Brian Diamond of Omaha Nebraska was very upset when oil started gushing from out of the gulf. He had planned an “elaborate tour” of the gulf as his “once-in-a-lifetime” vacation, and said “everything changed” after the BP oil disaster. But had it really?
Diamond purchased trip insurance for $90 when he put down a $500 deposit on his November (read: discount hurricane season) Caribbean cruise with Carnival, and was upset to find out that his trip insurance didn’t include oil spills and that his cash wouldn’t be refunded. Except here’s the kicker: no cruise line or cruise ship in the gulf has deviated or changed any itinerary because of the oil spill. Also, the trip is so far out it’s impossible to know what the Gulf’s condition will be.
Carnival Cruise Lines told MSNBC that at most, cruise ships are making “slight course alterations as necessary to avoid the most heavily impacted spill areas,” and that crew members are doing periodic inspections of the ship’s hull for signs of oil residue. Carnival says they are “not anticipating any interruptions to our normal cruise schedules.”
Since the deposit and trip insurance fees were paid to a private travel agency in Omaha, Carnival isn’t in a place to provide any refunds either. Diamond tried anyway, unsuccessfully.
Diamond and his wife clearly had a change of heart regarding their travel plans and tried to use the gulf oil spill as their excuse to get their money back. Trip insurance is for unforeseen events that actually impact your trip, not as a backup if you decide change your travel plans.
Kudos to eTravelOmaha and Carnival for not giving in to this wishy-washy couple.
Source: KPTM.com