Need advice on emergency!

[mipo777]

So the start of my vacation is not going well. DW & I along w/ another couple are supposed to fly into houston tomorrow & board the Rhapsody on Sun. Well today I had a very close friend die unexpectedly at the tender age of 26. After some tears and talking w/ my family long distance we decided to go on with our vacation because they & the family of the girl understood & there wasn't anything we could do at this point.

 

Hours later I recieved a phone call from my friend who is going w/ us. His wife was at the hospital undergoing an emergency appendectomy (sp). They wouldn't be able to go on the trip. At this point I really want to cancel & attempt to rebook later but we made the mistake of not having travel insurance. I'm in touch w/ my online TA now & shes making a few calls but I don't really have a relationship w/ her & she sounds doubtful.

 

I know at this point the insurance was a mistake so I'm really not looking for someone else to point that out to me. I'm looking for any advice from someone w/ experience in this stuff. I think that I'm probably stuck anyway because the death wasn't immediate family & the illness is not mine or my wifes. Does anyone think he has a shoot at a credit? I want to reitterate, I'm not looking for $$ back but to postpone cruise. It just seems hard to go on a vacation right now. Thanks for any help you may provide.

[cb at sea]

I think if you are able to get a credit of some sort, you'll be very lucky. They're under no obligation to do so. Perhaps you could find someone else to go in your other couple's place? Man, what a mess! Next time, get insurance for sure! Good luck to you!

[Alexis]

So the start of my vacation is not going well. DW & I along w/ another couple are supposed to fly into houston tomorrow & board the Rhapsody on Sun. Well today I had a very close friend die unexpectedly at the tender age of 26. After some tears and talking w/ my family long distance we decided to go on with our vacation because they & the family of the girl understood & there wasn't anything we could do at this point.

 

Hours later I recieved a phone call from my friend who is going w/ us. His wife was at the hospital undergoing an emergency appendectomy (sp). They wouldn't be able to go on the trip. At this point I really want to cancel & attempt to rebook later but we made the mistake of not having travel insurance. I'm in touch w/ my online TA now & shes making a few calls but I don't really have a relationship w/ her & she sounds doubtful.

 

I know at this point the insurance was a mistake so I'm really not looking for someone else to point that out to me. I'm looking for any advice from someone w/ experience in this stuff. I think that I'm probably stuck anyway because the death wasn't immediate family & the illness is not mine or my wifes. Does anyone think he has a shoot at a credit? I want to reitterate, I'm not looking for $$ back but to postpone cruise. It just seems hard to go on a vacation right now. Thanks for any help you may provide.

 

I realize that you are really confused and sad at the moment. If you already talked to the young womans family and they are behind your going on your cruise, then go. Your friends might have had insurance. If you are not going, you will not get a refund. I would go.

[AFT_LOVER]

and you may luck out with a sympathic supervisor who can move you to another week. Everyone has bad luck including CEOs of RCCL, so they understand. it may be sold out so they need your space. But you want a Supervisor not just a rep on the phone. Unless you are Crown & anchor member, then you will call Crown & Anchor Society to get help.

 

Have date of sailing, ship name & booking #. But do this after your TA comes up with -0-. A good TA can move it for you.

[mrstrod]

Make it a dedicated cruise. Dedicate it to the memory of your friend, and enjoy it. Use it as a way to remind yourself that life is sooo short and we all must live for the moment. Enjoy the opportunities given to you and enjoy the company of your wife.

 

The best way to memorialize a loved one is to show that you know how valuable life is. One never knows what next year brings, maybe there will be no way to cruise for you for many years to came, take this cruise and enjoy it.

 

Your sick travel partner (if a true friend) will totally understand. And to me it sounds as though you could use the vacation.

[cgc33a]

the cruise line might be a bit more lenient right now due to the airline/airport situations. Many airlines are letting people rebook without penalty. Maybe your flight arrangements fall into that category.

[HurricaneSally]

Just go on the cruise without your friends. We always cruise alone and meet lots of really neat people. Why should you both lose your money?

[bubbadog]

at this point in the game you need to go,everyone will understand,you cant go back now,so just go forward,and you and your wife will be fine,just go and have fun then come back and deal with things then,theres nothing you can do to help right now anyway,so its best if you go:)):rolleyes:

[angelpug]

The one bright ray of sunshine in looking at this (when life hands you lemons, make lemonade!), is that the friend's appendix went today, and not 2 days from now! An emergency evacuation from a ship is an astronomical expense, and if they didn't have insurance, that would have been worse than missing the cruise altogether.

 

I for one say go memorialize the dear friend lost..keep living yourselves, and your friends that have to stay behind for medical reasons should understand that both of you shouldn't lose money over this.

 

Once onboard, buy some champagne, and toast all of your frineds living and gone.

 

Take care, and my prayers are with you!

Jaime

[Baglady34]

You are lucky to be around to enjoy GO! and next time take insurance.

 

I use Travelguard... on the web... less expensive than the cruise line with good coverage that you can tailor to your needs.

 

have fun !

[mipo777]

The one bright ray of sunshine in looking at this (when life hands you lemons, make lemonade!), is that the friend's appendix went today, and not 2 days from now! An emergency evacuation from a ship is an astronomical expense, and if they didn't have insurance, that would have been worse than missing the cruise altogether.

 

I for one say go memorialize the dear friend lost..keep living yourselves, and your friends that have to stay behind for medical reasons should understand that both of you shouldn't lose money over this.

 

Once onboard, buy some champagne, and toast all of your frineds living and gone.

 

Take care, and my prayers are with you!

Jaime

 

 

Yes, we are very thankful that the apendix happened now & not say in Mexico. The cost of that possiblity scares me into never going w/o insurance again.Thank you for all your thoughts & prayers. My TA did a decent job. She couldn't arrange anything for us ( I knew she probably wouldnt) but did get a full credit for my friend. His wife is recovering well & so hopefully everything will be fine. We have decided to go on the cruise, & we WILL have a good time. The silver lining in all of this is that now we "have" to go on another cruise next summer with them.

 

I'd like to use this forum to thank RCI for assisting my friends even though they didn't have to. I'm looking forward to our first cruise & really hope to make RCI "our" line of choice. You all are a great support group & I really look forward to meeting new friends on the M&M on Rhapsody.

[HurricaneSally]

Yes, we are very thankful that the apendix happened now & not say in Mexico. The cost of that possiblity scares me into never going w/o insurance again.Thank you for all your thoughts & prayers. My TA did a decent job. She couldn't arrange anything for us ( I knew she probably wouldnt) but did get a full credit for my friend. His wife is recovering well & so hopefully everything will be fine. We have decided to go on the cruise, & we WILL have a good time. The silver lining in all of this is that now we "have" to go on another cruise next summer with them.

 

I'd like to use this forum to thank RCI for assisting my friends even though they didn't have to. I'm looking forward to our first cruise & really hope to make RCI "our" line of choice. You all are a great support group & I really look forward to meeting new friends on the M&M on Rhapsody.

 

I'm so glad you decided to go on the cruise. You and your wife will have a wonderful time. So sorry about your friend who passed away. We all have our heartbreaks in life and you will have yours too. Hopefully, they will be few and far between. You have to have fun while you can. Life is too short to wait until there is a better time.

[KJHorton]

Mipo, so sorry you are dealing with such a difficult time. Hurricane Sally sums it all up so well. I am also glad you will be going on your cruise. Let us know how it goes and I hope you have a wonderful time.

[Kudos2Fly]

Things seemed to work out for you and your friends.. Enjoy your cruise.

[crookedhalo]

Good luck to you both. We went through something very similar this summer. My Mother was diagnosed with cancer and given about 10-12 months to live. At that time we decided that after the 1st round of chemo (if she felt up to it), we (the 3 sisters scheduled for a 9/1 cruise) were going to take her with us. Sadly, she deteriorated very quickly and passed away in July. Now, my remaining two siblings have joined us on the cruise and we are going to use the time to talk about life and how fragile it is as well as enjoy it. We will also be doing a memorial service for my mother. :o

[happy cruzer]

Hi, No reason to kick yourself about the insurance. Most of the sad events you have experienced are not covered by most of the policies. I think a very few would cover a partial credit for any reason. So you should have no insurance regret. And I think you are doing the right thing in going. The only trip I regret is one I did NOT take. All the ones I went on worked out well. Life is very complicated and we need our down time to stay healthy enough to help everyone when we return to our normal lifes.

 

Have a great trip. Do alot of looking back, healing, and alot of looking forward! Life is a journey.

[kruze4fun]

I'm glad you chose to take the cruise, I also had a friend die fairly young before one of our cruises a few years back, and although I hated not being able to go to the funeral, the cruise helped us chill out and get a grip on what had happened. I know you will have a great time, maybe be a little sad, but it will be a great cruise. Just leave it all in Galveston when you set sail.

[Cruisin'Kim]

I'm so glad your going to go ahead on the cruise yourselves. My husband and I went alone for our 1st cruise (very romantic!) and although our 2nd cruise and the 3rd we're going on in January will be with several other people, I will always cherish being able to experience that "1st cruise" uphoria with my significant other without anyone else to worry about.

 

I agree with othjers - just enjoy the fact that you are both healthy and together. My husband and I used to say that we would cruise when we retired, then he was diagosed with M.S. 3 years ago - that was a very big turning point in our lifes that really put everything in perspective...we book a cruise every year now to enjoy while we can, and hopefully we will be taking many, many more in the future!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!:D

 

Kim

[yogimax]

You are lucky to be around to enjoy GO! and next time take insurance.

 

 

Actually, I think insurance would not have applied in this situation.