Sudden illness, leave Saturday, cancel or reschedule?

[Ms belp]

You all are so kind to be checking in and asking how things are. I'm a relative newbie, but you all make me feel so welcome. Thanks!!

 

And great news...Alaska here we come!!!!

 

FIL just called, they are leaving the Dr office. No infection involved, it's something else, medicine will treat it, it's not contagious at all. So we're good to go!!!

 

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions on the cancel issue. I'm glad to know I jumped the gun and was doing what I told my MIL not to do...worrying before we knew for sure!

 

I think we'll all have an even more special time now knowing how close we were to not getting to go.

 

This is great news! I just found this thread. I would just post one more word on this. If you MIL's condition is the least bit noticeable to others who might fear it was something contagious, I would have a note from her doctor with her stating that she is okay to travel and it NOT contagious. I'd hate to have something happen when boarding the ship.

 

I'm a safety coordinator for a private company and know this stuff does happen.

 

Good luck and have a wonderful cruise.:)

[coka]

I am glad to read the update! Have a great cruise with your family's 50th...especially in Alaska.

 

coka

[CruisnGram]

I think Ms Belp has a good idea. If the skin condition is extremely obvious on your MIL, a letter from the doctor is a great thing to have with you. Should someone at check in notice it and question it, the letter is her proof that she is okay to travel and not contagious...just as a precaution.

 

I'm so glad this worked out for you and hope you have a wonderful trip and make many fabulous memories.

 

CG

[DMH15]

Enjoy the cruise, Alaska and precious time with your family!

[bluefintuna]

Years ago, we were to take a family cruise out of Puerto Rico. My fil had xrays taken the day before the cruise and it showed a stomach anueryism. He insisted we go, but when we reached San Juan we called the hospital to see if we would get on the ship or fly back immediately. He was fine and we called him from every island to fill him in. Sure did miss him, but he sailed with us later on.

[thecatsmeow]

Great news now onto a great cruise! Enjoy!:)

[CaptData]

Happy anniverary to the in laws. I know how special hese are now. My parents managed to make 51.

[beachchick]

We're supposed to leave Saturday on our Alaskan cruise. My MIL has become ill and may be told she can't travel. So that would mean all 10 of us would have to cancel. We have insurance purchased through NCL. I believe that we could cancel and only end up paying the cost of the insurance. Is that right? Or do we also lose our cruise deposit?

 

Or....does NCL allow you to reschedule in this case with no or little change fee? It seems like that would be better than cancelling this one completely and then rebooking another one.

 

Any advice from anybody out there? Thanks.

 

She's going to another Dr on Tuesday and hopefully she can be given some medicine and won't be contagious, but I figured I'd check in with all the knowledgeable people here just in case.

 

I'm so happy to hear that your MIL is going to be okay and that you can all enjoy your cruise. For future reference, I thought I'd give you a general answer to the above.

 

Once you're in the penalty period (and you are way into it), they almost never allow you to reschedule or change with little or no fee. They have a cancellation policy (and what you are asking for counts as a cancel and rebook to them) and apply it equally to everyone, except in very rare and specific cases. You would all lose whatever percentage or amount the cancellation penalty specifies for your time-frame. If they simply allowed anyone who needed to cancel or even reschedule to do so without penalty, then there would be very little incentive for people to not go ahead and book a cruise regardless of whether they truly plan to take that exact cruise. Many would figure, "Well heck, I can just reschedule the week before the cruise at very little cost to me." The cruise lines would have far too many open cabins last minute that they would not be able to resell at any reasonable fare, they would lose large amounts of revenue, and they would never be able to count on passenger levels. And it would be supremely unfair to then charge anyone a cancellation penalty if they don't apply the policy equally to everyone. As an loose analogy, it is like people who don't bother to buy homeowner's insurance and then scream and cry about how "unfair" it is that they have to bear the costs to rebuild their home after a disaster.

 

The bottom line is that these are exactly the types of situations that insurance policies are intended to cover. Often, people will complain that they didn't buy cruise insurance and now don't think it's fair that the cruise line won't make an exception to the cancellation rules for them or allow them to reschedule at the last minute. The cruise line's response is almost always, "These are the cancellation penalties; they are specified in your contracts, in the brochures, and on our website. Those are the policies we follow and we do not differentiate between a cancellation and a rescheduling once you're in the penalty period." (I know that is absolutely not what you were asking or expecting; you were simply asking a question about rescheduling and wanting to know the policy.)

 

Your MIL getting ill would have been extremely unlikely to be considered a special case because that kind of thing happens frequently, and often it seems when a cruise has been planned as a special celebration (as cruises often are). However, it sounds like your insurance would have covered you all (based on the policy specifics you mentioned), so you would have been out the cost of the insurance, but other costs would have been covered. (Well, technically, you would not have been "out" the cost of the insurance; you would have used the insurance you paid for.)

 

Have a wonderful time.

 

beachchick

[Newbie0210]

Thanks, beachchick, for the explanation. Hopefully that answer will help someone else who might search this topic. It does sound like if my MIL had not gotten the good news that she got, we would have had to cancel and then do a whole new booking at a later date. That's what I figured, but thought it best to ask. I'm glad someone finally responded with that info.

 

As for the other comments about if her skin condition could be seen...no, it's completely covered by clothes. I did tell her before she sent to the Dr that she should get a letter from him no matter the outcome of the visit, and she would have if he told her not to go, but the Dr said there shouldn't be any problems at all, so no letter needed. She's got two prescriptions and I'll be sure to tell her to take those in the original bottles.

 

Thanks again everyone. Appreciate very much the kind thoughts and well wishes.

[sjnyc323]

have a wonderful trip.

[jdvmd]

Glad to hear your MIL is doing well and you won't have to cancel. We went through this same scenario less than two weeks ago -- I booked a last-minute trip on the Carnival Freedom leaving on Saturday, July 4 for five of us. No insurance. The Monday before we left, I had to have emergency gall bladder surgery. The surgeon's question was did I want to go ahead and do it now or wait to be airlifted off the ship or from Mexico, Panama or Costa Rica and have surgery there. Had 45 minutes to get affairs in order before the operation. I am just thankful that I had started to pack the day before. We waited and waited until the day before in making a decision on going or not. Decided it was too much money to waste and I would just deal with it. Anyhow, I truly think being on the ship and a cruise has helped in my recovery -- sure I was moving slow and in pain but I wasn't cleaning the house, doing laundry or cooking etc. Buckets of beer on a beach in Cozumel is something the doctor ordered. Enjoy your cruise! Happy anniversary!

[goodml]

Glad your MIL is good to go. Wishing you sunny skies and calm seas. :)

[goodml]

Glad to hear your MIL is doing well and you won't have to cancel. We went through this same scenario less than two weeks ago -- I booked a last-minute trip on the Carnival Freedom leaving on Saturday, July 4 for five of us. No insurance. The Monday before we left, I had to have emergency gall bladder surgery. The surgeon's question was did I want to go ahead and do it now or wait to be airlifted off the ship or from Mexico, Panama or Costa Rica and have surgery there. Had 45 minutes to get affairs in order before the operation. I am just thankful that I had started to pack the day before. We waited and waited until the day before in making a decision on going or not. Decided it was too much money to waste and I would just deal with it. Anyhow, I truly think being on the ship and a cruise has helped in my recovery -- sure I was moving slow and in pain but I wasn't cleaning the house, doing laundry or cooking etc. Buckets of beer on a beach in Cozumel is something the doctor ordered. Enjoy your cruise! Happy anniversary!

 

Sounds like the perfect way to recuperate. Good for you for not letting the circumstances stop you.