Tragedy strikes, but travel refund still tough to get

Question: I was scheduled to take my daughter and her children on a Disney Cruise Line cruise out of Port Canaveral on June 1. We were to fly out on United on May 30, go to Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge for two days, and then board the ship on June 1 for a four-night cruise.

Our area experienced severe flooding over Memorial Day weekend. Our neighbors, their daughter’s family, and my daughter’s best friends, along with their children, were staying in the house that was knocked into the river by a tree in Wimberley, Texas. Nine people went missing, six adults and three children; only one person managed to make it to safety.

Search and rescue efforts were immediately started and everyone who could possibly help went to Wimberley. My daughter searched on foot, my son-in-law rode horseback and contacted ranches and farms along the river until it became a search and no longer a rescue.  I babysat the children while they were searching. Unfortunately everyone that was found was dead. There are still two children missing.

Obviously we canceled our cruise. I tried to talk to someone at Disney Cruise Line, but they would only talk to our travel agent. Our agent assured me he was going to do everything he could to try to get us a refund, however he was told by Disney we would be penalized $150 per person, and we had to rebook the cruise prior to April 27, 2016, with a cruise cost equal to or more than our payment of $4,969. United Airlines and the hotel immediately gave us a 100% refund.

II cannot understand why Disney is penalizing us when we were trying to find and help children caught in a flood. Do you have any ideas on what I should do or can you help me with this?

— Paula Armstrong, Corpus Christi, Texas

Answer: First, my condolences for this family’s — and their community’s — tragic loss.

As Armstrong discovered, cruise lines are notoriously inflexible with regards to their cancellation policies. Last-minute cancellations typically incur a 100% penalty, with no exceptions, no matter how valid, serious or heartrending the reason behind the change in plans.

Disney Cruise Line’s cancellation policy stipulates that most cruise fares are entirely forfeited for cancellations within 14 days of the sailing date; suite and concierge stateroom bookings are subject to an even more stringent 29-day cutoff. Disney cruise airfare supplements are also a complete loss if canceled less than 30 days in advance (44 days for flights outside North America).

Would-be cruisers who cancel within that prescribed period generally have no recourse for getting refunds or even a credit towards a future cruise. Travel insurance usually holds the lone hope for recompense, but unfortunately, many cruisers don’t purchase insurance, believing the unthinkable will never happen to them. But a long-planned cruise can also be scrubbed by something as mundane as a flat tire or a delayed flight. Other travelers simply don’t know how punitive cruise cancellation policies are. As travelers, we’ve grown accustomed to being able to rebook even non-refundable fares for a fee, so losing everything we’ve paid for a cruise comes as a shock.

Insurance will certainly add to your overall trip expense, but it’s a small percentage that protects your vacation investment. Of all the vacations you should buy travel insurance for, cruises are top of the list.

I sent Armstrong’s letter to Disney Cruise Line. Armstrong contacted me later that same day to report that a Disney representative called her and said her family would receive a full refund of their $4,969 cruise fare. However, Disney Cruise Line declined to discuss the specifics of this case with me.

How can you avoid trouble?

• Read the cruise contract and cancellation policies. You don’t want to be surprised by the cost of cancellations, or miss your chance to cancel on less-onerous terms by one day.

• Buy travel insurance, since cruise lines grant few exceptions to their strict cancellation policies. Take the time to shop around and find a policy that meets your needs, in terms of cost as well as factors like waivers for pre-existing medical conditions or cancel for any reason coverage.

• Should tragedy strike, you can always plead your case with the cruise line, but don’t bank on it. Help your travel agent by supplying complete details of your situation to both your agent and the cruise line directly, so everyone is on the same page. Ask clearly for what you want; you may have better luck requesting to rebook another date than getting a refund.

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Do you have a travel consumer issue you’d like Traveler’s Aide to pursue? Email Linda Burbank at usattravelersaide@gmail.com. Your question may be used in a future column.