How can someone cancel a cruise they've booked? The easiest way to cancel a cruise is to cancel before the final payment is made. Sometimes an unexpected situation can arise and a traveler finds that he...
Sometimes an unexpected situation can arise and a traveler finds that he or she must cancel an upcoming cruise. How to cancel the cruise - and whether you will get all of your money back - depends largely on when you need to cancel your trip and how it was booked in the first place.
"The easiest way to cancel a cruise is to cancel before the final payment is made," said Emily Motycka, a travel agent with AAA Travel in Omaha, NE. who specializes in helping travelers find the perfect cruise for their needs. Of course, policies vary by cruise line, but "you usually don't have any cancellation penalties when just the deposit is made," explained Ms. Motycka, "and it is usually completely refundable."
If you need to cancel your cruise after you've made the final payment, however, "there are usually quite a few more penalties," said Ms. Motycka. "That is when you can run into problems."
If you booked your cruise through a travel service website, such as Travelocity or Expedia, the service may charge a cancellation fee, regardless of whether you've made the final payment yet. The details of this cancellation fee should be in the fine print of the website. Most travel agents do not charge any sort of cancellation fee, explained Ms. Motycka. Cruise lines vary as to whether they will charge a cancellation fee. If you booked your cruise directly with the cruise line, you should be able to call them for more information on cruise cancellation.
To fully protect yourself from cruise cancellation penalties, you could purchase travel insurance. Travel insurance will ensure that you receive a full refund for your trip if you find that you need to cancel for any covered reason. If you decide to pursue travel insurance for your cruise, be sure to read the fine print in the contract so you are clear on what is covered and what is not.
What you need to do in order to cancel your cruise depends on how you originally booked the cruise. If you booked your cruise through a travel agent, the travel agent will usually take care of the cancellation details for you, as well. If you booked through an online travel website, such as Travelocity or Expedia, contact them first regarding your need to cancel your trip, and follow their advice. If you booked directly with the cruise line, you will typically need to provide notice of your cancellation in writing. Check with the cruise line corporate offices for more information on cancellation deadlines, as well as the address to which you need to send notice of cancellation.
Once you have cancelled your cruise, be sure to cancel any associated airline reservations, as well. Likewise, if you have booked any activities for while you are in port that are not managed by the cruise line, you will need to cancel those activities separately, as well, advised Ms. Motycka.
"Nobody likes to cancel a cruise, but it does happen," said Ms. Motycka, "Fortunately, it is usually a fairly simple matter to get a cruise cancelled."
