Cancellation issues in relation to cruise changes

itscurtains

In January 2023 I took out an annual travel  insurance policy for myself and my wife with cruise cover. Later on in 2023 we booked a cruise which was to sail out of one port and end in a different port. At the same time (in 2023 and still during the time the travel policy was in place) we booked flights to and from the ports. As the arrival and departure airports were different we had to make the bookings under two separate bookings. We also booked a hotel for the night of the arrival at the city the cruise sails from. The flights were booked with a credit card but the hotel was booked with a debit card.

In January 2024 the travel insurance policy ended and as we were not travelling for another 6 months or so I thought I would not renew it and take out a new policy closer to the day. I have not yet renewed the policy.

Last week we received an email from the cruise company that the itinerary had changed significantly and we were eventually offered a full refund for the cruise but nothing for the cost of the flights and hotel. The cruise has not been cancelled but has a significantly changed itinerary, sufficient that the cruise company has offered a full refund that we are likely to accept.

I am not sure how we stand in recovering the cost of our flights and hotel from either the credit card company or the insurer.

In the circumstances will 

1. the credit card company refund the cost of the flights as I booked it through their card but the cruise has not been cancelled?

2. Or Will the insurer refund the cost of the flight as the policy was in existence at the time of booking but not at the time of change of itinerary and the cruise has not been cancelled?

3. If the insurer is willing to refund the cost of the flights and hotel how will they view the excess on the claim? The flight bookings are separate as there are two airports and two airlines and also the hotel is booked with a separate provider.

Many thanks for any input in advance.

eskbanker

You have no chance of claiming anything from your card company if the flights are still operating, i.e. the standalone flight bookings you made are still valid, despite them not fitting your plans anymore, and likewise for the hotel booking.

You can try your insurer, but failure to renew the annual policy earlier this year may jeopardise that....

Exodi

eskbanker said:

You have no chance of claiming anything from your card company if the flights are still operating, i.e. the standalone flight bookings you made are still valid, despite them not fitting your plans anymore, and likewise for the hotel booking.

You can try your insurer, but failure to renew the annual policy earlier this year may jeopardise that....

I'd not count on the insurer either for the reasons above, but mainly as it sounds like they had general travel insurance (maybe combined with another product) as opposed to travel insurance taken out specifically for this holiday. General travel insurance like this usually covers you for any claims within the period you hold the insurance. Letting it expire and making a deliberate choice not to renew (with a holiday planned) was a mistake. I think arguing that they were insured when they booked it is irrelevant in the same way that I can't take out contents insurance for a day, purchase a bunch of expensive items, then believe I am insured indefinitely for them because I happened to be insured on the day I purchased them.

itscurtains said:

2. Or Will the insurer refund the cost of the flight as the policy was in existence at the time of booking but not at the time of change of itinerary and the cruise has not been cancelled?

3. If the insurer is willing to refund the cost of the flights and hotel how will they view the excess on the claim? The flight bookings are separate as there are two airports and two airlines and also the hotel is booked with a separate provider.

You know they're not going to do anything so I wouldn't sweat about what they may theoretically charge you for the excess (of course I appreciate that you will still try it on).

You recognize that here:

itscurtains said:

In January 2024 the travel insurance policy ended and as we were not travelling for another 6 months or so I thought I would not renew it and take out a new policy closer to the day. I have not yet renewed the policy.

Obviously if you genuinely believed you were insured because you booked it while you were insured, then why would you need to worry about taking out another policy closer to the day or taking out insurance at all?

This forum is anonymous, just be sincere with us.

itscurtains

Exodi said:

eskbanker said:

You have no chance of claiming anything from your card company if the flights are still operating, i.e. the standalone flight bookings you made are still valid, despite them not fitting your plans anymore, and likewise for the hotel booking.

You can try your insurer, but failure to renew the annual policy earlier this year may jeopardise that....

I'd not count on the insurer either for the reasons above, but mainly as it sounds like they had general travel insurance (maybe combined with another product) as opposed to travel insurance taken out specifically for this holiday. General travel insurance like this usually covers you for any claims within the period you hold the insurance. Letting it expire and making a deliberate choice not to renew (with a holiday planned) was a mistake. I think arguing that they were insured when they booked it is irrelevant in the same way that I can't take out contents insurance for a day, purchase a bunch of expensive items, then believe I am insured indefinitely for them because I happened to be insured on the day I purchased them.

itscurtains said:

2. Or Will the insurer refund the cost of the flight as the policy was in existence at the time of booking but not at the time of change of itinerary and the cruise has not been cancelled?

3. If the insurer is willing to refund the cost of the flights and hotel how will they view the excess on the claim? The flight bookings are separate as there are two airports and two airlines and also the hotel is booked with a separate provider.

You know they're not going to do anything so I wouldn't sweat about what they may theoretically charge you for the excess (of course I appreciate that you will still try it on).

You recognize that here:

itscurtains said:

In January 2024 the travel insurance policy ended and as we were not travelling for another 6 months or so I thought I would not renew it and take out a new policy closer to the day. I have not yet renewed the policy.

Obviously if you genuinely believed you were insured because you booked it while you were insured, then why would you need to worry about taking out another policy closer to the day or taking out insurance at all?

This forum is anonymous, just be sincere with us.

Exodi said:

eskbanker said:

You have no chance of claiming anything from your card company if the flights are still operating, i.e. the standalone flight bookings you made are still valid, despite them not fitting your plans anymore, and likewise for the hotel booking.

You can try your insurer, but failure to renew the annual policy earlier this year may jeopardise that....

I'd not count on the insurer either for the reasons above, but mainly as it sounds like they had general travel insurance (maybe combined with another product) as opposed to travel insurance taken out specifically for this holiday. General travel insurance like this usually covers you for any claims within the period you hold the insurance. Letting it expire and making a deliberate choice not to renew (with a holiday planned) was a mistake. I think arguing that they were insured when they booked it is irrelevant in the same way that I can't take out contents insurance for a day, purchase a bunch of expensive items, then believe I am insured indefinitely for them because I happened to be insured on the day I purchased them.

itscurtains said:

2. Or Will the insurer refund the cost of the flight as the policy was in existence at the time of booking but not at the time of change of itinerary and the cruise has not been cancelled?

3. If the insurer is willing to refund the cost of the flights and hotel how will they view the excess on the claim? The flight bookings are separate as there are two airports and two airlines and also the hotel is booked with a separate provider.

You know they're not going to do anything so I wouldn't sweat about what they may theoretically charge you for the excess (of course I appreciate that you will still try it on).

You recognize that here:

itscurtains said:

In January 2024 the travel insurance policy ended and as we were not travelling for another 6 months or so I thought I would not renew it and take out a new policy closer to the day. I have not yet renewed the policy.

Obviously if you genuinely believed you were insured because you booked it while you were insured, then why would you need to worry about taking out another policy closer to the day or taking out insurance at all?

This forum is anonymous, just be sincere with us.

Thanks for the message but I dont know what you mean by 'be sincere with us'. Please explain.

I was being totally honest and sincere. I would need to take out another policy for any happening whilst on the next holiday (or the forthcoming cruise as it would have been) - it would have nothing whatsoever to do with what I have stated above. If I wanted to try and be divisive I would not have mentioned that I thought I would not renew. I don't know if you think I was taking out a policy, say, today and then claiming I was only notified today. If you did that was not what I said nor had any intention of doing this.

Having never made an insurance claim in my life I was uncertain if the travel policy covered me as the policy was in place at the date I purchased the flights or if I was not covered as the policy was not in place last week when I was notified of the change.

itscurtains

Just to clarify when I stated

1. If the insurer is willing to refund the cost of the flights and hotel how will they view the excess on the claim? The flight bookings are separate as there are two airports and two airlines and also the hotel is booked with a separate provider.

I have 2 separate bookings for 2 people (not 1 booking with return flights) and one hotel booking. If the excess is, say, £100 on each claim will I have an excess of £100 for each of the flights (as opposed to 1 excess for the return flights) plus another excess for the hotel? So a total of 3 lots of excess as opposed to two.

Caz3121

itscurtains said: 

 I was uncertain if the travel policy covered me as the policy was in place at the date I purchased the flights or if I was not covered as the policy was not in place last week when I was notified of the change.

I suspect the latter - as you currently have no insurance in place at the time of cancellation but only the insurance company can confirm.

Indout96

Unfortunately this is the problem with having to book some cruises so far in advance, you need insurance running non-stop from the date you book until the date you return to be covered. You can even have problems if you move insurers at renewal as they may both argue over who is going to pay out.
Its an expensive lesson but can only be put down to experience.

If you booked the hotel through Expedia ect you may be able to cancel direct and get some money back, possibly the same with the airlines unless you booked them as unchangeable which is quite possible as changeable flights are quite a bit more expensive. 

DullGreyGuy

eskbanker said:

You have no chance of claiming anything from your card company if the flights are still operating, i.e. the standalone flight bookings you made are still valid, despite them not fitting your plans anymore, and likewise for the hotel booking.

You can try your insurer, but failure to renew the annual policy earlier this year may jeopardise that....

There is no chance of the insurance covering it as...

1) the event thats caused the problem has happened after the policy lapsed

2) insurance covers certain perils like flights being cancelled, someone to sick to travel etc, your typical policy will not cover if you reason for travel disappears and ultimately the cruise is still going so its a decision not to travel


The OP will be able to reclaim the taxes of the flights, potentially less an admin fee if they booked via an agency. Else they may be able to move them to a different date for fee. 

Ultimately the cost of losing the flights should be factored in when deciding to cancel the cruise or still go on it. It's also where booking everything under one arrangement with a travel agent comes in as then the whole package holiday can be cancelled for a refund. 

Exodi

itscurtains said:

Exodi said:

eskbanker said:

You have no chance of claiming anything from your card company if the flights are still operating, i.e. the standalone flight bookings you made are still valid, despite them not fitting your plans anymore, and likewise for the hotel booking.

You can try your insurer, but failure to renew the annual policy earlier this year may jeopardise that....

I'd not count on the insurer either for the reasons above, but mainly as it sounds like they had general travel insurance (maybe combined with another product) as opposed to travel insurance taken out specifically for this holiday. General travel insurance like this usually covers you for any claims within the period you hold the insurance. Letting it expire and making a deliberate choice not to renew (with a holiday planned) was a mistake. I think arguing that they were insured when they booked it is irrelevant in the same way that I can't take out contents insurance for a day, purchase a bunch of expensive items, then believe I am insured indefinitely for them because I happened to be insured on the day I purchased them.

itscurtains said:

2. Or Will the insurer refund the cost of the flight as the policy was in existence at the time of booking but not at the time of change of itinerary and the cruise has not been cancelled?

3. If the insurer is willing to refund the cost of the flights and hotel how will they view the excess on the claim? The flight bookings are separate as there are two airports and two airlines and also the hotel is booked with a separate provider.

You know they're not going to do anything so I wouldn't sweat about what they may theoretically charge you for the excess (of course I appreciate that you will still try it on).

You recognize that here:

itscurtains said:

In January 2024 the travel insurance policy ended and as we were not travelling for another 6 months or so I thought I would not renew it and take out a new policy closer to the day. I have not yet renewed the policy.

Obviously if you genuinely believed you were insured because you booked it while you were insured, then why would you need to worry about taking out another policy closer to the day or taking out insurance at all?

This forum is anonymous, just be sincere with us.

Thanks for the message but I dont know what you mean by 'be sincere with us'. Please explain.

I was being totally honest and sincere. I would need to take out another policy for any happening whilst on the next holiday (or the forthcoming cruise as it would have been) - it would have nothing whatsoever to do with what I have stated above. If I wanted to try and be divisive I would not have mentioned that I thought I would not renew. I don't know if you think I was taking out a policy, say, today and then claiming I was only notified today. If you did that was not what I said nor had any intention of doing this.

Having never made an insurance claim in my life I was uncertain if the travel policy covered me as the policy was in place at the date I purchased the flights or if I was not covered as the policy was not in place last week when I was notified of the change.

My apologies, I had thought that your belief that you were covered for the holiday by virtue of holding insurance at the time of booking was contradicted by your later comments which showed you were aware you needed to take out insurance again.

But it sounds like you believed holding travel insurance at the time of booking would cover you for cancellations or amendments and holding travel insurance at the time of the trip would cover you for things like medical care? Of course it would be horrendously exploited if someone could take out insurance for one day and purchase a bunch of items, if it would then grant you indefinite coverage at no cost.

There are usually two types of travel insurance, general (which last for defined periods and renewed, usually provided with premium bank accounts or offered as a company benefit) or specific (in which you state the dates of your holiday). It sounds like you held the former and it lapsed for one reason or another. In this case, not being insured at the time of the event will invalidate any claim.

And even if you were hypothetically insured, as DullGreyGuy says:

DullGreyGuy said:
There is no chance of the insurance covering it as...

1) the event thats caused the problem has happened after the policy lapsed

2) insurance covers certain perils like flights being cancelled, someone to sick to travel etc, your typical policy will not cover if you reason for travel disappears and ultimately the cruise is still going so its a decision not to travel

It sounds like a rough lesson, sorry you find yourself in this situation. Of course it's the way of the world when someone lets their insurance lapse that they find themselves finally needing to claim from it.

silvercar

itscurtains said:

Just to clarify when I stated

1. If the insurer is willing to refund the cost of the flights and hotel how will they view the excess on the claim? The flight bookings are separate as there are two airports and two airlines and also the hotel is booked with a separate provider.

I have 2 separate bookings for 2 people (not 1 booking with return flights) and one hotel booking. If the excess is, say, £100 on each claim will I have an excess of £100 for each of the flights (as opposed to 1 excess for the return flights) plus another excess for the hotel? So a total of 3 lots of excess as opposed to two.

Generally it is one excess for a claim eg I had an accident and had to cancel flights and hotel booking and excursion costs and was only charged one excess, as the accident was the incident and it is one excess per incident.

silvercar

Unless you had specific cruise insurance which covers things like itinerary changes, I would think that insurance would not cover you in any event.