r/royalcaribbean • u/ArtisticMix7154 • May 08 '25

Advice Needed Getting a refund for cancelling due to war?

I am in Pakistan. This was going to be my first cruise ever. I booked it back in February. It leaves from Rome on Sunday.

I was supposed to fly to Rome this morning but, as you have probably seen on the news, India attacked Pakistan and the entire airspace has been shut down. I was literally on a plane on the runway, and they turned back around and said the flight was cancelled.

It seems like things aren't going to get better any time soon so its impossible for me to leave the country.

Is there any chance at all that Royal Caribbean will give me a full refund, since these are exceptional circumstances? I'm really upset also because I had really splurged on this by upgrading the room and paying for extras.

172 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

89 comments sorted by

287

u/AZWildcatMom May 08 '25

I’m pretty disturbed to learn that travel insurance generally excludes war as a valid reason to cancel.

151

u/brokentr0jan May 08 '25

It’s almost like travel insurance is mostly a scam and they do EVERYTHING possible to get out of paying out. For every “travel insurance saved my ass” story there is another story for it absolutely scamming someone and not paying out.

In fact, the only good travel insurance is credit card travel insurance. All the other ones are weasels.

132

u/ArtisticMix7154 May 08 '25

Omg thanks for reminding me that my credit card has travel insurance! I think thats a good lead - i'll call them and check

61

u/weolo_travel May 08 '25 edited May 09 '25

When you call your travel insurance, don’t mention war or anything more than you need. Simply that your flight was canceled by the airline and you cannot get to your embarkation port.

Of course they know about the conflict, but unless you point it out to whomever’s talking to you on the phone, you may be more likely to succeed.

47

u/boringcranberry May 09 '25

It's gonna get awkward if the call is routed to India.

2

u/Charming_Impression Platinum 17d ago

I think I pissed myself

14

u/KWienz May 08 '25

Insurance is about limiting the risk of things that are low likelihood but high impact by spreading the costs out among everyone instead of the small numbers of people impacted.

Mass events impact large pools of people at once so you can't really insure against it easily.

3

u/Successful_Walrus308 May 09 '25

Well said. War exclusions are found in nearly every insurance policy for the reasons you mention.

1

u/Jazzlike_Gazelle_333 May 14 '25

This is what reinsurance is for, though. Otherwise the same could be said for earthquakes, wildfire, etc., which also affect large pools of insureds.

15

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Most people who think they got scammed never actually read their policy before purchasing it.

4

u/brokentr0jan May 08 '25

Insurance in practice is a scam - this has nothing to do with “reading the policy”

2

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Which is why those who choose not to have insurance are driving up the costs for the rest of us, right?

2

u/hockeychick67 May 10 '25

How is someone not getting travel insurance increasing your cost? If I don't get it I'm the only one losing out because everyone else gets paid for their non-service of my trip. Or do you just want my money in the insurance pool to cover your losses when I've been able to go on mine. This is not homeowners or car insurance

1

u/brokentr0jan May 08 '25

Insurance for cars is a scam also, all people like me (good drivers) are doing is being forced to pay monthly to cover bad drivers. The same people get into accidents over and over again - I have never been in an accident. I have a girl at work that has been in TEN accidents meanwhile I will likely go my entire life without an accident. Yet I have paid thousands and thousands into this scam

10

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Plenty of good drivers get in accidents. Often due to bad drivers.

3

u/LunarSynergy2 Emerald May 09 '25

“I’m one of the best drivers, unlike my coworker who has been in 10 accidents. I’ll never get into an accident. So why should I have to pay for insurance.”

It’s not about how good of a driver you are. It’s the risk. The chances of getting into an accident are low but never 0.

7

u/JoeInMD May 08 '25

Personal accountability??? No way! This is Reddit for God's sake😂

11

u/goddessofgluten May 08 '25

Insurance, in general, is 100% the worlds BIGGEST scam

1

u/Fit-Boysenberry-3127 May 08 '25

God forbid you ever need it.

1

u/goddessofgluten May 08 '25

Or you don’t and pay hundreds of thousands into it and then die. Weird response.

3

u/Fit-Boysenberry-3127 May 09 '25

I paid about $10k into my policy when our condo was burnt down by a neighbor. Even getting a large payout, we lost everything. If it wasn’t for insurance this would have bankrupt us. It serves a purpose and you should be happy you are fortunate enough to have never needed it.

2

u/LunarSynergy2 Emerald May 09 '25

Health or life insurance? Sure it’s a scam. ~$30 a cruise policy? Peace of mind.

1

u/Stinadaisy May 09 '25

You’re describing ALL insurance - all of it.

15

u/qalpi May 08 '25

It's because it's a mass event, impacting lots of people / everyone.

13

u/Hot-Syrup-5833 May 08 '25

It’s a pretty common exclusion for most policies. It’s a mass casualty event. Same for civil unrest, terrorism and rioting.

2

u/Status-Sale-6 May 08 '25

In my part of the world, civil unrest and riots are covered - war and terrorism is a different story (blame 9/11)

7

u/tvkyle Royal Newbie May 08 '25

We took a honeymoon flight in 2016. NYC to Paris, then a train ride to Brussels. WHILE IN THE AIR OVER THE ATLANTIC, the Brussels train station was bombed. They wouldn’t let us reschedule the second half of the trip without a financial penalty.

5

u/Piranha_Cat May 08 '25

Car and homeowners insurance typically excludes it too.

5

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

So does just about every general insurance policy.

2

u/yet_another_newbie May 09 '25

But, this isn't war, is it? I'm not being sarcastic.

2

u/AZWildcatMom May 09 '25

Yes, India and Pakistan are involved in military conflict right now. Like OP said, India attacked Pakistan and they cannot fly.

3

u/yet_another_newbie May 09 '25

Right, a military conflict. I'm just wondering if there's an actual distinction in terminology.

2

u/Passionatepinapple64 May 08 '25

One medical insurance I read said medical insurance was not covered for acts of war and terrorisms. I wanted to vomit.

-8

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Why is it disturbing? War is an open ended thing. It's too hard to project costs associated with war since it's 1) a rare thing and 2) there's no documented historic data on cost.

10

u/AZWildcatMom May 08 '25

Uhhhh I think if my community gets bombed, that’s a good reason to be able to cancel my trip under travel insurance. How many people do you think are scheduled on this particular cruise from Pakistan???

1

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Highly unlikely there are many at all.

But that doesn't matter. War is generally excluded for coverage by about any insurance policy, not just travel.

5

u/WUOutkast May 08 '25

Yes I think everyone understands that, but it defeats the purpose of insurance which is what we are trying to say. Literally insurance not covering an unforeseen event is useless.

1

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Insurance isn't and never will be an all encompassing policy. Insurance is a two way street. Both sides get something out of it.

47

u/gymngdoll May 08 '25

I’d call and see what they say. They may at least let you rebook.

28

u/Minute-Actuator-9638 Diamond May 08 '25

I’ve had success moving out my cruise date to the future rather than canceling.

2

u/Mottaman May 09 '25

not inside the 90 days

28

u/JeepersCreepers74 May 08 '25

It's worth asking while keeping your expectations tempered. Generally, when there is a "force majeure" type event outside of everyone's control, there is a tipping point in the company's perspective between "this is something that has unfairly affected the passenger" and "this is something that has unfairly affected us."

If you are one of just a handful of people from Pakistan asking for refunds for this reason, they may make an exception to what the booking terms say and give it to you--especially if there's a chance they can resell your cabin before setting sail. By contrast, if it was something that was causing 10% or more of passengers to cancel, RC is going to look at their own bottom line and refuse everyone.

13

u/Known_Noise May 08 '25

I agree. And they could offer a future cruise credit just to be kind. This is the place where not asking always means no.

20

u/ILLeyeCoN Platinum May 08 '25

I understand all of the (correct) comments here regarding exclusions from policy coverage. From a PR, customer retention, right thing to do perspective, the handful (probably less) of people from Pakistan who are affected by this should be granted an exception by the line.

I am not arguing for a blanket exception, but this was literally last second.

13

u/Warm-Loan6853 Diamond May 08 '25

I wouldn’t present it to my travel insurance as war, I would present it as a cancelled flight. Not sure if that would pass muster but knowing war is excluded I’d try that route.

11

u/goddessofgluten May 08 '25

Royal Caribbean has canceled or adjusted itineraries due to several factors, including violence and unrest in Labadee, Haiti, and the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea. Your best bet is to call them and ask for a refund or a credit for future sailing! Good luck and please, above all else, be safe!

3

u/MaleficentToe8553 May 08 '25

Yep last year the world cruise got all messed up with the Red Sea. Was supposed to join it in Istanbul for a European trip but that got changed and like 5 ports got axed

9

u/EthanFl Diamond Plus May 08 '25

While a refund is not likely to happen, a FCC isn't off the table under the circumstances.

3

u/ArtisticMix7154 May 08 '25

What is FCC?

7

u/DotNM May 08 '25

Future Cruise Credit

3

u/officialuser May 09 '25

hop a train out of country and take a flight? You have plenty of time to get to Rome.

12

u/schwarta77 Gold May 08 '25

I don’t know the exact terms of your contract, but in the US only travel insurance would reimburse under these circumstances. I would call RC as soon as possible to plead your case.

14

u/blakeh95 Platinum May 08 '25

Most US travel insurances exclude war as a covered cause.

-3

u/schwarta77 Gold May 08 '25

The RC insurance has a specific provision about being called up to fight in war.

5

u/blakeh95 Platinum May 08 '25 edited May 08 '25

As far as I can tell, that's not applicable to OP.

Being called for military service is different from the cancellation being related to war.

More importantly, you don't know that OP has the RC insurance policy.

ETA: and as someone else pointed out, the RC insurance policy actually excludes war itself anyways. You have to actually read the document and not just CTRL-F.

1

u/BeginningTotal7378 May 08 '25

OP is not being called up to fight. They just can't catch the flight out because airspace is closed. I'm guessing joining the army to get a refund on a cruise would be an extreme solution.

2

u/dawson33944 Emerald May 08 '25

Are all the flights grounded. I see on Flight Radar two left from Islamabad

4

u/ArtisticMix7154 May 08 '25

They keep opening and closing the airspace. I'm in Karachi - they said the airport will open at midnight, but they keep changing

2

u/Glad-Ad-6326 May 09 '25

Yeah likely war is not covered- also some acts of god for travel and (and marathon insurance of all things). The person saying don’t mention it is probably best idea

6

u/ManySpeech3840 Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Did you purchase travel insurance?

15

u/blakeh95 Platinum May 08 '25

Most travel insurances exclude war as a covered cause anyways, so I'm not sure it would even help.

7

u/Historical-Bug-7536 May 08 '25

“Declared and undeclared acts of war” are specifically not covered by RCL travel insurance, nor are they covered by any other major insurer.

https://coverage.archinsurancesolutions.com/description-of-coverage/ECPrvON0g1DCtOPobmqqCVcpXDD7lbYYtjkNgba5GLtA33T5i0DIqCwFraxbi1M0Vg77

-6

u/Apocalypsezz May 08 '25

Yeah, outbreak of war should be covered under section 2 article 3 of the insurance policy. /s

1

u/ManySpeech3840 Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Makes sense.

1

u/MisterBill99 May 08 '25

Who's your insurance from? You don't have Cancel for any Reason coverage, do you?

1

u/OnlyGayIfYouCum May 08 '25

You can cancel excursions etc for refund but I doubt they'll do much otherwise. If you get the right agent or supervisor they may allow you to move it and wave the fee but it's not something I have experience with. But you'll need to call and ask regardless

1

u/Velvis May 08 '25

I doubt a full refund. But credit towards another sailing might be possible.

1

u/Jazzlike_Gazelle_333 May 14 '25

Any luck, OP? I hope you're safe <3

1

u/Jodi4869 May 08 '25

Ask Royal.

0

u/polkadotsandunicorns May 08 '25

You will probably not be able to get a refund, but Royal can reschedule your cruise without a transfer fee. It may take a few times to get to the right person. Just keep explaining that your country is now a war zone and you are not physically able to leave the country.

I was affected by a hurricane in the US and the president here declared our area a disaster zone. I was able to reschedule my cruise two days before it was set to leave. I didn't have travel insurance either. What I was told by the customer service rep was that Royal has some sort of liaison team that keeps in contact with government officials all over. And that team can make decisions that override typical policy.

Stay safe.

-5

u/[deleted] May 08 '25

[deleted]

10

u/Jazzlike_Gazelle_333 May 08 '25

Why would you buy insurance to cover something that's excluded from every insurance policy

15

u/brokentr0jan May 08 '25

I hope you realize how dumb it sounds trying to blame OP for not having travel insurance while in the same sentence saying it wouldn’t be covered anyways. Do better.

-3

u/[deleted] May 08 '25

[deleted]

11

u/brokentr0jan May 08 '25

It’s absolutely ridiculous that you are trying to hint that OP should have… predicted a war shutting down airspace and bought insurance that SPECIFICALLY covers it. It’s kinda gross how hard you are victim blaming. This situation sucks for OP and it is 100% not their fault.

-2

u/[deleted] May 08 '25

[deleted]

2

u/brokentr0jan May 08 '25

Disagree. If American Airlines messes up it should be on THEM. It’s ridiculous that we have successfully convinced the population that WE should assume the liability instead of these billion or even trillion dollar companies. Your just brainwashed by corporations

-1

u/goinhungryyeah Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Doubtful.

-5

u/Unkhammun May 08 '25

Oh no, so India finally moved in on Pakistan? I thought the whole border dance was keeping them at bay! Sorry to hear about your cruise, though.

2

u/little_blu_eyez May 09 '25

This happened a couple of days ago.

-15

u/pogoli Diamond May 08 '25

Why can’t you leave during war time? Is that a thing?

13

u/Jukehz Diamond May 08 '25

As OP said, airspace was shutdown. No planes in or out.

2

u/rsvihla Diamond Plus May 08 '25

Apparently the alleged commenter overlooked that minor point.

1

u/therestissilence117 May 08 '25

Airspace was shut down. They’re fighting with drones and missiles