my cruise ins. won't cover star cancellation

[brovol]

my wife, two kids, and i began driving from michigan to ft lauderdale for our 3/26 star sailing, when we learned of the fire. we contacted princess, and were told that our cruise was still set to sail on the 26th. we were told to keep coming. i got concerned about the potential of cancellation, and the cost of the trip down, as well as being stranded in ft lauderdale during spring break. i called our (non-princess) cruise insurance provider, and asked whether our travel expenses would be covered if the cruise got canceled. not only was i told that the travel expense would not be covered, but (to my shock) i was advised that THE CRUISE ITSELF WOULD NOT BE COVERED, because the cancellation was not due to mechanical failure of the ship. when i expressed my disbelief, the representative told me, "i cant believe it myself, but that is what i am told to tell you". this was long before the cruise was called off by princess, and obviously before anyone knew that princess would be refunding in full. they cited some fine print in the policy. i reminded them that they never sent me a copy of the policy, and i was told that i could look at it on-line. it is a moot point now, because princess is taking care of things; but it certainly illustrates what an insurance company can do when it thinks it may loose money. this is a large volume provider. i am not sure if it is ok to give the company's name.

[jerseygirl3]

I can't speak for your traveling expenses, but Princess will definitely refund your cruise fare. After all, they couldn't deliver the product you purchased.

[coiran]

According to this release by Princess, you will get 100% refund, 25% credit toward a future cruise plus any traveling expenses incurred. Keep your receipts.

http://www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na768

Ron

[coiran]

PS - don't forget the cost of your trip insurance - that should be a covered expense - after all - you won't need it now.

Hope you have a nice future cruise.

Ron

[CABCruiser]

Thank goodness Princess has come through, and this is a moot point. I would be quite upset with the other insurance company anyway. They most definitely should have sent you a copy of the policy. Not everyone has access to view it online, and that sounds like a pretty poor excuse. Guess their company just didn't want to pay out the money, did it? And yes, I doubt you should provide us with the name, but at least we now have a heads up to know that we need to see and read the cancellation policies offered by these independent carriers.

 

What did you and your family end up doing? How far did you get on your drive to Ft. Lauderdale?

[F858MM]

What insurance co did you have?

[FlyingRev]

Why can't you provide the name of the insurance complany? This is no crime.

[sunsetme]

we want to know which insurance company--please>

[spongerob]

Fortunately this will all work out well for you. Maybe you could get a refund on your insurance from the company you bought it from since there is no need to make a claim and the trip has been cancelled. How do you insure a trip that doesn't happen? I think they owe you.

[brovol]

global alert. we got to kentucky. i realize that princess will be covering. my point was that the ins co denied any benefits before anyone knew that the cruise would even be canceled, and before anyone knew what princess would be doing with people who lost out on their cruise.

[brn2crz]

My not necessarily correct assumption,is that the insurance company told you that because they "assumed" that the ship wasn't sailing....due to mechanical failure,before it was announced.

If a cruise lines cancels the sailing...Restitution lies with them.Therefore,its not insurable.

[brovol]

the ins co rep told me to continue traveling to ft lauderdale, because he knew that princess had not called anything off yet. he said the company would deny the claim because the fire did not constitute a "mechanical failure". the company believed it found a way to deny claims before they even got bombarded with them, and began preaching the party line early. thats my take anyway.

[Princess Chatterer]

"What you do on your vacation is your business...protecting your vacation investment is our business.

An unforeseen accident or illness can ruin a trip. Missing a vacation is bad enough.

 

Losing the money you paid for your vacation is even worse.

 

Global Alert! Travel Protection Plan is your ticket to worry-free travel.

 

The easy, affordable way to protect your vacation investment!"

 

http://www.globalalerttravel.info/

[Howlev34]

Unfortunately, Global is not the only company that has this provision. Access America and TravelGuard both have this provision:

 

"Trip Cancellation/Interruption benefits do not cover loss(es) due to:

 

Any General Program Exclusion or Pre-Existing Condition;

You or a Traveling Companion: a) making changes to personal plans; b) having a business or contractual obligation (except as specifically provided for under Trip Cancellation/Interruption); c) being unable to obtain necessary travel documents; or d) being detained or having property confiscated by any Customs authority;

Carrier caused delays (including bad weather) unless as covered above;

Prohibition or regulation by any government; or

Travel arrangements cancelled by the airline, cruise line, or tour operator."

 

Note the last line. We know that Princess will provide a 100% refund. But suppose they don't? I thought that this was what travel insurance was designed to do. Your input on these insurance companies is appreciated.

[Princess Chatterer]

Looks like Princess Travel Care Gold is the best cruise insurance to buy. It's always my first choice after getting ripped off by Travel Guard when my wife and I got stranded overseas on a tour during 9-11.

 

http://www.princess.com/pdf/global/Travel_Care.pdf

[brovol]

i agree. i will use the cruise lines own ins. from now on. my whole family got sick a few years ago and needed to be treated on board. very expensive. we had princess ins. (actually through another carrier) and there were no questions asked. the $800 bill was reimbursed quickly. i learned my lesson on this one.

[brn2crz]

Unfortunately, Global is not the only company that has this provision. Access America and TravelGuard both have this provision:

 

"Trip Cancellation/Interruption benefits do not cover loss(es) due to:

 

Any General Program Exclusion or Pre-Existing Condition;

You or a Traveling Companion: a) making changes to personal plans; b) having a business or contractual obligation (except as specifically provided for under Trip Cancellation/Interruption); c) being unable to obtain necessary travel documents; or d) being detained or having property confiscated by any Customs authority;

Carrier caused delays (including bad weather) unless as covered above;

Prohibition or regulation by any government; or

Travel arrangements cancelled by the airline, cruise line, or tour operator."

 

Note the last line. We know that Princess will provide a 100% refund. But suppose they don't? I thought that this was what travel insurance was designed to do. Your input on these insurance companies is appreciated.

 

My take is...If you look at a,b & c those are all basically personal reasons..or choices you make not to travel.If a insurance company allowed anyone to cancel,for any reason..Not very profitable.

Carrier caused delays should be in the opinon of the insurer,covered by the carrier.

I know that last summer during our evacuation from Rita,one week prior to our Mariner sailing,we were 100 % refundable (insurable) as long as our home was deemed uninhabitable.In other words since it was a mandatory evac,we were covered.If our home had substained damage,that made it uninhabitable we still would have been refunded..And 1000 pp for travel re-embursement.My point is..Insurance has its place,covers most incidents that is not caused by the cruise line or airlines,but will not cover things like you forgetting to bring the proper ID..

 

(I hope I make some sense...My Longhorns lost a close one,and I have a headcold the size od Dallas :o )

[CaribbeanBound]

I was taken back by the situation. While I am not looking to defend their position, I can see why they would expect the cruise line to reimburse passengers for a cancelled cruise --- and hense, might not cover such a situation.

 

While it is a trade-off, don't be too quick to buy insurance issued by your cruise company. Although not likely, if they go under, your insurance is worthless --- that's one reason you get insurance!

 

Here are 16 very important tips to consider when buying cruise insurance:

*****

[kryos]

I can't speak for your traveling expenses, but Princess will definitely refund your cruise fare. After all, they couldn't deliver the product you purchased.

That's probably exactly why the insurance company rep was told to inform customers that cancellation of the cruise would not be covered ... simply because in a case like that obviously the cruise line would be providing a full refund.

 

But it would seem to me that SOMEBODY should be covering travel expenses to the pier ... especially if Princess told the OP to "keep coming."

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[redrobin]

Fortunately this will all work out well for you. Maybe you could get a refund on your insurance from the company you bought it from since there is no need to make a claim and the trip has been cancelled. How do you insure a trip that doesn't happen? I think they owe you.

 

Just curious, corian suggested travel insurance may be a covered expense by Princess, while spongerob suggests trying to get a refund from the insurance company. I'm not sure either would be willing to do that, but would like to find out. Have any 3/26 Star passengers heard they would get a refund for non-Travel Care (Princess) insurance?