Cancelling cruise with no insurance

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Well, if they were able to move the cruise out, presumably they could buy insurance now for the new date. Wouldn't cover cancelation, but hopefully it would cover any medical emergencies. Also, we don't know what the procedure is. It could be relatively minor with little chance of serious side effects after a week or two passes.

Only if they can get insurance with a 'Pre-Existing Medical Condition Waiver' and that seems unlikely as I believe that in the US you usually have to buy the insurance within a short period of the initial deposit...

Edited July 25, 2023 by Mark_T

[harrywpb]

17 hours ago, gfkcruiser said:

Had to cancel a week prior to cruise due to medical issue.   Contacted celebrity and they offered to move the cruise 2 months out.  Wouldn’t work for us.  No insurance with Celebrity but did thru my credit card but did not disclose this  to celebrity. Did receive my payment from the credit card insurance.  When you call to cancel, request a letter stating what you will lose and what will be credited back.  This was required for the insurance company thru the credit card if you are covered. 

That's great information.  I appreciate it.  Can you tell us what credit card offers this type of insurance or any others you may know of.  Thank you.  Harry

[Bo1953]

3 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Well, if they were able to move the cruise out, presumably they could buy insurance now for the new date. Wouldn't cover cancelation, but hopefully it would cover any medical emergencies. Also, we don't know what the procedure is. It could be relatively minor with little chance of serious side effects after a week or two passes.

Pre-existing condition like this would likely not be covered so soon...

 

In health and bon voyage

[gfkcruiser]

1 hour ago, harrywpb said:

That's great information.  I appreciate it.  Can you tell us what credit card offers this type of insurance or any others you may know of.  Thank you.  Harry

That was a Chase Hyatt card.   I now also use a Delta card with this attached.   I had a Costco card that had this but they stopped it so went searching for a new one.  Different cards have different insure limits per person per trip per year. 

[Babr]

1 hour ago, harrywpb said:

That's great information.  I appreciate it.  Can you tell us what credit card offers this type of insurance or any others you may know of.  Thank you.  Harry

None of them cover pre-existing conditions.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, harrywpb said:

That's great information.  I appreciate it.  Can you tell us what credit card offers this type of insurance or any others you may know of.  Thank you.  Harry

Chase / United Explorer VISA card.  I still get my own trip insurance because there is not a lot of coverage.

[MisterBill99]

5 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Pre-existing condition like this would likely not be covered so soon...

 

In health and bon voyage

 

Well, in theory if you purchase the policy within a couple of weeks of booking, pre-existing conditions would be included.  But certainly something to talk to a travel insurance expert about, since this is not the original booking.

Edited July 25, 2023 by MisterBill99

[Nancycat]

I had to cancel a cruise as my daughter started dialysis after a failed kidney transplant 

Unfortunately, I did not take the insurance, first time ever..

I lost every penny, and this was a cruise rescheduled twice due to Covid

Painful lesson learned

Good Luck and I hope a healthy outcome  

[Babr]

4 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Well, in theory if you purchase the policy within a couple of weeks of booking, pre-existing conditions would be included.  But certainly something to talk to a travel insurance expert about, since this is not the original booking.

Not if you are still undergoing treatment.

[MisterBill99]

18 minutes ago, Babr said:

Not if you are still undergoing treatment.

 

We don't really know the details. I am not an expert, but I believe there are some heart procedures (like a stent) that could be one-time and just a short recovery time without ongoing treatment.

[Babr]

5 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

We don't really know the details. I am not an expert, but I believe there are some heart procedures (like a stent) that could be one-time and just a short recovery time without ongoing treatment.

I think that’s correct. Once the patient has been released, and the condition is stable, then he’d be eligible for coverage.

[the penguins]

32 minutes ago, Babr said:

I think that’s correct. Once the patient has been released, and the condition is stable, then he’d be eligible for coverage.

As always the "devil is in the detail" in this case "condition is stable". The poster was asking about moving now i.e. before the original treatment is even started.

I am not an expert on US insurance but in the UK I am 99% sure it would be a resounding no.

[Mark_T]

26 minutes ago, the penguins said:

As always the "devil is in the detail" in this case "condition is stable". The poster was asking about moving now i.e. before the original treatment is even started.

I am not an expert on US insurance but in the UK I am 99% sure it would be a resounding no.

Agreed, but I am always grateful that we don't have to pay the prices that our US friends do for travel insurance...

 

 

[phoenix_dream]

12 hours ago, harrywpb said:

That's great information.  I appreciate it.  Can you tell us what credit card offers this type of insurance or any others you may know of.  Thank you.  Harry

We have a couple of Chase cards that offer a certain amount of travel insurance.  Don't recall the specifics.  One is the United Club Card (which costs quite a bit, but we travel often so make good use of the United Club and free baggage), and sorry, I don't recall the other but it is a Chase card.

[Babr]

33 minutes ago, the penguins said:

As always the "devil is in the detail" in this case "condition is stable". The poster was asking about moving now i.e. before the original treatment is even started.

I am not an expert on US insurance but in the UK I am 99% sure it would be a resounding no.

Indeed. Moving the cruise to another date does not reset the initial deposit date. In that case, the heart condition would likely still be considered a pre-existing condition.

 

In order to avoid that, they’d have to get a cash refund and start over with an entirely new booking. I should have said the patient would be eligible to insure subsequent cruises once he has recovered and is stable.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Babr

[Mr. Click]

I had a similar situation 9 years ago but we had insurance and it was not a few weeks before departure it was 3 days. The day we were supposed to fly to Europe was the day I finished my 5 day hospital stay so there was no way we were going.  Since we had insurance to fall back on all I asked Celebrity for were the Captains Club points since they got the money anyway. Nope, sorry we cannot do that but we are glad you are better....it was 9 years ago and I am doing fine today so I hope your husband has a similar outcome.   As others have said, check your credit card for any coverage, keep all of your receipts for a possible claim and do call Celebrity and see what they will do but be prepared to send written confirmation from his doctors. 

[MamaFej]

I may be able to provide a bit of hope here.

 

TL:DR maybe, if you are politely proactive, you could have a good chance of a positive outcome. 

 

 

On June 30, I was told I need to get an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) for a rare, progressive, incurable genetic heart disease. I've known about the gene for 7 years, but the disease only now caught up with me. I was supposed to fly to Europe on July 5 for a 57 day trip that included 3 cruises, the first of which embarked on July 10, the second of which embarked yesterday. 

 

My TA had me write a letter (email) he could send to Celebrity and Azamara while we waited to get an official letter from the doctor after the July 4 holiday. In my letter, I suggested FCCs, and that the cruise lines could both re-sell my cabins, and insure I would return as a customer. This allowed him to get the ball rolling with his cruise line contacts. In other words, I offered a mutually beneficial solution, not just a problem. Azamara responded within minutes that they felt they could help me. I got the official letter on July 5, as I should have been leaving to the airport, and my TA submitted it to both lines. I had the procedure on July 11, and written approval from both lines for FCCs the next day.

 

We do have overlapping travel insurance, with an annual travel policy as well as Chase Sapphire Reserve, and we could have submitted (and resubmitted after the initial, inevitable denial) claims and have eventually been reimbursed. This way was much easier, even though it meant giving two cruise lines an interest-free loan. However, having cruises already booked on both lines, we decided it was worth not having to deal with insurance for the largest costs of the trip. Keeping my stress level lower is worth it to us. 

 

My TA also got Nordic Visitor to give us a much more generous cancellation than they normally do for the self-driving tour of Sweden we had booked with them. We had not yet made final payment (it was  due in two days) and they gave us half our deposit back, and the other half as a credit we need to use within three years. 

 

On our own, we got airline points credited for the long flights, and taxes refunded. We will submit the change fees to insurance for reimbursement. The shorter flights within Europe are all non-refundable. We will include them on our insurance claim. 

 

Thankfully, we keep a budget/planning spreadsheet of our trip costs, so we have an easy way to know what we need to claim. Becuase our amazing TA has such a good relationship with his cruiseline contacts at both lines, and we were willing to go the credits route, our insurance claim is a very small percentage of the total cost. However, it is more than double the annual premium. 

 

We have only had the CSR for about 5 years, and we've only been buying an annual policy for two years. I'm not in any way trying to insurance-shame anyone. I'm only saying that an awesome TA is worth their weight in gold, and we are glad we have insurance now. If we didn't travel as often as we now do, the expense might not make sense. Everyone needs to do what works for them.

 

I wish the OP good luck with the costs. More importantly, I wish for good science, good care, and a positive health outcome. 

 

[MisterBill99]

OP, how did your husband's procedure go, and did Celebrity agree to do anything for you?

[wrk2cruise]

I agree that sometimes TA's have a better route through their sales support teams at Celebrity to get resolutions to special situations.  I have had them use this route a couple times with satisfactory outcomes.

[SeaMee]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:04 AM, gfkcruiser said:

Had to cancel a week prior to cruise due to medical issue.   Contacted celebrity and they offered to move the cruise 2 months out.  Wouldn’t work for us.  No insurance with Celebrity but did thru my credit card but did not disclose this  to celebrity. Did receive my payment from the credit card insurance.  When you call to cancel, request a letter stating what you will lose and what will be credited back.  This was required for the insurance company thru the credit card if you are covered. 

What credit card did you use that covered this?

[gfkcruiser]

2 hours ago, SeaMee said:

What credit card did you use that covered this?

That was on a Chase Hyatt card.  

[upwarduk]

On 7/24/2023 at 4:37 PM, RichYak said:

I canceled a cruise within one week of sailing due to a doctor deeming my wife not fit to travel

What evidence did you have to supply- Doctors letter etc?

[RichYak]

5 hours ago, upwarduk said:

What evidence did you have to supply- Doctors letter etc?

There was a form that needed to be filled out and signed by my wife's doctor who deemed her unfit for travel.

[Tandem Tom]

We had a 9 day cruise booked. Short story my wife had 2 strokes 30 days out. no insurance, airlines, hotels all gave credit or refund. Celebrity nothing, said would return taxes and port charges, never returned. I get room, but added the all inclusive. Never took a drink, wi fi ,  Sold are room, right away, GET INSURANCE. learned are lesson. Good News Wife has fully recovered.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

still

[Baynanno1]

On 7/25/2023 at 9:33 PM, Babr said:

None of them cover pre-existing conditions.

 

Some pre-existing conditions ARE covered.