Cancellation due to serious illness: can passenger get a refund or change date?

[Ryder101]

1 hour ago, dleahy4444 said:

Frankly, even prior to this,  RCCL had begun to lose its luster for me (after 20+ cruises) but that’s a subject for a different thread. 

I don't see how (as you mentioned in another post) your status with Royal Caribbean should play any part in there decision to refund a non refundable trip to someone you know. I'm sure everyone has a friend of a friend. Not to take anything away from someone who is not well. And if you want to start an online Kickstart type thing I will put in $5 to help replace the money lost. But it just isn't fare to ask them to bend the rule. I had a sad story in 2006 and asked nothing from Royal. It was my problem and wasn't something insurance would cover. But if one gets a break, the flood gates are open. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, dleahy4444 said:

Some of it does help. I’ll advise them both to check their credit cards to see if there is any coverage. The well wishes from some posters also help. The young couple who got the cruise together for a special event had only cruised twice before and probably didn’t think of it. The couple told everyone to contact the group booking agent at rccl to book their rooms. I don’t know what the booking agent said, if anything, about travel insurance, since I booked independently.  Many, many people have posted that the insurance should have been purchased. Obviously if it had been, she would not be in this situation. But the references to owhat should’ve been done in the past is not really helpful going forward. 

I have never booked direct so I don’t know if they mention travel insurance but every travel agent I ever booked with brought up insurance. I usually don’t buy cruise line insurance but only 3rd party to avoid any pre existing conditions scenario. She always notes on the invoice cruise line insurance declined. Third party insurance does not have to be booked the same day of the booking. I do some research and my agent books the 3rd party policy we think is best for the cruise. I would be surprised if the Royal booking agent didn’t try to sell her insurance. 

[dleahy4444]

17 minutes ago, Ryder101 said:

I don't see how (as you mentioned in another post) your status with Royal Caribbean should play any part in there decision to refund a non refundable trip to someone you know. I'm sure everyone has a friend of a friend. Not to take anything away from someone who is not well. And if you want to start an online Kickstart type thing I will put in $5 to help replace the money lost. But it just isn't fare to ask them to bend the rule. I had a sad story in 2006 and asked nothing from Royal. It was my problem and wasn't something insurance would cover. But if one gets a break, the flood gates are open. 

I think everyone sees things differently. I personally would not begrudge rccl for refunding or crediting a cruise for someone who becomes ill with a life threatening disease and is unable to cruise, whether I know that person or not. Hopefully there are not that many people that have a reoccurrence of cancer right before cruising that would “open the flood gates”. But that’s my opinion, and does not need to be anybody’s else.  

[dleahy4444]

29 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I have never booked direct so I don’t know if they mention travel insurance but every travel agent I ever booked with brought up insurance. I usually don’t buy cruise line insurance but only 3rd party to avoid any pre existing conditions scenario. She always notes on the invoice cruise line insurance declined. Third party insurance does not have to be booked the same day of the booking. I do some research and my agent books the 3rd party policy we think is best for the cruise. I would be surprised if the Royal booking agent didn’t try to sell her insurance. 

Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. The point is that it wasn’t purchased,  and that can’t be undone now. My original question was what,  if anything, could be done under the circumstances as they exist in the present moment. The answer is apparently nothing. 

[Ryder101]

40 minutes ago, dleahy4444 said:

I think everyone sees things differently. I personally would not begrudge rccl for refunding or crediting a cruise for someone who becomes ill with a life threatening disease and is unable to cruise, whether I know that person or not. Hopefully there are not that many people that have a reoccurrence of cancer right before cruising that would “open the flood gates”. But that’s my opinion, and does not need to be anybody’s else.  

Oh look, if you want to be like that. Opening the flood gates could be for any number of illnesses or problems. Who is to say which should be considered important enough. Do cancer patients not get bills for hundreds of thousands from hospitals? Especially if they don't have insurance or if insurance doesn't cover. Why should cruise lines be more forgiving them medical institutions? Don't lump cancer in as the only opening of the flood gate. I was talking bigger picture and you know it.

[Charles4515]

37 minutes ago, dleahy4444 said:

Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. The point is that it wasn’t purchased,  and that can’t be undone now. My original question was what,  if anything, could be done under the circumstances as they exist in the present moment. The answer is apparently nothing. 

They answers posted are  based on group knowledge and experience but you will need to contact Royal to confirm if nothing is a fact. Only Royal can give you a definitive answer.

[dleahy4444]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

They answers posted are  based on group knowledge and experience but you will need to contact Royal to confirm if nothing is a fact. Only Royal can give you a definitive answer.

Agreed

[dleahy4444]

3 hours ago, Ryder101 said:

Oh look, if you want to be like that. Opening the flood gates could be for any number of illnesses or problems. Who is to say which should be considered important enough. Do cancer patients not get bills for hundreds of thousands from hospitals? Especially if they don't have insurance or if insurance doesn't cover. Why should cruise lines be more forgiving them medical institutions? Don't lump cancer in as the only opening of the flood gate. I was talking bigger picture and you know it.

We obviously disagree but arguing about what, in our opinion, RCCL should do isn’t going to solve the problem. We will call them and see what they say and also call the credit card company and see if there is any type of travel coverage. Those were two constructive suggestions offered on this thread which may or may not help, but we will try.

[marci22]

3 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

We will call them and see what they say and also call the credit card company and see if there is any type of travel coverage. 

You don't even have to call the cc company. Find out exactly which card she used for payment and you can go online and see if any benefits are offered, like automatic travel insurance. Then you have to read through their T&C to find out exactly what they cover.

Edited March 20, 2023 by marci22

[Starry Eyes]

7 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

But currently the FCC is still being offered, correct? 

Royal Caribbean has a refund policy for covid until April 30, 2023.  So, currently there is a refund policy for covid, but unless it is extended, it will have expired before your group sail date of 5/7/23

 

Are the woman and her son both in solo cabins?  Or are they sharing with others?

[BecciBoo]

23 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

The sailing itself is 5/7/2023, so about 50 days out. A member of our group has a number of health problems as a result of battling a very serious disease

Didn't read the whole thread and I'm sure you've been told this, but that is the main reason for insurance.  Anyone with serious health problems should never book without it.  It is so inexpensive when you think about it.  InsureMyTrip.com

 

And don't think any other cruise line doesn't have the exact same policy...they do!

Edited March 20, 2023 by BecciBoo

[mjkacmom]

22 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

Thank you for your kind words. As I stated in my original post, they are not experienced cruisers, or travelers for that matter so it didn’t occur to them to get the insurance. I understand that the cruise line is a business but it know that other businesses such as the airlines will make accommodations under certain conditions.  If they need to cancel I’m sure RCCl will not incur that much of a loss. They will potentially book her cabin directly or through Royal Up. They will save on the food she is not eating, so I don’t think it would be unreasonable if they issued a partial refund or future credit. But it is what it is. She is awaiting test results this week, and Gid forbid it’s bad news, we will reach out to Rccl immediately 

Those who purchase cruises need to decline the insurance offered, it is always offered. After final payment, no refunds, period. She might be lucky, God forbid she cruised and needed medical attention, most health insurance doesn’t work outside the US! Blame the trip organizer, blame the travel agent, but folks cancel cruises last minute due to illness, job loss, natural disasters, death of loved ones or themselves, injury, poor travel planning, flight cancellations, etc., every day. Not knowing any better doesn’t change the fact that insurance is offered (inexpensive), and gets declined. Although, if any other travelers knew about her medical issues and didn’t mention travel insurance and pre-existing conditions, that’s is unfortunate.

[rimmit]

46 minutes ago, marci22 said:

You don't even have to call the cc company. Find out exactly which card she used for payment and you can go online and see if any benefits are offered, like automatic travel insurance. Then you have to read through their T&C to find out exactly what they cover.

Yes, just look at the credit card and somewhere in a corner it says “Visa Infinte” “Visa Signature” or something like that and look up the benefits.  Don’t go to the website for the branding of the card like “Venture X” or “Chase Sapphire Rewards”. You need to go to whoever the main CC company is backing the card and not the bank.

 

Also, to save you some time as I learned this the hard way after filing some travel claims with the Credit Card company.  Once you figure out if you’re covered based on the T&Cs DO NOT FOLLOW the directions in the T&C to file a claim.  This is a waste of time.  For Visa Infinite there was no phone number to call, and it said that claims must be MAILED to a specific address.  I assumed this was to deter people from filing claims.

 

So I followed the directions.  A month later it was still crickets.  So I then call Visa Infinite, they direct me to a number to call Broadspire who they use Travel Insurance through, and talk to someone who then directs me to an online portal to file my documents.  I never heard a peep from my snail mail submission.  Keep in mind that the CC reps are sometimes clueless as to these benefits and who to contact so it can take a while to figure this out based on who you talk to.

 

Long story short, if I followed the directions in the T&C from Visa Infinite I would have gotten squat.  You really need to be an advocate for yourself in this situation.

[dleahy4444]

57 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Royal Caribbean has a refund policy for covid until April 30, 2023.  So, currently there is a refund policy for covid, but unless it is extended, it will have expired before your group sail date of 5/7/23

 

Are the woman and her son both in solo cabins?  Or are they sharing with others?

They are both in solo cabins

[dleahy4444]

33 minutes ago, rimmit said:

Yes, just look at the credit card and somewhere in a corner it says “Visa Infinte” “Visa Signature” or something like that and look up the benefits.  Don’t go to the website for the branding of the card like “Venture X” or “Chase Sapphire Rewards”. You need to go to whoever the main CC company is backing the card and not the bank.

 

Also, to save you some time as I learned this the hard way after filing some travel claims with the Credit Card company.  Once you figure out if you’re covered based on the T&Cs DO NOT FOLLOW the directions in the T&C to file a claim.  This is a waste of time.  For Visa Infinite there was no phone number to call, and it said that claims must be MAILED to a specific address.  I assumed this was to deter people from filing claims.

 

So I followed the directions.  A month later it was still crickets.  So I then call Visa Infinite, they direct me to a number to call Broadspire who they use Travel Insurance through, and talk to someone who then directs me to an online portal to file my documents.  I never heard a peep from my snail mail submission.  Keep in mind that the CC reps are sometimes clueless as to these benefits and who to contact so it can take a while to figure this out based on who you talk to.

 

Long story short, if I followed the directions in the T&C from Visa Infinite I would have gotten squat.  You really need to be an advocate for yourself in this situation.

This is helpful. Thank you.

[ARandomTraveler]

Credit cards that offer insurance are generally not the free credit cards. The absolute best credit card travel insurance out there is offered by the Chase Sapphire Rewards card. It provides everything a 3rd party policy would offer except cancel-for-any-reason insurance, and they don't offer a very high medical reimbursement (it's only $5,000), so I buy a supplemental medical plan for $50 to cover that gap. But they do offer reimbursement if you or a traveling partner can't go on a trip due to illness etc. The catch? This card costs $550/year.

 

No other credit card offers this comprehensive travel insurance, but some others do offer a less robust version. Usually they only cover accidents and sickness during a trip, but do not provide cancellation reimbursement.

 

My guess is that this person who got sick and can't take her cruise, does not have the Chase Sapphire Rewards card, as it tends to be a card that people sign up for because they travel a lot and can get a lot of benefit out of that $550 fee (or $625 if you add an authorized user). An inexperienced traveler is unlikely to have this card. 

 

 

[Charles4515]

41 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

The absolute best credit card travel insurance out there is offered by the Chase Sapphire Rewards card. It provides everything a 3rd party policy would offer except cancel-for-any-reason insurance, and they don't offer a very high medical reimbursement (it's only $5,000), so I buy a supplemental medical plan for $50 to cover that gap. But they do offer reimbursement if you or a traveling partner can't go on a trip due to illness etc. The catch? This card costs $550/year.

You mean the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. There are two Chase Sapphire cards and the other one may not have the same coverage. I also buy more insurance when I use it for a cruise to get added coverage. For domestic trips the coverage is good. But they may need other insurance for pre existing conditions. While the card costs $550 there is a $300 travel credit so right off the top it is really $250 for me. There are other benefits that I use like for Lyft that add more value. Last year I was able to pay the annual fee with Ultimate Rewards points. Also it is one of the few cards with Primary insurance for rental cars. The card also has roadside assistance. It pays for Global Entry or TSA pre check For anyone who travels a lot it is a great card.  

Edited March 20, 2023 by Charles4515

[rimmit]

42 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

You mean the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. There are two Chase Sapphire cards and the other one may not have the same coverage. I also buy more insurance when I use it for a cruise to get added coverage. For domestic trips the coverage is good. But they may need other insurance for pre existing conditions. While the card costs $550 there is a $300 travel credit so right off the top it is really $250 for me. There are other benefits that I use like for Lyft that add more value. Last year I was able to pay the annual fee with Ultimate Rewards points. Also it is one of the few cards with Primary insurance for rental cars. The card also has roadside assistance. It pays for Global Entry or TSA pre check For anyone who travels a lot it is a great card.  

CSR is an excellent card.  I am a Venture X guy myself and find the double miles on ALL purchases better for me personally and when booking through their travel portal which I can’t stand but do use, but do to use my $300 credit, they give 10x miles on points and hotels car rentals and 5x on flights.  I personally prefer to book hotels directly to get my Bonvoy Points.

Based on purchase patterns either CSR or VX are great cards.  You need to analyze your purchase patterns to see which you’d get more from.
 

Venture X and CSR both use Visa Infinite for most of their benefits like travel insurance, etc so they have very similar benefits.  Venture X does not cost extra to add an authorized user which is great so you can give Priority Pass for free to several people.  It’s also only $400/year minus $300 travel credit so $100, rather than the the $550/year minus $300 to make $250.  I do like the point transfer partners better with CSR.  
 

Each has many more benefits than those listed here.

 

Really you can’t go wrong with either.

Edited March 20, 2023 by rimmit

[ARandomTraveler]

33 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

You mean the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. There are two Chase Sapphire cards and the other one may not have the same coverage. I also buy more insurance when I use it for a cruise to get added coverage. For domestic trips the coverage is good. But they may need other insurance for pre existing conditions. While the card costs $550 there is a $300 travel credit so right off the top it is really $250 for me. There are other benefits that I use like for Lyft that add more value. Last year I was able to pay the annual fee with Ultimate Rewards points. Also it is one of the few cards with Primary insurance for rental cars. The card also has roadside assistance. It pays for Global Entry or TSA pre check For anyone who travels a lot it is a great card.  

Yeah sorry, I meant the Chase Sapphire Reserve (not rewards, I think Siri changed the word on me). The Sapphire Preferred is the other card they offer, it only costs $95 and does not come with the insurance.

 

The benefits of the Reserve card are great if you travel. Between the $300 credit, Lyft credit, airport lounge benefits etc, it pays for itself. The insurance is a bonus, plus like you said, the Lyft credit etc. Plus all travel and food gets 3x points, and if you book travel through ultimate rewards it's 10x, and the points can be transferred to Southwest Airlines, which I fly on almost exclusively. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, ARandomTraveler said:

and the points can be transferred to Southwest Airlines, which I fly on almost exclusively. 

Me too! 

[rimmit]

24 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Plus all travel and food gets 3x points, and if you book travel through ultimate rewards it's 10x, and the points can be transferred to Southwest Airlines, which I fly on almost exclusively. 

I definitely like the transfer partners better with CSR.  There are some decent ones with VX and which you can use effectively though.  Being able to transfer to BA executive club and then to Qatar to book the Q suites is definitely the best bang for buck on the transfer redemptions I’ve found. CSR has BA as well though.
 

Not having a straight up US carrier like Southwest or United is a big negative.  And only Wyndham and choice preferred for hotels isn’t great for Venture X.  It definitely takes some creativity with the VX but I can rack up miles so fast using it, it just works out better for us.  Really jealous of the World of Hyatt partner as they have the best redemptions in the hotel realm I feel.  
 

I have a ton of miles in VX at this point so it just doesn’t make sense to switch but I have been very tempted.

Edited March 20, 2023 by rimmit

[cruisegirl1]

12 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

I think everyone sees things differently. I personally would not begrudge rccl for refunding or crediting a cruise for someone who becomes ill with a life threatening disease and is unable to cruise, whether I know that person or not. Hopefully there are not that many people that have a reoccurrence of cancer right before cruising that would “open the flood gates”. But that’s my opinion, and does not need to be anybody’s else.  

Most people who have to cancel last minute have a sad story. That is what insurance is for.  A person who does not buy insurance is in effect self insuring. The money that they have saved by not buying insurance could be put aside to pay for a last-minute cancellation. I would have loved not to pay insurance for all the cruises I took in the last 30 years.  But like, my health, my house, etc,. I buy cruise insurance for the unexpected.

 

m

 

 

[marci22]

3 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

The Sapphire Preferred is the other card they offer, it only costs $95 and does not come with the insurance.. 

Yes, it does.Just look it up.

[cruiseguy1016]

On 3/19/2023 at 10:41 AM, ARandomTraveler said:

You don't get it though, you're saying you expect a company you've been loyal to,

to show some compassion, and what we're all trying to help you see is that it wouldn't make sense for them to do anything in situations like this.

There are way too many people who have a sad story, and they can't go around compensating everyone just because they're having a rough time, or because they're loyal customers, or for any other reason.

 

This is why insurance exists. It is very sad that this is happening to your friends, but they're no different than the thousands of other people having the same or similar issues every day, hoping the cruiseline will bail them out of a bad situation they didn't properly plan for (or didn't expect to happen).

 

But what if I'm special? Shouldn't RCI make an exception for ME?

[Ryder101]

22 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

We obviously disagree but arguing about what, in our opinion, RCCL should do isn’t going to solve the problem. We will call them and see what they say and also call the credit card company and see if there is any type of travel coverage. Those were two constructive suggestions offered on this thread which may or may not help, but we will try.

So did any of it work? Talking to Royal? Checking with credit card?