I had hoped to get to Cuba

[TestingH2O]

https://www.stltoday.com/business/l...cle_d078af3b-d612-5a54-8a99-4b5cf0376872.html
1. I'm bummed I didn't squeeze in a trip when I could.

2. I bet trip insurance companies are sweating this and the claims people inside of the refund window will be making.

3. Regardless of what the cruise contract says, a $100 shipboard credit wouldn't mollify me when it comes to substituting Cozumel for Havana.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Barring a cancel for any reason policy, I'm not seeing any exposure for trip insurance providers. They might be out a little if a policy covers changes in ports but there isn't any other trigger here that I see. If someone chooses to cancel their trip for this reason, that is on them and not the cruise insurance provider.

 

[TestingH2O]

Barring a cancel for any reason policy, I'm not seeing any exposure for trip insurance providers. They might be out a little if a policy covers changes in ports but there isn't any other trigger here that I see. If someone chooses to cancel their trip for this reason, that is on them and not the cruise insurance provider.

Sorry yes, cancel for any reason. I assume many people purchase that level of coverage because, why wouldn't you?

 

[ember1205]

If the cruise operator changes the itinerary like that, any responsibility would be on -them- to provide refunds and such. And, since the contracts are essentially 'nothing is guaranteed and you agree', they likely won't be exposed.

The insurance coverage providers will be the ones that take the hit, but only if A) the passenger(s) has a Cancel for Any Reason clause and B) they exercise it.

In the case of a Cuba-only sailing, the cruise line would almost certainly have to refund the money because they basically canceled the whole trip. Even if they don't want to, you could make a strong case that they need to - especially if you paid by credit card (the CC company would almost certainly allow this as a dispute and side with you, and disputes that customers win are bad for the companies).

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

It's such a bummer. I had hoped to go to Cuba too and had hoped DCL might sail there with the new ships. But as we have seen regimes change and policies do too. May just need to wait this one out a few years and Cuba trips will be back on. I feel so bad for the Cuban people who were relying on the tourism income though, none of this is their fault.

 

[kaseyC]

Disappointing. I had one of the Cuba itineraries booked for September 2020 on the new Virgin ship. This will hit Virgin cruises really hard because more than half of their itineraries for the new ship included Cuba.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Not sure what the other cruise lines are doing, but it looks like Royal Caribbean stepped up to the plate quite well:

Cuba Travel Policy Update - June 05, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. (EDT)

Effective immediately, the U.S. government has implemented new regulations that prohibits travel from the U.S. to Cuba by cruise ship. This change requires us to immediately replace all Cuban ports. For all 2019 sailings on both Majesty of the Seas and Empress of the Seas, we have secured alternative ports and we are in the process of communicating the new itineraries to our guests and travel partners. For these guests, they will have the option of remaining on their sailing with the new itinerary and receiving a 50% refund or they may cancel their cruise and receive a full refund.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DCL wasn't going to do Cuba until/unless they saw a much friendlier administration in the US. DCL is not a leader in port selection, but most definitely a follower.

 

[AquaDame]

Same... I still hope to get to visit Cuba some day.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

https://www.stltoday.com/business/l...cle_d078af3b-d612-5a54-8a99-4b5cf0376872.html
1. I'm bummed I didn't squeeze in a trip when I could.

2. I bet trip insurance companies are sweating this and the claims people inside of the refund window will be making.

3. Regardless of what the cruise contract says, a $100 shipboard credit wouldn't mollify me when it comes to substituting Cozumel for Havana.

If Cuba is a must do, you could always look into a tour/cruise offered by a European company. They seem to have no issue about travel to Cuba.

 

[darnheather]

Call your representatives.

 

[pixiedustedme]

This really stinks.

 

[bcwife76]

If Cuba is a must do, you could always look into a tour/cruise offered by a European company. They seem to have no issue about travel to Cuba.

As a Canadian, we also have no problems traveling to Cuba, it's a huge sun destination for us (moreso for Canadians east of the prairies I think than us West Coasters). Having said that, we have never been and it's not really on our radar to do so. But I do feel badly for everyone who had planned to go and now must make alternate plans (or accept the alternate plans that are offered to them).

 

[mike314]

I have a feeling they'll lift it again in the future

 

[Pens Fan]

I have a feeling they'll lift it again in the future

While that's probably true, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the cruise lines to jump back in. They are really taking a bath on this. Most of them are allowing passengers to cancel with a full refund even if in the penalty stage. They are also offering all kinds of discounts for keeping the reservation and sailing a revised itinerary. I doubt the bean counters will forget this for quite a while, nor should they.

On the flip side, if anyone wants to book a last minute trip on a relatively empty ship and doesn't really care where it goes - now's the time to do it! I imagine you can find some really good deals out there.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

While that's probably true, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the cruise lines jump back in.

If they were smart, they wouldn't jump back in until there is some assurance that the ban is being lifted really long term or permanently, to protect themselves from issues like this. They will also want to see how the suit against Carnival shakes out.

 

[T & R]

DCL wasn't going to do Cuba until/unless they saw a much friendlier administration in the US.

Disagree, nothing to do with the current U.S admin. The current U.S. Admin is friendly to any and all who reciprocate. DCL was free to travel there during the easing of the travel restrictions during the previous U.S. admin but still chose not to. It's the current Cuba admin that's the problem. This is a socialist dictatorship country where personal liberties are restricted and you can be detained, imprisoned and have your property confiscated all without any due process. Why would DCL want any part of that or contribute to the economy of that? What's next, open up Disneyland Tehran or Pyongyang? Pass.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

This is a socialist dictatorship country where personal liberties are restricted and you can be detained, imprisoned and have your property confiscated all without any due process. Why would DCL want any part of that or contribute to the economy of that? What's next, open up Disneyland Tehran or Pyongyang? Pass.

Disney has multiple parks in Communist China. They are not a shining beacon of human rights; where you can be detained, imprisoned or your property confiscated with no due process as well.

I agree DCL probably wasn't looking at Cuba but more from a 'we don't wanna try it right now' perspective.

 

[monica9]

We were traveling to Cuba on Carnival next July and they completely changed our itinerary. Just hoping we get an onboard credit too!

 

[T & R]

Disney has multiple parks in Communist China

Interesting. I wonder why nobody threw that in the face of Disney CEO Bob Iger when he said on 05/29 that he had reservations on filming in the State of Georgia due to their state's laws. Seems like overwhelming hypocrisy when you look at China's record of human rights. Was he not around when Tiananmen Square went down?