When Your Ship Leaves Without You

Ed Franks was looking forward to his second dive trip on the Tiata in Papua New Guinea (PNG), but delays on Continental Airlines left him stranded in Los Angeles with no way to get to PNG until two days after the boat was to leave Milne Bay. Ed contacted Kevin Baldwin, owner of the Tiata, who offered to come back and pick him up. As an option, Ed also received what he interpreted as an assurance that he could apply his prepaid fare toward another trip at his convenience. Given that understanding (an exception to Tiata’s policy of no refunds if a trip is canceled less than 60 days in advance), Ed decided to return home to Albany, NY and t ry to resolve the situation with the airline and the Tiata. That sounded better than waiting for the next plane, missing a couple of days of diving, and causing the divers on the Tiata to miss precious diving time while the boat returned to port.

Remarkably, Continental did refund Ed’s airfare for every leg of his trip, as well as additional lodging costs he had incurred due to their delays. But, in dealing with theTiata, differences in interpretation arose. First, Ed requested a trip on a date when a private charterer had booked the entire boat. Kevin secured space for Ed and his dive buddy, but the trip was longer and more expensive than Ed’s original package, and he declined to pay the additional cost. The best Kevin could offer at that point was a make-good for an equivalent Tiata cruise, on a space available basis.

It Was Not Our Fault

For Ed to take advantage of the make-good, he would have to schedule his trip on less than 60 days notice, the customary deadline for resellers and bookings to confirm tentative reserv ations . Because of Ed’s profession, he couldn’t plan a far-flung liveaboard trip on such short notice, so he asked for a credit instead. Kevin has continued to extend the space-available make-good offe , but no credit. In his words, “ We cannot be expected to incur further losses (for) something that was not our fault.”

Was Kevin within his rights? Absolutely. Consumer Reports Travel Letter points out that even major cruise lines “may work to assist their passengers, even if it involves additional expenses. But in the end they say their responsibility doesn’t extend beyond the ship.” The newsletter quotes from a brochure issued by one of the biggest: “Carnival denies any responsibility or liability for late arrivals ... or for any illness, injury, damage, loss of cruise time or other irregularities resulting there from.”

Could Kevin have gone a little further to be a good guy and accommodate a repeat customer? Sure. But even when we asked whether he’d like to reconsider his make-good offer, Kevin stuck to his guns, replying, “We feel that we have been more than fair and generous in our attempt to help Ed.”

Ed didn’t have travel protection insurance, but would it have covered him in this situation? Depends on the policy.

Travel insurers offer different coverage for trip cancellation, interruption, delay or inconvenience. In their lingo, cancellations (before departure) and interruptions (once the trip is underway) are generally initiated by the traveler, usually due to specific personal reasons such as injury, illness or death. If a trip is canceled en route, either by the traveler or by a carrier, it’s considered a travel delay - even if the trip is never completed. Most policies provide limited reimbursement of costs incurred to catch up to the next leg of your trip (additional lodging or meals, for instance).

Under the individual policy from one insurer, Tripguard Plus, Ed’s scenario falls under the designation of a travel delay, and they cap this coverage at $500, despite the total cost of the trip or the amount of the premium paid. Tripguard Plus premiums rise on a sliding scale, depending on the total value of the trip. For example, covering a $3,000 vacation costs $188, while $4,000 worth of coverage goes for $250. But trip delay coverage stays at no more than 500 bucks even as the premium goes up. There’s no way to increase it.

Claudia Fullerton, corporate secretary of CSA Travel Protection, offered a more liberal interpretation for their policy. According to Fullerton, Ed’s case could fall under both travel delay and trip interruption coverage. CSA’s trip interruption benefit pays up to 150 percent of the trip cost ($20,000 maximum), and travel delay coverage maxes out at $750. CSA’s premiums vary with age as well as total cost of the trip, but for comparison’s sake, someone 55 or younger could insure a $3,000-$4,000 trip for $155.

Clearly, it pays to read the small print before deciding which trip insurance to buy. The trouble is, such fine interpretations don’t even appear in the schedule of coverages put out by travel insurers. In each case, we had to talk to administrative people to get a specific interpretation of Ed’s case. Customer service reps at the firms’ toll-free numbers couldn’t handle this hot potato.

What else can you do to avoid getting into a jam like Ed’s? First, read and understand the cancellation policy of any resort or liveaboard before you send money. If you have questions or concerns, demand answers in writing, by email or fax, and be sure to keep copies for future reference. Oral understandings, in the words of Samuel Goldwyn, “aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.”

Most live-aboard operators also recommend that you give yourself an extra day or two at the port of embarkation both before and after the boat trip. With airline delays and rescheduling becoming almost epidemic, more travelers are building in this kind of cushion. Given an extra 24 hours or so, you can also adjust to time and climate changes before putting out to sea. And in case your luggage gets lost, you increase your chances of retrieving it before departure, since about 98 percent of lost bags are returned within a few hours, according to Consumer Reports. You might also determine in advance whether the liveaboard has contingency plans to pick up stragglers, or if it calls at any ports where you could catch up via local puddle jumper.

An opposite strategy is just not to book so far in advance. When you’re ready to go, phone around or check the Internet to see what’s available, and make your plans accordingly. Two weeks notice should be sufficient to book reasonable airfare, and there’s less time for something to go wrong before your departure date. You might even save some money. If a resort or live-aboard has cancellations within their norefund period, they often offer those accommodations at reduced rates, just to fill the empty slots.

But perhaps the most important lesson, one that repeats itself over and over in travel disputes, is this: Get every promise in writing, clearly and unequivocally. In Ed’s case as well as most others we hear about, the root cause of disputes is a misunderstanding between the resort, or carrier, and the client. Sometimes intentional, sometimes not, but either way the results are the same: a major waste of time, effort and often money spent trying to resolve the dispute after the fact.

Ordering Trip Insurance

Coverage and premiums vary significantly by carrier, so it’s wise to comparison shop.

Major carriers include:

Access America, 800-284-8300, www.accessamerica.com

Travel Guard, 800-826-1300, www.travelguard.com

CSA Plan, 800-348-9505, www.travelsecure.com

Travelex, 888-457-4602, www.travelex-insurance.com

Travel Insured, 800-243-3174, www.travelinsured.com

You can get premium quotes over the phone or online, and be sure to compare the terms and conditions, but don’t be shy about calling or e-mailing with additional questions. And get all replies in writing.