National Guard schedule conflict... HELP!

[rmorgan2282]

Hi all,

 

My future husband and I are taking our honeymoon vacation Oct. 5th on the Allure of the Seas.

 

I have one issue, and that's because he has drill one weekend a month (he is part of the Army National Guard), and we don't know his drill schedule after this September, we have no idea if we have booked on a date where he will be gone.

 

We paid the final payment but starting TOMORROW, we start losing money if we cancel our trip.

 

Is this something that Cruise Care covers? Since he is National Guard and not technically "Active Duty" do they still cover us if we have to cancel our trip after tomorrow?

 

Some advice would be lovely... Thank you...

Edited July 21, 2014 by rmorgan2282

[Starry Eyes]

I do not know the answer to your question, so I hope somebody else chimes in. I must say I am shocked that the National Guard won't work with him to accommodate a long planned vacation, especially honeymoon. Really?

[rmorgan2282]

Yeah, it's pretty frustrating. They have the dates for last September through this September (we get married in the last week of September, which is the reason we have the honeymoon planned for the first week of October) and we won't know the next year's dates until they tell us. (Which could be September.... ugh.)

[cruisenfever]

Yeah, it's pretty frustrating. They have the dates for last September through this September (we get married in the last week of September, which is the reason we have the honeymoon planned for the first week of October) and we won't know the next year's dates until they tell us. (Which could be September.... ugh.)

From the RCI website regarding CruiseCare

 

 

[setsail]

Hi all,

 

My future husband and I are taking our honeymoon vacation Oct. 5th on the Allure of the Seas.

 

I have one issue, and that's because he has drill one weekend a month (he is part of the Army National Guard), and we don't know his drill schedule after this September, we have no idea if we have booked on a date where he will be gone.

 

We paid the final payment but starting TOMORROW, we start losing money if we cancel our trip.

 

Is this something that Cruise Care covers? Since he is National Guard and not technically "Active Duty" do they still cover us if we have to cancel our trip after tomorrow?

 

Some advice would be lovely... Thank you...

 

Yes, if you bought the cancel for any reason policy

[RocketMan275]

It will depend upon your husband's unit commander, but it is possible to do a 'make up' drill. I'm NG retired and a former unit commander. You can get an 'excused' absence which would allow your husband to make up the drill. If the unit grant's this excuse, he would make alternative arrangements with the unit where he could perform the duty and would still get credit and get paid. The National Guard is run by the states and this would all depend upon the unit's policy. Strongly suggest your husband contact his unit immediately and see what can be done.

[rmorgan2282]

Well, it doesn't necessarily work that way, since they only refund 75% of it... Not the full amount.

[rmorgan2282]

It will depend upon your husband's unit commander, but it is possible to do a 'make up' drill. I'm NG retired and a former unit commander. You can get an 'excused' absence which would allow your husband to make up the drill. If the unit grant's this excuse, he would make alternative arrangements with the unit where he could perform the duty and would still get credit and get paid. The National Guard is run by the states and this would all depend upon the unit's policy. Strongly suggest your husband contact his unit immediately and see what can be done.

 

You ROCK, thanks for the input. The other issue is that he is split training for his Annual Training in August (he got a new job... our crazy, crazy life....)

 

I don't know if he can split train for that much more time than he has already put in for. (But your response is helpful, thank you.)

[cruisenfever]

Well, it doesn't necessarily work that way, since they only refund 75% of it... Not the full amount.

RCI has been known, on more than one occasion, to show compassion in situations like this. Just call them and see what they say.....you may be surprised.:)

[rmorgan2282]

RCI has been known, on more than one occasion, to show compassion in situations like this. Just call them and see what they say.....you may be surprised.:)

 

Thanks! Hopefully. I feel like I haven't got a hold of someone at RCCL that understands the National Guard. ...Not technically "active duty" and not technically "reserve". Hopefully when we get the drill dates, we can just send in the memo and get a full refund.

 

...That sure would make me more likely to book with RCCL again after I get my money returned...

[Ocean_Waves]

My advice would be to look at his drill dates from years previous and see if you see a pattern . My drill dates always fell on the same time every month and that was the very last or first weekend (30th, 1st, 2nd or 2nd, 3rd, 4th) of the month.

 

The other poster is right, they will usually allow you to make up a weekend by coming in during the week and doing menial tasks.

[rmorgan2282]

My advice would be to look at his drill dates from years previous and see if you see a pattern . My drill dates always fell on the same time every month and that was the very last or first weekend (30th, 1st, 2nd or 2nd, 3rd, 4th) of the month.

 

The other poster is right, they will usually allow you to make up a weekend by coming in during the week and doing menial tasks.

 

Yeah, the reason we booked is because the last two years, he hasn't had drill in October. I just don't want to count on that again. ;)

[setsail]

Well, it doesn't necessarily work that way, since they only refund 75% of it... Not the full amount.

 

100% if for a specified reason, 75% credit if you want to just cancel

[papaflamingo]

Just a couple of comments. I am also retired Reserve. I was the Executive Officer of my unit when I retired. Although I was USCGR, we would make any accommodation possible to help members out. I suspect in this case your future husband's unit will do what it can in the case of a honeymoon, especially if it's only a typical drill weekend.

As for insurance, there are policies out there that will cover some military obligations. Not sure "drill weekend" will qualify. But my son is a Navy Pilot and we did a New Years Cruise last year. I found a policy that would repay for cancellation of leave for any reason. It would include his wife, and my wife and myself (which surprised me). Anyway, since they were the "ready carrier" when Syria started to erupt, we were glad we had the policy, and even happier when we all went on the cruise.

Last comment. You are right, it's "75% cancel for any reason." But it's "75% of non-refundable portion." So for example if you cancel with over 57 days left you only lose your deposit. You'll get 75% of that back. For 29-56 days out, you lose 50% but you'll get 50% back plus 75% of the 50% non-refundable portion. So if your cruise is $3000. you'll get $1500 back plus 75% of the non-refundable $1500 which is $1125. So your total refund will actually be $2625 and a non-refund of $375. Surely you will know your drill weekend by 30 days out. So you may not really be risking that much.

Edited July 21, 2014 by papaflamingo

[lv2bcruzin]

Hi all,

 

My future husband and I are taking our honeymoon vacation Oct. 5th on the Allure of the Seas.

 

I have one issue, and that's because he has drill one weekend a month (he is part of the Army National Guard), and we don't know his drill schedule after this September, we have no idea if we have booked on a date where he will be gone.

 

We paid the final payment but starting TOMORROW, we start losing money if we cancel our trip.

 

Is this something that Cruise Care covers? Since he is National Guard and not technically "Active Duty" do they still cover us if we have to cancel our trip after tomorrow?

 

Some advice would be lovely... Thank you...

I had this same type of issue when I transferred from the Texas Army NG to the Arizona Army NG. I had already booked and paid for our cruise before I transferred, so I obviously did not have the drill schedule for my new unit. Go figure, the cruise was during a drill weekend. At my first drill with the new unit I brought it up through the chain of command and was able to split train (making up for the drill to be missed during some week in advance instead of attending that drill). The ARNG is usually very accommodating for these types of situations, but it really depends on the CO and 1SG.

 

As some have already mentioned, he needs to bring this up through his chain of command immediately. I am willing to bet they will allow him to split train and you will be able to go on your cruise without issue. Good luck!

[rmorgan2282]

This has been very helpful information!

 

I called Royal Caribbean, but still need to call CruiseCare themselves and see what we need to do.

 

Thank you all for such great input!!

[RocketMan275]

Thanks! Hopefully. I feel like I haven't got a hold of someone at RCCL that understands the National Guard. ...Not technically "active duty" and not technically "reserve". Hopefully when we get the drill dates, we can just send in the memo and get a full refund.

 

...That sure would make me more likely to book with RCCL again after I get my money returned...

 

Don't confuse them. National Guard or reserve, it should be the same with RCI. Tell them it's reserve duty which it is.

 

Also, October is a new training year so the split training for this year is not relevant.

 

BTW, some travel insurance policies are much more friendly for military types. "USAA"

[rmorgan2282]

Just a couple of comments. I am also retired Reserve. I was the Executive Officer of my unit when I retired. Although I was USCGR, we would make any accommodation possible to help members out. I suspect in this case your future husband's unit will do what it can in the case of a honeymoon, especially if it's only a typical drill weekend.

As for insurance, there are policies out there that will cover some military obligations. Not sure "drill weekend" will qualify. But my son is a Navy Pilot and we did a New Years Cruise last year. I found a policy that would repay for cancellation of leave for any reason. It would include his wife, and my wife and myself (which surprised me). Anyway, since they were the "ready carrier" when Syria started to erupt, we were glad we had the policy, and even happier when we all went on the cruise.

Last comment. You are right, it's "75% cancel for any reason." But it's "75% of non-refundable portion." So for example if you cancel with over 57 days left you only lose your deposit. You'll get 75% of that back. For 29-56 days out, you lose 50% but you'll get 50% back plus 75% of the 50% non-refundable portion. So if your cruise is $3000. you'll get $1500 back plus 75% of the non-refundable $1500 which is $1125. So your total refund will actually be $2625 and a non-refund of $375. Surely you will know your drill weekend by 30 days out. So you may not really be risking that much.

 

Totally didn't even realize this! That makes such a huge difference! Worst case scenario, if I had to cancel last minute, I lose $567... That isn't nearly as bad as I thought.

 

Thanks for this info!

[lv2bcruzin]

 

Also, October is a new training year so the split training for this year is not relevant.

 

Correct. He would split train in the same fiscal year as the drill he would miss. In this case FY15. It's still relevant to the situation and is a valid option. In addition, it would most likely be easier to manage than dealing with RCI :)

Edited July 21, 2014 by lv2bcruzin

[rmorgan2282]

Don't confuse them. National Guard or reserve, it should be the same with RCI. Tell them it's reserve duty which it is.

 

Also, October is a new training year so the split training for this year is not relevant.

 

BTW, some travel insurance policies are much more friendly for military types. "USAA"

 

Hmmm! Good info about the new year split training... I'll have to let him know! This is great! It looks like CruiseCare only covers the "active duty" portion of it, so I still need to call and ask about the reserve part of it.

 

Thank you!

[spookwife]

I do not know the answer to your question, so I hope somebody else chimes in. I must say I am shocked that the National Guard won't work with him to accommodate a long planned vacation, especially honeymoon. Really?

 

 

military takes precedence in ALL things and yes sometimes they CANNOT let you skip a Drill/UTA.. and of course there is always the possibility of recall for deployment or to aid in Natural Disasters.

 

I cannot tell you how many times Leave for us has been denied, or taken away after being approved. hell once we were already on leave and he got recalled. and he isn't even Mission essential.

[lv2bcruzin]

military takes precedence in ALL things and yes sometimes they CANNOT let you skip a Drill/UTA.. and of course there is always the possibility of recall for deployment or to aid in Natural Disasters.

 

I cannot tell you how many times Leave for us has been denied, or taken away after being approved. hell once we were already on leave and he got recalled. and he isn't even Mission essential.

While all of that is true, if handled correctly many units work with their soldiers to accommodate certain civilian life situations.

Edited July 21, 2014 by lv2bcruzin

[mjldvlks]

As another retired reservist/commander, the above advice is good. Two things I will add:

 

1. While you may not have the official training schedule yet, most units I have been associated with have a typical weekend for drill such as the second weekend of the month. Make sure you use your best guess [based on prior experience] to avoid the most likely weekend.

 

2. Coordinate with the chain of command immediately if that has not been done already--from the immediate supervisor to the commander. Make sure they know your plans and that you are doing your best to pick a free date. No commander likes surprises and the more they are kept in the loop, the more accommodating the chain of command will be.

 

Good luck. Like most others above, assuming it is an ordinary drill and no major deployment is imminent, I would put my money on the commander being real agreeable for a honeymoon. As a commander, if I had refused to let a soldier off for a honeymoon [especially if he had tried his best to avoid a schedule conflict] I would want to make sure the training that weekend was spectacular. I wouldn't want to be around if that soldier found out there was a lot of down time or no really special training.

[critterchick]

Well, it doesn't necessarily work that way, since they only refund 75% of it... Not the full amount.

 

Totally didn't even realize this! That makes such a huge difference! Worst case scenario, if I had to cancel last minute, I lose $567... That isn't nearly as bad as I thought.

 

I hope it all works out for you and you can go on your cruise as planned. Just remember that, if Cruise Care decides that this is an uncovered event, you will not get any of the penalty amount back, but will get a credit toward a future cruise. So if you were to cancel at the last minute and forfeit your entire cruise fare, you would get a credit of 75% of that amount toward a future cruise, not cash back in your pocket (you might get your port fees back, but those are a very small part of the overall fare).

 

Good luck and congratulations!

[rmorgan2282]

So for those of you who wanted to know,

 

CruiseCare didn't have National Guard under their "military rule". Unless he was called to active duty, then it will be 75% refund if we have to cancel.

 

(Or split training if we can swing it!)

 

Thanks for all of your help!