RCi Definitely back to not so good old ways.

[Another_Critic]

51 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Being that we are from the same neck of the wood, when cruising out of FL or TX, do you drive or fly to the port?  No real reason for asking, just curious.  We drive, I hate flying.  We flew to Seattle in May and I went crazy, it's a real pain in the a$$, for me.  

I have not flown domestically for a cruise (or anywhere) since returning from a TA in Nov. 2012.  Of course, I had to fly internationally (or take QM2 😄 ) to start or end TAs.

 

All my cruises since 2012 have been from ports within driving distance (Baltimore or Cape Liberty) or TAs/Repositioning starting or ending within driving distance (Cape Liberty, Quebec, Boston). 

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, rudeney said:

 

Interesting.  What Date of Departure did you use for your trip insurance?  If you used embarkation day, that might be the issue.  I was reading the policy for the cruise that we just competed on Sunday and it specifically states that coverage begins on the Date of Departure once I leave my home headed to the airport, cruise terminal, hotel, etc. I am covered and that illnesses contracted after that are considered "interruption" and not "cancellation".  I always used the date we leave home as the Date of Departure.  Obviously this doesn't help you now, but there may be someone else who reads this and needs to know.  

BTW, I can't find the post where you gave me your email address.  I'm thinking of going to Outdoor/BassPro in the near future.  Would you please send me an email:  jay10211021@gmail.com. 

[Homosassa]

What most people on this thread are missing and Jersey Girl tried to point out in her posts, that the medical evaluation that was required before Covid  and still is required during boarding is still in effect.

 

While most fill out the questionnaire (some honestly, some not) , people who board appear healthy at check in.

 

However, someone who is ill will be pulled aside and a medical officer from the ship will be called to come make an assessment.

 

The ill person may still be allowed to board depending on the medical evaluation; others will be denied boarding.

 

At that point, documentation will be provided that boarding was denied due to illness (cruise cancelled).

 

Depending on the language in n insurance policy, that cancellation may be covered.

 

That is the reasoning behind having the OP and his wife show up at the pier. 

[rudeney]

33 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

BTW, I can't find the post where you gave me your email address.  I'm thinking of going to Outdoor/BassPro in the near future.  Would you please send me an email:  jay10211021@gmail.com. 

 

Sent!

[3kidsncats]

4 hours ago, rimmit said:

Unfortunately, I called travel insurance and said since we didn’t take a flight, the trip starts at the cruise.  Also calling my CC company, they also state this is considered a trip cancellation and not interruption as we never got on the boat. The CC said I can still file the trip cancellation claim if RCI doesn’t get me an FCC.

I am guessing that travel insurance is much the same as say, medical insurance, in that they  routinely deny coverage for things that they are supposed to cover, knowing that a solid percentage of people will accept it and drop it and they then increase their profits.  I also have a feeling that given your insurance nightmare of the past 6 or so months, you may not be particularly motivated to bother with fighting it.  But I would at least review the fine print of your policy — because no reasonable person would think that driving from KY to FL is not starting your trip.  I’ve never heard that you have to get on a flight for travel to initiate.  Best to you, in whatever you decide to do.

[mjkacmom]

49 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

I am guessing that travel insurance is much the same as say, medical insurance, in that they  routinely deny coverage for things that they are supposed to cover, knowing that a solid percentage of people will accept it and drop it and they then increase their profits.  I also have a feeling that given your insurance nightmare of the past 6 or so months, you may not be particularly motivated to bother with fighting it.  But I would at least review the fine print of your policy — because no reasonable person would think that driving from KY to FL is not starting your trip.  I’ve never heard that you have to get on a flight for travel to initiate.  Best to you, in whatever you decide to do.

I would think it would depend on the travel dates covered, did the insurance start on Disney day?

[3kidsncats]

23 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I would think it would depend on the travel dates covered, did the insurance start on Disney day?

Which is why i suggested he review the fine print. 

[Another_Critic]

44 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I would think it would depend on the travel dates covered, did the insurance start on Disney day?

 

20 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

Which is why i suggested he review the fine print. 

I think the point is if he put trip start date as cruise date, the insurance has an opt out.  I don't recall if OP answered what start date he put when enrolling for the trip insurance.

 

Of course reviewing the fine print is always a good idea ... before buying it.  🙂

[3kidsncats]

59 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I think the point is if he put trip start date as cruise date, the insurance has an opt out.  I don't recall if OP answered what start date he put when enrolling for the trip insurance.

 

Of course reviewing the fine print is always a good idea ... before buying it.  🙂

I agree — I usually put the start date of our trip as the day we are leaving home, not necessarily the start of the cruise or flight - sometimes we drive to the port and stay at a hotel overnight, so I put that date and include the hotel cost in the total cost of the trip when purchasing the policy.  I did not see that OP specified one way or the other.  And I also agree reading the fine print is critical beforehand.  Many don’t seem to realize for instance, that if they had alcohol prior to injuring themselves, their coverage for that incident is potentially null and void.  But if they had read the fine print, they would know.  It seems OP is fairly well versed on this topic, but having worked in a field that dealt with medical coverage (not travel, just regular medical), I have first hand knowledge that insurances companies do deny coverage they are legally required to approve, and sometimes you have to dig a bit deeper into the fine print to determine if you have grounds to fight it.  

[Ret MP]

3 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

Sent!

Sorry, I don't use email often and my inbox was full.  It's a gmail thing.  Never had that problem with others.  They are trying to get me to purchase more storage.  I'm not.  I just deleted everything.  Sorry, please do it again.  I'll send you a verification I got it.

[MJSailors]

I have.not read through this entire post, but I have to say that my empathy goes to the OP’s wife.

After such a traumatic accident,multiple surgeries and a bout of Covid 3.5 months ago, the thought of preparing for a cruise vacation  would have certainly been daunting for me. I am thinking that after some time at Disneyworld in the heat,she may have suffered from dehydration. I do hope she recovered from the symptoms the OP mentioned in his initial post.

In my view, this woman needs TLC ,rest and relaxation to aid her recovery.

Perhaps a stay at a lovely, nearby resort would have been a better vacation choice.

At this time, I would think her recovery from such a traumatic accident would take priority over the concern about RCL refund policy.

But, that’s just me.

I wish the OP and his wife good days of healing and comfort.

MJ🙋🏻

[ddean52]

On 10/7/2022 at 12:57 PM, rimmit said:

So as many of you may or may not know, my wife was run over by a car in Zimbabwe this summer.   Long story short we obviously cancelled a ton of trips, vacations, and it’s been incredibly stressful due an innumerable amount of complications.  After 3.5 months and 13 surgeries she felt well enough to try and go on a much needed vacation, albeit in a wheelchair as she is still recovering and unable to walk.  We booked this cruise last second and made final payment Oct 5 for a cruise leaving Oct 7th.  Obviously given my previous experiences we bought travel insurance, but due to the closeness,  the agencies I normally buy through did not have a trip cancellation option interestingly enough.  Likely due to the closeness of the trip.  We did have trip interruption but cancellation was not an option under the benefits. 

So unfortunately after driving to Orlando from KY and going to Disney for half a day, midway through our day at Disney, my wife started feeling bad.  Just having some vomiting, h/a, muscle aches, fever chills, post nasal drainage.  We left midday and she was in bed all of Thursday.  We were scheduled to board the Indy out of PC today.  I have tested her twice for covid and she’s been negative both times.

 

I call this AM because she is in no condition to board, esp. with fever and chills, cough, etc.   They tell me she is good too board as covid is negative.  I state I dont think she is any condition to travel given her symptoms despite her COVID test being negative.  They proceed to state she is perfectly good to board.  I ask what my options are.  They then tell me I can either board or lose all the money as their most recent policies require a positive covid test to get an FCC.

 

So sadly we are our $2000 dollars for a 3 night cruise.  We coulda forced her onto the ship but I felt that was just unethical given the current situation and her current symptoms as she could come back positive in the next several days.  RCI clearly would just rather make a buck at this point regardless of passenger safety or pax that actually care about other passengers.   I am not criticizing anyone that does board with those symptoms, as I personally feel at this point it is in one own self to do what they are comfortable with given covid and other infectious illnesses.  Just makes me angry that RCI has changed their policies enough to wear they would rather just board sick people again and not give them ANY other options other than board or lose your money.   Pre-covid I am almost certain they’d allow you some credit if you had symptoms of Rotavirus as they’d rather have you not board, but I guess they are just that desperate now.  Oh well.   Them’s the breaks.

 

As much as i detest travel insurance, there are moments and occasion’s when travel ins. Makes sense.  Obviously, our hearts go out to you and your wife. And there is no question cruise lines need to be more flexible when appropriate. But dont hold your breath. Dean

 

 

 

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, MJSailors said:

I have.not read through this entire post, but I have to say that my empathy goes to the OP’s wife.

After such a traumatic accident,multiple surgeries and a bout of Covid 3.5 months ago, the thought of preparing for a cruise vacation  would have certainly been daunting for me. I am thinking that after some time at Disneyworld in the heat,she may have suffered from dehydration. I do hope she recovered from the symptoms the OP mentioned in his initial post.

In my view, this woman needs TLC ,rest and relaxation to aid her recovery.

Perhaps a stay at a lovely, nearby resort would have been a better vacation choice.

At this time, I would think her recovery from such a traumatic accident would take priority over the concern about RCL refund policy.

But, that’s just me.

I wish the OP and his wife good days of healing and comfort.

MJ🙋🏻

You need to read the entire post.  😄

[iuki]

On 10/8/2022 at 11:23 AM, JupiterTwo said:

 

What I find disappointing about this aspect of the story is what was RCI thinking? They used to ask on the questionnaire whether one had a runny nose, a cough, diarrhea. I always wondered what they would do if I ever answered yes to any of those.

 

But with your wife's symptoms (vomiting, fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, runny nose), what are the odds of things getting worse rather than getting better, especially with her preconditions? What are the odds of her illness progressing beyond the point of the medical center's ability to properly address it? What are the odds of having to divert the ship to handle an extreme emergency situation knowing her condition at the terminal versus canceling your cruise and refunding the cost of two fares?

They could at least offer a future cruise credit.  It would cost RCI more money if she passed COVID-19 to others on the ship.

[rudeney]

11 hours ago, iuki said:

They could at least offer a future cruise credit.  It would cost RCI more money if she passed COVID-19 to others on the ship.

 

Would it?  I thought they had ended all COVID protocols.  We did the All-Access Tour on Voyager last week and the security officer that was with us for part of it mentioned this.  One of the passengers on the tour was a retire police officer and he asked about the ship's brig.  The security officer responded that they have "facilities" to keep passengers deemed to be a risk to themselves or others.  I joked about the COVID quarantine cabins and he said they no longer have those and made a comment along the lines of "if you get COVID, you are now on your own".

[mjkacmom]

16 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Sorry, I don't use email often and my inbox was full.  It's a gmail thing.  Never had that problem with others.  They are trying to get me to purchase more storage.  I'm not.  I just deleted everything.  Sorry, please do it again.  I'll send you a verification I got it.

I primarily use my AOL email (so I could keep my 30 year Verizon.net email), it’s the worst, but I think I have at least 50,000 emails that I really should delete, no requests for $ for storage yet.

[Another_Critic]

56 minutes ago, rudeney said:

I joked about the COVID quarantine cabins and he said they no longer have those and made a comment along the lines of "if you get COVID, you are now on your own".

They had quarantine cabins on the transatlantic, so this is a recent change.  This probably changed after 9/30, since that's when CWC expired.

[1interpreter]

On 10/7/2022 at 3:38 PM, rimmit said:

Well we are at urgent care now, just to support that claim.  I have dealt with travel insurance extensively due to the our experience in Zimbabwe, which is a novel in itself in terms of what it took to get out of Zimbabwe, so I know exactly what they want to see.

 

TBH, part of my frustration is the last 3.5 months have been an absolute nightmare.  I cannot begin to explain the horror of we went through in Zimbabwe.

 

http://thesmallworldfamily.com/2022/06/24/so-what-exactly-happened/
 

That link goes to a 30 minute read that describes what it took to get out of Zimbabwe to a level 1 trauma center.

 

Unfortunately, it did not get any easier after we got out, as she almost had to have her foot amputated at one point.

 

I agree that policies are policies,  I am just frustrated at the endless bad luck we have had.  Travel insurance has been a pain, as I have a claim for 60k that I submitted beginning of July that hasn’t even been reviewed yet.  I have 3 other outstanding claims that also have yet to be reviewed.  
 

On top of that, since we were in Zimbabwe,  there is minimal insurance on the person that ran her over.  So she now has a lifelong disability because someone was careless, and we get to pay for it for eternity in medical bills.  While travel insurance covered us from Zimbabwe to the hospital she got transferred to in the US it stops there and now we are paying the bills.  While we hit our maximum out of pocket for the year,  this is going to be a permanent damage from this event and permanent disability.

 

This cruise was a much needed break that we couldn’t get off the ground.  I realize no one here cares.   Just needed to vent.  
 

Long story short.  The policy is what it is.   Oh well.

 

 

OMG, I just read your story from your link. That whole experience was horrible. I can't even begin to imagine what you all went through. Certainly makes you appreciate our health care here much better. I'm so sorry this happened to her.  I hope she is doing much better.

[poocher]

On 10/8/2022 at 7:57 AM, rimmit said:

We have taken hits on cruises before that were on us, in the days before we we’re buying travel insurance and only got back our port fees and taxes, so this is not the first time.  That was completely our fault and I accepted that wholeheartedly.  
 

I never said they should take that approach.  Simply stated it can be highly profitable as some on here have implied RCI would go bankrupt if they were more flexible with their policy exceptions goodwill gestures.   Goodwill gestures are in every industry from my mechanic that works on my car, to retail, medicine, law, etc.

 

Again, I state this was just salt on some very tender wounds (figuratively and literally).   Dating back to December, we caught covid in Galapagos and got stuck in Ecuador, I had to leave the Inca trail mid trail in April to deal with an emergency on the home front, my wife was run over by a car in Zimbabwe, and our impromptu Disney trip lasted 1/2 day (a whole day shorter than the Zimbabwe trip) before we had to eject from that.  I am 0/4 on recent trips.  Dealing with travel insurance is not fun.   The Galapagos claim went through shockingly fast,  but I’m still waiting on the rest and I call weekly, but they state “they have no estimated time to review the claims.”   
 

At this point if I dont get an FCC that is a deviation from the policy, as she did end up with Covid and per policy we are due a FCC so I am unsure what you mean by that.   I am sure the FCC will be totally messed up though as all of my other ones have been.

My suggestion?  Stay closer to home for the near future!!!!

[rimmit]

3 hours ago, 1interpreter said:

OMG, I just read your story from your link. That whole experience was horrible. I can't even begin to imagine what you all went through. Certainly makes you appreciate our health care here much better. I'm so sorry this happened to her.  I hope she is doing much better.

She is.  Thanks.  She’s making great progress in PT.   She walked inside the house from the car two days ago with minor assistance, and PT is wanting her to start actually walking into physical therapy next week, much to her horror.  I know she can do it though.

 

In regards to her most recent illness, After 6 days of being sick she turned the corner and is doing much better now but still fatigued.  
 

I have filed my claim and am awaiting an adjuster to contact me.  Of my whopping 5 Travel Insurance claims outstanding,  I still have my biggest one for about 62k that has NOT EVEN BEEN REVIEWED yet and I submitted this at the beginning of July, one has actually paid out finally for a minuscule amount, I just resubmitted more documents for 2 other claims, and this most recent one I am waiting for it to also be reviewed.

[rimmit]

2 hours ago, poocher said:

My suggestion?  Stay closer to home for the near future!!!!

Lol.  I am ungodly stubborn.  At some point a vacation will happen without an interruption/cancellation.  Maybe not the next one, maybe the one after that, but some day, but soon.

[aubreyc1988]

I've only read two pages of this topic so sorry if I missed a lot but wanted to post this before going to bed. 

 

@rimmit your whole situation sucks and I am sorry 😞 No matter who is in the right or wrong, just try to remember it IS only money that was lost with the royal cruise fiasco. I know it sounds cliche saying "it's only money" especially with the economy how it is and your medical bills, but money isn't everything, but as you know, health is invaluable. You made the decision to not go because of your wife's well being and others and that is admirable. Hopefully the time spent at home, your wife can get well soon and you can begin to think about a trip sometime in the future

 

wishing you two well!