Attention all Canadians.....Ottawa is advising against ALL cruising!

[atexsix]

6 hours ago, kazu said:

 

After being on hold for 2 hours and then speaking to someone I can share what I was told.

 

With that advisory up there on the website if you go you are  not covered.

If there is any kind of a travel advisory then you are done like a dinner.

 

the ironic thing is this lame brain told me I wasn’t covered to even recoup my air fare as there is no level 4 for any of the countries we are going to (YET). I responded with “let me get this straight - if we go we’re not covered and if we don’t go you don’t pay:”. Cute.

I told them to send me the claim forms and they don’t want to see how high I will go on this.
 

If I can get a new shelter for SPCA, you don’t want to see what a determined kazu will do. This is so wrong.  We knew we were going.  I am heartsick.  Tons of plans and hours emailing and contacting guides, hotels, etc to undo all of this.

 

Make sure you get it in writing you are covered if you want to go.  I suspect with the warning you are not.  Sorry 😞 

I feel terrible for you, and terrible for me.  I had to sit down today and list out all my cancellations, back out of all the arrangements, and these insurance loopholes concern me, even though I'm in the u.s. where the rules might be different, every state has separate laws the insurance companies must tailor their policies to.

 

Now everyone, let's join hands, I'll put on kumbaya.

[kazu]

8 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

The entire country of Italy is now on lockdown so, although it won’t be any comfort to those who were traveling there, it’s at least helpful to know.  Sorry.

 

It is helpful Miss G as it is now “avoid non essential travel” which should bolster my claim (I hope).

[*Miss G*]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

It is helpful Miss G as it is now “avoid non essential travel” which should bolster my claim (I hope).

 

I imagine that insurance companies are going to be doing their best to avoid paying claims so don’t take no for an answer.  I don’t know much about insurance but I have noticed that the first response tends to be a “no” for some things.  Their hope is you go away.  I agree with you that it should bolster your claim.  Good luck.

[NCTribeFan]

I'm also booked on the 4/21 Zaandam, which I believe is the first ship scheduled to call in Canada this season.  She's coming right out of dry dock so there shouldn't be any virus hanging about on the surfaces.  But that doesn't mean some of us won't pick up something on the flights to FLL!

 

I haven't booked my return flight from Montreal and think I'll use HAL's Flight Ease.  I believe that if we then end up just sailing around the US East Coast that HAL will be responsible for getting me home, right?

 

Still ticked off that although I paid for 2 as a solo, they'll only give me $100 OBC.  Solo cruisers get screwed yet again. 😡

 

Anyway, if Canadians aren't supposed to cruise, I'm thinking ships unloading thousands of pax in multiple ports aren't going to be welcome in 6 weeks.  Starting to wonder if HAL might end up simply cancelling this sailing if the 5 Canadian ports aren't going to let us dock.  I have until the end of the month so still going to wait and see.

[daisy-mae]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

Anyway, if Canadians aren't supposed to cruise, I'm thinking ships unloading thousands of pax in multiple ports aren't going to be welcome in 6 weeks.  Starting to wonder if HAL might end up simply cancelling this sailing if the 5 Canadian ports aren't going to let us dock.  I have until the end of the month so still going to wait and see.

 

Good point, and one that may not have occurred to government officials. It's one thing to advise our citizens to avoid cruise travel to another part of the world, but once the economic repercussions of a shutdown hit home, there may be a reassessment of the situation. Please don't get me wrong - I am not saying that our leaders would put profit over the safety and health of our citizens, but they should take the time to think things through and review all aspects of a complex situation before acting.

 

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by daisy-mae
grammar

[dot73]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

Still ticked off that although I paid for 2 as a solo, they'll only give me $100 OBC.  Solo cruisers get screwed yet again. 😡

 

No kidding. It really pisses me off. 

[HappyInVan]

6 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

 

Good point, and one that may not have occurred to government officials. It's one thing to advise our citizens to avoid cruise travel to another part of the world, but once the economic repercussions of a shutdown hit home, there may be a reassessment of the situation. 

 

I suspect that Ottawa and BC have already plans in place. It's just a matter of the situation at the future date. Can the Americans get their situation under control?

 

 

 

[Vict0riann]

Our paper this morning said BC is considering not allowing cruise ships to dock in Victoria or Vancouver.  I wonder what they will do for their "foreign port" in that event.

[ehogan]

I would be so fine with a ban on ships in Vancouver and Victoria.

 

Dr. Bonnie Henry’s suggestion yesterday to delay the season is a wise one.  She is a voice of calm and reason, thank goodness she is leading the fight here in B.C.  Lets hope the federal government pays heed.

[Jareds_mommytoo]

We talked to our travel insurance company this morning and the problem is the wording, he said. Cruise ships are not a destination they are a mode of transportation that might be their loophoop, we were told our trip cancelation insurance will not cover us unless we are sick before we leave. 

[billbunger]

I just got off the phone with our insurance company. We purchased a trip cancellation/interruption policy  for a 28 day cruise starting March 21, 2020.

 

Because the Canadian government has only recommended Canadians not travel on a cruise ship there is no cancellation provision. If the Canadian government decides to make a no travel advisory for any of the countries on the cruise itinerary then that would kick in the cancellation clause. The person I talked to also mentioned if any of the countries we visit declare a no travel advisory to their country that would kick in the policy too.

 

Our policy actually covers quarantine situations, if we are quarantined the trip interruption insurance kicks in and we would be covered for a refund of any remaining cruise, hotel and flight costs.

[cbr663]

14 hours ago, iancal said:

......

 

We would be happy that we dodged  the potential bullet instead of feeling sorry for ourselves.  

 

That's how we feel that we dodged a potential bullet.  Heeding to the travel warning now before we cruise is good luck on our side.  I feel for all the people who are on cruises who are scared and confused.  I feel for all the hundreds of Canadians who are being forced in quarantine.  I feel for those Canadians who have contracted the illness and who must be going through pure hell wondering whether they will recover.  I am concerned right now as my wife has a meeting with a person today who just returned from a Disney cruise and we had a long conversation about that meeting.  And my heart goes out to the family of the BC man who perished from the disease.  In light of all this, for me, cancelling an upcoming cruise is the least of my concerns.  Guess it all depends on whether you are a glass half full or half empty person..

[dot73]

2 hours ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

We talked to our travel insurance company this morning and the problem is the wording, he said. Cruise ships are not a destination they are a mode of transportation that might be their loophoop, we were told our trip cancelation insurance will not cover us unless we are sick before we leave. 

There is always a loophole in favour of the insurance companies. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the insurance lobby helped with the wording. 

[iancal]

Cbr663.....yes this certainly is a first world problem.  Postponing a leisure trip seems insignificant to those who have lost a family member or those who are ill in hospital.

 

Just this morning DW heard from a friend in Calgary who had lost her livelihood because of the negative impact on her employer.

 

You are so right about the glass being half full.  We were raised that way with the attitude to always keep moving forward in the face of adversity.  Not that there is any comparative adversity in re scheduling cruises, air, or dealing with relatively minor financial issues.  There was even a post from someone complaining that although they got their cruise fare credited they had to pay a $100 cancellation fee to their TA.  Go figure.

Like many on these boards we are frequent travellers.  As such we are used to bumps along the way and adjusting to change when required.  It not as if the world is coming to an end because you cannot take that cruise next month or change/cancel the land portions.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by iancal

[kazu]

19 hours ago, kazu said:

 

After being on hold for 2 hours and then speaking to someone I can share what I was told.

 

With that advisory up there on the website if you go you are  not covered.

If there is any kind of a travel advisory then you are done like a dinner.

 

the ironic thing is this lame brain told me I wasn’t covered to even recoup my air fare as there is no level 4 for any of the countries we are going to (YET). I responded with “let me get this straight - if we go we’re not covered and if we don’t go you don’t pay:”. Cute.

I told them to send me the claim forms and they don’t want to see how high I will go on this.
 

If I can get a new shelter for SPCA, you don’t want to see what a determined kazu will do. This is so wrong.  We knew we were going.  I am heartsick.  Tons of plans and hours emailing and contacting guides, hotels, etc to undo all of this.

 

Make sure you get it in writing you are covered if you want to go.  I suspect with the warning you are not.  Sorry 😞 

 

Update to this post.  I had a call today and now the insurance company IS COVERING THE CRUISE ADViSORY.  There’s a bunch of hoops to cover but it is covered.

Apparently yesterday they didn’t have the official notification.  (It was on the web page when I looked - i had it up when I called).

In any case this is good news for many so I didn’t want to mislead people with this change of information.

[*Miss G*]

3 minutes ago, kazu said:

Update to this post.  I had a call today and now the insurance company IS COVERING THE CRUISE ADViSORY.  There’s a bunch of hoops to cover but it is covered.

 

Hurry up and submit your claim before they change their minds!!!  😂

[kazu]

1 minute ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Hurry up and submit your claim before they change their minds!!!  😂

 

LOL 🙂 

 

I have to wait for the forms.  They are swamped and they can only email so many a day to keep the stuff from crashing.

I have a contact person and direct line now.  Kazu doesn’t fool around.  I buy this every year and other than a stolen camera on the Prinsendam (that’s when I learned to take pics on my IPad) which was worth far more than my limited coverage, I’ve never had a claim.  They are ahead of the game with me 😉 
 

[CruisingAndDiving]

14 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

LOL 🙂 

 

I have to wait for the forms.  They are swamped and they can only email so many a day to keep the stuff from crashing.

I have a contact person and direct line now.  Kazu doesn’t fool around.  I buy this every year and other than a stolen camera on the Prinsendam (that’s when I learned to take pics on my IPad) which was worth far more than my limited coverage, I’ve never had a claim.  They are ahead of the game with me 😉 
 

Jacqui...I'm so happy to hear you got things sorted out with some persistence.

 

 

[canadianbear]

29 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Update to this post.  I had a call today and now the insurance company IS COVERING THE CRUISE ADViSORY.  There’s a bunch of hoops to cover but it is covered.

Apparently yesterday they didn’t have the official notification.  (It was on the web page when I looked - i had it up when I called).

In any case this is good news for many so I didn’t want to mislead people with this change of information.

They probably know you wouldn’t give up!!  Good to hear.  

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

They probably know you wouldn’t give up!!  Good to hear.  

 

LOL - yup,  you don’t want to take kazu on.  

You’d be surprised how far I will go on principle. 😉 

[canadianbear]

Just now, kazu said:

 

LOL - yup,  you don’t want to take kazu on.  

You’d be surprised how far I will go on principle. 😉 

I have that tenacious attitude too!  Comes in handy.  

[roddonn]

We're on the fence re cancelling our April 22 TA cruise, and the cancellation insurance issues don't help.    However,

I just received an email from a Viator company (Finn Tours) in Dublin, advising us that they've cancelled ALL ship

related tours, and will be giving us a refund.    So... now Dublin doesn't even want us.   How long before more of the

tour agencies follow suit.     To go...or not to go??

[ger_77]

56 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Update to this post.  I had a call today and now the insurance company IS COVERING THE CRUISE ADViSORY.  There’s a bunch of hoops to cover but it is covered.

Apparently yesterday they didn’t have the official notification.  (It was on the web page when I looked - i had it up when I called).

In any case this is good news for many so I didn’t want to mislead people with this change of information.

Great news; I'm sure you'll do fine with the paperwork.  You're a woman on a mission!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[Vict0riann]

I guess I am confused, Jacqui.  Is this medical insurance you are talking about, or travel insurance?  I’m wondering what the claim forms are that you mentioned?  

 

Pat has emailed our our medical insurance to see if it would still cover us in the event we travel, but I don’t think claim forms would be needed unless we had a claim to make.  

[bennybear]

46 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

LOL - yup,  you don’t want to take kazu on.  

You’d be surprised how far I will go on principle. 😉 

You go girl!   I’m with you on principles!