Refused refund due to medical heart condition

[stargard1]

I arranged for a 3 week for me and my wife on Norwegian cruise lines out of LAX. (3.5K USD trip). We had saved an planned this trip for almost 2 years.

One month prior to travel I found that I had a blockage on one of major arteries. The doctor recommended That I do not travel until the heart procedure is completed. The condition was serious enough that the medical procedure was scheduled within 3 weeks of the initial diagnosis which would have been right in the middle of my cruise trip.

 

contact American airlines, Airbnb and told them of the situation and provided them with the proper documentation, they graciously gave me a emergency medical reprieve and refunded me my ticket and booking fees. I suppose neither one them wanted me to die on the trip, I appreciated that.

 

Norwegian Cruise lines however flatly refused any refund, even after I showed all the medical documentation. I was shocked. They said there is no reason that they would provide a refund, I suppose they expected me to make the trip and maybe die on the trip just for kicks….. soulless company

I even asked them to keep the cruise ticket refund in my account, so I could use it in a later date, they refused.

They were required to provide with a partial refund, because I cancelled early. They said” you should have travel insurance with your credit card, we suggest you claim it there”. I did not travel insurance with my credit card company, so at the end, I have not got the partial refund and or a medical reprieve refund. They even stopped answering my emails.

 

Norwegian is a soulless company that simply does not care about you. If there is a lesson here that I would advise anyone looking for a cruise, avoid vacationing with Norwegian, they are a company that has simply no character, loyalty or care for their customers.

[CookieShip]

Good insurance matters, otherwise everyone would be getting refunds.

 

Hopefully you're healthy now.

[hawk1972]

That's why I always get the travel insurance. I wish you good health in the future.

[1025cruise]

What did your travel insurance company say when you filed a claim? 

While it would be a nice gesture, NCL only owes you whatever money is allowed based on cancellation policies.

[NLH Arizona]

Welcome to cruise critic and I hope you are feeling better.

 

If a cruise line refunded everyone who had an issue, health or otherwise, no one would purchase travel insurance and the cruise line would probably not be around long.

 

You learned an expensive lesson and that is to purchase travel insurance.

[Paul Bogle]

I hope your procedure goes well and you are healthy enough to travel again soon.

[cruisinmeme]

I am confused. Cruises cancelled within the time frame of just the deposit can be cancelled with no penalty.  Different story once cruise is paid off but you only mention deposit.

[Two Wheels Only]

12 minutes ago, cruisinmeme said:

I am confused. Cruises cancelled within the time frame of just the deposit can be cancelled with no penalty.  Different story once cruise is paid off but you only mention deposit.

 

OP found out 1 month before travel.

[Two Wheels Only]

7 hours ago, stargard1 said:

If there is a lesson here that I would advise anyone looking for a cruise, avoid vacationing with Norwegian, they are a company that has simply no character, loyalty or care for their customers.

 

I believe that there is a different lesson to be learned...

[Diver2014]

It's not only NCL - it's all major cruise lines.  As stated previously, that is what travel insurance is for.  I imagine NCL gets tons of refund requests for every reason imaginable.  Travel insurance isn't just an added expense - it's protection against situations like the this.  The OP's first post on CC - to whine about how horrible NCL is to their customers  -  sorry but take it as lesson learned.

[julig22]

Refund (75% penalty) window is 30 days for mini-suites and below, 60 days for higher categories.  So without insurance, there is no refund if within that time frame - OP doesn't say what category and a month is kinda vague, especially with the statement that treatment was scheduled within 3 weeks which would have been during the cruise.  Cancellation is when you call to cancel, not when the reason you want to cancel occurs.

 

I hope that the OP is feeling better but without insurance, it's not NCL's problem.

Edited November 9, 2019 by julig22

[All-ready2cruise]

OP, sorry this has been such a tough/expensive lesson.  I don't travel without Insurance either and most others find it's good value, preventing huge bills when this type of incident occurs.  

 

All the best and hope your heart health has improved. 

[tallnthensome]

The lesson to be learned here is that the original poster failed to purchase independent travel insurance when the cruise was booked. A complete failure on their behalf. Do you know how many of these same types of stories I read about on Consumers Affairs websites? Why do these people think they are owed money back when most others purchase insurance in case of reasons like this happenin? They feel their sob story trumps their cheapness and failure to buy good travel insurance. Nobody owes him anything ..... Let everyone pay for insurance but the rules shouldn’t apply to them since they unwisely didn’t.  

Edited November 10, 2019 by tallnthensome

[zqvol]

This is why  you buy travel insurance.

[xcell]

13 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

The lesson to be learned here is that the original poster failed to purchase independent travel insurance when the cruise was booked. A complete failure on their behalf. Do you know how many of these same types of stories I read about on Consumers Affairs websites? Why do these people think they are owed money back when most others purchase insurance in case of reasons like this happenin? They feel their sob story trumps their cheapness and failure to buy good travel insurance. Nobody owes him anything ..... Let everyone pay for insurance but the rules shouldn’t apply to them since they unwisely didn’t.  

 

+1

 

People can't take responsibility.

 

It's like flying in on the same day and missing your cruise -- was the ship supposed to wait?

 

That's why we buy house insruance, car insurance, etc... for those "just in case" moments in life.

 

I hope you get better, and are able to go on another cruise with an entirely different cruise line but if your health is a risk, I'd pay for the cancellation insurance, as well as health insurance, in case something happens when you are travelling.

[adoris]

That’s what travel insurance is for

[BirdTravels]

The OP should still check his credit card used to pay for the cruise to see if it has any travel insurance included. 

[salty dingo]

I think everyone is sympathetic for the OP's medical condition, and we can relate to the disappointment of planning a cruise for two years and not being able to go at the last minute due to something outside of our control.

 

It is great, and a bit surprising, that the airline made an exception to the rules but I do understand why the cruise line does not. How long does a flight last? Not long. How long was this cruise? Three weeks. No comparison - it is senseless to say "the airline helped me so the cruise line should too."

[Outerdog]

Something something travel insurance something something personal responsibility something something...

 

People straight up die and don't get refunds for uninsured cruises. OP, you are not special.

[xitappers2bx]

If you didn't buy trip insurance, which you don't state that you did, then when you bought your cruise fare, you agreed to their terms, which are, if you don't cruise and cancel after a certain point in time, you don't get any refund.  

 

You can't call them soulless for you not reading the contract you agreed to.  I am 150% certain you never thought you would need cruise insurance.  Unfortunately, without it, there's no reason they should give you anything.  

[xcell]

14 minutes ago, salty dingo said:

I think everyone is sympathetic for the OP's medical condition, and we can relate to the disappointment of planning a cruise for two years and not being able to go at the last minute due to something outside of our control.

 

It is great, and a bit surprising, that the airline made an exception to the rules but I do understand why the cruise line does not. How long does a flight last? Not long. How long was this cruise? Three weeks. No comparison - it is senseless to say "the airline helped me so the cruise line should too."

 

Plus they typically overbook flights.

[salty dingo]

8 minutes ago, xcell said:

 

Plus they typically overbook flights.

Good point. Nobody gets bumped from a cruise.

[DrSea]

Original poster, are you talking about CABG surgery? 

 

I wish you the best of course. 

Edited November 10, 2019 by DrSea

[HowardK]

I wish the OP all the best and hope their surgery goes well; I know its a disappointment not going on the cruise.

 

However, I find when I go on a cruise, the cost of insurance is a very small portion of the cruise fare + transportation + hotel + miscellaneous expenses. Even when I go the route of  NCL insurance its never come to more than 5-6% of my total vacation expenditure.

Surprise- NCL is in the business to make money- they need to ensure they are maintaining their finances- similar to a hotel and their policy.

 

 

[Motegi]

To stargard1 I hope that your procedure goes well and that you have a speedy recovery.  

 

However I must agree with the other respondents here.  You were likely presented with an option to purchase insurance coverage when you were making your reservation with NCL.  If you had voluntarily opted out of that extra option then there lies the problem.  

 

Some research or a basic query here on Cruise Critic would have also provided the information needed regarding third party travel insurance for your cruise vacation.

 

It is certainly a disappointment to not be able to take your vacation that you had planned for so long.  

 

However, you should be thankful that your cardiac condition was diagnosed now before it could have resulted in a debilitating major cardiac event.  I would be grateful that it did not manifest while you were on the 3 week cruise because that would have resulted in a much more serious situation with emergency medical care in a foreign country,  possible delay of care, and a very costly medical evacuation flight back to the United States.  

 

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by Motegi