Policy on cancellation/no insurance

[Mizwoodym]

We are dealing with a sudden illness in our group so please no lectures on the benefits of cruise insurance. we do not have insurance and there is a possibility of some members of our group having to cancel because of a serious illness. My question is how does Princess deal with this sort of request. Do they allow passengers to delay or rebook their cruises? If they do not allow this, do they leave the rooms empty or do they double dip and fill the vacant and already paid for room with waitlisted customers. I had read that the cruise we will be on is waitlisted in all room types so I dont think it would be hard to sell the rooms.

Any and all "helpful" advice is appreciated.

[caribill]

We are dealing with a sudden illness in our group so please no lectures on the benefits of cruise insurance. we do not have insurance and there is a possibility of some members of our group having to cancel because of a serious illness. My question is how does Princess deal with this sort of request. Do they allow passengers to delay or rebook their cruises? Not usually. If they do not allow this, do they leave the rooms empty or do they double dip and fill the vacant and already paid for room with waitlisted customers. Do the double dip. I had read that the cruise we will be on is waitlisted in all room types so I dont think it would be hard to sell the rooms.

Any and all "helpful" advice is appreciated.

 

If only one of the people in a cabin have to cancel, you can substitute a different person for a small fee. (Of course, this does not apply to any airline tickets.) However, if both have to cancel, no substitution can be made.

 

If they have not been able to assign all the people who have a guaranty cabin, they might be willing to allow you to rebook. However, if all they have are waitlist, they will not have any incentive to do a rebook as the waitlist people are not guaranteed a spot on the ship.

 

Sorry to hear of your problem.

[pizzalady1]

We are dealing with a sudden illness in our group so please no lectures on the benefits of cruise insurance. we do not have insurance and there is a possibility of some members of our group having to cancel because of a serious illness. My question is how does Princess deal with this sort of request. Do they allow passengers to delay or rebook their cruises? If they do not allow this, do they leave the rooms empty or do they double dip and fill the vacant and already paid for room with waitlisted customers. I had read that the cruise we will be on is waitlisted in all room types so I dont think it would be hard to sell the rooms.

Any and all "helpful" advice is appreciated.

 

I just had to cancel my June cruise because of my husband's surgery. I was in the 50% fee time period. My AD category was waitlisted but they would not waive the penalty unless you have the Princess insurance. I even rebooked at the time of cancellation, but Princess is firm about the cancellation fee. I have other insurance so it will cover the monetary loss.

[Ken076]

If you are cancelling after the final payment deadline (when penalties start being applied) they are very firm about the cancellation penalties. That isn't to say you shouldn't assign one of the group to go on a letter-writing assignment to Carnival Customer Relations, as there have been reports of them giving consideration under special circumstances. They DO in their documentation and web page recommend trip insurance for just these reasons. ken

[City_Woman]

Assuming you booked directly with Princess, I would suggested calling them and discussing options. If you booked with an Agency, call them.

 

Judy

[Tak8]

Normally, Princess will do nothing. If they do it for one, they have to do it for everyone. Then there really is no need for insurance. There have been rare cases of Princess offering a percentage if the party re-books. It can't hurt to ask, just expect Princess to say they can't help.

[Mizwoodym]

Does anyone know if these rooms will just sit empty then?

[cynbar]

To the OP --- and I know you said no lectures,I'm really trying to be gentle here----- why would anyone buy insurance if a cruise line would just easily rebook with no penalty? In that case, I imagine a lot of people would just change their minds for an assortment of reasons, and pick a different week. And if they do make exceptions, who decides where they draw the line?????

[Toto2Kansas]

We are dealing with a sudden illness in our group so please no lectures on the benefits of cruise insurance. we do not have insurance and there is a possibility of some members of our group having to cancel because of a serious illness. My question is how does Princess deal with this sort of request. Do they allow passengers to delay or rebook their cruises? If they do not allow this, do they leave the rooms empty or do they double dip and fill the vacant and already paid for room with waitlisted customers. I had read that the cruise we will be on is waitlisted in all room types so I dont think it would be hard to sell the rooms.

Any and all "helpful" advice is appreciated.

 

Princess policy is that if you cancel after final payment, penalties will start increasing the closer you get to your cruise date.

Nothing you can do about this without insurance.

As said by others, if they refunded passengers fare that didn't purchase insurance, then cancellation insurance would be a thing of the past.

 

The only thing you can do, but it must be done within a couple of weeks of sailing (not exactly sure of the timeframe here). As long as one of the original passengers is sailing in a particular stateroom, you can pay a fee to have a name change on the second passenger in that stateroom. Other than that, you are stuck paying the penalties. Which include 100% of what you paid towards the end. Sorry! :(

[cherylandtk]

Does anyone know if these rooms will just sit empty then?

You are sailing 5/17, which puts you and your group in the 75% cancellation penalty (it went from 50% to 75% ten days ago :( ). Meaning you get 25% back and Princess keeps 75% as their fee if you cancel now. They will try to re-sell the rooms, which is a separate transaction from your booking. The only way the rooms would sit empty is if you did not cancel, did not receive your 25% and did not go on the cruise.

[Tak8]

Just my guess, your rooms will be occupied. When folks don't show up for the plane, others almost always take the seats. When people are no shows at hotels, the room goes to someone else. Princess probably has enough standby or waitlist people on most sailings to fill up the cabins.

[Pam in CA]

Princess policy is that if you cancel after final payment, penalties will start increasing the closer you get to your cruise date.

Nothing you can do about this without insurance.

As said by others, if they refunded passengers fare that didn't purchase insurance, then cancellation insurance would be a thing of the past.

Toto is right. While you don't want a lecture on insurance, this is one of the reasons why it's recommended and what it's for. :(

[JudithLynne]

I am curious, because of this experience, will you purchase travel insurance in the future?

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree, the room will be filled and don't count on a refund. :)

[trevor182]

Any and all "helpful" advice is appreciated.

The only helpful advice is to cancel as soon as possible and get something back, or wait it out and risk the entire cost of the cruise. Those are your choices when you self-insure.

[happy cruzer]

Well, I am not going to lecture about insurance. Because without the details there is a chance that even if you did have insurance, you might not be covered. Sometimes the condition is not covered, you did not buy in time for preexisting conditions to be covered, the illness is that of a non-immediate family member..... there are alot of details in insurance policies. Insurance can be great but it is not a silver bullet.

 

My suggestion is to try to get your deposit moved to another sailing. Cruiselines seem to really hate refunds of any kind. And again don't go in expecting a refund or any compensation if they resell your cabin. reselling the cabin is probably already factored into their business model when they set all their rates and costs.

 

Hope all is well.

[Toto2Kansas]

My suggestion is to try to get your deposit moved to another sailing. Cruiselines seem to really hate refunds of any kind.

Hope all is well.

 

This won't work on Princess. Other lines will sometimes move you to another sailing, but it's not something Princess will do, they will just charge the fees for cancelling and refund the rest (if any is due).

[pizzalady1]

This won't work on Princess. Other lines will sometimes move you to another sailing, but it's not something Princess will do, they will just charge the fees for cancelling and refund the rest (if any is due).

 

This is exactly what Princess did for my cancellation and I did rebook at another time.

[Toto2Kansas]

This is exactly what Princess did for my cancellation and I did rebook at another time.

Then you got VERY VERY lucky if it was after final payment! I hope you bought a lottery ticket, as without insurance, or unless the ship is drastically oversold, Princess usually will not do this.

[Pam in CA]

This is exactly what Princess did for my cancellation and I did rebook at another time.

If this was after final payment, then it makes a mockery of purchasing insurance. Princess often breaks their own rules or makes exceptions but when it comes to after final payment refunds, they don't make exceptions other than for extraordinary circumstances. The only time I remember hearing of someone getting a full refund after final payment was when a woman's DH was called back to Iraq early. A sudden illness, death in the family, etc. doesn't normally count as extraordinary as it happens all the time.

[pizzalady1]

Then you got VERY VERY lucky if it was after final payment! I hope you bought a lottery ticket, as without insurance, or unless the ship is drastically oversold, Princess usually will not do this.

 

Sorry, I was agreeing with you and I must not have written it correctly. I cancelled after final payment for a medical reason and Princess said "gee, sorry, too bad you did not by the Princess insurance" and we lost 50%. Even though I did book the same cruise at a later time, Princess did not care. I did by trip insurance so we should be covered for all the loses.

[Toto2Kansas]

Sorry, I was agreeing with you and I must not have written it correctly. I cancelled after final payment for a medical reason and Princess said "gee, sorry, too bad you did not by the Princess insurance" and we lost 50%. Even though I did book the same cruise at a later time, Princess did not care. I did by trip insurance so we should be covered for all the loses.

 

Aren't typed words funny though? Sometimes they read just the opposite of what was meant. :)

 

Well, I wouldn't go buy that lottery ticket then, save your money for your next cruise. lol

[Ken076]

Sorry, I was agreeing with you and I must not have written it correctly. I cancelled after final payment for a medical reason and Princess said "gee, sorry, too bad you did not by the Princess insurance" and we lost 50%. Even though I did book the same cruise at a later time, Princess did not care. I did by trip insurance so we should be covered for all the loses.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but it's not that Princess doesn't "Care" - it's their Policy - Princess is very specific about this in their documentation, in noting that there's no reimbursement for cancellations and that Trip Insurance is highly recommended. A basic 3rd party Trip Insurance Policy isn't all that expensive. ken

[TM]

After our experience last June, I will NEVER sail again without trip insurance. We were just hours from boarding the Star Princess to do Alaska and had to fly home for a family emergency. Thankfully, we did have insurance and Princess was wonderful and we got our credit within weeks of getting home. Because this was just a 7 day cruise my husband had almost decided against the insurance. We are so glad he got it. We are doing a B2B to Alaska in July on the Coral. Yep, we got trip insurance!! Just will not ever take the chance again.

[kooljamming]

We are dealing with a sudden illness in our group so please no lectures on the benefits of cruise insurance. we do not have insurance and there is a possibility of some members of our group having to cancel because of a serious illness. My question is how does Princess deal with this sort of request. Do they allow passengers to delay or rebook their cruises? If they do not allow this, do they leave the rooms empty or do they double dip and fill the vacant and already paid for room with waitlisted customers. I had read that the cruise we will be on is waitlisted in all room types so I dont think it would be hard to sell the rooms.

Any and all "helpful" advice is appreciated.

 

Before wasting time here, call Princess and ASK. You might get the same answer but without the lecture you DON'T need when dealing with a medical crisis. You will find there are always an exception for somebody somewhere. Years ago my grandma-in-law got really sick so were about to cancel (w/o insurance). I called my TA but was informed the cruise was overbooked and RCCl was offering people a free cruise for canceling. If you really don't want lectures and judgement compounded on your emergency just call and ASK. Many people have experiences that are not posted on CC and from some responses never will. So if it's not posted here doesn't mean it can't or never happened. Travel insurance has so many loop holes as not to pay, I usually buy it and pray I don't ever need it.

 

BTW sorry about the illness and I hope things work out for the best. Many consider me lucky :-)

Are they still insuring trips to Mexico? Mine aren't covered as yet :-(