Anyone have to cancel a cruise?

[DCLover]

Has anyone cancelled their cruise due to upcoming hurricanes? I have family going on an October 7-day, but they are thinking about cancelling due to bad hurricane season. I told them that it should be fine, but they live in the midwest so they have no idea.
Just curious if anyone else is thinking about or has cancelled a cruise due to weather.

 

[CGC33A]

do they have insurance? When are they flying in? If they cancel now, for "weather" they will probably lose everything unless they have one of those "cancel for any reason" clauses with their insurance. I have a cruise planned in October also with people flying in from the midwest the night before and others flying in that AM from NC. I have insurance & have encouraged the other families to get it (weather shouldn't be a pre exisitng condition unless they buy the insurance the day before the cruise with a storm looming). Airlines relax their change/cancellation policies when there is bad weather, so if it looks bad for flying in, people should be able to come in early (and I have a housefull of guests), or maybe even fly to FLL if the ship is diverted. DCL will bus people from Port Canaveral to where ever the ship is, so I figure that is part of the fun (after all, everyone is in the same boat )
If they fly in early or the ship is delayed, I have read that many people go stay at WDW (I am sure they have lots of cancellations for the hotels). WDW is sometimes used as a shelter. I was to attend a convention when a strom was approaching & WDW cancelled it b/c they needed the convention hall for shelter status, so they can handle a storm.
I am sort of hoping for a storm to hit PC close to my return so that my cruise can be extended gratis. Or even if my cruise is delayed, there is adequate compensation when that occurs.
So, no I wouldn't cancel unless a storm was right there at the time of sailing.

 

[DCLover]

Thanks! They're just freaking out, and they do have insurance so they can cancel if they want. But I told them the same thing - don't cancel now - just wait. Disney doesn't put its Guests in danger, so no worries about that! Just curious if anyone else is having this issue (then I can tell them if no one else is cancelling!). We were thinking about going on the cruise with them, so this could change our plans...

...or not... maybe we go anyway and have a blast by ourselves!!

Thanks for the reply!

 

[msmayor]

They need to realize, though, that just because they have 'insurance' doesn't mean they can just cancel because they don't want to go. They would need specific "cancel for ANY reason" coverage.

A hurricane threat isn't good enough, especially when you live far from where the storm is expected. If they live in the midwest, then they cannot use the hurricane as a reason they can't leave home (many policies allow it if your home is in imminent danger/damaged by weather...this wouldn't cover it).

Cruise lines routinely change their itineraries to avoid storms (Carnival alone changed the plans for at least a half-dozen ships this past week), so their cruise wouldn't be cancelled. It would be rare for a line to actually cancel a trip completely.

They need to read their policy very carefully to understand all the reasons they can cancel and receive reimbursement.

 

[DCLover]

They need to realize, though, that just because they have 'insurance' doesn't mean they can just cancel because they don't want to go. They would need specific "cancel for ANY reason" coverage.

Thanks! I have never gotten insurance since I live in driving distance and it's been mostly me and my husband, so I don't know much about it. I'll make sure they know this and that they read their insurance policy. Thanks for the advice!

 

[riggins]

We were on the Wonder last year during Hurricane Noel. It cut our day at Castaway Cay short and we had some rough seas at times, but the captain did an excellent job of keeping the ship in safe waters and actually found us a lot of sunshine on our day at sea. The folks on the Magic that week missed Castaway Cay altogether, and had rougher weather than we did, but I didn't read anyone on either boat say that they wished they had cancelled!!

Unless the hurricane directly impacts Port Canaveral which could impact their departure/arrival day, time, or location, the captain can keep the boat in safe waters and they can still have a great cruise!! Can you imagine how they'd feel if they cancelled and then sat at home all week while the rest of the boat sailed without them in beautiful weather.

 

[cats mom]

Thanks! They're just freaking out, and they do have insurance so they can cancel if they want.

I'd tell them to be very careful about assuming they can cancel without penalty just because they have insurance. They need to make sure they understand exactly what their policy covers before they make that decision.

From a website that explains travel insurance benefits:

Weather: Cancellations of your flight or cruise for more than 48 consecutive hours due to weather should also be covered.
*One important note here: most policies will not cover a trip cancellation to your destination due to inclement weather unless your flight has been cancelled for 48 consecutive hours. Keep this in mind when planning that trip to Bermuda during hurricane season. Simply purchasing insurance with the intent to cancel should a storm pop up will not necessarily get you out of the trip.

And DCL has recently announced that they will be sticking to their official cancellation policy. As I understand it; they will not allow people to just change cruise dates once they're within the penalty period to get out of the cancellation fees like they used to.

Good Luck to you and your friends. I hope the weather calms and you all have a great cruise!

 

[DCLover]

I just talked with my cousin and she said she'll read her policy. She was under the impression that she could cancel for any reason! I told her if we decide to go, we'll go regardless of the weather, so she'll probably do the same.

All this talk makes me want to go on a cruise right now, forget waiting a month!

 

[NancyIL]

Thanks! I have never gotten insurance since I live in driving distance and it's been mostly me and my husband, so I don't know much about it. I'll make sure they know this and that they read their insurance policy. Thanks for the advice!

Just because you can drive to the port doesn't mean you don't need insurance. If you were injured or sick just before the cruise and had to cancel - you would be out the cost of the cruise if you didn't have insurance. If you became ill while at sea or there was a death in your family - requiring you to leave the cruise early, you'd have to pay your own travel expenses to get back home. Trip insurance isn't just for people who fly to the cruise port.

 

[cats mom]

I just talked with my cousin and she said she'll read her policy. She was under the impression that she could cancel for any reason! I told her if we decide to go, we'll go regardless of the weather, so she'll probably do the same.

All this talk makes me want to go on a cruise right now, forget waiting a month!

There are policies that include a cancel for any reason clause, so they might be OK either way.
Although having priced one of those deluxe cancel for any reason policies... I'd say if you have one, you know it. They are very expensive!


I'm with you on the being ready to cruise right now part.
Think they'd make room for me if I hopped a plane to Orlando this weekend?