Dying before the cruise

[BetsyS.]

1 hour ago, PROCRUISE said:

So sorry that you have to go through this "entanglement" after your loss.

I was scheduled , several years ago, to go on a cruise with a best friend who was treated for almost 5 years prior to the cruise for disease related to Agent Orange exposure.  We did have travel insurance secured from a company outside of the cruise line. He died 3 weeks prior to the cruise. I simply filled out the paperwork and submitted it along with a copy of his death certificate. His full refund went to his daughter, mine to me.

I hope you are able to work this out with HAL soon.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[BetsyS.]

20 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

I am confused to why she can’t check in. Each person has their own check in. I know people who have checked in at the pier.  My husband recently died and I was able to get all of his FCC transferred to me. This was on Celebrity but I am sure it will be the same on all cruise lines. I have a cruise booked for December with his name and mine both. It is cheaper than any deal I can get now. He will be a no show at the pier. 

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[LuAnn]

Please let us know how you decide to go and how it sorts out. My DH died in early March and I'm not sure what to do either. A cruise is booked for mid October with both out names. My TA thought I should just declare him a no show. I'm not sure what happens to his OBC but I'd rather lose that than have the fare repriced. So sorry you have to go through all this!

[BetsyS.]

1 hour ago, LuAnn said:

Please let us know how you decide to go and how it sorts out. My DH died in early March and I'm not sure what to do either. A cruise is booked for mid October with both out names. My TA thought I should just declare him a no show. I'm not sure what happens to his OBC but I'd rather lose that than have the fare repriced. So sorry you have to go through all this!

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[RuthC]

6 hours ago, KAKcruiser said:

I would guess that if someone dies, HAL would refund the money after being given a death certificate. 

Not in my experience. 

When my husband died two days before sailing, our TA did notify HAL. I did, of course, get a refund on the taxes and port fees, but nothing else from HAL. It was the travel insurance that was responsible for paying me for the cruise loss. 
If I had not had insurance I would have been out the entire cost of the cruise (except for the taxes/port fees), and getting me home, as well as repatriation of his remains. 

[RuthC]

OP, if the only hold-up is getting checked in, do take the suggestion to see if your TA can do it. Or, if you can do it for your SIL, then go ahead. Then, let her be a no-show. 
That way there is no single supplement to pay, her port charges will be refunded to her method of payment, and you can sail off with your mom's own boarding pass. 

There is no 'upside' to notifying HAL of the death if you can get the boarding pass some other way. 

[Roz]

When I've sailed with my sister, we've been able to check in independently and print out our own boarding passes and luggage tags.  By any chance did your SIL pay for both of them?  That may have something to do with it.

 

I'm sorry for your loss.

[rrraydon]

I'm a bit confused I think. Does your mom not have the booking number to go online to the cruiseline's website and check in? As long as she has the booking number, she can go online and check in herself.

Edited July 9, 2022 by rrraydon

[deepurple]

On 7/8/2022 at 3:35 PM, cruising sister said:

I am confused to why she can’t check in. Each person has their own check in. I know people who have checked in at the pier.  My husband recently died and I was able to get all of his FCC transferred to me. This was on Celebrity but I am sure it will be the same on all cruise lines. I have a cruise booked for December with his name and mine both. It is cheaper than any deal I can get now. He will be a no show at the pier. 

I can check her in, but the box with her boarding pass remained inactive. An email from HAL stated that immigration information was missing and needed to be filled in before any boarding passes would be available.

[deepurple]

On 7/8/2022 at 5:09 PM, LuAnn said:

Please let us know how you decide to go and how it sorts out. My DH died in early March and I'm not sure what to do either. A cruise is booked for mid October with both out names. My TA thought I should just declare him a no show. I'm not sure what happens to his OBC but I'd rather lose that than have the fare repriced. So sorry you have to go through all this!

I am so sorry for your loss. I will post separately for all to see, but my experience may be exactly what you are looking for.

[deepurple]

On 7/8/2022 at 8:16 PM, Roz said:

When I've sailed with my sister, we've been able to check in independently and print out our own boarding passes and luggage tags.  By any chance did your SIL pay for both of them?  That may have something to do with it.

 

I'm sorry for your loss.

No, they each paid their own fares. I have contacted HAL and will post separately what happened.

[deepurple]

On 7/8/2022 at 8:45 PM, rrraydon said:

I'm a bit confused I think. Does your mom not have the booking number to go online to the cruiseline's website and check in? As long as she has the booking number, she can go online and check in herself.

Checking in is no problem, it is having the boarding pass box remain inactive, therefore not being able to access it.

[deepurple]

Thank you all for your replies. I decided to call HAL late Friday afternoon. I explained our situation and stressed that we did NOT want a refund, or future cruise credit. I even said we don't even care if we ever see her port fees or onboard credit. The woman joked that this was something she had never run across as most people want their money back.

 

She spoke to her supervisor and I was instructed to email my sil's Statement of Death, and then one day this week (just to give them time), call the Documentation Department to access my mom's boarding pass. The woman spoke to two different supervisors to make sure my mom would not be charged extra since the cabin was fully paid for and we want nothing back.

 

This morning, I logged into my mom's account and although my sil's name is still on the reservation as well, my mom's boarding pass box was active and I had the paperwork emailed to me!!! Success!!! With all of the reports of airport chaos, I can now relax knowing my mom will not be denied boarding.

 

FYI - my husband and his sister were going to toss their parents ashes on this cruise (in biodegradable boxes) as they were avid HAL cruisers in their day! Now he will be doing it himself. (Yes, we have notified HAL already!)

 

This will be our first cruise since covid shut everything down. We are very excited to be cruising again, even though this cruise will have us thinking about three deaths from his family. It will be a celebration, as we all love cruising! I will post about his parents ashes when we return from our cruise - middle of August.

 

Thanks again!

[crmc]

So glad you were able to resolve this! What a nice way to celebrate your family members with a cruise!

 

[LuAnn]

1 hour ago, deepurple said:

Thank you all for your replies. I decided to call HAL late Friday afternoon. I explained our situation and stressed that we did NOT want a refund, or future cruise credit. I even said we don't even care if we ever see her port fees or onboard credit. The woman joked that this was something she had never run across as most people want their money back.

 

She spoke to her supervisor and I was instructed to email my sil's Statement of Death, and then one day this week (just to give them time), call the Documentation Department to access my mom's boarding pass. The woman spoke to two different supervisors to make sure my mom would not be charged extra since the cabin was fully paid for and we want nothing back.

 

This morning, I logged into my mom's account and although my sil's name is still on the reservation as well, my mom's boarding pass box was active and I had the paperwork emailed to me!!! Success!!! With all of the reports of airport chaos, I can now relax knowing my mom will not be denied boarding.

 

FYI - my husband and his sister were going to toss their parents ashes on this cruise (in biodegradable boxes) as they were avid HAL cruisers in their day! Now he will be doing it himself. (Yes, we have notified HAL already!)

 

This will be our first cruise since covid shut everything down. We are very excited to be cruising again, even though this cruise will have us thinking about three deaths from his family. It will be a celebration, as we all love cruising! I will post about his parents ashes when we return from our cruise - middle of August.

 

Thanks again!

Thanks for updating us! I just wrote my TA before I read this but I'll update her with what happened to you. I'm dealing with Celebrity and not HAL so might not have the same outcome. I'm bringing along my DH Kenneth so he'll be joining your loved ones in the "deep blue sea". 

[RuthC]

I'm happy this all worked out for you. 

HAL will help facilitate committing the ashes off the stern of the ship. They will slow the ship down, and provide a certificate pinpointing where the ashes were dropped. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

I'm happy this all worked out for you. 

HAL will help facilitate committing the ashes off the stern of the ship. They will slow the ship down, and provide a certificate pinpointing where the ashes were dropped. 

Sounds like you have had experience with this.

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Sounds like you have had experience with this.

Not yet. However, I have researched it for when the time comes. 

[rrraydon]

Happy everything has worked out for your mom and I hope she has a wonderful cruise!!

[cruising sister]

4 hours ago, LuAnn said:

Thanks for updating us! I just wrote my TA before I read this but I'll update her with what happened to you. I'm dealing with Celebrity and not HAL so might not have the same outcome. I'm bringing along my DH Kenneth so he'll be joining your loved ones in the "deep blue sea". 

Celebrity was very good to me when my husband died. I don’t think you will have a problem. 

[LJProk]

I am sorry for your loss.

 

We did not have the same situation but our oldest teen son decided not to go on our trip last month, he and his brother were sharing a cabin. We did not request a refund but we did have our TA inform HAL. We did not have to pay more for our one son to have his own cabin.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, LJProk said:

I am sorry for your loss.

 

We did not have the same situation but our oldest teen son decided not to go on our trip last month, he and his brother were sharing a cabin. We did not request a refund but we did have our TA inform HAL. We did not have to pay more for our one son to have his own cabin.

You actually should have paid somewhat less as the port fees for the son not sailing should have not been charged.

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

You actually should have paid somewhat less as the port fees for the son not sailing should have not been charged.

In my case (years ago) the port fees and taxes were refunded after the cruise was completed.

[BermudaBound2014]

I'm happy everything appears to have worked out for you. Blessings.

[kapear]

I'm very sorry for your loss. Here is our experience. Our family was scheduled to go on a holiday cruise- parents- the 4 siblings/step-siblings and spouses, 9 grandchildren. 2-3  weeks prior to the cruise, my step- dad fell, hit his head and later passed of his injury. We opted to go on the cruise, as he would have wanted us all to go. My parents had purchased HAL insurance on the cruise. With the help of our TA, my mom was able to get my step fathers portion of the cruise refunded.