Last minute no-show advice requested

Hi all,

My son can't come on the cruise that's leaving in a week, because of work issues. He was sharing a room with my other son, who's now going to sail solo. We did not buy insurance (and I doubt it would have covered this situation anyway, as his work is not telling him he has to stay, they're telling him it would be in his best interests to stay, hint hint).

So we're resigned to losing his fare since we're way past the full cancellation fee time frame. But I don't want to lose the cancellation fee AND get charged a single supplement. I've now read a half dozen threads on this subject, and it sounds like the right thing to do to avoid getting double-charged is to just have him not show up.

Now, should we just tell them he's not coming when we check in? Or is that going to result in the single supplement plus cancellation being charged? It seems like some folks have played dumb and suggested that the missing passenger is traveling separately, and checked everyone else in. I'm not super thrilled about that approach, but I'll do it if it's going to save us several thousand dollars. Frankly, I'm extremely mad that the cruise line will charge BOTH the cancellation fee AND the single supplement in this situation, but I didn't think I'd need to worry about it. Foolish, I know.

Thanks in advance for any tips on this situation!

Don

Hmmmm,

A number of people who work in HAL's Seattle office read CC.

I think you may have just told HAL, a week in advance of the cruise that one of your sons will not be coming.

Did you book directly through HAL?

Sorry for the disappointment your son has to work and cannot cruise. Hopefully there will be another opportunity.

Disappointing as it is for him to not go, he likely made the right choice and opted to please his employer.

You have already paid double for both boys.....why would you have a cancellation fee...??

If you booked thru HAL....I would call and let them know.....you should actually get a credit for one of the tax and port fees....

If you booked thru a TA....they should know how to handle this too......

If you show up and tell them the missing person is traveling separately you will be fine. Here is what happened when I did it several years ago.

I showed up and said my room mate was traveling by himself.

Shortly before sail away I was in the cabin and got a call asking if it was possible he was going to show up.

We sailed without any other interactions.

Since I paid both fares I got a refund of port charges and fees, but I don't remember if it was as OBC or credit back to my card after the cruise. I think it was a week or so after the cruise concluded to my card.

YMMV

No one is suggesting that you lie. But you're not under oath, either, so have no obligation to tell the whole truth. You have the right to remain silent, and that would be the best way to go with this one.

The fare for the missing son is gone anyway. When he doesn't arrive, his port charges will be refunded, and the sailing son won't have to pay the single supplement.

I am so very sorry your son will no longer be able to join you. I find his employer's actions detestable. Best of luck with the process.

We had this happen and, at check in, just said the other person couldn't make it (which was true). No issues and no extra charges and a credit for the taxes and port charges..

You might be able to "swap out" your one son for a friend of the other's or another relative. I think you can change one name on a reservation but not both. Maybe it's not too late.

You will not be charged any extra if one is a "no-show"...the cabin is paid for...it's all fine. You will be refunded port charges and taxes on the no-show.

Thanks, everyone, for your kind advice. We are sad that my son can't go, but we knew it was a possibility quite some time ago, so it didn't come out of nowhere.

As to whether HAL knows, I'm really not trying to hide from them. I've already talked to them about it, a month or so ago when it was looking more and more like his job would be not-so-subtly pressuring him to stay.

The rep on the phone said that if we cancelled prior to embarkation, we'd have to forfeit the cancellation penalty, and at that point my other son would be a solo passenger so they'd have to add the solo supplement. And as others have mentioned, we could change passengers, for a moderate fee. The rep seemed to be saying (if I read between the lines) that there was no good reason to actually cancel his berth until I had someone else to fill it. So I said I'd wait and see if he really couldn't go (which we did) and look for a substitute for him (which we did).

Now we're at the point where it's 99% probable that he's going to stay, barring some breakthrough at work, and we were unable to find a replacement. We tried several of my other son's friends, including a friend who traveled with us on a previous cruise. All had other plans. And we have a single relative who lives near the embarkation port, but he's jammed up with work. So we've done what we can, but I think we're out of ideas.

To be fair to HAL, I kinda get the reason why they run it this way. As far as I understand it, the single supplement is mainly to encourage people to find someone to share the room. They want the ship to sail full, because each additional person spends money on the cruise and they really want that additional spending to make the cruise profitable. It just feels a little unfair to cancel a passenger and basically get charged extra for that.

Again, I appreciate the advice and am going to enjoy this trip, no matter what happens with the fare and penalties and whatnot. It's just money, right? Got our health, got two healthy kids. It's all good. :)

Don

You have a great attitude.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise (and next time, you get to cruise with both sons).

You do have a wonderful attitude and bless you for it. I am not familiar with scenario - we did have to cancel a trip last Oct due to illness but had trip insurance.

Looking at it practically (at least I think so) HAL has the cruise fare for two people - but only one will be using the water, eating, etc. If you are not asking for a refund on working son's fare then I don't see why non-working son would have to pay more as a solo.

I am inclined to be dumb and happy and when you check in and just tell them that one son most likely will not make the sailing but there is always hope - wouldn't give a reason unless really pressed for one and then maybe use he can't make it in time due to work delay - or you could use he isn't feeling well and didn't want infect others (that should do it !)

Best of luck - sounds like you have paid plenty for this cruise (assuming you paid for all four fares) and while it is a disappointment that working son won't be there I am sure you and the rest of your family with have a great time. And kudos to working son - it is rare to see that sort of commitment in the work place these days!

Thanks, everyone, for your kind advice. We are sad that my son can't go, but we knew it was a possibility quite some time ago, so it didn't come out of nowhere.

 

As to whether HAL knows, I'm really not trying to hide from them. I've already talked to them about it, a month or so ago when it was looking more and more like his job would be not-so-subtly pressuring him to stay.

 

The rep on the phone said that if we cancelled prior to embarkation, we'd have to forfeit the cancellation penalty, and at that point my other son would be a solo passenger so they'd have to add the solo supplement. And as others have mentioned, we could change passengers, for a moderate fee. The rep seemed to be saying (if I read between the lines) that there was no good reason to actually cancel his berth until I had someone else to fill it. So I said I'd wait and see if he really couldn't go (which we did) and look for a substitute for him (which we did).

 

Now we're at the point where it's 99% probable that he's going to stay, barring some breakthrough at work, and we were unable to find a replacement. We tried several of my other son's friends, including a friend who traveled with us on a previous cruise. All had other plans. And we have a single relative who lives near the embarkation port, but he's jammed up with work. So we've done what we can, but I think we're out of ideas.

 

To be fair to HAL, I kinda get the reason why they run it this way. As far as I understand it, the single supplement is mainly to encourage people to find someone to share the room. They want the ship to sail full, because each additional person spends money on the cruise and they really want that additional spending to make the cruise profitable. It just feels a little unfair to cancel a passenger and basically get charged extra for that.

 

Again, I appreciate the advice and am going to enjoy this trip, no matter what happens with the fare and penalties and whatnot. It's just money, right? Got our health, got two healthy kids. It's all good. :)

 

Don

AND your son has a job !! :)

That is certainly good but a bit inconvenient right now.

Just wanted to come back and let folks know how it went, for others looking for the same information. We just told them our son couldn't make it when we checked in. They asked why, because they said sometimes the ship wants to know (perhaps to know if there's any chance they'll show up), but everything went smoothly otherwise. We didn't get his fare back (as expected), but were not charged a single supplement or any other fees.

And we had a lovely cruise and wished he could have been there, but that's the way life goes sometimes. Thanks again to everyone for your help!

Don

Glad your cruise was a good one. :)

Just wanted to come back and let folks know how it went, for others looking for the same information. We just told them our son couldn't make it when we checked in. They asked why, because they said sometimes the ship wants to know (perhaps to know if there's any chance they'll show up), but everything went smoothly otherwise. We didn't get his fare back (as expected), but were not charged a single supplement or any other fees.

 

And we had a lovely cruise and wished he could have been there, but that's the way life goes sometimes. Thanks again to everyone for your help!

 

Don

That's great, so glad it worked out for you and that you had a good time.

Thanks for coming back and telling us. Many times we never know how things turned out.

Thanks for the update.....and so glad you had a fun cruise.....!!

Great of you to come back and share with us. All too often, we gry to help posters with questions and never her how things went.

So happy to read all went well for you.

Welcome back

thanks so much for coming back and letting us know.

Your report will be helpful to many, I'm sure :)

glad to hear that you enjoyed the cruise.

Thank you for returning with your update.

Pleased that you had a good cruise.

thanks so much for coming back and letting us know.

 

Your report will be helpful to many, i'm sure :)

 

glad to hear that you enjoyed the cruise.

+1

😁