'Cold hearted': Woman slams Royal Caribbean for rejecting refund request after husband suffers pre-trip heart attack

It was supposed to be a reward for her husband's promotion and a birthday celebration for her mother. 

Instead, one woman found herself stuck in a bind after her husband suffered a heart attack days before the family's cruise vacation, with the cancellation of the trip resulting in them not being able to get a refund, she said. 

Speaking to AsiaOne, the woman, who is in her 30s and declined to be named, said her family – consisting of six adults and a baby – were supposed to sail off on Jan 30 with Royal Caribbean to Penang. 

They had booked three staterooms for over $3,000 for the trip. 

However, her husband was hospitalised on Jan 22 and received a doctor's memo declaring he was unfit for travel for one month. 

In hopes of getting a refund, the woman said she called Royal Caribbean's customer service, only to be told that the company only allows refunds for Covid-19, pregnancy, or death cases. 

The woman then emailed the company to request for a refund, explaining that as her husband is the main organiser of the trip and four of the adults were aged above 65, it would be hard for them to continue without him. 

"[The seniors] will be quite lost if they go on the trip on their own," she wrote. 

Unable to grant medical waivers

In response, Royal Caribbean replied that they could not accede to her requests. 

"We understand these circumstances are out of your reach, and we wish your husband a soon recovery. Unfortunately, we are unable to grant any medical waivers," replied the cruise company in an email that this woman shared with AsiaOne. 

Unhappy, she emailed them again, asking to speak to the senior management to see if there were "any exceptions" for such scenarios. 

She also asked about the charges she may incur if she were to change her sailing date.

The woman claimed that Royal Caribbean only replied her on Feb 14 after she sent a "chaser email" to the team. 

In their response, they repeated that they will not be offering her any waivers.

Upset, the woman called their responses "cold-hearted". 

"In which way is [a] heart attack and hospitalisation not as serious as [getting Covid-19 or being pregnant]?" she complained. 

She also pointed out that if she were to postpone the trip, it would be "subjected to the full price" of her trip. 

"We understand it may be too late to cancel [the trip] within the 14-day period but who can predict when you will be hospitalised?" she said. 

This woman told AsiaOne that her husband is currently on hospitalisation leave. 

According to Royal Caribbean's terms and conditions, those who cancel their cruise less than 14 days before sailing will not receive a refund

AsiaOne has reached out to Royal Caribbean for more details. 

Cruise customer forked out double the original price 

Last March, Dream Cruises' World Dream suddenly ceased operations as it did not have the "financial capacity to keep it going"

The cruise company later reopened with a new name, Resorts World Cruises, and offered complimentary credits for those who had their previous bookings affected. 

One customer, who spent $2,700 on an earlier cruise booking with Dream Cruises, jumped at the opportunity to redeem those credits. 

But his happiness was short-lived — his travel agency told him that prices had increased and there were additional fees, all amounting to more than double the original price to $5,470 now, negating all the complimentary credits he had received earlier.

The man also claimed that he would be unable to get a refund if he didn't want to take the cruise.

When contacted by AsiaOne, a Resorts World Cruises spokesperson said: "We are immediately looking into the matter to understand the nature of the complaint and the price difference as informed."

melissateo@asiaone.com

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