Holiday cancelled due to pregnancy

Cassie5000

We booked a cruise & flight back in May 2012 and paid approx £1500 for the holiday which was due to happen at the end of January 2013. We discovered that I was pregnant at the end of August. The travel agents have told us that the airline won't take me because I will be over 30 weeks pregnant by then. Consequently, we have no way of getting to Antigua for the cruise & have had to cancel the holiday. I expected (particularly as we gave them 4 and a half months' notice of the cancellation) that we would receive a full refund. But instead, the travel agents are telling us that we owe them (!) and that we will not be getting a refund.

I'm wondering how we can get our money back. It doesn't seem right that the airline are refusing to take us, leaving us without the possibility of having the holiday we paid for.

luci

Do you have travel insurance? You would need to check if your policy would cover it.

JQ.

We went through the same for a skiing holiday and just claimed on our insurance policy without an issue.

alanrowell

If you don't have travel insurance then check the card you used to book the holiday to see if you have any insurance through it or if your bank account comes with travel insurance

joerugby

What do the t&cs (for the flight and the cruise) say?

opinions4u

Cassie5000 wrote: »

I'm wondering how we can get our money back. It doesn't seem right that the airline are refusing to take us, leaving us without the possibility of having the holiday we paid for.

This is the sort of thing travel insurance was invented for.

You do have a policy, don't you?

lgw29

Which airline are you travelling with? As the one I work for you can fly up to 28 weeks without a doctors letter and up to 36 weeks with a doctors letter conferring the due date and no problems with the pregnancy

stephb34

If this is a true package you should only lose your deposit, unless it was one of those deals that was cheaper if you pay in full. Do you have insurance if so you should have no problem in claiming. In the airlines defence just think how much it would cost them if you went into labour in mid air and also would you want to put your baby at risk in this way.

withabix

Claim on your travel insurance. That is what it is for.

The tour operator didn't get you pregnant did they?

malkie76

Not all travel insurance policies cover pregnancy though. It's often viewed as avoidable.

daveyjp

We have claimed on insurance for cancellation due to pregnancy and at the time had two holidays booked. We needed a doctor's letter, but once provided we received full refunds, no questions asked.