Told we can't cruise due to Coronavirus - no full refund??!

[HBE4]

32 minutes ago, Hollysmokes said:

RC are refunding our money! Thanks all for your advice. 

 

Awesome! 👍

 

It's always good to hear when Royal does the right thing.

Edited February 13, 2020 by HBE4

[gatour]

6 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

I agree. The medical thing is definitely something to consider. That is an actual catastrophe that could potentially save you hundreds of thousands. CFAR however, does no such thing.

 

6 hours ago, marci22 said:

A lot of policies include CFAR if you purchase within a certain time frame of initial booking, usually 14-21 days. Compare policies to see how much they reimburse, usually 50-75% of cruise fare. Plus you will get taxes and fees returned automatically.

The policies I bought that included CFAR would have made me whole.  I.E. if I cancelled the cruise a day or to before it left, I would be be in the 100% cruise line non refund period.  I would have received 100% of the cruise fare from the insurance company.  Plus would it would have covered my air fair penalties along with hotel non-refundable prepayments.

 

In both  cases I bought through a third party insurer within 14 days of initial booking.  I read the small print and would have have been fully covered.

 

I don't know where you got the 50-75% figure for cruise fare reimbursement.

 

How cruise lines CFAR coverage is, I don't know.  For my coverage, I wanted all-inclusive cancellation coverage i.e. cruise fare coverage, air fair coverage, hotel coverage, etc.  This was beyond the med coverage.  I thought it was money well spent.

[gatour]

7 hours ago, Hollysmokes said:

RC are refunding our money! Thanks all for your advice. 

Great to hear.

[marci22]

1 hour ago, gatour said:

I don't know where you got the 50-75% figure for cruise fare reimbursement.

 

How cruise lines CFAR coverage is, I don't know.  For my coverage, I wanted all-inclusive cancellation coverage i.e. cruise fare coverage, air fair coverage, hotel coverage, etc.  This was beyond the med coverage.  I thought it was money well spent.

I just gave an average example based on reading many policies when shopping for my own coverage. I did not mean to imply that all CFAR coverage pays out like that.

 

Everyone needs to read their policy thoroughly to determine coverage. I always say that.

 

Also it would be good to share the insurance company you used as 100% CFAR would be very nice to have. I know I would consider it.

Edited February 14, 2020 by marci22

[ARandomTraveler]

5 hours ago, gatour said:

 

The policies I bought that included CFAR would have made me whole.  I.E. if I cancelled the cruise a day or to before it left, I would be be in the 100% cruise line non refund period.  I would have received 100% of the cruise fare from the insurance company.  Plus would it would have covered my air fair penalties along with hotel non-refundable prepayments.

 

In both  cases I bought through a third party insurer within 14 days of initial booking.  I read the small print and would have have been fully covered.

 

I don't know where you got the 50-75% figure for cruise fare reimbursement.

 

How cruise lines CFAR coverage is, I don't know.  For my coverage, I wanted all-inclusive cancellation coverage i.e. cruise fare coverage, air fair coverage, hotel coverage, etc.  This was beyond the med coverage.  I thought it was money well spent.

My third party CFAR policy gives 75% coverage. There are other covered reasons that would give me back 100%, but outside of those, it’s 75%. I bought my policy the day I booked my trip, and there were 5 CFAR policies available to me, none of them gave 100%. Just depends on the policy and your eligibility, location etc.

[marci22]

I think gatour confused my comment about CFAR with typical covered reason cancellation insurance. 

[puppycanducruise]

22 hours ago, Hollysmokes said:

RC are refunding our money! Thanks all for your advice. 

Great news.

Now start planning another cruise.

[Joebucks]

14 hours ago, gatour said:

 

The policies I bought that included CFAR would have made me whole.  I.E. if I cancelled the cruise a day or to before it left, I would be be in the 100% cruise line non refund period.  I would have received 100% of the cruise fare from the insurance company.  Plus would it would have covered my air fair penalties along with hotel non-refundable prepayments.

 

In both  cases I bought through a third party insurer within 14 days of initial booking.  I read the small print and would have have been fully covered.

 

I don't know where you got the 50-75% figure for cruise fare reimbursement.

 

How cruise lines CFAR coverage is, I don't know.  For my coverage, I wanted all-inclusive cancellation coverage i.e. cruise fare coverage, air fair coverage, hotel coverage, etc.  This was beyond the med coverage.  I thought it was money well spent.

 

I'm not sure what coverage you got, or how much you spent, but the majority of CFAR insurances don't cover more than 75%. There's simply too much risk. At that point, they have gone beyond the point of "insurance" and into a convenience plan. There is a cost associated with every benefit offered. To allow someone to cancel and get all of their money back up until the day before for any reason at all is not a sustainable business model.

 

That is why most CFARs only cover 75%. On top of that, you don't have to worry about your taxes and fees, which would already be refunded to you anyways. So in reality, they're really only covering about 60-70% of what you originally paid. Sink in the insurance fees, and you're looking to protect maybe 50-60%? And that's if you are on the higher end spectrum at 75%.

 

Now I get the medical, evac, etc. Especially if you are at a higher risk. Some people buy annual med evac plans. Some credit cards cover most of these things. It's always best to weigh your options and select what is best for you. I still believe CFAR is more of a mental marketing benefit more than it actually makes financial sense. Insurance isn't the be all, end all as many have found out with Coronavirus.

[Ourusualbeach]

22 hours ago, marci22 said:

A lot of policies include CFAR if you purchase within a certain time frame of initial booking, usually 14-21 days.

One nice thing about Royals cruise care insurance is that it can be added up until final payment. 

[johnjen]

On 2/7/2020 at 12:43 AM, PhoenixCruiser said:

What about travel insurance?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

Good thing to bring up - but knowing how these travel insurance companies go, there'll be some "clause" in there we didn't read.

[marci22]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

One nice thing about Royals cruise care insurance is that it can be added up until final payment. 

Also people should know that unless they specifically pay the RC premium before final payment, there is a 60 day look back period for pre existing conditions (no waiver offered). Every once in awhile, I will see a post that someone purchases the insurance at final, then something happens, but because there is a 60 day lookback, they aren't covered. So I would be sure to pay the premium for this policy more than 60 days before final.

 

[marci22]

2 hours ago, johnjen said:

Good thing to bring up - but knowing how these travel insurance companies go, there'll be some "clause" in there we didn't read.

I have read a lot of complaints on insure my trip.com. It seems that most often, claims are denied because the person acts prematurely (rearranges flights, cancels before they need to) or doesn't pay attention to numbers (flight delayed 2 hours, when 6 hours is required for compensation to apply). The policies are all pretty specific. That's why you have to read every one. 

 

If people paid as much attention to their policies as they do parsing words on cc there would be no complaints. 

[luckyinpa]

im surprised the new insurance forum on here doesnt have a lot more questions

[molly361]

7 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

One nice thing about Royals cruise care insurance is that it can be added up until final payment. 

AND it's not age based

[SAmome]

On 2/13/2020 at 8:12 AM, marci22 said:

 Not sure what you mean about the helicopter or getting you off in next port or how it has anything to do with your insurance. They should pay if you file the paperwork.

 

 

If RCCL won't ever call a helicopter for you are in a dire medical emergency, even if explain you have insurance coverage for 150K medical evacuation, then really you aren't getting what hoped for in a medical emergency.  So, really, if buying it mainly for medical evacuation, b/c regular insurance policy have covers travel to other countries and travel insurance secondary to primary, the piece of mind for medical evacuation (or injury might have on a ship on any day have had a drink or two) might not be worth the premium.  Insurance companies need to pay their expenses related to covered payments to insureds, a sales staff, buildings, profit, etc.  

[snaefell]

I wonder if offering reduced rates or a partial refund if you don't claim would work with travel insurance,in all the years we have been travelling we have only claimed once,on the other hand we did know a couple who,or so they claimed,got their holiday money back most years by claiming on the insurance which doesn't help anyone!

[jalee7]

This is what scares me. What happens when someone decides not to be honest and put an entire ship at jeopardy. I am not as concerned about me but my 3 yr old daughter. All of the kids on the ship.


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