3 out of 5 ports cancelled. What compensation can we expect?

You are entitled to having all port fees and taxes refunded. Anything else is gravy and a goodwill gesture.

 

 

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Not under UK law. The holiday price is a single figure and port fees are part of the package.

I believe this is the incident referred to.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/09/frenchman-thrown-costa-cruise-liner-indian-ocean-leading-mutiny/

Huh, interesting. It is not unexpected that there are two definite sides to this story. Thanks for sharing.

Just my opinion. If communicating the change was purposely withheld until everyone was on board, then that would be really bad customer service.... Hearing a company do something like this makes me avoid that company in the future.

Just 2 days ago, we were tendered over to Belize only to learn that are Excursion have been cancelled. We could have spent those two hours getting to Belize and back doing something aboard the ship, perhaps visiting the spa. But it was more important to whoever made this decision that we be inconvenienced and put in the position of having already wasted an hour perhaps deciding to take a lesser Excursion. Yes it was bad customer service but it was a calculated risk from their standpoint that they would get the revenue anyway instead of having to refund it.

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

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Our UK policy pays out £100 each for a missed port, up to a maximum of 5 per cruise. Nice to have, but no compensation is really sufficient if you miss a couple of ports in a once in a lifetime cruise.

 

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That sounds like very full coverage - up to L 500 (is that per person) if five ports are missed - in addition to all the normal hazards covered. Could you give us a rough idea of what you would pay for such coverage on a two week cruise?

I believe this is the incident referred to.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/09/frenchman-thrown-costa-cruise-liner-indian-ocean-leading-mutiny/

Babs, thank you for the link. Sure gave a pespecive to why the portsw were dnacxxelle3d. :D Little choice in hte maatter, I would say. IF the guests on boadd kNEW that was the reason, I shake my head to think they pushed ack sooo had....... yes, I know, they were annoyed they were not told in advance of boarding.

That sounds like very full coverage - up to L 500 (is that per person) if five ports are missed - in addition to all the normal hazards covered. Could you give us a rough idea of what you would pay for such coverage on a two week cruise?

However, as an indication we are both well over 60 and the total premium for both of us is around £350.

The £500 is per person.

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Sorry, we have an annual, worldwide multi trip insurance cover, including cruises, so can't give you a figure for 2 weeks.

However, as an indication we are both well over 60 and the total premium for both of us is around £350.

The £500 is per person.

 

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I have not seen policies here that cover missed ports

Since some are from the UK obviously there regional differences in insurance coverage

Wish posters would put their Country in their profile so when they make statements like above then people know it is not the same for every Country

Do you have a TA?

This is where a TA can be helpful by being your advocate with the cruise line.

Keith

Reference to £, and UK in the post were giveaways to location for me . . .

I have not seen policies here that cover missed ports

Since some are from the UK obviously there regional differences in insurance coverage

 

Wish posters would put their Country in their profile so when they make statements like above then people know it is not the same for every Country

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Strange that airlines under their own insurance pay compensation for delayed flights etc, yet it's just my bad luck that cruise ships aren't responsible for compensating for not calling on a particular port.

I guess it only hits home when it's you who have been affected. I guess if I heard that QM2 on a TA from Southampton to NY turned back halfway my reaction would be " oh no" but if I was on the ship my reaction would have been a lot more than "Oh no". WHO provided the same advice before the cruise as they did during the cruise. Costa could have been more honest upfront then nobody would have had a problem.

I have annual travel insurance but did not take out specific cruise port cancellation. Lesson learnt I guess. Thanks again to everyone for interesting views when I get time I will see if I can get hold of Simon Calder Travel guru for BBC Travelshow and seek his view. Costa and our TA remain tight lipped on the matter.

Sorry, we have an annual, worldwide multi trip insurance cover, including cruises, so can't give you a figure for 2 weeks.

However, as an indication we are both well over 60 and the total premium for both of us is around £350.

The £500 is per person.

 

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I'd love to know what company you are with.

I'd love to know what company you are with.

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Not sure if the rules allow me to name names, but my advice to anyone thinking of a holiday is to make sure you Insure and then Go !

 

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I don't think there's any ban on naming insurers on the forum, it's naming travel agents that'll get your knuckles rapped.

(this for UK cruisers)

Yes, subject to buying their most expensive option, Insure-and-go's policy includes £100 per person per missed port-of-call & no excess. I think the only exclusion is tender ports, where the ship is unable to tender passengers ashore - I'm guessing that includes unsafe sea or weather conditions.

OK, so you're "into your sixties".

I insured with them (never needed to make a claim) until I was 65 (? or thereabouts), when overnight insuring me was suddenly four times more risky - the annual premium had shot up by about 400% :eek:.

So I switched to elsewhere (a policy linked with my Nationwide bank account)

JB :)

Strange that airlines under their own insurance pay compensation for delayed flights etc, yet it's just my bad luck that cruise ships aren't responsible for compensating for not calling on a particular port.

I guess it only hits home when it's you who have been affected. I guess if I heard that QM2 on a TA from Southampton to NY turned back halfway my reaction would be " oh no" but if I was on the ship my reaction would have been a lot more than "Oh no". WHO provided the same advice before the cruise as they did during the cruise. Costa could have been more honest upfront then nobody would have had a problem.

I have annual travel insurance but did not take out specific cruise port cancellation. Lesson learnt I guess. Thanks again to everyone for interesting views when I get time I will see if I can get hold of Simon Calder Travel guru for BBC Travelshow and seek his view. Costa and our TA remain tight lipped on the matter.

Not the same at all. If I book a flight to Milwaukee via Chicago and due to circumstances beyond the airline's control I go via Philadelphia, or by bus on the last leg, then I don't get compensation - their job is to provide me with a trip to my destination. A cruise is a different matter - their job is to provide you with a holiday. That's not to say that compensation isn't relevant to cruising, just that there's no analogy with airlines.

And there's no analogy with a failed translatntic crossing, either. Finishing the trip 3,000 miles from where you should be is not the same as spending one day of the trip in a place you didn't intend to be.

I don't think there's any ban on naming insurers on the forum, it's naming travel agents that'll get your knuckles rapped.

 

 

(this for UK cruisers)

Yes, subject to buying their most expensive option, Insure-and-go's policy includes £100 per person per missed port-of-call & no excess. I think the only exclusion is tender ports, where the ship is unable to tender passengers ashore - I'm guessing that includes unsafe sea or weather conditions.

 

OK, so you're "into your sixties".

I insured with them (never needed to make a claim) until I was 65 (? or thereabouts), when overnight insuring me was suddenly four times more risky - the annual premium had shot up by about 400% :eek:.

So I switched to elsewhere (a policy linked with my Nationwide bank account)

 

JB :)

Actually John, we are over 65 and over 70 and have not experienced anything like the increase you experienced, and we have been with them for at least 5 years. One of the advantages they have over other companies, is that they will exclude some pre-existing medical conditions, which helps keep their premiums [in my opinion] quite reasonable. For our latest renewal, for example, their premium was half that of the quote provided by Avanti.

Costa NeoRiviera cancelled all ports in Madagascar but only confirmed this once we were onboard and no chance of cancelling. We got €150 each as compensation which basically covered forced gratuities regardless of service satisfaction etc. Surely we are entitled to full compensation as it is highly unlikely many people would have agreed to a 2 port stop after paying for 5.

Does anyone know of a precedent ? I have written to Costa as instructed by the onboard staff however no response !

Weren't you way past the cancellation date? What do you think you would have gotten if they told you before you boarded and you decided not to go? My guess is zero. How would that have improved your situation? Or do you think that this circumstance would magically extend the date for refunds?

Just checked - our policy last year cost £316.

 

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Given the fact that port cancellation risk is so reasonably insured against under British plans, it seems unreasonable for OP to think about anything approaching full compensation for what appears to be an otherwise-covered loss. In fact, what he reported as being offered by the line seems quite generous.

Actually John, we are over 65 and over 70 and have not experienced anything like the increase you experienced, and we have been with them for at least 5 years. One of the advantages they have over other companies, is that they will exclude some pre-existing medical conditions, which helps keep their premiums [in my opinion] quite reasonable. For our latest renewal, for example, their premium was half that of the quote provided by Avanti.

Depending upon where I am cruising and which por t (s) might be missed, I don' really care all that much. Sure, I would care if I took a Greece and Greek Island cruise and we missed the port of Athens.

If sailing the Caribbean, I wouldn't get hysterical to miss just ab out any of the islands......... Sure , I like some far more than others but still. I learned very early in my cruising, if you absolutely must visit a certain place on your vacation or it is ruined, don't cruise there. Fly and have a land vacation. Not all of us need or want port cancellation insurance.

Did you read your cruise contract? If so, you would see they can change, rearrange, cancel or substitute any port at any time for any reason. You agreed when you paid your fare. They owe you nothing. This is how cruising works.

Did you read your cruise contract? If so, you would see they can change, rearrange, cancel or substitute any port at any time for any reason. You agreed when you paid your fare. They owe you nothing. This is how cruising works.

You hit the nail right on the head (except they do owe the port fees).

And the reason the ship did not stop at those ports was an outbreak of the plague. Does anyone seriously want to make a port stop in that circumstances?

Here are the facts which affected the 1,000 plus passengers who were affected by the actual cruise in question:-

1- The cruise was sold as a 5 ports of call stop.

2- Incorporating Madagascar was what most considered to be a highlight given that it's never been on the mainstream tourist destination route.

3- The outbreak of the plague became apparent weeks before the cruise ship was due to sail.

4- Enquiries were made to both the Travel Agents and Costa themselves who both insisted that the cruise was definitely going to Madagascar despite everyone's Heath concerns. Some Americans even got their Doctors to prescribe antibiotics so that they could start taking them immediately if required. We read that the plague is curable with antibiotics however unfortunately not readily available for locals hence the seriousness of the dreadful disease.

5-The WHO did not advise against going to Madagascar and therefore we accepted Costa's stance that there was no reason for concern and that it was reasonably safe to travel to the northern parts of the massive land as the outbreak was in the capital and southern part of the country, 1,000s of miles away from our ports of all.

6- With this knowledge we boarded the ship and only that night we got a change in itinerary for one of the ports which nobody appeared too bothered about.

7- A few days later we received an update through our stateroom to say that the other 2 ports were now also cancelled and we were offered €150 each person onboard credit which could not be used to pay for the compulsory service fee aka gratuity.

8- The WHO did not raise the health risk during this period and as far as we as laymen could gather nothing had changed other than Costa probably considered the potential impact stopping in Madagascar may have had. We only wish that Costa had thought about this before and shared their thoughts with paying passengers .

9-Some 300 French speaking passengers got together in the theatre to discuss the issue which lead to the "Leader" being asked to leave the ship in Seychelles and was flown home to his country in Reunion rather than spend 3 sea days to get there. This was not the way to address the issue however Costa themselves could have perhaps handled the communication differently.

10-The customer service desk onboard the ship were told to give passengers the email address of their head office as they would deal with further compensation decisions. The expectation thereafter was to expect Costa to enter into a form of dialogue sooner rather than later given the heat of the disappointment from those who actually paid and travelled for the trip.

11- Each cruiseline has their own rules and lines and lines of fine print however there is an expectation of getting bang for ones Buck . We have experienced a political unrest position looming in the Suez area which lead to the cruiseline changing the itinerary BUT they did give passengers the option of full cancellation . We accepted the change in itinerary with an adjustment to the package price. This is probably what lead me to expect something more but clearly based on the responses to my blog from those in the know, we should just be happy to have paid for 5 ports and only stopped at 2. We had a brilliant cruise overall with great company and do hope that the next time we have a similar experience we will be more understanding and not feel deceived by the cruise line. Costa was and will not be our cruiseline of choice but ports of call will remain the decider.

Thanks again to evryone for your points of view. It's good to put them all in perspective and learn from the experience.

Happy cruising everyone !

In my experience, cruise lines don’t cancel any POC until the last minute because they don’t want to start the mass confusion this causes onboard and they’re hoping that something will change making it possible to make the stop. Perhaps they also were working hard on making additional stops for substitution. In our eyes- seems simple enough- just stop “here” they have a port. It’s not quite that easy. There are other ships navigating all over the ocean also making stops. Each port has a limit to how many ships it can take at one time. Then there are port fees which vary by port. It’s well within the realm of possibilities that Costa tried to replace at least one of your stops but were not successful.

I’m not sure about every insurance policy out there- but the ones I am experienced with would not have paid out on a last minute cancelation due to you not liking changes in

itinerary. So if you’re not getting your money back- why not just cruise?

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