When you get sick mid-cruise, can you get your money back?
Photo: Princess Cruises

by Brook Wilkinson

Question from reader Lorettafaymonville:

"I recently took a Princess cruise from Honolulu to Tahiti with my 18-year-old-son. On the second day, Alex developed severe stomach pains and nausea. The ship's doctor said that she 'could make a good case for isolating him' but gave him 'the benefit of a doubt.' She told him not to touch railings, elevator buttons, or food tongs. I knew that if he showed more symptoms of the dreaded norovirus, he would be isolated. We were facing two days at sea, one day at Christmas Island, and two more days at sea before reaching the Society Islands. I decided to disembark in Hilo. I had to pay $600 to do so. (The next day, a doctor told us that we'd made the right decision.) We did not have travel insurance. Do we have any chance of getting Princess to reimburse us for the portion of the cruise we missed?"

You made a gesture of goodwill in voluntarily disembarking to avoid sickening other passengers, and your only hope is that the cruise line will act similarly. But don't hold your breath. Since the doctor didn't officially order you to leave the ship, Princess is not required to reimburse you for the portion of the trip you missed. I would start by faxing or mailing a formal request to the cruise line for a future cruise credit (which they're much more likely to provide than a cash reimbursement).

In the future, try to get as much information down in writing as possible; in this case, a note from the ship's doctor may well have helped you plead your case.