Missed cruise due to ice/airport

mfg

I had to cancel my cruise sailing from Florida on 19/12 due to a cancelled flight and would appreciate any advice about reclaiming the cruise cost, over £1K. My flight was due to leave on the morning of 18/12 from Gatwick. Things got to a bad start when the boarding was delayed by a few hours. Once on the plane we waited a few more hours for airport staff to clear some ice on the runway. Alas nobody even turned up and the flight was eventually cancelled. It was well into the evening when I got out and there were no flights to US. The next morning flights would not have be able to arrive in time.

I have received a full refund for the flight from US Airways but for the cruise, the Virgin Insurance representative would not accept the claim. I have cancellation cover on my policy but she said I don't have abandonment cover which would have been relevant. To me, it seems a bit misleading as I did cancel the cruise due to being unable to get reach the destination. It's just that they have shifted the meaning of cancelling for bad weather/airport to "abandonment". Is there any there anything I can do or any other options.

Thanks in advance

HXDave

unfortunately, if you booked the flight seperately from the cruise, this is the problems it can cause.

I'm suprised that your insurance are not covering 'abandonment', as it is usually part & parcel of any insurance company for both to be covered together. However, when they say 'cancellation', this is usually meant to mean that it is you that has cancelled for an insurable reason, not the fact that the airline has cancelled the flight, as that is automatically refunded by the airline.

The fact that you missed your cruise due to not being able to be at the departure point in time is not always covered, especially when flights are booked seperately.

HXDave

duchy

I would put a claim in -in writing anyway and see what happens -don't just take the word of the phone rep. You won't lose anything by trying.

However this is the one drawback of not booking a flight plus accomadation or cruise package together -if something happens to the flight you need to be very sure you do have insurance that protects the other elements and check the small print. Have you ploughed through the small print of the policy yourself yet ? There should be clear definitions of what cancellation and abandonment mean within the policy document.

I used to book cruises and other ad hoc US holidays for a living and had endless conversations will people who booked cruises and wanted to fly out the same day to catch their cruise-I simply refused to do it as it was too risky -it's not like a hotel where you might lose one night of your holiday if you get delayed. I had one chap who told me he'd done it for ten years and never had a problem and insisted I booked him the same day -so I booked it-lucky all calls were recorded as you've guessed it-He missed the cruise because his plane went technical. He outright lied and said he wanted to go the day before but I had told him same day was OK !!!!!

bcl999

Is this why I have seen the option of choosing "cruise cover" when applying for travel insurance? I thought my exisitng annual travel insureance would cover me for a missed cruise departure as I almost always book cruise only and organise my own flights.

mfg

I checked the Virgin website and it does say you need abandonment cover to insure for adverse weather conditions. I don't have this and of course it is more expensive. The problem is that I bought my policy using the MSE links which take you to moneysupermarket. I think the policies there are cut down with similarly cut down prices to make them more appealing. Not all the information is presented and it's difficult to know what you need, just from browsing the sites. This policy (still being recommended by MSE) is not adequate for snow and I think it should be avoided if travelling in the next 2 months.

There is over 11 months left on the policy and I am wondering whether to cancel because of the lack of cover, and then choosing a different one before I next travel. Is it better to upgrade? Thanks.

HXDave

MFG, if the insurance has already started, you will find you will get very little back, if anything at all, as effectively you have already had 'benefit' of the policy.

I would also state that with ANY insurance (travel, home, car etc etc) you check before hand that it covers exactly what you need, and not just go for the cheapest. After all, it's not a case of 1 size fits all when it comes to insurance. After all, my car insurance might be a lot cheaper than yours (or vv), however the chance are we are both very different people, with very different lives, and very different cars.

Unfortunately, whilst saving money is most peoples ambitions these days, people should be careful when doing so. Prime example - Crown Currency Exchange as demonstrated on here!

HXDave

lisyloo

I would advise people to book flight/cruises as a package.
You are then purchasing a package and they are responsible for delivering the whole package.
I've done it twice and it was a huge weight off our minds.

It's the same with excursions.
They might not always seem good value, but if it's booked through the cruise then it's THEIR reponsibility to get you back to the ship on time.
If you travel independently then it's YOURS, this can be stressful in some locations.

bcl999

lisyloo wrote: »

I would advise people to book flight/cruises as a package.
You are then purchasing a package and they are responsible for delivering the whole package.
I've done it twice and it was a huge weight off our minds.

Yes, it probably is the best thing but it's not usually very MSE. additionally, they generally want to fly you back immediately or else book a hotel through them at inflated prices.

On a recent cruise, I saved about £600 buying cruise-only. I spent a fortnight touring the destination (Brazil) when I arrived. My return fare was just over £300.

I find the flexibility and the saving just too hard to resist but I do worry I shall come a cropper one day.

Party_Animal

I always travel independently. I've never had a problem yet but I'm very concerned as I'm due to fly to Central America via Newark and flights have been cancelled due to snow in the States. I have annual travel ins through a link from here but it isn't going to cover all the hotels, shuttles, tours etc that I've booked. Can anyone recommend a one off policy just for this trip that could run alongside my existing?
Thanks