Have You Ever Had To Cancel Your RCI Cruise Shortly Before Sailing Date?

[cjdixon4]

Does anyone have any experience with having to cancel your cruise just a few days prior to sailing? I'm just curious because I have a family emergency that could possibly affect my ability to continue with the trip. :(

Yes, we've got travel insurance...I'd just like to hear about how others have dealt with unexpected emergencies. Thanks.

[CVU]

These were 2 months in advance-

 

Two cruises were paid in full already and Resolutions let us move them to another date next year. The 3rd we just canceled before final payment.

 

We have insurance but there was no need to use it. Moved an airline fight to next year and paid a bit for the change.

The other Int. flight was booked on points and was early enough to be canceled with no penalty.

 

It was way easier than we thought, Thank you RCL!!!

 

Good luck with the family emergency.

Edited April 27, 2015 by CVU

[nimbex1970]

Yes, we had a house fire about 10 days prior to sailing... all our identification was incinerated. Luckily we had insurance. The fee was $50 to cancel.

 

I hope everything works out for you.

[Coralc]

Yes. My mom and her friend were to sail with us, and I had to cancel them and complete the insurance paperwork for them.

 

It was a home rendered uninhabitable situation and it was 10 days before the sailing.

 

If it is medical, you will need a lot of medical paperwork, physician signatures, and possibly medical releases to complete the travel insurance claim. My only suggestion would be to keep that in mind, as you go through what is probably a difficult and stressful time.

[Arizona Laura]

I have had to use travel insurance several times to cancel cruises. One was several days before. Both times RCL sent me several hundred dollars back and the rest came from their Cruise Care-wsa with Berkely. I got the paper work..dr filled out his one sheet..I filled my portion out. I mailed these in and within several weeks had the remainder cost minus travel insurance cost. There were no flights involved.

 

Laura

[reallyitsmema]

We cancelled about a month before a cruise due to medical reason. Cruise line refused to let us move our reservation to another date. Spoke to resolutions, they wouldn't work with us at all. We had cruise care insurance, so we filed through Berkely. Medical paperwork was very simple to fill out. Had to have doctor sign off that my DH was medically unable to travel. Once claim was sent to Berkely, refund from them came very quickly. RCI will refund taxes and fees first and then we filed. Just be very careful that you know what the cruise line owes and what insurance owes because that is what slowed our process down. First 3 refunds from cruise line didn't total what they owed us and took many calls for them to get it right.

[Coralc]

I have had to use travel insurance several times to cancel cruises. One was several days before. Both times RCL sent me several hundred dollars back and the rest came from their Cruise Care-wsa with Berkely. I got the paper work..dr filled out his one sheet..I filled my portion out. I mailed these in and within several weeks had the remainder cost minus travel insurance cost. There were no flights involved.

 

Laura

 

For sure. Unfortunately, I believe it is a little more difficult if you have to cancel because of a family (not cruising with you) emergency.

[hotinphoenix]

A week before my husband and I were scheduled to sail on Navigator of the Seas, my mother fell and broke her ankle requiring surgery and a 2 day hospital stay.

 

I actually didn't contact Royal Caribbean until the day before. They cancelled our cabin and gave me the number to call to start a claim. (I had Royal Caribbean insurance.)

 

While at a follow up appointment (a week or two later) with my mom's orthopedic surgeon, the P.A. filled out the one page form. I submitted that, along with her hospital records, to the insurance co.

 

About 6-8 weeks later I got an email indicating the claim had been approved and the checks would be in the mail.

 

It was a very easy process.

[cjdixon4]

A week before my husband and I were scheduled to sail on Navigator of the Seas, my mother fell and broke her ankle requiring surgery and a 2 day hospital stay.

 

I actually didn't contact Royal Caribbean until the day before. They cancelled our cabin and gave me the number to call to start a claim. (I had Royal Caribbean insurance.)

 

While at a follow up appointment (a week or two later) with my mom's orthopedic surgeon, the P.A. filled out the one page form. I submitted that, along with her hospital records, to the insurance co.

 

About 6-8 weeks later I got an email indicating the claim had been approved and the checks would be in the mail.

 

It was a very easy process.

 

Glad to know that your process was simple; wonder whether it was because your insurance was purchased via RCI? Mine is with Travel Guard, so in the event that we need to cancel, hopefully it will go smoothly and not take forever for the refund.

[Spurschick]

Glad to know that your process was simple; wonder whether it was because your insurance was purchased via RCI? Mine is with Travel Guard, so in the event that we need to cancel, hopefully it will go smoothly and not take forever for the refund.

 

Whilst I have not had to cancel a cruise, I have made claims in the past with travelguard. One was for medical treatment onboard for DD, the other for a land vacation where I was stranded due to flight cancelations. In both instances they were very easy to deal with, and paid promptly. I was so impressed with my experience, I have never hesitated to use them every time we travel.

[Dinkachu]

Does anyone have any experience with having to cancel your cruise just a few days prior to sailing? I'm just curious because I have a family emergency that could possibly affect my ability to continue with the trip. :(

Yes, we've got travel insurance...I'd just like to hear about how others have dealt with unexpected emergencies. Thanks.

 

As 7 members of our family boarded Mariner of the Seas, an ambulance was racing me to the emergency room with a ruptured appendix. I had seen a doctor earlier in the week who thought I had irritable bowel syndrome. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, including Christmas.

 

We filed all of our hospital bills, doctor diagnosis and paperwork with the insurance we purchased through RCI, and within 2 weeks we had a check. We did lose the taxes and port fees paid for the cruise, and we chose to let the crew keep their tips, though we had been told they could be returned.

 

I hope you make your cruise!

[cjdixon4]

Whilst I have not had to cancel a cruise, I have made claims in the past with travelguard. One was for medical treatment onboard for DD, the other for a land vacation where I was stranded due to flight cancelations. In both instances they were very easy to deal with, and paid promptly. I was so impressed with my experience, I have never hesitated to use them every time we travel.

 

Spurschick-

Thanks for your stamp of approval on the travel insurance company. I've always used them for coverage, but never had to file a claim with them. Hoping that won't occur this time either, but glad that I've got the peace of mind that comes with being insured.

[Spurschick]

Spurschick-

Thanks for your stamp of approval on the travel insurance company. I've always used them for coverage, but never had to file a claim with them. Hoping that won't occur this time either, but glad that I've got the peace of mind that comes with being insured.

 

You are welcome. I hope you don't need to claim. I agree on peace of mind:) you never know what will happen or when.

 

Wishing you the best with your situation.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Spurschick

[gweedo]

This past January I had to cancel a cruise the day of the cruise for medical reasons. We had Royal's insurance and within 3 days all expenses that had been paid, excursions etc had been returned to my account.:) I had to file with AON not Berkley as a previous poster posted. After the required paperwork and doctor signatures they refunded the full fare.:) All that I lost was the nonrefundable parking fee. An FYI, I did learn some things from the very nice representative from the insurance company. I am on Medicare(just recently and still learning) and it will not cover over 6 miles outside the U.S. so the supplement won't either. If you don't have a different primary insurance for the specific cruise(for medical evacuations etc.) the cruise insurance will not pay anything until all others have been filed and rejected. The amount limits need to be checked also. For our replacement cruise I have looked into an outside company.(the same as a previous poster listed).

Edited April 27, 2015 by gweedo

[reallyitsmema]

This past January I had to cancel a cruise the day of the cruise for medical reasons. We had Royal's insurance and within 3 days all expenses that had been paid, excursions etc had been returned to my account.:) I had to file with AON not Berkley as a previous poster posted. After the required paperwork and doctor signatures they refunded the full fare.:) All that I lost was the nonrefundable parking fee. An FYI, I did learn some things from the very nice representative from the insurance company. I am on Medicare(just recently and still learning) and it will not cover over 6 miles outside the U.S. so the supplement won't either. If you don't have a different primary insurance for the specific cruise(for medical evacuations etc.) the cruise insurance will not pay anything until all others have been filed and rejected. The amount limits need to be checked also. For our replacement cruise I have looked into an outside company.(the same as a previous poster listed).

AON has acquired Berkely.

[cjdixon4]

If you don't have a different primary insurance for the specific cruise(for medical evacuations etc.) the cruise insurance will not pay anything until all others have been filed and rejected. The amount limits need to be checked also. For our replacement cruise I have looked into an outside company.(the same as a previous poster listed).

 

I had been told years ago that the cruise line insurance is a bit more difficult to deal with than your personal insurer would be. Don't know personally whether that's true or not, but I just started getting my travel insurance independently since then.

[temple1]

These were 2 months in advance-

 

Two cruises were paid in full already and Resolutions let us move them to another date next year. The 3rd we just canceled before final payment.

 

We have insurance but there was no need to use it. Moved an airline fight to next year and paid a bit for the change.

The other Int. flight was booked on points and was early enough to be canceled with no penalty.

 

It was way easier than we thought, Thank you RCL!!!

 

Good luck with the family emergency.

 

Same here, first time we took out cruise insurance because of my BIL's health. Instead my sister (cruise companion) shattered her leg a few weeks before the cruise. Royal Caribbean allowed us to reschedule for another cruise at the end of the year. We didn't even have to use the cruise insurance but were thankful to have it in place in case we did need to cancel. We have purchased cruise insurance for every cruise since except for a 3 nighter and a 2 nighter.

 

Good luck with your family emergency. If you have the insurance, but are willing to reschedule instead of cancelling (I was using Royal Caribbean credit card points towards the cruise which caused and extra hiccup) they will probably work with you.

 

Good luck.

Edited April 27, 2015 by temple1

[RCI Cruisers 004]

Yes, we had to cancel the day before our cruise last year. We usually get insurance on our own, but I had purchased it thru Royal on that cruise. One month from the day I called to cancel, I had the check in my hand. It worked out very smoothly !

[Victoria/73]

We were unable to make our cruise do to major travel problems. Our rbc insurance would not cover us for the reason we could not make it. We called Royal Caribbean & told them we were in route but would not make our cruise. They were amazing, refunded us our port charges & told us when we made it back home to pick out another cruise. They were under no obligation to do this. I was impressed beyond words. We had lost the rest of our airfare but are happy to say we have our cruise rebooked for next year [emoji4] Royal Caribbean has my business for life! they went above and beyond for us.

 

 

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[love2cruise56]

We had to cancel because my sister in law passed away. Royal was very nice to us along with the airline.

[cjdixon4]

Thanks for sharing your experiences all. Not certain what's going to happen in my situation yet, but most of you have some very encouraging stories about getting resolution from RCI. Very helpful! :)

[orville99]

We were scheduled to sail on FOS on 3/8. Had to cancel for a medical emergency on 3/6. Deposited the refund checks from AON last week.

[ronandcarla]

This past Feb 22nd we were taking our daughter and future son-in-law on his first cruise on the Independence of the Seas. They live in Louisiana and we live in Pa, they had no issues getting to FLL, but we had our flight cancelled by reason of a snow storm, etc, the day before we were scheduled to go (this is one of those cases where you couldn't go before or day of), anyhow after finding out there was no way we could make it to FLL in time to catch the cruise or try to fly to Grand Caymans to board there by reason sometimes the ship because of winds don't stop there we decided to cancel the whole thing. Because USAir cancelled our flight they reimbursed us the total flight charge; I called RCCL the day of boarding and cancelled that reservation, they in turn returned all of our port charge, taxes, etc., but were very courteous about the situation. And for the remaining part of the bill and we always buy insurance, even if it is just a flight were reimbursed the remaining charge in about 30 days. The only thing we didn't get back was our horrible feelings of not going on the cruise with the above mentioned family members; and for them after getting over the fact we weren't coming they had a wonderful time and next month when we go down to Louisiana we will be able to see all the pictures and videos and relive all the pain again!!!

 

Sincerely, Ron M

[snorkelman]

I am an attorney and had a trial scheduled for a month before a cruise, but due to inclement weather that closed the courthouse during the days of trial, the judge rescheduled the trial on his own without coordinating with anyone. i didn't file a notice of unavailability because my cruise was scheduled for after the trial date. Judge picks the week of my cruise. I filed motion but judge didn't care.

 

Guess what? Being ordered by a federal judge to attend a trial is NOT covered by RCI's travel insurance.

 

My law firm had to eat the couple thousand dollar cost.

[tm3750]

I had to cancel once due to my mother in law passed away. It was one week before the cruise, we had no insurance. RCCL allowed me to re book at no charge, all I had to do was send them a copy of the death certificate. I felt very fortunate and appreciative.