I bought my dad a 16 day Panama Canal cruise on Princess as a Christmas gift. Ft Lauderdale to Los Angeles, leaving Jan 5, 2026. Balcony room, bid for an upgrade and got a mini suite, premium package… we were both really excited. It was going to be our first Princess cruise.
We’ve cruised before and never bought insurance, so we didn’t this time either.
Of course, life happened. My dad developed serious sciatica and can’t sit or stand for long, and I came down with the flu that’s going around. Neither of us was in any shape to travel. I contacted our assigned cruise planner and he was kind, but couldn’t really help. The only suggestion was maybe getting a doctor’s note and hoping for future cruise credit under a “hardship” request.
I ended up canceling. Got back $221.14 in taxes and fees and lost about $9,000.
Painful lesson, but sharing so others don’t make the same mistake. Always buy travel insurance. And if you can, get the cancel for any reason coverage. You don’t think you’ll need it… until you really do.
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