klfrodo

You may be misunderstanding Cancel For Any Reason. (CFAR) CFAR can only be used before your trip begins. For the cruise line policy, you can invoke CFAR up to scheduled sailing time. For 3rd party policies, you must invoke CFAR within 48 hours of your schedule trip departure. (Locking the front door) Cruise line policy is a 75% (some cruise lines 90-100%) future cruise credit. A 3rd party policy can vary from 40% to 100% cash back. (Some of these also require that you cover 100% of your non-refundable trip costs. This can vary by State of residency). ((Since airlines will give you a voucher for future air travel, insurance will consider you as having been made whole)).

You're going to have to adjust either your budget, your expectations, or your requirements.

What advice did your attorney give you when you told them you wanted to take your children out of the country for a quick vacation?

It's your trip, your money, and I hope it all works out well for you.

@Ferry Watcher, who currently is a person who checks people in for sailings at the cruise port in Seattle just recently stated that they have been directed by RCCL to check for proper documentation which includes a notarized letter from the non-traveling parent permission to the traveling adult to take the children out of the country. I believe somebody who does the same job in Miami port confirmed that they have also received this directive. Here's a link to the thread

I applaud those who can do this. Medications and toiletries take a full carry-on for me, and I haven't even packed a pair of drawers yet.

I'm not going to pass judgement because I've been there in my younger days. If there are concerns about the "holds", that leaves me to believe there might be issues with a low limit card or credit availability. (Again, been there done that) Just passing on my next concern. What is someone to do when they find themselves needing medical attention? Drank a little too much and severely dehydrated, severe sunburn, trip and fall during an excursion, fall off the moped, forget to take medications, etc. They don't take your medical insurance and directly bill. Whether it's the ship doctor or the land-based facility. You have to pay before released and sometimes before care will begin. Again, not passing judgement. I didn't know this information in my youth and even if I did, I was indestructible. Just something to think about.

On Carnival? No On Royal? Yes The huge difference for me is that Royal actually has a Sommelier who pairs a wine with each course and gives a quick lesson on each wine and why they have chosen that wine for that course. On Carnival, you get to choose a red or a white and that's it. The course selection, preparation, and presentation are very close to one another on each cruise line.

My work VPN which was required to get into my works intranet, would always time out and not connect. I assume due to the lag in performance due to the time it takes a data packet leave the ship, travel to the geosynchronous satellite, travel back to the ground, and then to the network. Has current technology and Starlink improved this? I don't know from personal experience.

I would guess that 95% of the people who experienced buyers remorse were people who misunderstood what travel insurance covers and more importantly what travel insurance doesn’t cover. The first time I mitigated my risk by purchasing travel insurance, I was very proud of my self. I thought that now that I had travel insurance, if I ran into any trouble all I had to do was give them a call and my problem went away. Miss a flight, they’ll buy a new ticket. Miss the ship in a port, they’ll fly me home.Have to seek medical care, just show my policy and they would direct bill. Thank goodness I found this forum before I needed to use my policy.

I'm going with highly unlikely. Cruise line air travel is consolidator. They negotiate tickets and routes a year or 2 in advance. They negotiate these in bulk purchases. What they do not say is, "hey, customer ABC is holding on the line, we need to get them from Tampa to Trieste". They look in their bulk buy stack and say, "Okay, we have 24 tickets available that we can route to Marco Polo starting in Tampa". Providing a transfer service to Trieste would be much cheaper than providing individual tickets to Trieste. The sticky above this post called Cruise Air Travel and Deviation has a great explanation on how cruise air works. Then again,,,, I may be incorrect.

Define "Worth It" for us in your own words. What I find value in may be complete hogwash to you.

If she does cancel AND this is considered a covered reason, she will be refunded at the 3rd person rate (doesn't matter what she paid or to whom) and will of course be refunded any port fees, taxes, drink packages, etc.

Thanks for sharing the new information @Ferry_Watcher. Since you are someone who works at the port and is a person who actually clears people to board the ship, having the information from a SME that the enforcement of the policy is now in effect is important for people to know.

Would something like this be of any value? Or, is this a waste of time? If it has value, then I'll continue with a Trip Delay flowchart, a trip interruption flowchart, etc. It is a Word document. I only did a medical one first and it is a rough draft and I am NOT a professional Word user. Flowchart for Travel Insurance.docx

Now that you have me thinking, maybe a flow chart, like pilots use during in flight emergencies, would be helpful to use as a guide when traveling. Is it Medical? Yes/No If No, turn to page 2. If Yes, Is it Life or Death? Yes/No. If Yes seek emergency treatment. If No, follow XYZ all based on the terms, conditions, and definitions based on your individual policy. Have all phone numbers in the flow chart with room for additional notes etc. Page 2, 3, 4 etc have the same flow chart for Trip Delay, Trip Cancelation, etc. Now, if only I knew how to make a flow chart like I did when I was learning how to write machine code 40 years ago 🤯

What would be my expectation? In an emergent situation, there is always a number to call on the policy for assistance and/or guidance. Side Note: I had a claim denied because the policy clearly stated I needed to contact that number before going to a hospital for treatment. (The treatment sought was non life threatening). Just needed stitches and X-rays. In your case, maybe some guidance on what claim to file such as Trip Delay or Trip Interruption or maybe even Trip Cancellation. (They will deny if you file under the wrong terms) Maybe suggestions as to what documentation and from whom would be some good guidance also.

The “Definitions” are crucial. What does your policy define as a Family Member? Also, since you stated gravely ill, I would also be concerned about Pre-existing medical conditions and how this may or may not affect a non traveling family member.

I know that there are many people on this board who regularly make international trips. My specific question for now is LHR and e-Gates upon arrival into Customs and Immigrations. Our US Passports do have the biometric chip in them. Has the AI algorithm improved enough where we keep our glasses on? or do you recommend that we remove them when we step up to the camera? I only ask because a few years ago it was touch and go while wearing glasses.

The only thing I've missed out on is, like you say, the familiarization and interaction with the same staff every night. Otherwise, the meals and service go very well.

I like the technology and believe it has dramatically cut down on the debarkation time. It also has sped up the process worldwide where used at passport control. However, there are also reports where it doesn't work quit as well with POC. So, I'm curious as to the experience of our cruising friends who happen to be POC.

If you filed this as a claim for Trip Interruption", then Yes, you filed the claim wrong and they are right in that it was to be denied. What is "Trip Interruption"? A trip interruption occurs when a traveler must unexpectedly cut short his or her trip and return home. Additionally, interruption can cause you to stay at your destination longer than originally planned. The proper claim would have been "Trip Cancellation" Had you notified NCL before the ship departed that you were cancelling, then the CFAR (the 75% credit) may have come into play. Doesn't sound like that happened. I'm not sure what would happen should you open another claim, this time for Trip Cancellation. Another reason why I use a broker to help me find a policy and to ask questions when it's time to file a claim.

Welcome to CruiseCritic. I've been on this board since the AOL Chatroom days and your complaint has been going on since that time. I started on Carnival and have now branched out. Carnival is not my cruise line of choice, however, when I have friends who invite my wife and I to cruise with them, we will book the cruise. I wouldn't call it "elitism" though. Isn't that disparaging in and of itself when others express a point of view that may be different than yours? Every cruise line has a target demographic just like every other named brand of market does.

It depends on what you want to insure and what level of risk you’re willing to take? Every policy is different based on your needs. Also know that each State of residency could dictate the terms and conditions. Cancel For Any Reason? You probably need to purchase a policy within 14 to 21 days after making a deposit Pre-existing medical condition waiver? You probably need to purchase within 14 - 21 days also. You may also be required to cover ALL non-refundable trip costs. This varies by State. Myself? I buy the minimum coverage required to get the medical and evac coverage. I can absorb the cost of the cruise. I can’t absorb the $100K medical.

I was sympathetic to the OP's situation until they played the " I lost a little bit of the freedom we are supposed to have in America" card. That's a heck of a stretch especially when it would be so simple to say "Please call me _____". Thousands of people do this every day in life. Even nonwhite Americans with ethnic names.