Question re: cancellation of Uniworld cruise for medical reasons (NOT COVID related)

[bubbulz]

We are scheduled for a Douro cruise in November but find that we may need to cancel due to a medical condition that developed since the time we booked. From looking at our documents, it appears that we can cancel for a full refund minus a $200 per person penalty so long as we cancel more than 120 days from when the cruise is set to commence. (We are currently about 200 days out.) I've sent an email to Uniworld but have not heard back yet.  We have trip insurance but want to be sure how much our out of pocket will be for filing, should we have to cancel. Thanks.

[texasstar]

If you have insurance, the insurance should cover the whole amount that you have paid, provided that is what your policy states.  I would go that route, then you would not be out the $400.

Or, if you are planning on taking the trip next year, your might want to ask if you can move the dates on your insurance to next year, then you would not have to purchase insurance for that trip.  I guess it depends on how much you paid for your insurance.  Best wishes for a good outcome with your medical issue.

[bubbulz]

Thanks for your response. I hadn’t thought about it in terms of moving the dates to save on the insurance cost. That’s a good point since it was pricey given our ages and the high cost of the trip. My only hesitation is not knowing when we’ll be able to travel again but I’m certainly hopeful for sometime in 2021. 

[TFree]

13 hours ago, texasstar said:

If you have insurance, the insurance should cover the whole amount that you have paid, provided that is what your policy states.  I would go that route, then you would not be out the $400.

Or, if you are planning on taking the trip next year, your might want to ask if you can move the dates on your insurance to next year, then you would not have to purchase insurance for that trip.  I guess it depends on how much you paid for your insurance.  Best wishes for a good outcome with your medical issue.

If you decide to go that route, just make sure you understand the requirements of the insurer as to moving the policy.  Just as an example, we just cancelled a June 2020 Uniworld cruise and booked a May, 2021 Uniworld cruise to replace it.  According to the the company that sold us the policy, each insurer has its own rules about moving policies.  In the case of our insurer, it permits moving the insurance so long as there have been no claims and the new trip is no more than 2 years from the date of original purchase of the policy.  Since we bought the policy in September, 2019, we are OK in this case, but we would not be able to move the policy again if for some reason we had to rebook again past September, 2021.

Tom & Judy

[Host Jazzbeau]

50 minutes ago, TFree said:

If you decide to go that route, just make sure you understand the requirements of the insurer as to moving the policy.  Just as an example, we just cancelled a June 2020 Uniworld cruise and booked a May, 2021 Uniworld cruise to replace it.  According to the the company that sold us the policy, each insurer has its own rules about moving policies.  In the case of our insurer, it permits moving the insurance so long as there have been no claims and the new trip is no more than 2 years from the date of original purchase of the policy.  Since we bought the policy in September, 2019, we are OK in this case, but we would not be able to move the policy again if for some reason we had to rebook again past September, 2021.

Tom & Judy

 

Allianz normally has a time limit like you describe, but they waived it to allow us to move our coverage.

[TFree]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Allianz normally has a time limit like you describe, but they waived it to allow us to move our coverage.

That is good to hear.  In our case, no waiver was needed, but maybe these deadlines are not as hard and fast as they appear.  Our insurer is IMG.

 

Tom & Judy

[bubbulz]

Our policy is with Allianz. I think what we are going to do is cancel with Uniworld for a refund and then file with insurance for the $400 penalty plus our airfare. It’s too much money to keep tied up for another year with so much still unknown.