Cancelled before final payment, HAL kept cruise protection fee?

[edgeman61]

My DW suffered a health scare after we had booked an 10N Panama Canal (in & out) for next March.

 

She is still uncomfortable with the idea of travelling in general so we decided to cancel our upcoming cruise (before final payment was due).

 

After the agent took care of our request I had noticed that they deducted the vacation protection amount from the deposit that was due to be refunded, I asked how come I have to pay for vacation protection when I cancelled before the penalty period, the agent's response was that the vacation protection was not refundable.

 

That doesn't sound right, excursions, drinks dining, etc. are all refundable if the cruise is cancelled (especially before final $).

 

If this is the case I will NEVER add vacation protection before I make final payment again.

[CruiserBruce]

"Vacation protection amount"? A deposit, which may have been non-refundable? Or Insurance?

[*Miss G*]

I don’t know what “vacation protection” is.  Did you purchase the insurance from HAL or were you working with a non-HAL TA?  HAL insurance isn’t required to be purchased until the day before final payment is due but maybe you bought it at the time you booked.

[LuckyStar]

You purchased insurance and it usually is not refundable if you cancel. 

[regnig]

The vacation protection, normally just referred to as "insurance", has not been refundable for as long as I've been sailing on HAL.  Waiting until final payment to buy it is the way to protect against situations like the one you had. I do hope your wife is doing okay and feels better with each passing day.

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, edgeman61 said:

If this is the case I will NEVER add vacation protection before I make final payment again.

 

With the exception of a very brief period of time during the pandemic, I am unaware of insurance ever being refundable.

 

Many people do wait until final payment to add insurance, BUT ( and this is a big but for some people), you only have X amount of days from the moment you put any monies down on a trip to purchase insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions.

 

In other words, if you have an existing heart problem, you must purchase insurance during the initial grace period (sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes 30 days) if you want anything related to your pre-existing condition covered. This is the reason many do not wait until final payment to purchase insurance.

 

Talk with Steve at tripinsurancestore.com   He can explain it far better than I.

 

 

 

[DaveOKC]

10 minutes ago, regnig said:

The vacation protection, normally just referred to as "insurance", has not been refundable for as long as I've been sailing on HAL.  Waiting until final payment to buy it is the way to protect against situations like the one you had. I do hope your wife is doing okay and feels better with each passing day.

Ditto this approach.  Do not purchase the Insurance until about 2 days prior to final payment.  You really do not need it before than anyway as cruise is cancellable.  EXCEPTION - if you have  non-refundable fare you need to purchase at the time of booking.

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, edgeman61 said:

...I asked how come I have to pay for vacation protection when I cancelled before the penalty period, the agent's response was that the vacation protection was not refundable.

That doesn't sound right, excursions, drinks dining, etc. are all refundable if the cruise is cancelled (especially before final $).

If this is the case I will NEVER add vacation protection before I make final payment again.

It appears you are referring to Cancellation Protection from HAL. This is never refundable because your moneys are immediately paid to the third party "insurer" they use. You indeed should not add HAL protection until just before making your final payment. Live and learn!

 

There is no "look-back" period for health conditions for HAL Cancellation Protection, unlike actual insurance, even for the Platinum version that does have limited medical coverage.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, crystalspin said:

There is no "look-back" period for health conditions for HAL Cancellation Protection, unlike actual insurance, even for the Platinum version that does have limited medical coverage.

 

Thanks for sharing this information. I never purchase insurance directly from the cruise line, as I believe it creates a conflict of interest, not to mention most cruise line insurances do not cover insolvency. BUt, it's good to know that cruise line insurance does not use look back for pre-existing medical conditions. I personally know someone who got burned bad on this one. 

[IPB4IGO]

I agree with the points that others have made but here are a couple of points about HAL's Cruise Protection Plan:

 

1. If you book well in advance and if fares are going up between then and the final payment date, you will pay more for the CPP than if you had purchased it earlier. Of course, you cannot buy it after the final payment date.

 

2. HAL's CPP covers pre-existing conditions no matter when you buy it.

[Lido deck main]

14 hours ago, IPB4IGO said:

I agree with the points that others have made but here are a couple of points about HAL's Cruise Protection Plan:

 

1. If you book well in advance and if fares are going up between then and the final payment date, you will pay more for the CPP than if you had purchased it earlier. Of course, you cannot buy it after the final payment date.

 

2. HAL's CPP covers pre-existing conditions no matter when you buy it.

I always thought that the CPP dollar amount paid was based on a percentage I believe 3% of the base rate that one paid for the cruise, so no matter when one purchase CPP ( before final payment) the price would stay the same.

[*Miss G*]

15 minutes ago, Lido deck main said:

I always thought that the CPP dollar amount paid was based on a percentage I believe 3% of the base rate that one paid for the cruise, so no matter when one purchase CPP ( before final payment) the price would stay the same.

 

You are correct.

[Heartgrove]

Remember also that some cruises (numerous) have an earlier cancellation date (120 Days) than Final Payment date to cancel.

[TiogaCruiser]

18 hours ago, crystalspin said:

It appears you are referring to Cancellation Protection from HAL. This is never refundable because your moneys are immediately paid to the third party "insurer" they use. You indeed should not add HAL protection until just before making your final payment. Live and learn!

 

There is no "look-back" period for health conditions for HAL Cancellation Protection, unlike actual insurance, even for the Platinum version that does have limited medical coverage.

 

My understanding (platinum) is that HAL holds the funds ( “covers”) until departure, when they forward the funds to purchase the second part of insurance that covers travel. After that point, any claims are through the insurance company. 
 

Twice I have exercised the process prior to leaving ( 2 weeks and 4 days respectively) and the funds (90% of cruise payment) came directly from HAL. Not a third party that HAL immediately had paid.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/pre-post-travel-cruise/cancellation-protection-plan.html

 

HAL refers to the portion prior to leaving in the platinum product, and the standard product as a “waiver”.

Edited December 8, 2022 by TiogaCruiser

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

My understanding (platinum) is that HAL holds the funds ( “covers”) until departure, when they forward the funds to purchase the second part of insurance that covers travel. After that point, any claims are through the insurance company. 
Twice I have exercised the process prior to leaving ( 2 weeks and 4 days respectively) and the funds (90% of cruise payment) came directly from HAL. Not a third party that HAL immediately had paid.

Good points, all. Immaterial to the OP's not getting his CPP fees back. Interesting to read the FAQs again -- I hadn't since COVID! despite paying for the Platinum plan for my upcoming B2B.

[REOVA]

On 12/7/2022 at 1:08 PM, edgeman61 said:

If this is the case I will NEVER add vacation protection before I make final payment again.

Because it's a non refundable cost, we've never bought insurance (protection) until payment is due. However as pointed out, other factors like pre-existing condition, cancel for any reason, etc cause issues - depending on the policy and payment. Steve at Tripinsurancestore has a great website with blogs, FAQs, and info on various insurance items. He also has active forums on CC.

 

Even putting a deposit down counts as 1st payment which triggers the clock for some policies. The risk about waiting is if something happens during any look back period from when you do purchase, but we weigh the risk with the cost of the premium. We also haven't purchased ship's offered protection in decades as we look at cost and benefit of other policies out there. 

[IPB4IGO]

12 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

I always thought that the CPP dollar amount paid was based on a percentage I believe 3% of the base rate that one paid for the cruise, so no matter when one purchase CPP ( before final payment) the price would stay the same.

I based my point that the CPP goes up when the fair goes up based on my experience with waiting to purchase it until just before the final payment date on one cruise. The CPP price quoted when I made the reservation was substantially less than what I had to pay at the last minute. That cruise had gone up almost 30% in price in the meantime.

 

Regarding the cost, I just did a trial booking to look at the CPP price. Without CPP, it was $18,798. With the standard CPP it was $20,026. With the Platinum plan it was $20,806. That's 6.5% and 10.6% of the full fare respectively. The percentages are even higher if you consider only the base fare (i.e., excluding taxes and fees).