Help! Cruise cancelled due to vaccination status of young kids

[KatieBug28]

Hi all,

 

Wondering if you can all help me help out a friend. She booked a cruise several months ago for her 5 kids as their Christmas present, and just got notified that Carnival is cancelling her reservation due to the vaccination status of her two youngest. They are too young to have received the vaccine yet, but she plans to have them vaccinated as soon as it becomes available. The rest of the family (mom and 3 older kids) are all fully vaccinated.

 

She is hoping the vaccine gets approved very soon and that she can re-book at a similar rate, since she has already paid for flights for all of them. Does anyone have experience with this at all, or any suggestions for her? She spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Carnival already and they said there is nothing they can do, because the kids violate the 95% policy. To make matters worse, they said it will take up to three months to process her refund, so she is now wondering how she is going to afford Christmas this year. Any suggestions of how to get this trip back on track for her family are much appreciated! 

[tm_aw_love]

Did she not apply for exemptions for them? Or were the exemptions denied?

[NavyCruiser]

COVID News:

CDC expected to approve Pfizer's vaccine for kids 5-11 this week

They can get vaccinated next week & be ready for Xmas sailing...

[tm_aw_love]

1 hour ago, NavyCruiser said:

COVID News:

CDC expected to approve Pfizer's vaccine for kids 5-11 this week

They can get vaccinated next week & be ready for Xmas sailing...

Without getting too political, that is up to the parents to decide; but, the FDA made the EUA last week.

 

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-emergency-use-children-5-through-11-years-age 

[sanger727]

It sounds really odd to me that carnival would up and cancel their reservation when  theoretically they still have time to get vaccinated. Is one of them under 5?

 

Ive heard stories of exemptions getting declined and last minute cancellations, but not two months out. There’s still a lot of things that could change. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by sanger727

[Silent Penguin]

46 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

It sounds really odd to me that carnival would up and cancel their reservation when  theoretically they still have time to get vaccinated. Is one of them under 5?

 

Ive heard stories of exemptions getting declined and last minute cancellations, but not two months out. There’s still a lot of things that could change. 

It happened to us.  In the same email that informed us that dh's exemption was denied, we were also informed that our reservation - 2-1/2 months out - was cancelled.  😞 

 

[sanger727]

10 minutes ago, Silent Penguin said:

It happened to us.  In the same email that informed us that dh's exemption was denied, we were also informed that our reservation - 2-1/2 months out - was cancelled.  😞 

 

wow. You would think that at the minimum you would get the option to cancel just the kids.

[TomCruise48]

Her refund will likely be processed in a much more timely manner.  We recently cancelled a Carnival cruise and had our refund in one week.

[gigem_aggies]

1 hour ago, Silent Penguin said:

It happened to us.  In the same email that informed us that dh's exemption was denied, we were also informed that our reservation - 2-1/2 months out - was cancelled.  😞 

 

This is likely because it was for an adult and not a child. Carnival has said they are not approving any exemptions for anyone over the age of 12.  

[Silent Penguin]

43 minutes ago, gigem_aggies said:

This is likely because it was for an adult and not a child. Carnival has said they are not approving any exemptions for anyone over the age of 12.  

Maybe so, but 

 

1 hour ago, TomCruise48 said:

Her refund will likely be processed in a much more timely manner.  We recently cancelled a Carnival cruise and had our refund in one week.

I can't complain about how quickly we were refunded. I know it was a week or less.  

[Silent Penguin]

46 minutes ago, gigem_aggies said:

This is likely because it was for an adult and not a child. Carnival has said they are not approving any exemptions for anyone over the age of 12.  

That's a reasonable deduction but that policy was instituted well after our cancelled cruise.  

[K_e_short]

As others have mentioned the refunds are moving a lot quicker then before. I think Carnival is being generous with your estimate but she probably will get her money back soon.

 

As for her flights thats on her. Carnival's website clearly states that the booking is not confirmed until exemptions are granted and any expenses (flights, car rentals, etc) are the responsibility of the cruiser.

 

Another thing to add. you said Christmas cruise. Based on timing the earliest a child under 12 would be fully vaccinated is Dec 15th, and that is if they go tomorrow for their first dose. So it is cutting it a bit close.

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by K_e_short

[BoozinCroozin]

First, if she is canceled, she is canceled. There is nothing she will be able to convince Carnival about that at this point. It is a 5-week + 1-day schedule for vaccination to be able to cruise. 3 weeks between shots, 14-days after + 1 extra to sail. Since I am guessing this is over Christmas time, they are being tight with the numbers because so many families are cruising. Carnival has stated that if one in a group booking is approved, all in the group are approved. I don't think it is fair for others, but that is the way it goes.

 

As for the refund, I received mine in 2-weeks on a July canceled cruise. Carnival doesn't care about your flights on a canceled cruise unless you booked the air through them. That unfortunately is in her hands to manage. Insurance won't cover it because they view each piece of travel as a separate entity. The only hope there is the airlines will refund or provide vouchers. I am living in that now and the airlines attitude is they don't care.

[KatieBug28]

Update: With the vaccinations now available, my friend was able to get her two youngest in to be vaccinated this week, and they will be fully vaccinated in time for the cruise. She had applied for exemptions for the two younger kids and was denied, several months after booking and filing. Thankfully she was able to book the same cabin, but it cost her an additional $275. I'm just glad her Christmas is saved!

 

She still hasn't received her refund, however. 

[travelplus]

And she can ask for her $275 back!

[cruisequeen4ever]

Yeah, to me, If it exemption is denied, and there is still enough time to end up getting vaccinated before the cruise, a reservation shouldn’t be canceled automatically. Your friend should not have to pay more in my opinion.

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

Yeah, to me, If it exemption is denied, and there is still enough time to end up getting vaccinated before the cruise, a reservation shouldn’t be canceled automatically. Your friend should not have to pay more in my opinion.

I believe at the time of the cancellation there was no option for the kids to be vaccinated.😕

[ontheweb]

17 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

I believe at the time of the cancellation there was no option for the kids to be vaccinated.😕

But, there was increased speculation that the approval was coming soon.😊