Wrong Info??

[Sea and Me]

I called RCCL customer service and asked this question! If we were to cancel our Aug. cruise how much would we lose? The answer given to me was this: We would lose our deposit and we would get 75% of our money for a future cruise. This doesn't seem right to me. If you have insurance why would you not get the full payment?? We have RCCL insurance.

 

Thanks,

Carol

[Babr]

I don't know anything about RCCL insurance, but my first thought is that it may have something to do with your reason for cancelling. Unless it is a covered reason, for example-medical, you would get cruise credit not cash. It sounds like you are cancelling under the provisions of cancel-for-any-reason.

 

The deposit also depends on RCCL or the terms of your booking. Cruise line insurance is specific to each line so you have to read your contract/policy.

[sirwired]

1st-party insurance generally has two parts:

 

A Cancel for Any Reason part: This overrides whatever the no-insurance cancellation policy is and replaces it with something else. This can range from a 75% credit to 100% cash, depending on line and policy. This is administered by the cruise line.

 

An Insurance part: If the reason you cancel is listed under "Covered Reasons", and not excluded by the exclusions, you can get a 100% cash refund. This is administered by an insurance company, and you must go through a formal claims process that will involve a lot of paperwork and forms.

[Sea and Me]

Thanks for the responses. We had to cancel a cruise before when my DH fractured his hip and needed surgery. We were refunded the full amount of the cruise at that time. We aren't going to cancel our upcoming Aug. cruise. We did receive some unexpected news on a relative and I was just wondering a "what if", however, if need be to cancel it would come under the insurance.

 

Thanks again,

Carol

[Hlitner]

Ok Carol, my question would be "did you not read the insurance information before you purchased the insurance?" I guess that is a rhetorical question :). The new fad (love that old word) for cruise lines is selling so-called "cancel for any reason" insurance. Why? It is a big money maker for the cruise lines. But the catch with most of these policies is that do not pay off 100%, and often some or part of the payment is in the form of a future cruise credit.

 

So this is simply a situation of the "let the buyer beware" which is good advice for any insurance (or other contract).

 

So this is what is clearly written on RCI's own web site:

 

"Cancel your trip, for whatever reason, and you're covered. Up to 100% cash back for the unused portion of the cruise if you cancel for a specified reason, like illness or injury. 75% cruise credit if you cancel for any other reason."

 

That seems pretty clear.

 

Hank

[mjobtx]

In my personal experience, cruise line cancellation is never as comprehensive as policies you can locate by visiting insuremytrip and other similar sites. It is always more expensive for the coverage you get. It is like an expensive dealer pack at a car dealer.

 

Next time visit insuremytrip and compare coverage among several policies. Take the time to understand what you are getting. Don't trust the policy to give you what you want. Cancellation for any cause is usually only available if you purchase the insurance within 14 days of making your initial deposit. Cancellation for work is an extra cost option available on some policies as well. The most important coverage you will have in these policies and the one you hope never to need is the medical evacuation coverage. If you do need to be medically evacuated it will cost you six figures. Make sure you are covered. The other losses you can probably withstand. Medical evacuation, unless you are very wealthy, not so much.

 

There is no substitute for reading what is covered and making a decision on how well the policy meets your needs. It isn't a point and click decision and it is an important financial one so do the research.

[Jacqueline]

In certain states, that benefit, "cancel for any reason" is not available through insurance companies. Ask a insurance broker and/or read the footnotes after the asterisk on this benefit.

Each state regulates insurance and there are different limitations and benefits.