I recently booked a cruise with Cruise Value Center online (www.mycruisevalue.com). Regrettably, I cancelled the cruise before the final payment date due to family illness. The deposit from Celebrity was refunded almost immediately - kudos to them! HOWEVER, Cruise Value Center imposes a $75 per person cancellation fee (regardless of whether you've booked with them before, OR if you intend to rebook). Furthermore, the insurance they offer/provide (and control the pricing), thru "itravelinsured.com" is non-refundable after 10 days of the policy date.

To make a long story short, I paid a total of $379.16 to Cruise Value Center & itravelinsured.com for a cruise I never took, never paid fully, and never made a claim against. Although the Cruise Value Center website does indicate a cancellation fee, only AFTER you've reached the final booking page, there is no mention of their own cancellation fees on their FAQ page, nor do they tell you that the insurance is non-refundable after 10 days. Only once you've received the policy from itravelinsured do you know this.

Will I EVER even CONSIDER booking with them again? NEVER!!!

Hope this helps any of you who may be tempted to book with an online agent. If you're booking online, stick with the cruise lines themselves.

Signed,
Disappointed in Vermont

You would have to claim your loses from the insurance company, however if you are not very closely related to the ill person in your family (husband, wife or child) they would probably not pay out. If the illness was a pre-existing condition, they would probably not payout either.

Recently I had to cancel a cruise after final payment, and I lost the deposit and insurance paid and am still waiting for some of the final payment to be credited to my Visa.

Sorry, but that' s the way it works.

[ 02-15-2005: Message edited by: sympatico ]

I take out annual travel insurance so that I have piece of mind when I travel knowing that if something happens such as an accident I am covered. If someone dear to me died and I could not go on holiday I would be compensated by getting the money back I paid for the trip. I wouldn't expect to have the premiums refunded. That is the price one pays for the coverage.

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Originally posted by Linerrich:
Travel insurance is just not refundable, since you've already "used" it by being covered prior to cancelling your cruise.

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The fact that Celebrity refunded the deposit means that the cancellation occured during Celebrity's full refund period. They would have paid regardless of the insurance coverage. That means that the only penalty Mariposa was liable to at the time of cancellation was the travel agency's cancellation penalty. Mariposa should get the $75 per person cancellation penalty back from the insurance company, not from the travel agency.

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Originally posted by Brian
The fact that Celebrity refunded the deposit means that the cancellation occured during Celebrity's full refund period. They would have paid regardless of the insurance coverage. That means that the only penalty Mariposa was liable to at the time of cancellation was the travel agency's cancellation penalty. Mariposa should get the $75 per person cancellation penalty back from the insurance company, not from the travel agency.
Brian

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Think I have to agree with Brian UNLESS the policy had some very fine print somewhere to the effect that cancellation charges assessed by the TA are not included or words to that effect. Of course, if insurance was purchased for the exact cost of the cruise+taxes. e.g. $2000.00 (instead of $2,150.00) then, sorry Mariposa, you're probably out of luck.

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Originally posted by Green:

Think I have to agree with Brian UNLESS the policy had some very fine print somewhere to the effect that cancellation charges assessed by the TA are not included or words to that effect. Of course, if insurance was purchased for the exact cost of the cruise+taxes. e.g. $2000.00 (instead of $2,150.00) then, sorry Mariposa, you're probably out of luck.

I've never heard of refundable insurance premiums - we insure our cars, houses, etc. against theft, fire, whatever, and pray that nothing happens - no money back if we have no claims during the life of the policy.

Seems to me that 'buyer beware' is more important now than it has ever been.

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I've just switched to Safari as my default browser - anybody know is this is how it works or is it a TP change?