Volcano Reeks Havoc on Cruises Too

The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano has left millions of would-be passengers stranded for days at airports around the world, but the ripple effects have been enormous for cruise passengers too.  For North Americans, April typically marks the early season for European sailings.  The grounded flights have left cruise passengers already in Europe scrambling to find flights home, and others preparing to leave the States and Canada with no way to arrive at their embarkation ports.

Cruise lines consider the eruption, rightfully so, a force majeure or Act of God.  Even passengers who purchase insurance through the cruise lines are finding little comfort.  The cruise line's insurance, nearly universally, considers the eruption a non-covered event.  Here is what we have learned about some of the big cruise lines, and how they are responding to the travel disruptions:

Royal Caribbean is offering clients who purchased airfare through Royal Caribbean with assistance rerouting their flights, and, if not possible, will refund clients who are unable to make their cruise because of flight cancellations.  Alternatively, clients can elect a future cruise.  Clients who purchased insurance through Royal Caribbean, but not airfare, however, are not covered and stand to lose the full value of their cruise.

Princess Cruises has a statement on its website advising its clients to check with their air carriers on flights.  It provides that clients who are able to join their cruise mid-itinerary should notify Princess.  Princess is offering a per diem refund for the number of days missed for clients who join mid-cruise, which will be applied to the clients' shipboard account.  Please note that this concession applies only to those who are able to join their cruise mid-itinerary.  Those who miss their cruise are subject to normal cancellation penalties.

Silversea Cruises is imposing standard cancellation penalties regardless of whether clients are using airfare provided by Silversea, or arranged airfare independently.  Moreover, as with the other lines, insurance purchased through the cruise line does not cover disruptions and cancellations caused by the volcano.  Silversea, however, has advised us that they are reviewing each client on a case-by-case basis, so it is best to work with your travel professional to attempt to receive some concession from Silversea.

These cruise lines are representative of cruise line industry as a whole.  There are two lessons to be learned from this eruption:

    -First, buy independent travel insurance on every trip.  This event reveals big gaps in the insurance coverage offered by the cruise lines.  Clients who purchased insurance through Travel Guard, for example, are protected against flight disruptions and cancellations (provided they purchased the insurance before the disruptions occurred).  Travel Guard, as do some other independent travel insurers such as Access America, has a 24-hour dedicated flight desk to assist their customers with flight disruptions, and will refund the cost of the cruise if a customer is unable to make the cruise because of the volcano.

  -Second, this is one instance where having the cruise line's air is beneficial.  Cruise lines that are offering any protection at all are doing so only for clients who purchased airfare through the cruise lines.