Celebrity cancellation policy

[Georgianscot]

Does anyone have experience with having to cancel a Celebrity cruise due to urgent medical treatment?

 

Can someone cancel and change to another cruise thereby Celebrity still retaining the money and knowing money will be spent with them on a future cruise?

 

Thank you

[cruisestitch]

Anyone who answers this should recognize that the OP is in the UK. Rules there are different than in the US.

 

That being said, there are several questions that come to mind.

 

Are you before or after Final Payment?

Are you the patient or is it a member of your family not traveling with you?

Did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with Celebrity?

Did you buy travel insurance?

Was this a pre-existing condition?

Does your credit card offer any travel insurance?

 

Now, the general rule is that after Final Payment there is not much that can be done. You, or your travel agent, can try contacting Celebrity to see if there is any "compassionate" solution or opportunity to move the booking to another cruise at a later time, but the general rule is, there won't be one.

[Georgianscot]

Anyone who answers this should recognize that the OP is in the UK. Rules there are different than in the US.

 

That being said, there are several questions that come to mind.

 

Are you before or after Final Payment?

Are you the patient or is it a member of your family not traveling with you?

Did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with Celebrity?

Did you buy travel insurance?

Was this a pre-existing condition?

Does your credit card offer any travel insurance?

 

Now, the general rule is that after Final Payment there is not much that can be done. You, or your travel agent, can try contacting Celebrity to see if there is any "compassionate" solution or opportunity to move the booking to another cruise at a later time, but the general rule is, there won't be one.

 

Thank you. Am hoping it won't come to this. This is after final payment and would be for a pre-existing condition. Waiting on a decision (was told would not be eligible for surgery to then being told may be) on if can have surgery to save a life! No travel insurance as yet and this trip was gifted - in a suite so lots of money at stake too. A life is more important but makes me feel sick to think of the person who gifted this trip would lose so much when trying to do a nice thing after such gruelling treatment these past few months. The doctor will write a letter to Celebrity if surgery is a go and they want to do it when we would be on holiday. Praying can get surgery but hoping they will wait until back from holiday to do it.

[jelayne]

I know you are not in the US & things can be quite different but in the US if you cancel after final payment you lose money but the farther away from sail date you cancel the less the cancellation amount. If a cruise is cancelled between 89-57 days before sailing cancellation is $450pp, 56-29 days 50% of the total cost is lost, 28-15 days loss is 75%.

If you can’t make the trip I’m hoping that you have a similar cancellation schedule so the person who gifted you this cruise will get some portion refunded.

[TeaBag]

So sorry for your dilemma. Did the person who gifted the trip pay with a CC? if so, there might be some recourse there. I hope this all ends happily for the patient.

[chemmo]

Thank you. Am hoping it won't come to this. This is after final payment and would be for a pre-existing condition. Waiting on a decision (was told would not be eligible for surgery to then being told may be) on if can have surgery to save a life! No travel insurance as yet and this trip was gifted - in a suite so lots of money at stake too. A life is more important but makes me feel sick to think of the person who gifted this trip would lose so much when trying to do a nice thing after such gruelling treatment these past few months. The doctor will write a letter to Celebrity if surgery is a go and they want to do it when we would be on holiday. Praying can get surgery but hoping they will wait until back from holiday to do it.

 

Firstly sincere best wishes for a return to health....

 

Can I suggest you talk with your consultant (or your consultant’s secretary in the first instance) about your dilemma and ask two questions...

 

Firstly, will your health be adversely affected if you waited for your surgery until after your cruise and secondly can they simply book your surgery in after a certain date.

 

Much negative press is given to the U.K. health service but I have in the last three years juggled three surgeries (major but not life threatening) with cruises. Consultants do appreciate the positives a holiday can offer general health and the mental boost it gives....The key factor is if putting it off for a month or two be an issue.

 

Re money back from Celebrity/cruise swap. I would think this is highly unlikely after final payment. From what we have found out over several years the system in the U.K. is as follows. I am sure others will come in with their own experiences too. Contractually before final payment in the U.K. you can change a booking for a set fee of £75 per guest. This can be to a new cruise on a new date but you would not take any perks with you. This is wavered for Elite guests and above. Alternatively you can cancel and loose your deposit. However, after final payment I think Celebrity is not obligated to do anything. Re insurance, they would reimburse if you had declared your existing condition and they had agreed to cover it, otherwise they would not pay out either. As you do not have insurance this is probably not relevant....

 

Sincere best wishes that you can have the surgery you need after a much deserved cruise....

[Georgianscot]

Firstly sincere best wishes for a return to health....

 

Can I suggest you talk with your consultant (or your consultant’s secretary in the first instance) about your dilemma and ask two questions...

 

Firstly, will your health be adversely affected if you waited for your surgery until after your cruise and secondly can they simply book your surgery in after a certain date.

 

Much negative press is given to the U.K. health service but I have in the last three years juggled three surgeries (major but not life threatening) with cruises. Consultants do appreciate the positives a holiday can offer general health and the mental boost it gives....The key factor is if putting it off for a month or two be an issue.

 

Re money back from Celebrity/cruise swap. I would think this is highly unlikely after final payment. From what we have found out over several years the system in the U.K. is as follows. I am sure others will come in with their own experiences too. Contractually before final payment in the U.K. you can change a booking for a set fee of £75 per guest. This can be to a new cruise on a new date but you would not take any perks with you. This is wavered for Elite guests and above. Alternatively you can cancel and loose your deposit. However, after final payment I think Celebrity is not obligated to do anything. Re insurance, they would reimburse if you had declared your existing condition and they had agreed to cover it, otherwise they would not pay out either. As you do not have insurance this is probably not relevant....

 

Sincere best wishes that you can have the surgery you need after a much deserved cruise....

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

My consultant knows everything and it was she who in fact said I would benefit from a holiday so a relative gifted my mother and I the trip. The consultant said last week that they could work treatment around this. However, What we did not anticipate was that surgery would be an option. Was told no to then one week later be told possibly. Then she said chemo must be out of system for so many weeks and they like to do surgery at 6-8 weeks after last chemo session which lo and behold ties in with the cruise dates. She asked me to find out if cruise could be transferred to a later cruise. So all of this has been discussed in great detail. The issue is I am at a standstill as will not know any further news until Tuesday on whether surgery is an option or not. Then if it is, what is likely date of surgery? What do the surgeons think about delaying until after the cruise? If not surgery, would be back on chemo and can delay. However if this is my only chance to get cancer out and must be during those dates, then I have to do it to save my life!

 

I will go through the cruise company I booked with to see what they say. May just bite the bullet and pay the extorinate insurance if means getting back a refund of 8 times that cost!

 

Thank you

[Ergates The Ant]

Have just had to cancel a cruise 4 days out, due to a medical condition. (Not due to any declared pre existing condition )

Celebrity are refunding the taxes and port fees only.

If we had cancellelled 6 days out, we could have had a refund of 10%. The exact figures are listed in the Celebrity UK terms and conditions.

We do have travel insurance so I am hoping we will get a refund of the rest.

 

You may have a lot of difficulty finding anyone to insure you at all if you are technically awaiting surgery. However it may be worth contacting some of the Cancer charities ( I notice you mentioned chemo ) as they can sometimes point in you in the direction of insurance companies that will cover travellers with serious conditions.

 

Another option might be for the booking to be transferred to someone else, there will obviously be fees for the changes, possibly quite high, but less than losing the full cruise cost. Again, the Ts and Cs will tell you if this is permissible and what it might cost.

 

Unfortunately, the only way to ensure cover is to take out the insurance as soon as, or even before, the cruise is booked ( you can usually cancel the insurance within 14 days if you don’t go ahead with booking the holiday)

And of course, declare all existing medical conditions!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

So sorry to hear you might have to give up the cruise. Be careful purchasing insurance at this late date, after final payment and a pre existing health issue. Even if you can purchase it, it is likely it would not pay in your situation. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[cruisestitch]

I very much doubt you can find any trip insurance policy now that would cover cancellation.

[autumn lass]

So sorry to hear about your situation, I have to agree that it is unlikely that you will get insurance at this stage. However talk to your local Macmillan service as they have a list of potential insurance providers, or you can go on their website and access it that way. Due to the circumstances ask your TA to talk to Celebrity and see if they will give you a credit towards a future cruise. If there is still some time before the cruise they may be able to sell your accommodation to someone on the waitlist if there is one for the cruise. Lastly do you have a credit or debit card which offers holiday insurance as you may already be insured under the terms of the card even though you did not purchase the cruise. 3 years ago we cancelled the day before the cruise, it was later discovered I had stage 4 NHL, we were reimbursed port fees etc by Celebrity and our insurer refunded the cost of our cruise minus the excess on the policy. Getting insurance when you have or had cancer is difficult but some companies are sympathetic and will offer cover and not always at an extortionate price. I hope you are able to have the surgery and your cancer can be treated that way.

 

 

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[Turtlelove17]

We had to cancel a cruise the day we were to depart in September 2017. It was terrible. They only refunded our port taxes/fees. The worst part is we were booked in a suite for 4 people so we lost a lot of money! We tried to get money back, but also respected that we didn’t have insurance on the trip so we chalked it up to bad luck. On a whim I decided to write a letter to celebrity letting them know I was disappointed in losing so much money as we are long time cruisers. We also chose not to cruise with celebrity for the time being as it was just so disappointing to lose money and a trip we had been looking forwards to. We started cruising with other companies instead. Well about two weeks after the email, I got a call from celebrity who refunded us about $8,000 as a cruise credit. We then had 2 years to use that credit. It was a very welcome surprise! So I just suggest that you at least try again if you are denied any refund. It doesn’t hurt to ask... they worst they are going to say is no!

[Georgianscot]

Happy news!

 

Am able to go on my cruise!

 

The surgeons have said if surgery going to happen will schedule after my holiday and to go! Will know about surgery next week. Looking positive though!

 

Also my cruise company contacted Celebrity and they were willing to let me transfer to another cruise up to 2020 but would have to pay the admin/transfer fee. Not a credit - I would have to had told them the exact cruise we would go on which to be honest would have been difficult as not sure what my future treatment would be and for how long. They said they would have done this as a critical situation and unexpected. So I applaud Celebrity for their kind consideration. Thank you 😊

 

Looking forward to our cruise and my full recovery afterwards as I know I will beat the big C!

 

Happy sailings to you all! 😊

[lisiamc]

Happy news!

 

Am able to go on my cruise!

 

The surgeons have said if surgery going to happen will schedule after my holiday and to go! Will know about surgery next week. Looking positive though!

 

Also my cruise company contacted Celebrity and they were willing to let me transfer to another cruise up to 2020 but would have to pay the admin/transfer fee. Not a credit - I would have to had told them the exact cruise we would go on which to be honest would have been difficult as not sure what my future treatment would be and for how long. They said they would have done this as a critical situation and unexpected. So I applaud Celebrity for their kind consideration. Thank you 😊

 

Looking forward to our cruise and my full recovery afterwards as I know I will beat the big C!

 

Happy sailings to you all! 😊

 

That’s a great update! I hope you have a wonderful time on the cruise, and I hope your surgery is a complete success.

[chemmo]

Wonderful news, enjoy your cruise!

[autumn lass]

That’s good news. Enjoy your cruise and hope your surgery is successful and you are cancer free.

 

 

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[Jade13]

Good news, but a question?

 

For those in the UK, can’t you get insurance to cover preexisting conditions? I understand it would have been at the time the cruise was booked / gifted.

 

 

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[jimzgoldfinch]

Good news, but a question?

 

For those in the UK, can’t you get insurance to cover preexisting conditions? I understand it would have been at the time the cruise was booked / gifted.

 

 

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You can get travel insurance that covers most pre existing conditions. You should arrange cover at time of booking but costs will vary significantly depending on the condition. Difficulty arises if you are on a waiting list for major surgery and cover may be excluded.

 

My annual insurance covers pre existing medical conditions and am happy that I am covered in the event of a medical emergency. I would need to inform the insurer in the event of a change in health. They will either accept and charge an additional premium or may indicate that they would exclude such condition. There would be a valid claim for cancellation of the cruise.

[Jade13]

You can get travel insurance that covers most pre existing conditions. You should arrange cover at time of booking but costs will vary significantly depending on the condition. Difficulty arises if you are on a waiting list for major surgery and cover may be excluded.

 

 

 

My annual insurance covers pre existing medical conditions and am happy that I am covered in the event of a medical emergency. I would need to inform the insurer in the event of a change in health. They will either accept and charge an additional premium or may indicate that they would exclude such condition. There would be a valid claim for cancellation of the cruise.

 

 

 

This is different in the US. For the policies we have used you do not have to disclose the condition! It is not dependent on disclosing the condition and the insurer deciding the cost to insure, or whether they want to insure. At least the ones we have used no questions were asked. This may be different once you try to collect. The condition has to be under control. The costs are not based on the condition but generally based on age (or in the case of some cruise line cancel for any reason policies - based on the cost of the cabin).

 

 

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[suekay]

UK residents can usually get cover for pre-existing conditions, but premiums can often be extremely high (particularly for travel to the US and the Caribbean). However, if you are 55+ and are in or have a pension from any sort of gov't service, provided your doctor says you are fit to travel then you don't have to declare any health conditions. Spouses can also be covered on a joint annual policy costing £275 from the Civil Service Sports Club. Sorry to hijack the thread but I hope this info may help somebody continue to travel.

[Georgianscot]

Yes you can get cover for pre-existing conditions which I always do. However for cancer , it is more difficult and there are few who will. I was given a list by McMillan Cancer support and one is willing but will cost £1k to insure. This is higher because it is a cruise and if anything happens, may need to airlift from the middle of the ocean. Another insurance company on the list refused to offer cover because I am still awaiting treatment - either surgery or more chemo. This is even though my oncologist told me to go on holiday and has given consent as I am well enough to travel and doing well. They don't care. Said they are not specialist enough and will not consult the doctor where as the other insurance company - Insure Cancer sends a questionnaire to the doctor to get their view.

Am just happy to be done so well and thankful I get to enjoy a nice holiday with my mum!

[Georgianscot]

Also it is not true that you need to get insurance once booked. I have been on a cruise and got insurance for pre-existing conditions the day before travel and was not expensive.

[Ergates The Ant]

Sue Kay, hadn’t heard of this insurance option.

Do you have personal experience of it?

I could be eligible to join via nhs scheme.

Thanks

Anne

[suekay]

Sue Kay, hadn’t heard of this insurance option.

Do you have personal experience of it?

I could be eligible to join via nhs scheme.

Thanks

Anne

Yes. I just joined, mainly for my husband who has had cardiac problems in the past . You have to join the CSSC for £3.95pcm (less 10% if over 65) then follow the link on the home page to the 55+ travel insurance site. I emailed to ask if cruise cover was included, and it is. The only downside is that it renews every April, so depending on what time of year you join, you may only get part year cover for the full annual payment. Somebody on the P&O forum looked closely into the t&c's of the policy and said it was good. I don't have experience of making a claim ( and hope we never have to)