my existing deposit or do I loose it? I also already purchased the FTTF program. Is that refundable/transferrable?

Booked ES, I think you'll find that your deposit (less $50pp penalty) will be held toward CruiseFare for a future cruise and you'll have to pony up the deposit -- you'll want to call your booking agent to confirm this. Ken