Silver Sea Cancellation Insurance (Please Help)

[chrism23]

Hello.

 

I am booked on the Silver Whisper for 22 days during the month of August, sailing Greece and the Adriatic.  Much has been written about this, I started a thread on the Facebook page that had over 60 responses. Its topic was the A/C on the Whisper.  Responses ran about 60% no problem to 40% problems.  If anyone wants to chime in here please do so.  In a word some people had major problems in their suites, no A/C for the whole journey, others whose problems were fixed in 1-3 days, and the rest no problems at all. 

 

I have already acknowledged my stupidity in booking this cruise during August.  Last time I checked it was 107 degrees in Athens.  Now I am looking for a way out and need your help on how to handle it.  I have the standard insurance policy issued by Silversea.  I am also aware that their corporate policy provides only a 10% refund if I cancel 30 days in advance.

 

Here's where it gets tricky.  My wife has had 2 surgeries in the past year to close a hole in her macular.  The second entailed sewing a placental graft into the hole.  These 2 surgeries have not worked.  She is due to see her surgeon on 6/25 and she will find out she needs another surgergy, if only to take the silicon out which was inserted to hold the graft in place.  With both previous surgeries she was strictly forbidden for flying for 3 months.  She is blind in that eye.   Now this would seem to be rather solid ground to cancel.  But given the vagaries of insurance (my wife was a senior officer at Aetna) so she really knows health insurance companies, the insurers could say that the surgery is elective and that she could waiti 30-60 days before having the operation and refuse to pay.  We are talking about $50,000 here.   

 

My case is a reach.  In looking at my medications I found that 8 of my regular prescriptions (I have 5 separate psychiatric meds which is, I know, way too much information) have warnings against prolonged exposure to sun and/or heat.  I am reasonably sure that my psychiatrist will say I am totally insane 😀 and give me a letter.  But that is probably thin, I do play golf for example.  My wife has advised that one untruth or embellishment would probably result for the claim being denied.  

 

I contacted my (great) cruise consultant yesterday (the delay being I was stuck on the flooded Danube and its tributaries for the past 3 weeks) and to give him a heads up.  I also proposed that the best solution to all of this is to give us a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the full amount which would be fine by us.  I wanted to get that thought in his mind.  No cash changes hands, no immediate loss, a good way out for all concerned.

 

Now the magic question.  Have any of you been caught in this type of situation before.  If so how did it get resolved?

 

I know this is a complicated question and I profusely thank anyone who tries to help me out.  

 

.very sincerely

Chris M
 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Chris, what bad news for you both - so good luck.

 

Others much more knowledgeable will chip in more factual help, so my thoughts are simply one of pragmatism and stress minimization..

 

Would it not be better to simply relieve yourself of the stress and uncertainty and simply make the decisions now rather than steering a somewhat uncertain and stressful route and pull the trigger and take the best future cruise credit you can today?

 

I may have missed something important in this complex issue but that to my understanding seems to be the most sensible option?

 

Bestest

 

Jeff

[billc23]

I'm sorry to hear of your predicament and hope for the best outcome. The removal of the silicon probably is not intra ocular and should not preclude flying and your surgeon will decide that. If the silicon is causing your wife pain/discomfort and associated grief, perhaps the surgery could be scheduled at a time that it would disrupt your trip. Not sure if the insurance company would agree to pay in that case. A great resource is Steve at The Trip Insurance Store. I know you did not purchase your policy from him but it is worth a call today to see what he may advise. 

 

Have you considered contacting Silversea via the medical department to explain that a cabin with fully functioning A/C is necessary due to medical problems/medications? Jeff's advice above is great as it relieves the stress even though you may not be made whole. 

 

I lived in West Hartford from 1978 until 2020 and, unfortunately, know the talented retina surgeons at Retina Consultants quite well. I wish your wife the best.

[Port Power]

Why don’t you contact the insurer and start from there.  If they say a letter from the surgeon stating not to fly is what is needed, you can take that route.  The insurer will give much better advice than people who do not have the same medical issues as you.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Are you OK Chris?

 

Jeff

[chrism23]

YESSSS!!!!!!  (maybe). I was sitting in my wife's eye doctor's office yesterday reading the NYTimes and there was an article about 5 fatalities among hikers in Greece from the excessive heat.   Then, Eureka, a receptionist came out and called me into the  exam room where my wife was sitting.  The Doc  put up some scans and said that the graft over her macular hole had worked and and now covered the hole  And it was time to take the silicon out from behind her eye.  Surgery.  Discussion ensued on timing and what with the pre-surgical physicals, his schedule, the availability of operating rooms etc, the earliest he could do this was August 1.   That was to be our embarkation date from Athens.  He will write a note.  Flying is verboten for 4 weeks.  No need to manipulate rhe process.  Straight forward as hell.  Surgery, no fly restrictions all wrapped up in a tidy bow.  OK.  If the SS screwups continue (stay off the Whisper until they fix all the problems) something has to go wrong.  Keep fingers crossed.  Thanks. Chris

[UKCruiseJeff]

That’s really - at least partly - reassuring Chris.   I was a bit worried that you’d not come back and hoped it wasn’t serious. 

 

I hope that things go smoothly.  You need to alert the insurers promptly /immediately to fully comply with their terms and improve your chances in the payout lottery. 

 

Best wishes to you both.

 

Jeff

 

[labrasett]

I can only hope that all these "pre-existing" conditions were declared when the insurance was set up unless the SSC insurance policy does not require medical disclosure in order for the passenger to receive full cover.

[labrasett]

An extra tip for Chrism23 - if you are planning to "manipulate the process" or game the system I would suggest that in future you dont ask questions in a public forum about how to do it, you have no idea who will be reading this or any other website and while you may be posting under a "nom de plume" revealing so much of your joint medical histories prior to making a claim would make you fairly easily identifiable whatever name you write under.  Just saying!

[Bronxchihuahua]

I was on the Whisper in May.  No problems with a/c or anything else. Just my experience.