Friend may not be able to go with me on the cruise

[beshears]

Thank you for the additional comments that have come, since I Iast posted. Barb and I go to church together, and I don't want her to feel bad because of her turning me down, so I'll just let things go. 

As for the question if I took out insurance on us, yes I did.  I have no clue if the insurance would pay for her not going or not, but I have a feeling they would reimburse me for her part, hopefully.

My d-i-l just notified me earlier this evening (my family was to pay for Barb and I to do the Chef's Table, I told her since Barb was not going to be going, we didn't need to do it), that we are going to do the Chef's Table, so that is something I can look forward to as well. 🙂

[Organized Chaos]

45 minutes ago, beshears said:

As for the question if I took out insurance on us, yes I did.  I have no clue if the insurance would pay for her not going or not, but I have a feeling they would reimburse me for her part, hopefully

 

You didn't really go into detail as to why your friend is cancelling, other than her saying she wasn't feeling up to par. It sounds like the only way your insurance will reimburse you for her portion is if it covers "cancel for any reason." Check your policy and see if it has that coverage specifically. Other than that, it would have to be because of things like illness, death in the family, loss of job (and those coverage terms can vary), etc.

[sanger727]

14 hours ago, beshears said:

Thank you for the additional comments that have come, since I Iast posted. Barb and I go to church together, and I don't want her to feel bad because of her turning me down, so I'll just let things go. 

As for the question if I took out insurance on us, yes I did.  I have no clue if the insurance would pay for her not going or not, but I have a feeling they would reimburse me for her part, hopefully.

My d-i-l just notified me earlier this evening (my family was to pay for Barb and I to do the Chef's Table, I told her since Barb was not going to be going, we didn't need to do it), that we are going to do the Chef's Table, so that is something I can look forward to as well. 🙂

 

Unless you have a cancel for any reason policy; no insurance will reimburse you for her part without a detailed reason why and it being a covered reason (IE, she doesn't want to go because she doesn't want to pay for it, would not be; she can't go because of a health issue, may be)

 

And I really don't think it's cold to expect a friend to pay for something she agreed to pay for. Paying what you agreed to pay for is part of being an adult. If she had paid her half on a credit card, the credit card company would certainly expect for her to pay for it even if she decided not to go. 

Edited February 18, 2020 by sanger727

[beshears]

Yes, in regard to the insurance you are right, they will NOT reimburse me, as they were not notified 14 days "after" I took the policy out.  They said they might help if my friend would have a doctor's notice of why she cannot go. I told them she will not respond to my text, phone calls, etc., so I have shucked it up to a lost cause!

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, beshears said:

Yes, in regard to the insurance you are right, they will NOT reimburse me, as they were not notified 14 days "after" I took the policy out.  They said they might help if my friend would have a doctor's notice of why she cannot go. I told them she will not respond to my text, phone calls, etc., so I have shucked it up to a lost cause!

 

Unfortunate situation but it seems obvious she is not going because she simply does not want to go. She might have felt uncomfortably beholden, or perhaps didn't like the idea of being along with you and all your family, or maybe she doesn't feel the same about the friendship as you do.  

 

One last option if you wanted to do something crazy, since you are a part of a church. You could do a last minute quickie fundraiser, for the church, highest bidder gets to come along on the cruise.  Of course you'd have to stipulate who could bid. Females, no snorers, Age range, etc?

Edited February 22, 2020 by KmomChicago

[beshears]

KMomChicago, good suggestions about the church bidding, but I'm letting it go, and am deciding I WILL have a good time, even if I am by myself some of the time. I did see Barb yesterday at church, and went and gave her a big hug, and didn't say anything, just to let her know everything will be alright.  It is just a new experience, sort of like the "mud bath" I took a few years ago!  I was probably the only one my age, and when the younger ones found out, they were "excited" that I had got in there with them, just to check it out and say, " I did the mud bath!" 🙂

[Squadleader]

One other thing, there's a possibility that Carnival will issue a cruise credit for your no-show friend. 

 

My son had to cancel a cruise at the last minute for medical reasons. I didn't say anything in advance to Carnival and just told the agents at the port that he was unable to come because of illness. They didn't ask for documentation from the hospital and Carnival did give me a cruise credit for his portion of the cruise fare. However, it does expire after a year. 

 

And as others have pointed out, they refunded taxes and port fees as well.

 

I don't know if that would be of any value to you, or whether the cruise credit could be given to one of your kids to use during the coming year.

[beshears]

Squadleader, thank you, but as far as I know, since my friend has NOT given me a pat answer why she is not going, other than she does not feel like it, I have no doctor excuse to give, so it looks like I will only get the fees/taxes back, and call the rest a loss, but I'll survive! 🙂

[Homosassa]

Give the friend a lot of space.

 

It can just be that she has felt pressured all along to join you on the cruise and never really wanted to be put in the situation of needing to paid back an amount of money that she may not be able to afford.

 

If so, kudos to her for finally standing her ground and not traveling with possible simmering resentment of the situation.

[beshears]

Homosassa, I have not put any pressure on here, and will not do that!  I still care for her, no matter what.  I did think I had everything taken care of, until I got ready to print my documents, and could not do this, as her info as not complete on the check-in.  I just talked with Carnival, and they were going to charge me $250.00 MORE because of her cancellation, when I was only getting back $127 for the fees and taxes.  To make the long story short, Carnival rep advised me what to do, so I would not be charged that additional $250.00.  It is all coming together, and everything will work out, even though my friend will not be coming.  We have cruised before, and had good times together, so I just let it go!

[buckeyefrank]

It sounds like your friend might be in some need of therapy, honestly.

[Organized Chaos]

42 minutes ago, beshears said:

Homosassa, I have not put any pressure on here, and will not do that!  I still care for her, no matter what.  I did think I had everything taken care of, until I got ready to print my documents, and could not do this, as her info as not complete on the check-in.  I just talked with Carnival, and they were going to charge me $250.00 MORE because of her cancellation, when I was only getting back $127 for the fees and taxes.  To make the long story short, Carnival rep advised me what to do, so I would not be charged that additional $250.00.  It is all coming together, and everything will work out, even though my friend will not be coming.  We have cruised before, and had good times together, so I just let it go!

 

Definitely DO NOT cancel her. That's why the rep. mentioned an additional $250, it would be her cancellation fee. I hope they told you to just list her as a no-show when you get to the terminal. That's the best way now. You'll be refunded her taxes, port fees, pre-paid gratuities (if you paid them), and any items like excursions, internet plans, things like that. I disagree with Homosassa. As good of a person as she might be, I don't think she deserves kudos for putting this on you. It's costing you a lot of money and stress. To do that to you, I don't see her as "standing her ground," as Homosassa put it. She should've talked to you and been open about how she felt. Maybe, just maybe, you could've eased her mind and she would've felt comfortable going if she had just sat down to talk about it.

[beshears]

Organize Chaos, I agree, but it seems like she is trying to avoid me, so all I can do is go with the flow, and let the chips fall where they may, and take this as a "lesson" for myself. If she needs me, I will not turn away, but I have seen another side that I had not seen before, but everything will work out, one way or another. No, I am NOT cancelling her out as yet, as the rep told me what to do, and I plan to follow through with her suggestion.

[KmomChicago]

Hi, beshears.  I am guessing all this discussion was irrelevant after all. Did your ship sail?

[Organized Chaos]

5 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Hi, beshears.  I am guessing all this discussion was irrelevant after all. Did your ship sail?

 

No, she was supposed to be on the cruise right after us, but ours was the last Horizon cruise before the shut-down. We returned to Miami a day after the shut-down began. Coming back to an empty terminal was so strange.

 

Beshears, if you do decide to try it again someday and invite the same friend, be sure to press her for a definite answer before you book. And hopefully you'll be able to get a cabin grouped together with the rest of your family.

[Sugar67]

Thanks for the update Organized Chaos, I was wondering 

[crusinpsychRN]

"Beshears, if you do decide to try it again someday and invite the same friend, be sure to press her for a definite answer before you book."

 

DO NOT invite her again.

[KmomChicago]

Sounds like Beshears was one of the few people for whom the shutdown of the cruise industry may have solved a problem and saved her quite a bit of money, although I have to wonder if she got the refund / credit or if this friend did.

[beshears]

Hello everyone, yes the cruise cancelling out did help some, after this incident with my friend.  As for me asking her again, I am NOT planning on it, unless she says something to me about it, which I doubt.  I even paid for her passport, but that's OK. As for what I decided to do, I got pretty sick for about a month, but NOT from the virus, so it was good that I didn't go after all, as I would have probably been sick on the cruise.  As for the option I chose, since I was so sick for a month, I didn't even want to THINK of cruising, or picking out a time.  Now that I'm feeling myself again, I have already changed the itinerary, etc., and still need someone to go with me, along with everyone else, but I'm sure I know who I can pick! 🙂 As for which option did I choose, since there were 4 rooms paid for, and we had NOT planned on getting any OBC in the first place, I was not losing in that area, so I chose the option to have the money put back on my credit card, since I paid for all of it!  Actually my son had mentioned (hopefully this does not happen, but anything is possible), that it is possible that the cruise line could go bankrupt, so that is why I chose this option, and hopefully I will see the pay back on my credit card one of these days! 🙂  If I chose the other option, and the cruise line went bankrupt, who knows when you would ever be able to use your credit.

[lazydayz]

20 minutes ago, beshears said:

Hello everyone, yes the cruise cancelling out did help some, after this incident with my friend.  As for me asking her again, I am NOT planning on it, unless she says something to me about it, which I doubt.  I even paid for her passport, but that's OK. As for what I decided to do, I got pretty sick for about a month, but NOT from the virus, so it was good that I didn't go after all, as I would have probably been sick on the cruise.  As for the option I chose, since I was so sick for a month, I didn't even want to THINK of cruising, or picking out a time.  Now that I'm feeling myself again, I have already changed the itinerary, etc., and still need someone to go with me, along with everyone else, but I'm sure I know who I can pick! 🙂 As for which option did I choose, since there were 4 rooms paid for, and we had NOT planned on getting any OBC in the first place, I was not losing in that area, so I chose the option to have the money put back on my credit card, since I paid for all of it!  Actually my son had mentioned (hopefully this does not happen, but anything is possible), that it is possible that the cruise line could go bankrupt, so that is why I chose this option, and hopefully I will see the pay back on my credit card one of these days! 🙂  If I chose the other option, and the cruise line went bankrupt, who knows when you would ever be able to use your credit.

 

Glad to see it all worked out for you.  And when you cruise sometime in the future, I hope it is drama-free!