Which parts of cruise are refundable if I have to cancel after final payment?

Probably going to use Princess Vacation Protection, but I want to compare to a 3rd party insurance company so I need to know the full value I need to cover. If I have to cancel, say, 1 day prior to departure which items are refundable?

Cruise fare

Taxes/port fees

Princess purchased transfers

EZ Air flights (I will probably be using the flexible air)

Onboard purchases such as drink packages, water, etc

I know the cruise fare is nonrefundable and I think the EZ Air is too but I could swear I read on a thread that the EZ Air was refundable. So would I just need to cover the cost of the cruise fare with insurance?

This depends greatly on what the situation is, as in why you're cancelling. Here is a good example of third-party products available here in Canada: https://www.travellersinsurance.ca/content/delux-trip-cancelation

I think I just answered my own question about the EZ Air-Flexible. I found a page that compares Flexible and Restricted and it says penalties apply for cancellation within 45 days of departure. So I guess I'll be adding the cruise fare and EZ Air fare to get the amount I need to cover.

You can check with your credit card company to see if it offers some type of travel insurance on purchases. When I had to cancel a Holland America cruise a few years ago, my credit card paid the amount not covered by my insurance through HAL. It also paid a refund on my nonrefundable Hotwire reservation.

I think you did answer your own question with regards to the EZ air.

Now, for the cruise portion. I have read on here that if you upgrade your insurance to the Princess Gold coverage, you can cancel for any reason right up to the sail date. You may just get that money back in credits to move to a different cruise but my memory on it is dim. Do some searches on that here on cruise critic ... it surprised me a lot and I've cruised over 20 times on Princess, which means when I purchase their insurance, they automatically upgrade me to the better insurance for no charge.

Anyhow, many people will claim that you should always purchase third party insurance but so far, I've been happy enough with the Princess insurance.

I understand that 'cancel for any reason' through a third party insurer is quite pricey. You can look at insuremytrip.com to get some comparative prices / coverage.

If you believe there is a chance you would have to cancel one day before sailing you should insure every dollar you are out of pocket as the only item automatically refunded is the government taxes and fees. The beverage packages are not refundable within three days of sailing. The ability to cancel most other pre-paid amenities (such as shore excursions) through your Cruise Personalizer closes at five days prior to sailing--and while if you cancel them onboard you receive a credit to the card used for your onboard account both the T&C and the Cruse Contract are deliberately vague as to both (1) whether such items are refundable and (2) whether they are covered by the Princess Vacation Protection if you cancel your cruise so close in (or simply no-show).

So perhaps you should pre-pay as little as possible. And as noted above make sure each amenity is purchased with a separate transaction to your credit card as you may have some recourse through its travel coverage.

I don't plan on cancelling, just want to compare with a 3rd party insurer. Covering up to $1500 is one amount and up to $2000 is a higher amount. Covering $2000 makes more sense then to encompass everything. (I forgot about prepaid shore excursions!) Never thought to ask my credit card company to cover what insurance doesn't pay, but I always use American Express for travel expenses so that's a great idea.

Thanks everyone!

If you under-insure thru a third party, they can deny coverage for the entire trip.

I filed a claim under a third party for a missed day. My travel agent had to complete a portion of the form which documented price paid for the cruise, the air, and the "land package" (which was just the transfers), even though my claim was just for expenses incurred as a result of a missed day when the ship couldn't dock. Since it couldn't dock to disembark, we couldn't embark. It did surprise me that the insurance company required proof of cost of items which were not a part of my claim. FWIW, they did pay every penny that I requested, even the tips on the meals we had to purchase.

I also knew that I had coverage on my credit card...but when I looked at the fine print, it says that the claim must be started within 7 days of the event. By the time I looked, it was too late to consider since the loss occurred on day 1 of a 7 night cruise! With the third party carrier, I had a long while to get the claim started--I believe it was 90 days.

As to purchasing thru the cruise line or third party, you need to look at cost and coverage. Third party coverage is based in part on the age of the covered party, so as we get older, going thru the cruise line might become a better deal. While I've never looked specifically at Princess, I know that on another line their coverage is based on a percentage of the cost of all items purchased thru the cruise line.

I think you did answer your own question with regards to the EZ air.

Now, for the cruise portion. I have read on here that if you upgrade your insurance to the Princess Gold coverage, you can cancel for any reason right up to the sail date. You may just get that money back in credits to move to a different cruise but my memory on it is dim. Do some searches on that here on cruise critic ... it surprised me a lot and I've cruised over 20 times on Princess, which means when I purchase their insurance, they automatically upgrade me to the better insurance for no charge.

Anyhow, many people will claim that you should always purchase third party insurance but so far, I've been happy enough with the Princess insurance.

I understand that 'cancel for any reason' through a third party insurer is quite pricey. You can look at insuremytrip.com to get some comparative prices / coverage.

It's called Princess Platinum (more expensive metal??:D ).