Has anyone cancelled 8 days before their cruise?

[shellgoodman]

My DH just called me from a business trip and there is a major reorg about to happen at his co. His boss told the staff that no one should be vacationing for the rest of the year. Because the issues with laptops (specifically VPN access) and the cell phone (he does have GSM) gaps at sea, he feels that we might need to cancel tomorrow by early afternoon in order to get some of our monies back. We will also lose the money for one nights stay at a NOLA hotel and the cancellation fee from the TA. This is a Conquest cruise leaving on 11/28.

 

Has anyone ever cancelled on such short notice and gotten some money back in a timely fashion? According to Carnival you can cancel up to 7 days prior to departure. We would also be cancelling my MIL's cabin but she took insurance so she'd probably get most of her money back.

 

I am so disappointed tonight about this and my DD (6 yrs old) said that her "big dream is gone". She is turning 7 on the cruise so she just thought it was a big birthday party for her.

[voyagerfl]

WELL........SINCE IT'S PAID FOR........AND YOU WOULD 50% (if you cancel 8 days before) OF YOUR MONEY.............WHY NOT GO WITHOUT YOUR HUSBAND...

I KNOW IT'S A DISAPPOINTMENT..........BUT, HE OF ALL POEPLE SHOULD UNDERSTAND.....

 

Will the insurance cover your MIL ?

I thought it had to be for medical reasons...?

 

 

x

[shellgoodman]

This would be a 9 hr trip to the port with 2 little ones and a MIL and then I would have to drive back. I would not only feel guilty about going but also I would not know whether my DH has a job or not during the cruise. This would certainly hamper my time on the cruise.

[JWcruiser04]

Oh Shelley. I hope you can get things worked out to go. Sophie was looking forward to meeting Lauren in Camp. I know you and your family must be very disappointed. Hopefully your dh can get it all worked out to go.

I'll keep a check on the boards to see how it turns out.

Take care and don't stress too bad!

 

Julie

[steveaaaa]

MIL is not covered by insurance!

Steve

[abbyndrewmom]

That will depend on the type of insurance bought and the stipulations. The one we sell through our office will cover if you or a person you are travelling with has to cancel due to loss of job.

[judyf]

I would go anyway and try to get someone to go in my husbands place. What will happen is going to happen weather you and home or on the cruise you already paid for. Go and have the best time you can unnder the conditions and worry about every thing else when you return. I'm sure MIL and maybe a friend or relative that can take your husbands place help with the children and the driving.

 

Hope everything works out!

[steveaaaa]

That will depend on the type of insurance bought and the stipulations. The one we sell through our office will cover if you or a person you are travelling with has to cancel due to loss of job.

That is the key...due to a loss of job.The loss of job has not happened yet and that stipulation is also a tricky one.The primary benefit might not pay in this case. What policy does your office sell? I would love to read the specific terms.

Steve

[shellgoodman]

I need to check on my MIL policy. We originally booked in May to take this trip with my MIL and FIL. FIL had a heart attack and passed away 5 days after booking. I had purchased insurance for them based on their health needs but not sure about other coverage. Her loss at 50% is not too bad but ours is not so great.

I don't have any other friend or family member that can go on this trip over Thanksgiving. Our family is from the Northeast so we are miles away from family and just moved to TX.

 

I spoke to my DH (he's on a business trip and flying in later today) this morning and told him that we need to make this decision by 4:00pm today in order to get anything back.

 

What upsets me is that co's let go people right around the holidays.

[Cruising89143]

This would be a hard decision to make but I guess that I would not go if it were me. Of course this has to be your decision and one that I would not want to make. I feel for you and your family as I know how much we all anticipate our vacations. I try to look at it this way. Everything happens for a reason. There will be future cruises. I know this does not make it any easier now and especially for your daughter. Good luck on whatever your decision is and also to your husband with his company.

[ccletzgo]

have you checked and you are sure you will get your money back?

 

You can be in contact with e-mail and cell phone from the ship. How about a teenage girl to nanny for you? Is there anyone like that, that you could take?

[travellady]

Needless to say, everyone is different but I would choose to go and I know my husband would want me to. yes, it's not as easy to travel with 2 young children but it can be done. When my twins were 7, I drove alone with them from Washington state to Florida. We had the time of our lives. More frequent stops, more kid focused stuff, but we enjoyed it. And we still talk about it to this day and they are now 25.

 

Once you get on the ship, you can get some down time when your kids are in the clubs. Yes, you will miss your husband but at the same time you deserve to have some fun.

 

You and your husband should be able to keep in touch via email as ships have internet access. this way you'll know what's going on.

 

I know it's a tough decision but you've paid for it so my point of view is make the best of it. Life does have it's unplanned twists and turns.

[Bunkie103]

As someone whose husband was "let go" two days before Christmas I do know how you feel. I would suggest you go on the trip and try to keep life as "normal" as possible for your kids. This may be your last chance to kick back and relax for a while IF your husband is indeed unemployed. Good luck with what ever you do....you will survive in spite of this setback! ;)

[abbyndrewmom]

That is the key...due to a loss of job.The loss of job has not happened yet and that stipulation is also a tricky one.The primary benefit might not pay in this case. What policy does your office sell? I would love to read the specific terms.

Steve

We are a Canadian Company and the Insurance company is Reliable life. I know our insurance laws are much different then in the USA. One primary difference is you can only buy travel insurance from the agency that sells you your vacation or through your credit card company.

 

I am at home and do not have a policy with me but I can check the copy on Tuesday when I am back at work and let you know that excat wording. We can sell it to Americans if they book pacakges through us. Our main business is Hockey Tours and we occassionally get Americans booking tours to world tournaments through us. WE are currently getting ready for the 2005 World Juniors in Grand Forks, ND.

[dbcruzin]

If your hubby's job situation is that fragile now, maybe he should look for a better situation anyway. If I were him I'd just talk to the bosses and get the real scoop and not speculate before making any decision.

[shellgoodman]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice on this. Julie, I'll keep you posted on what we ultimately do. My DH is telling me not to cancel today and we'll take the risk of losing our fare if we can't go. The reorg announcement will be made this Wed and perhaps he'll have a better feel of what might happen the following week. He won't probably lose his job but what he is nervous about is that the co might ask him and his co-workers to repost for their jobs the week of our trip. All interviews would be conducted via cell phone anyway due to the fact that everyone is all over the country.

 

What has him concerned is the first two sea days (Monday and Tuesday) we will be going down the Mississippi river with little or possibly no access to cellular service and the VPN on his laptop.

[southernlagirl]

Having cruised out of NOLA before... You will have cell phone coverage until just before you leave the mouth of the mississippi... we lost it about 10-11pm left port around 4pm

[shellgoodman]

Southernla, do you remember when you got back coverage after the first night? We are at sea for two days and going to Jamaica first.

[pelletib]

I am on a cruise with my Mom Jan 4th. My husband just broke 2 vertebraes in his neck and is in CCU. He'll have to have surgery to fuse them and is facing anywhere fron 2-6 months in a halo device. He will go to a short term rehab facility. Timeframe is not possible to predict. I want to cancel the cruise, but he said not to because of the timeframe being so up in the air. My insurance covers the cancellation because he is my spouse even though he is not going on the cruise. The kicker is that the policy has a 30 day's prior to departure clause. We are about 45 days out. Quandry to say the least. Reading further into the policy..loss of employment is covered ONLY is you have worked for that company 5 years. lot of fine print !!

[CMHF]

Does the ship that you are planning to take have Wireless Internet available? I was on the Coral Princess earlier this month & my laptop & VPN worked fine. I was able to get my e-mails and update my other information. Hope this helps with your decision. Good Luck & Take the cruise.

Harvey

[sea_u_onboard]

I'm not a computer wiz but I do know that if you want you can take your own laptop. If it doesn't have wirless capability you can rent a card. I suggest he take his laptop with any files he thinks he might need (such as Resume and References). With your own laptop you can download and upload files. They don't allow for uploading or downloading on the internet cafe computers.

 

This is from Carnivals Website of FAQ's.

Internet Cafe Price List

 

Charges for the following services will be billed directly to guest's Sail and Sign Account as follows:

A one time activation fee is $3.95.

To obtain a temporary account while on board, the set-up charge is $3.95.

To print information, the charge is $.50-per page.

 

To utilize the service of the Internet Cafe, whether using a private workstation, renting a laptop or using the guest's personal laptop, the charge is: $.75-per minute.

Block of Minutes (no refund for unused minutes):

7 Day Cruise or Longer

100 minutes for $55.00 (.55 per minute).

250 minutes for $100.00 (.40 per minute).

 

To rent a Wireless Internet Card for a guest's personal laptop, the rate is $10.00 per day. To rent a Laptop, the charge is $35.00 per day; optional insurance is $10.00 per day.

[virginiab]

Two years ago I had to change my plans for a cruise with less than a week's notice (not on Carnival); no refund was available but since the reason was medical thay agreed to a name change on the tickets at no additional charge. So I sent out an email to all my friends and family, offering them the chance to cruise free or to pay what they wanted. In the end, my mom and a friend went on the cruise, and although I didn't ask for money, my mom ended up paying for her half of the fare. So if you can't go, and you can't get a refund, consider if there may be someone who could at least get some enjoyment from your cruise!

Virginia

waiting for the Valor on Jan 9, 2005

[nosnobunny]

Wouldn't Carnival be able to give you a good idea how long you'll be without cell phone reception? Try giving them a call.

 

 

Beth

[jerseygirl3]

Carnival can rarely give a straight answer on which pier ships depart from. I'd be surprised if they actually knew how long cell phone service would work. My experience with calling Carnival has been that, while their reps are very nice and courteous, you rarely get the same answer from two different reps...and frequently both are wrong! I recently got 3 different answers on how much transfers would cost.

[llanning]

All ships have telephone service all the time if you are willing to pay for it. Your personal cell phone coverage depends on your service provider and the type of phone you have. It might be possible to rent a satellite phone for the duration of the cruise. As said by others, email is available all the time. All this is of course on the satellite is working.