What are cruise passengers owed for itinerary changes? Here's what to know.
Many travelers book cruises for the ports they visit, but itineraries aren’t written in stone.
While major changes are relatively uncommon, weather, geopolitical developments and technical issues can force a cruise line to reroute, scrapping stops or taking guests somewhere other than planned.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Valor canceled its only port and sailed a cruise to nowhere in September, after its previous voyage was delayed returning to New Orleans, Louisiana due to then-post tropical cyclone Francine. Numerous cruise lines including Royal Caribbean International, Virgin Voyages and MSC Cruises also rerouted ships or canceled sailings to avoid the Red Sea amid attacks in the area in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
But travelers aren’t necessarily owed refunds when that happens. Here’s what to know.
Do cruise lines owe passengers money for itinerary changes?
The contracts passengers agree to when they buy their ticket give cruise lines a lot of flexibility.
“The contract basically says that passengers are not owed anything if the cruise line itinerary changes and the cruise line can change the itinerary at any time,” Scott Campbell, Manager, Cruise Relations at AAA, told USA TODAY. However, guests can expect to get money back for port charges at a destination the ship does not visit, he said in an email.
If passengers find out about those changes in advance, they can usually cancel and get a refund or reschedule without facing penalties – as long as they do so before the final payment due date on their reservation.
Do cruise lines give guests compensation for itinerary changes?
Just because operators don’t have to give guests compensation doesn’t mean they won’t.
“Often cruise lines will give passengers a shipboard credit for a minor itinerary change for the inconvenience, but they are not required to do so,” Campbell said. “In some cases, they may offer to let the guest rebook to a different sailing date at no additional cost.” If there is a major itinerary change, he added, they could also offer a future cruise credit.
For example, guests booked on Carnival Valor’s cruise to nowhere got:
A portion of their fare refunded for the day missed
Refunds for costs like Wi-Fi and drink packages purchased for that day
A $100 onboard credit
A 50% future cruise credit
Compensation for associated expenses like flight change fees
Does travel insurance cover cruise itinerary changes?
Comprehensive travel insurance policies can offer coverage in those cases, according to Jenna Hummer, Public Relations Director and Topic Expert at Squaremouth.
If guests had prepaid to go jet skiing in a stop that is removed from the itinerary, for instance, those policies can offer reimbursement – though Hummer noted that is only true for circumstances outside guests’ control.
“You have to be able to prove, say, ‘This is the itinerary change, it was due to inclement weather or mechanical failure of the cruise ship, that kind of thing,” she said. “Those would all be covered.”
Cancel For Any Reason policies in particular can offer travelers flexibility (though they come at a higher price). “They could take off one port and you could be like, ‘I want a full refund. I don't want to go anymore,’ ” Hummer said. “So that's something to keep in mind, too.”
Passengers can also buy insurance policies through the cruise line, but she cautioned that they tend to be less comprehensive than those offered by third-party providers.
Travelers should take note that certain circumstances, including war and pandemics, are considered “foreseen” by insurers and not covered depending on when policyholders made their purchase, according to Hummer. “If you buy your policy prior to war being declared, then you should be covered,” she said.
Even if guests have travel insurance, though, Hummer said it doesn’t hurt to ask the cruise line for compensation either since they’re not mutually exclusive. “So, be a smart traveler and make sure that if you're not getting exactly what you paid for that the cruise line knows that because it's a very competitive market.”
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do cruise lines compensate guests for itinerary changes? What to know
