Independent vs. POD problems

[erhoffer]

Thanks to all of you on this board for helping me with some tough decisios about shore excursions for a northbound Celebrity Cruise in late Jun/early Jul. I see lots of recommendations for independent booking, but also mention about POD problems which could cause ports to be missed.

 

Have you had this problem - What happens if your cruise misses your port when an independent activity was booked? Are you able to cancel or do you lose your payment? I assume that you get some comp or refund if you book through the cruise line.

 

thanks for the info,

- Erin

[GMoney]

It will vary by vendor. The best advice I can give you is know their policy before you make a decision.

[NancyIL]

It depends on the vendor, so ask about their cancellation policy. Some say that they will refund your money if your ship can't get to port. Others don't. I buy enough extra insurance coverage just in case something were to happen (sickness, injury) to prevent me from being able to go on my prepaid excursion.

[renebfl]

My May 2006 Summit cruise was my experience with the "pod issue". I could tell you the horid detailed story, but I would only be bringing up a sore story and create a back and forth discussion on CC. After 13 days of uniting together, we finally ended up with 2 free cocktail hours at 10 am, then they agreed to a $200 on board credit, and finally on the last day, they gave us a partial credit for our next Celebrity cruise, amount depended on catagory of cabin.It tool all week for them to agree to that. We were suppose to travel 23 knots, could only travel 16, therefore missed 2 ports,Hubbard Glacier and most of the inside passage. We sat still in the water at the inside passage for 10 hours for a reason they gave us that they forgot to book a pilot.Many who got the credit, would never take the chance on Celebrity again. I used my credit for the Caribbean whose ports I did not care about. I had a great cruise.

[gazingm42]

As another poster said it depends on the vendor. When you call them ask

this question up front via phone or email. Most good vendors will refund the

$$$ if your ship is late or doesn't arrive.