Community Chat

[Marianne1]

the price of the cruise would be the last thing on my mind if my child were diagnosed with cancer.

[pinkskates4]

On 7/27/2014 BeckiWV said:

Poor little fellow. I truly hope he makes a full and speedy recovery. None of this mess is his fault.

My other thoughts are:

1. Parents could have, and should have, bought travel insurance. It sounds like it is certainly cheap enough compared to the cost of the cruise;

2. Parents could be hoping that donations will come in for them (and they probably will);

3. I rather dislike people going public over everything these days; for one thing, it eggs other people on to do the same;

4. It would have been nice of the company to help them, for the boy's sake;

5. As someone else said, though, the line could have been very willing to work with the parents privately without making a big fuss about it (because it sets a precedent - see below);

6. Cruise lines have had a very tough year publicity-wise for various reasons, and that includes Norwegian, so they did have an opportunity here to look good, although risky (again - see below);

7. However, IF Norwegian did give this family another cruise for free, it would be a bit risky as it sets a precedent for anyone else who has to miss a cruise without insurance to raise a hue and cry for their free cruise.

I agree.

As Marienkaefer2 also pointed out earlier, the cruise line offered to work with them on their next cruise - probably planning to charge some sort of cancellation fee and to waive the rest of the cost.

However, it seems this couple was not content with that private offer and went public to embarrass the cruise line into giving them a free trip.

Actually it worked as another cruise line is doing just that.

And yes, they may be hoping for donations as well.

I guess the thing that bothers me is that rather than this being a cautionary tale - you really do need to consider getting insurance as life happens and otherwise you could lose your money, instead the press wants to make cruise line - which did absolutely nothing to cause this problem, the villain of the piece.

[betty423]

Yes they should have bought insurance and didn't. However, Norwegian is out no money if they offered a full credit towards another cruise. No where in my mind could I imagine saying to this family "too bad, so sorry". People make mistakes and to ease this family's mind, I'd offer the credit. That's just me.

Betty

[Junebug54]

On 7/27/2014 Lila Belle said:

On 7/27/2014 sunala said:

Nobody should ever know what those parents are going through.

Praying for that sick little boy.

You're right, no parent should have to go through that, sunala.

This is true but lots of parents (and grandparents) are going through it. My grandson is as we speak. Thankfully he is doing well. Maybe this is why my blood boils when others act as if they should be treated special. Typical world we live in get something for nothing. Bottom line the boy is still sick and he should be their first priority!!

[pinkskates4]

On 7/28/2014 betty423 said:

Yes they should have bought insurance and didn't. However, Norwegian is out no money if they offered a full credit towards another cruise. No where in my mind could I imagine saying to this family "too bad, so sorry". People make mistakes and to ease this family's mind, I'd offer the credit. That's just me.

Betty

Not sure I understand how they are out "no money."

If they can't rebook the original cruise (and apparently within 14 days out, they think they can't), why wouldn't that be a loss to them?

[millieshops]

On 7/28/2014 betty423 said:

Yes they should have bought insurance and didn't. However, Norwegian is out no money if they offered a full credit towards another cruise. No where in my mind could I imagine saying to this family "too bad, so sorry". People make mistakes and to ease this family's mind, I'd offer the credit. That's just me.

Betty

Although I suspect the cruise line will eventually work with this family (if they haven't already). how can you say they are not out of money if the family rebooks? Unless they can sell those 3 spaces the family didn't use for the price the family paid for them, they're out that money as well as the money they have to spent to reprocess the family and whoever does buy those spaces.

It's true that people make mistakes. The question is who should pay for the mistake.

[Linders Back]

I think the part in the FOX article that is getting lost is that :

Norwegian issued a statement to “Fox & Friends” saying, “Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the Colucci family and we wish Nicolas a speedy recover. . . After reviewing the request of the Colucci family, we spoke with the family and explained that while we couldn’t make an exception to our policy, we would assist them when they were ready to re-book their cruise.”

The way I read this is that Norwegian would just not refund the money but would help them reschedule the cruise at a later date. They did not "Refuse to rebook". NO Cruise line would just hand someone their money back and then offer a free cruise because they weren't smart enough to buy insurance. (I can't imagine ANYONE refusing insurance with the spat of recent cruise problems). What kind of precedent would that set?

The "Other Cruise line" is giving them a free cruise anonymously and doesn't want the publicity. OF course they don't, or they would be the target of others claiming the same inconvenience.

The fact that FOX is totally misrepresenting that fact in their headline just makes this look like another attack on their part on a big bad business. Interestingly, when you "Google" this story, only FOX affiliates seem to be covering it.

I feel sorry for the poor sick boy not so much for his illness as for the ill treatment he is getting from both his parents and FOX news. He is getting the wrong life lesson.

[pinkskates4]

On 7/28/2014 Linders Back said:

I think the part in the FOX article that is getting lost is that :

Norwegian issued a statement to “Fox & Friends” saying, “Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the Colucci family and we wish Nicolas a speedy recover. . . After reviewing the request of the Colucci family, we spoke with the family and explained that while we couldn’t make an exception to our policy, we would assist them when they were ready to re-book their cruise.”

The way I read this is that Norwegian would just not refund the money but would help them reschedule the cruise at a later date. They did not "Refuse to rebook". NO Cruise line would just hand someone their money back and then offer a free cruise because they weren't smart enough to buy insurance. (I can't imagine ANYONE refusing insurance with the spat of recent cruise problems). What kind of precedent would that set?

The "Other Cruise line" is giving them a free cruise anonymously and doesn't want the publicity. OF course they don't, or they would be the target of others claiming the same inconvenience.

The fact that FOX is totally misrepresenting that fact in their headline just makes this look like another attack on their part on a big bad business. Interestingly, when you "Google" this story, only FOX affiliates seem to be covering it.

I feel sorry for the poor sick boy not so much for his illness as for the ill treatment he is getting from both his parents and FOX news. He is getting the wrong life lesson.

Actually, I'm not sure FOX is known for their attacks on big bad business.

However, I agree with your other sentiments.

[Tinkrbl44]

On 7/27/2014 Clover29 said:

On 7/27/2014 Tinkrbl44 said:

I knew a travel agent that specialized in cruises (I think) and she always emphasized that if you can afford the cruise, you can afford the insurance ...... too many things can go wrong other than illness .... hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes ..... you get the idea.

BTW ...... how much is cruise insurance? Anyone know ?

I wondered the same thing, so I went looking. Here's one example, since I think you just wanted a ballpark type idea:

"If you're between 35 and 59 years old and plan to insure a cruise fare of $1,599 per person, the cost of Travel Guard's Gold plan would be approximately $95. The per-person cost bumps up to $125 for travelers of ages 60 to 69 and $175 for travelers between 70 and 74 years of age. (Cancel for Any Reason coverage is available as an add-on for 1.4 times the base plan cost.)"

This is what it covers:
Trip cancellation = 100 percent of insured trip cost
Trip interruption = 150% of insured trip cost
Trip delay (maximum of $150/day) = $750
Missed connection = $250
Baggage and personal effects loss = $1,000
Baggage delay = $300
Medical expense = $25,000
Dental = $500
Emergency evacuation/repatriation = $500,000
Accidental death & dismemberment =$10,000

Clover, was there supposed to be another zero on the last item?

It seems odd that you'd get a half million for an emergency evacuation, but if there was an accidental death or dismemberment, you'd only get 10 grand ... ????

[Lucky Charm]

Headline should read:

Parents Refuse Travel Insurance Policy

(I can only hope they realize the importance of health insurance for young children and have them covered).

Thousands of children are diagnosed every year with horrible diseases, their parents aren't hounding for free travel. They went about it all wrong and the parents do not deserve a free ride. Of course they know their story will tug on people's hearts. But the child just went through a major surgery last month and this should be the last thing the parents are concerned about.

.