what happens if we have to cancel cruise based on a medical necessity?

[mimmiepnp]

My daughter and I are scheduled to leave for Vancouver on 6/22, sailing on the 6/24/19 DCL sailing to Alaska. My daughter was just diagnosed with an abdominal mass and elevated tumor marker lab levels.
Still have a lot of work up to do to make a definitive diagnosis. We are hoping for the best so don’t want to cancel until we absolutely know the diagnosis and plan for treatment, if necessary. What happens if in a month or so, if we decide that we will have to cancel based on all info we get? Do we lose all our money, does Disney return any portion once they get any medical statements from physician or do we have to go thru insurance? Just trying to think ahead but please pray for good news. This trip was always on my daughters bucket list and we were so looking forward to it but we will do what has to be done. Thank you.

 

[Geomom]

So sorry to hear about your daughter! I hope things work out well for all of you!

Do you have trip insurance? Disney does have a cancellation fee schedule, so within certain date ranges you'd get a % of your money back--then you would file a claim with the trip insurance to get the rest of it back. If you didn't get separate trip insurance, it's possible the credit card you used might have some, it would be something to look into.

Here is the current cancellation fee schedule:
CRUISE CANCELLATION FEES:
CATEGORIES WITH RESTRICTIONS: Reservations for Inside, Outside or Verandah Categories with Restrictions are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-TRANSFERABLE. A 100% cruise cancellation fee applies from time of payment.
Cruises 1 to 5 Nights (Excluding Suites and Concierge Staterooms)
Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount
89 to 45 days Deposit per Guest
44 to 30 days 50% of vacation price per Guest
29 to 15 days 75% of vacation price per Guest
14 days or less No refund
Cruises 6 Nights or More (Excluding Suites and Concierge Staterooms)
Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount
119 to 56 days Deposit per Guest for Non-Suites/Concierge Staterooms
55 to 30 days 50% of vacation price per Guest
29 to 15 days 75% of vacation price per Guest
14 days or less No refund
Suites and Concierge Staterooms: All Sailings
Days Prior to Vacation Commencement Date Fee Amount
90 days or more Deposit per Guest
89 to 56 days 50% of vacation price per Guest
55 to 30 days 75% of vacation price per Guest
29 days or less No refund
For reservations made prior to September 11, 2018, the cancellation fees assessed will be based on the cancellation fees listed on the original confirmation unless the sailing date or vacation package is modified.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

My daughter and I are scheduled to leave for Vancouver on 6/22, sailing on the 6/24/19 DCL sailing to Alaska. My daughter was just diagnosed with an abdominal mass and elevated tumor marker lab levels.
Still have a lot of work up to do to make a definitive diagnosis. We are hoping for the best so don’t want to cancel until we absolutely know the diagnosis and plan for treatment, if necessary. What happens if in a month or so, if we decide that we will have to cancel based on all info we get? Do we lose all our money, does Disney return any portion once they get any medical statements from physician or do we have to go thru insurance? Just trying to think ahead but please pray for good news. This trip was always on my daughters bucket list and we were so looking forward to it but we will do what has to be done. Thank you.

The closer you get to the sail date, the less you will will be able to get refunded from DCL. Luckily, it sounds like you purchased trip insurance so you can file with the insurance company to get a reimbursement on the non-refundable amounts.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

I’m very sorry you and your daughter are going through this and I hope everything turns out well!

If you have to cancel after the penalty phase trip insurance should cover any lost money. I had to cancel a cruise 3 days before sailing last summer due to minor medical issues, and insurance reimbursed me for 100% of the cruise cost.

 

[Rob1872]

I'd check with the insurance company now. Disney Cruise Line will not give you a refund for a medical issue if you didn't purchase their insurance (if they made an exception for one person, they'd have to make it for everyone); however, if you have a 3rd party insurer, you want to ensure that they won't limit their refund to what it would have cost them had you cancelled now as opposed to waiting until you are in a 75% or 100% forfeiture situation.

Hope that it all works out for the best.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

and insurance reimbursed me for 100% of the cruise cost.

Was that DCL insurance?

 

[Mommb]

I hope your daughter does get good news and is able to travel. If she can’t, though, as long as you have insurance, you should be able to get a full refund if you cancel.

In 2011, I had a cruise scheduled for June. I had a health issue that appeared suddenly in March, shortly after my paid-in-full date. I did not cancel until May, but was able to use the insurance booked through DCL to get a full refund of the cruise costs (minus the cost of insurance, of course) for myself, my husband, and our 2 children. I can’t remember whether the cancellation was far enough from the cruise date to get some money from Disney Cruise and the rest from insurance, or all from insurance, but I know the total amount covered the whole cruise. I had to provide a doctor’s note saying my doctor had advised me not to travel and describing the date of onset of my condition.

There was no issue with my waiting to cancel until closer to the cruise. It is possible that other insurance companies would work differently, or even that the current company DCL uses works differently, but my experience was that it wasn’t harmful to wait to cancel until I was sure I had to.

 

[mevelandry]

If you took an insurance before your daughter went for tests and you need to cancel you should get a pretty good refund.

If you don't have insurance, getting one won't help because they will not cover her for that specific health problem. In that case, I would recommend to cancel before the PIF date if possible or ASAP to get back as much money as possible.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Was that DCL insurance?

No, it was Travelguard purchased through Costco.

 

[mousefan73]

This is where insurance helps. Do you have one? We are in a similar situation with our DD. She has cardio issues that seem non urgent. We have another cardio appt on May 16th. We sail June 12th. There is a possibility she needs surgery. Wendon‘t know. We have insurance. A rolling, yearly thing. Thing is we used it last year already, same time as DD was hospitalized. So IF again I have a feeling they will get us on preconditions. We are going ahead as planned. We think any procedure can be held off until our trip is done. As Dr. said it‘s not an urgent thing. But we are not 100% sure. She has a wierd thing where here pulse goes really high. Vasal blows solve it and she is fine. Can be active etc.

Good luck and I hope all goes well with your DD. Not knowing is stressful. I know what it is like looking forward to a trip and having it canceled. This June is our re-do snd now we have health issues again.

Funny thing is we bought the insurance more for hurricane stuff never thought we‘d use it for a 12 yr old‘s heart issue

 

[mimmiepnp]

Purchasing trip insurance through DCL is always just an automated thing when we sail. I also typically book for one of those rare storms that we may not get down to wherever we r sailing from, like you, never would have figured on an medical illness especially for my healthy 26 year old daughter!! We have about 8 weeks until sail date so we should have some answers in a few weeks depending on how many tests they order after these initial ultrasounds and then if we need to schedule with specialists that’s always another wait. This was an incidental find on a routine annual health exam, she has no pain or symptoms of anything so whatever is brewing we hopefully caught early and can go on cruise as long as nothing too invasive or immediate needs to be done. That goodness for insurance and thank you for all your responses and well wishes and mousefan73 good luck with your DD.

 

[sptfr97]

My daughter and I are scheduled to leave for Vancouver on 6/22, sailing on the 6/24/19 DCL sailing to Alaska. My daughter was just diagnosed with an abdominal mass and elevated tumor marker lab levels.
Still have a lot of work up to do to make a definitive diagnosis. We are hoping for the best so don’t want to cancel until we absolutely know the diagnosis and plan for treatment, if necessary. What happens if in a month or so, if we decide that we will have to cancel based on all info we get? Do we lose all our money, does Disney return any portion once they get any medical statements from physician or do we have to go thru insurance? Just trying to think ahead but please pray for good news. This trip was always on my daughters bucket list and we were so looking forward to it but we will do what has to be done. Thank you.

Call Disney Cruise Line and explain your case. My best friend had a cruise booked for January 2019, and after her husband was diagnosed with cancer, she called DCL to find out if she had any options (she didn't purchase cruise insurance). They asked for a doctor's letter, and explained what they could do was allow her to re-book at a later date. Upon receiving the letter from the doctor, they called her and issued a full refund. They're not heartless. I'm not saying you'll get a refund, but they could allow you to reschedule. Your best bet is to just talk to them directly.

Praying for you and your daughter!

 

[Canadian Girl]

Best of luck to your daughter. Tumour markers can rise dramatically with completely benign things. It is scary though when you have to wait.

 

[bumbershoot]

Do we lose all our money, does Disney return any portion once they get any medical statements from physician or do we have to go thru insurance?

If you bought travel insurance for the cruise, you go through the insurance for the nonrefundable portion. That's why you paid the premium.

 

[kiford]

Thing is we used it last year already, same time as DD was hospitalized. So IF again I have a feeling they will get us on preconditions.

FYI - some insurance policies simply state that the precondition must have been stable for x months prior to the trip (often depends on age and/or type of illness or condition).

 

[PrincessShmoo]

x months prior to the trip

Usually it's XX days/months prior to effective date of insurance (some polices are not effective until start of trip, others are effective upon purchase).

 

[kiford]

Usually it's XX days/months prior to effective date of insurance (some polices are not effective until start of trip, others are effective upon purchase).

The insurance we always purchase specifically states that you have to be in stable condition three (or six) months prior to the departure date (with some other caveats depending on age and condition). Obviously, every insurance policy will be different so you have to read the exclusions when you purchase or intend to purchase it to ensure that you don't pay for something that can't be collected on. Because of course they won't tell you that you can't collect on it until you try to collect on it and they don't do any pre-checking. It's up to the purchaser to know in advance if they can be covered or not. I would also always make sure that you document at the time of purchase that any pre-existing conditions are stable (in whatever way that is required) just to avoid claim rejection later. That could mean anything from documenting what drugs are being taken through to a formal doctor's note.

 

[tvguy]

Insurance is your easiest route.

Having said that, I have only had to deal with this once in 40 years of cruising , but with HAL. My mom had a stroke in 2012 45 days before a cruise, no insurance. I figured it was a lost cause on getting a refund, but I called the Travel Agent just to see. She called and got a full refund. As she put it, it may not have been legally required, but it was just good business.

 

[MillauFr]

Insurance is your easiest route.

Having said that, I have only had to deal with this once in 40 years of cruising , but with HAL. My mom had a stroke in 2012 45 days before a cruise, no insurance. I figured it was a lost cause on getting a refund, but I called the Travel Agent just to see. She called and got a full refund. As she put it, it may not have been legally required, but it was just good business.

Same experience with Alaska Airlines. No insurance but still got a refund. Now I always charge my cruises on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and I get free travel insurance.

 

[tvguy]

Same experience with Alaska Airlines. No insurance but still got a refund. Now I always charge my cruises on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and I get free travel insurance.

She also had a flight booked with Alaska Airlines, and they too refunded the air fare without question.