CHESHIRE, Conn. (WTNH) – Michael and Lisa Duane are newlyweds from Cheshire who had made plans back in April to spend their upcoming honeymoon in the Caribbean on a Royal Caribbean cruise. That was until they found out some big news; they’re pregnant!
But worried about the spread of the Zika virus, they feel it’s too risky to make the journey south at this time.
“It’s not worth putting our baby in jeopardy,” said Michael.
The tickets for the trip had cost them thousands. Michael and Lisa thought they would be able to get a refund without issue because they tell us they purchased travel insurance through Royal Caribbean’s Travel Protection Program. In reality, they say the process has been anything but easy. They claim officials with Royal Caribbean even asked them to provide results from a blood test to prove they were expecting.
“I sent the blood test to the email that she (the representative) sent me to and I hear back from them, ‘we’re not able to read the results,’ because they had no medical staff to read my blood results,” said Lisa.
In the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program, it outlines a plethora of reasons people can cancel and also receive a refund, but concerns over the Zika virus isn’t one them. Even on the receipt from Royal Caribbean Lisa and Michael gave us, we actually found a Zika virus warning. Michael and Lisa admit they hadn’t read the fine print in either their insurance or their receipt. Nevertheless, the two insist they were mislead.
“You get a sales pitch, you’re like ‘oh this is great,’ said Michael. “You feel comfortable, you purchase it, and then what you got is really not what you got.”
We told Michael and Lisa’s Story to Howard Schwartz with the Better Business Bureau. His advice is, no matter what someone may tell you on the phone, read everything before you buy.
“If you’re going on vacation and you’re taking all of this time to plan, you may as well take the few minutes it takes to read the terms and conditions before you buy the policy,” said Schwartz. “There is no point of reading it after because then you’re just going to find out how much trouble you’re in.”
News 8 reached out to officials with Royal Caribbean for comment on Lisa and Michael’s situation and are still waiting to hear back.
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