Travel

Need Help. Flight Cannot Cancel but Cruise Cancelled due to Pregnancy Restriction

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  • Oct 15th, 2014 3:29 pm
Newbie
Mar 6, 2005
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Scarborough

Need Help. Flight Cannot Cancel but Cruise Cancelled due to Pregnancy Restriction

Hello there, I need some help and advice what we could do.

Our Caribbean cruise (in November) is cancelled due to pregnancy restriction (permitted to board if pregnant 23 weeks or less). However, Air Transat doesn't have such policy for cancellation unless medical reason with proof. So, we are kinda stuck as the fee to modify each air ticket is about half of its cost. If we fly to Fort Lauderdale FLL as planned, we have no idea how to spend the whole week there as we don't want to drive more than 3 hours to elsewhere like Orlando; plus we want to keep our trip within our original budget (~$3k) as going to the cruise.

Please suggest if we could do anything to cancel/modify the tickets for less fees, or please suggest any good economy resort (ideal to have meal plan included) around so we don't have to spend way more than the cruise cost in the city or nearby. Any help will be greatly appreciated!


Thank you!
36 replies
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Jul 29, 2005
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Why did you book the cruise with your wife pregnant? Did you not read the policy before booking?
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Apr 24, 2006
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Do you have trip insurance? I believe many will cover cancellation if a person becomes pregnant after you have taken the coverage (i.e. you cannot already be pregnant, become insured then cancel).
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Oct 6, 2005
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cwb27 wrote: Do you have trip insurance? I believe many will cover cancellation if a person becomes pregnant after you have taken the coverage (i.e. you cannot already be pregnant, become insured then cancel).
Only if there is a medical complication; a normal, healthy, pregnancy is often not a suitable reasonable to claim cancellation insurance.

Saying that, perhaps OP can find a sympathetic doctor to write a note ...
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coolspot wrote: Only if there is a medical complication; a normal, healthy, pregnancy is often not a suitable reasonable to claim cancellation insurance.

Saying that, perhaps OP can find a sympathetic doctor to write a note ...
Sorry, yes, I misread our policy for an upcoming trip.

The following is from the Manulife non-medical plan offered by Air Miles...
Pregnancy or Adoption
10. You, your spouse, your travel companion or your travel companion’s
spouse:
a) become pregnant after the effective date and your departure
date falls in the 9 weeks of the expected delivery date or any
time after that date, or
b) are advised by the attending physician against travel during the
first trimester of pregnancy, or
c) experience complications in the first 31 weeks of pregnancy
and the attending physician advises against travel.
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Mar 6, 2005
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Scarborough
We booked the cruise + flight before we knew about pregnancy.
I have called the credit card about the trip insurance and they said pregnancy is not covered under that.
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unjc wrote: We booked the cruise + flight before we knew about pregnancy.
I have called the credit card about the trip insurance and they said pregnancy is not covered under that.
rent a car drive down to miami beach, shop relax ...swim with dolphins theres lots of stuff to do in florida. and that must be the only cruise ship with that rule i have never heard such a thing, there are lots of cruises that go daily to the bahamas from fort lauderdale just try another one.
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HeavenLeigh wrote: and that must be the only cruise ship with that rule i have never heard such a thing, there are lots of cruises that go daily to the bahamas from fort lauderdale just try another one.
If by "only cruise ship with that rule" you mean that the vast majority of cruise lines have a policy on pregnancy, then I agree.

http://www.cruisecompete.com/pressrelease010810.php
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Most women are not even showing at 23 weeks, how did they know she was pregnant couldn't she somehow conceal it?
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HeavenLeigh wrote: Most women are not even showing at 23 weeks, how did they know she was pregnant couldn't she somehow conceal it?
If something were to ever happen on the cruise to the mother-to-be and the pregnancy wasn't disclosed I suspect the cruise line would hold you personally liable for all costs associated for route changes, etc... Not to mention if you needed emergency medical aid your own trip insurance may not cover you.

In other words, you might be fine, or it could be a very expensive mistake.
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HeavenLeigh wrote: and that must be the only cruise ship with that rule i have never heard such a thing, there are lots of cruises that go daily to the bahamas from fort lauderdale just try another one.
No, a lot of cruise ships have rules for pregnancy, if not all of them:

Disney Cruise Lines: "Women who have entered their 24th week of pregnancy as of their embarkation date or who will enter their 24th week of pregnancy during the cruise will be refused passage due to safety concerns."

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines: "Royal Caribbean International cannot accept guests who will have entered their 24th week of pregnancy by the beginning of, or at any time during the cruise or cruisetour. A physician's "Fit to Travel" note is required prior to sailing, stating how far along (in weeks) your pregnancy will be at the beginning of the cruise and confirming that you are in good health and not experiencing a high-risk pregnancy."

HeavenLeigh wrote: Most women are not even showing at 23 weeks, how did they know she was pregnant couldn't she somehow conceal it?
Sure, you can hide it, but should anything happen, the cruise line will wash their hands of the incident and may in fact bill you for medical evacuation and other costs ... Your insurance company will also walk away as well.
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HeavenLeigh wrote: Most women are not even showing at 23 weeks, how did they know she was pregnant couldn't she somehow conceal it?
What are you talking about? My wife was "small" at 20 weeks when we went on our baby moon cruise. Not a balloon but definitely noticeable. We specifically got a note from the obgyn to make sure we didn't have any issues.

Sure you can hide it by wearing a jacket all day. But who wants to wear a jacket on their vacation in the Caribbean? And when an emergency situation arises and you're pregnant, how are you going to deal with the ship staff and insurance?
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HeavenLeigh wrote: Most women are not even showing at 23 weeks, how did they know she was pregnant couldn't she somehow conceal it?
You should have quit while you were only as far behind as you were. You have made it abundantly clear that you have no clue as to why these cruise lines have policies on pregnancy. :facepalm:
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coolspot wrote: No, a lot of cruise ships have rules for pregnancy, if not all of them:

Disney Cruise Lines: "Women who have entered their 24th week of pregnancy as of their embarkation date or who will enter their 24th week of pregnancy during the cruise will be refused passage due to safety concerns."

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines: "Royal Caribbean International cannot accept guests who will have entered their 24th week of pregnancy by the beginning of, or at any time during the cruise or cruisetour. A physician's "Fit to Travel" note is required prior to sailing, stating how far along (in weeks) your pregnancy will be at the beginning of the cruise and confirming that you are in good health and not experiencing a high-risk pregnancy."

Sure, you can hide it, but should anything happen, the cruise line will wash their hands of the incident and may in fact bill you for medical evacuation and other costs ... Your insurance company will also walk away as well.
Meh chances of something happening are slim, granted I understand there's that .01% risk..if I paid my money I would take it. So that cruise rule you posted mentioned that if she is having a normal pregnancy she could get a Dr note saying that is the case? very silly rule
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HeavenLeigh wrote: Meh chances of something happening are slim, granted I understand there's that .01% risk..if I paid my money I would take it. So that cruise rule you posted mentioned that if she is having a normal pregnancy she could get a Dr note saying that is the case? very silly rule
You can thank the insurance companies for it. You see people on cruise critic talking about going on a cruise 20 years ago and being 8 months along.
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Mar 6, 2005
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Scarborough
Thanks for your comments and suggestions so far.
Regarding the cruise, we have already cancelled it with refund as we don't want to take the risk of violating any insurance policies if we try to sneak in the ship.
We now either need to pay 50% more to modify the air tickets OR to find out an economy way to spend the week in Fort Lauderdale (or nearby cities within 3 hour drive).
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unjc wrote: Hello there, I need some help and advice what we could do.

Our Caribbean cruise (in November) is cancelled due to pregnancy restriction (permitted to board if pregnant 23 weeks or less). However, Air Transat doesn't have such policy for cancellation unless medical reason with proof. So, we are kinda stuck as the fee to modify each air ticket is about half of its cost. If we fly to Fort Lauderdale FLL as planned, we have no idea how to spend the whole week there as we don't want to drive more than 3 hours to elsewhere like Orlando; plus we want to keep our trip within our original budget (~$3k) as going to the cruise.

Please suggest if we could do anything to cancel/modify the tickets for less fees, or please suggest any good economy resort (ideal to have meal plan included) around so we don't have to spend way more than the cruise cost in the city or nearby. Any help will be greatly appreciated!


Thank you!
It is a shame you had to cancel your cruise but, you can still have a vacation.
Miami is just down the road. Less than an hour. Look for things to do in Miami, there are lots.
The Everglades are not far away. You do not have to stay in Ft Lauderdale, you can head to the Florida Keys.
Disney or Orlando are not he only thing in southern/central Florida.
A week will go by very fast. You are, after all, pregnant, not disabled :)
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unjc wrote: We now either need to pay 50% more to modify the air tickets OR to find out an economy way to spend the week in Fort Lauderdale (or nearby cities within 3 hour drive).
Fort Lauderdale is right outside of Miami, so you can spend the week there, or head further south to the Florida Keys. Otherwise there is always Disney/Orlando 3 hours north.

If you like shopping, Sawgrass Mills Outlet Center is in Fort Lauderdale's suburbs. It's the largest single story mall in the United States.

For being in a city you don't want to be in, I think you're actually in a pretty good position!
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coolspot wrote: Fort Lauderdale is right outside of Miami, so you can spend the week there, or head further south to the Florida Keys. Otherwise there is always Disney/Orlando 3 hours north.

If you like shopping, Sawgrass Mills Outlet Center is in Fort Lauderdale's suburbs. It's the largest single story mall in the United States.

For being in a city you don't want to be in, I think you're actually in a pretty good position!
I would definitely agree, there's some good options around you, if you spent some time in Miami Key West is also reachable. Accommodations in Miami and Key West will definitely be a little more pricey than Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
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Just a tip - You should be able to book a 4 or 5 star hotel in the Ft Lauderdale/Miami area via Priceline for under 70-80 bucks a night..

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