Husband just given 30 days notice with job

Hi all -- My husband just got bad news that is job is closing his branch and they can no longer keep him. They have given him to the end of the year. We have a cruise scheduled for Feb 2013 with our PIF date looming, Nov 19th. I am torn on what to do. Do we cancel and lose the $ we paid in our flights? or do we keep it and risk the guilt of spending money if he is still unemployed at the time. Part of me wants to keep it as something to look forward to and being prepaid I think it would be okay. Just trying to decide what to do. The news came yesterday the day after election day too. go figure.

 

So sorry to hear this news for your family.

We had something similar happen before our Fantasy cruise back in September. A few days before we were supposed to leave, the company my husband works for announced they would likely be filing for bankruptcy and shutting their doors while we were gone. Our cruise was PIF but we had DCL travel insurance so I *think* we could have rescheduled the cruise if we wanted to. We decided we needed that week to relax, unwind and de-stress from the news. I'm so glad we did because we had a fabulous tech free, hassle free week, stress free week filled with wonderful family memories.

I don't know your situation very well, but I can empathize with the decision you are facing. Personally, I am so glad we kept our cruise date and wouldn't trade that week for anything!

Best of luck to you!

 

I am sorry to hear about your husbands job loss.

If I were in the same situation, as much as I would want to keep the booking I would probably cancel the cruise to get a full refund. You can then always hold out hope that he does get a new job and can take time off---and some really good IGT, OGT and VGT offerings come out.

 

I honestly think it's a very personal thing. He may be able to find a job and start working seamlessly and you won't even have this problem at the time you sail. Or his new company may not allow him to take a vacation at the time you have the cruise scheduled.

Or he could be out pounding the pavement and stressed and worried about financial obligations that you can't cover.

I know if it were us, we'd cancel and rebook later. There will always be other cruises, and it would be much less stressful to have to deal with the finances of paying for the cruise and relaxing and enjoying it while I knew the stress was still at home.

That being said, I wish him the best of luck in finding his new position quickly! May it be better than the old one!

 

Only you know what decision is best for your family. If it were me, I would look at it as blessing that it happened now and not after the PIF date, cancel the cruise and either deal with the money lost for the airline tickets or call the airlines, explaining the situation and see if they can issue a voucher for the trip you are not taking. You wouldn't be getting a refund, but you wouldn't be losing it entirely either. I say this because I know that I wouldn't have a fun time on the cruise feeling that I had to pinch my pennies and worry about everything because I didn't know what was in store for me financially when I got home.

IF you have a 6 month emergency fund stored up and your vacation money already saved then maybe the cruise might be do-able, but still, and this is me personally, I might have a hard time with it.

I say wait and do the cruise at a time when you won't have the worries at home. You will enjoy it more.

I'm sorry that your husband lost his job. That really stinks, especially this time of year and with your vacation looming.

I hope things get better for your family soon.

 

Let me be amongst the first to say that I am sorry to hear about your husband's job! I can relate. I was laid off from my job 4 years ago, a week after the election - and I was newly pregnant at the time. We had a trip to WDW planned a couple of months later and we struggled for a while since I was the primary breadwinner at the time.

Do what you feel you can handle. I had a miscarriage about a month before we were to travel and the anticipation of a trip to see Mickey helped clear the air a little bit for us.

I wish you all the best of luck as you make your decision and begin to navigate these unfamiliar waters.

 

We also had a similar situation, though it was about 6 months before our cruise. We already had the funds set aside and decided we could manage to go ahead with the cruise. It was great to have that opportunity to relax during a stressful time. However, I'd say it's up to you to decide 1) do you already have the cruise fare and whatever expenses set aside, and 2) do you have enough additional savings left over that you won't be setting yourself up for shortfall if you do cruise.

Good luck!

 

I am so sorry about your husbands job.
I think the question is how financially stable will you be without your husbands job? If you guys are going to do okay without his job ( I mean I know it will be tight) and not struggling to eat or pay bills and be able to sleep at night then I say go for it. But if this is something you will stress about then its probably not worth your peace of mind.

I really hope he is able to find a job soon and you won't even need to worry about making this decision.

 

Everyone here has such great advice! We have another week to think about it so we will see what we decide to do. There are too many unknowns to feel good about this. Although a break may be just what we need. I'll keep you posted on what we decide.

 

I feel so bad for you! What terrible news to come at the holidays, or really, anytime would be terrible. I agree with the other poster who said they'd feel lucky the news came before the PIF date. We would have to cancel if in your shoes and re-book later. It really depends on your finances and if you could afford the cruise while he is not employed.
I hope he finds work soon & best of luck in your decision!

 

I'm so sorry to hear it...
It is a personal decision...as mentioned before, only you (2) know how financially stable you are. If you do make it to the cruise, let me know...I think we are on the same cruise (Feb 17 to the Bahamas???)
DH is a "comedian"...he will make you laugh so much you'll cry...forgetting everything else while you're on the cruise

 

So sorry for your DH, not sure what we do in that situation. Did you purchase travel insurance? Our policies usually cover loss of job if employed by same employer for x # of years. Maybe that would cover the loss for your flights? Good luck with your decision!

 

I am so sorry. I agree with others that only you can decide what works for you. We had something similar last year. We had a cruise booked for our 10th anniversary (not DCL, it was a luxury cruise in Tahiti). Before PIF, we were hit with a LARGE unexpected expense. We cancelled the cruise and did something smaller but still very special for our anniversary. Wait until the last minute to make the decision so you will have the best information and good luck!

 

Ask your husband how he feels about it. Most men really worry about money/providing for the family. If he does not have any good prospects he may not enjoy the trip because all he will be thinking about is the cost.

 

I am so sorry! I can relate somewhat, and I wish you and your family the best! We lost our only source of income about 2 weeks before our September cruise. The difference in our case was we were paid in full and had set aside money for tips. So, we couldn't really cancel without losing everything. But I will tell you, when we first got the news I wanted to cancel anyway! The feeling of dread and sadness was intense, especially since we were FINALLY financial stable after two full years of unemployment, scrimping, worrying, etc. Trust me, I was a mess. But after a few days I calmed down a bit. We had made it through the first layoff, so I knew we could handle this. We are doing better now, a few short months later, so I'm glad I didn't let my emotions control my decision.

All that to say, as you mentioned, give it a few days. If you feel like it would be good for your family, do it. Don't let worry about what other people might think stop you from living your life (if that's even a concern for you). If you decide the timing is not right, have peace in the fact that there will be other cruises!

 

Oh my....I read an article about how many jobs were going to be terminated right after the election, but this is the first I'd heard an "in person" situation.

I think the issue has to be your financial situation. Will he qualify for unemployment if he can't find another job quickly? What are his prospects and will the new job potentially interfere with the cruise? Would you consider going without him and/or doing a name change and taking another adult if a new job won't allow him to cruise? Did you buy travel insurance and is this a covered reason to cancel? And did it cover your air?

We don't know enough about you (nor should we!) to answer these questions, but they are the issues you need to resolve. Good luck!

 

Loss of mployment is a major blow to any family and the decision as to the best way to handle this is really a personal one.

That being said have you thought about moving your dates forward. If you booked your air with DCL you should be good. If not you may need to pay some change fees which may be less than if you cancle.

Sending some Pixie dust that a new job will present itself and all will be good.

 

So sorry, unfortunately just went through the same issue as I lost my job in September and we had a cruise scheduled over Thanksgiving.

We made the decision to cancel the cruise and get back what ever money we could. I knew the whole cruise would be about saving every penny and it still would not take away the underlying job issue or the feeling that we should be saving money, especially in this economy. I also told myself that we will get through this and DCL will still be there when our financial situation works its self out. We will go then.

Not to sound like a fortune cookie, but IMO there is no right answer - your heart will tell you what to do. Good luck!

 

I agree with everyone else in saying that this really comes down to a very personal decision on what your finances currently are.

I know for myself I would most likely cancel due to the feeling of guilt thinking I should rather be stocking the money away rather than spending it on a cruise. But if you feel you have enough monetary resources to make it through this without the money you already spent on the cruise then by all means have fun on the cruise and hopefully it will be a week you can get away and not think about any issues.

 

The exact thing happened to my husband 2 years ago. We had a trip to Disney World and a Cruise planned for Christmas and he was let go. We cancelled the trip but put the money away in our "Vacation Fund" and didn't touch it. It was 2 years later but my husband finally found a full time job in his field. We were so excited that we treated ourselves to a GREAT DISNEY CRUISE as a way to celebrate. It was so hard not to touch the money over those 2 years but so worth it at the end. It also taught our kids great patience. The day my husband got the job we called Disney and went LAST minute and got a great rate on the cruise (because it was not totally booked). We left the NEXT DAY and it made the wait all worth it. I would recommend waiting until your financial future is a little more certain. Best wishes to you - I have walked in your shoes my friend! God Bless!