traveldealgal

I'd really appreciate if anyone could help me. Is it possible to get a refund on a non-refundable Celebrity Cruise booking?

Me and my husband booked our first cruise on Celebrity cruises for November 2011. To save money, I booked it (the $500 deposit) as non-refundable. I did not anticipate any problem.

In the meantime I got a fantastic deal on a Costa Cruise for January 7th 2011 (just completed). This ended up being my first cruise. To my great dismay, I found out I had not outgrown motion sickness (used to get car sick as a child). Although the cruise was lovely I felt sick most of the time. Taking OTC motion sickness pills did not help. Although not on death's doorstep I have been VERY uncomfortable (Very queasy and turning green) for the last 7 days (duration of the cruise).

I DO NOT want a repeat of this past week and therefore do not want to take my upcoming November cruise.

I know I booked non-refundable. Does anyone know If I am definitely out $500 (the non-refundable deposit)? Is there ANY way I can get my money back?

Would really appreciate ant suggestions (I'm retired so $500 on a fixed income is a lot of money).

Thanks for your help.

Tenerife

Did you book this with Celebrity direct or with a TA? $500 deposit sounds more like an online TAs special offer for some reduced fare. Did you take travel insurance?

Unless you are located in the UK, where most deposits are not refundable, if the cruise was booked with Celebrity you can - AFAIK - cancel until final payment without losing any of your deposit (and we do a lot of Celebrity cruises!).

traveldealgal

Sorry - guess I was tired and worn out after the 7 day cruise with sea sickness. I said Celebrity but really meant Carnival. Sorry for the mix-up.

And by the way, no, I did not take travel insurance.

MoreMilesPlease

Did you book directly with Carnival?

If this is an Early Saver fare, you can take a $150 penalty and use the rest for a future cruise. I believe there is a way to tranfer the money to another person to use on a cruise. But really, there is no way to get your non-refundable deposit back.

If you booked through a TA I have no idea what they might do.

Millon deFloss

My brother in law is very prone to motion sickness. He uses a prescription patch, and has no problem on cruise ships (he's been on five). You might consult your doctor about getting the patch.

traveldealgal

Thanks for info. I had a feeling I would not be able to get my money back.

traveldealgal

Thanks for the info on the prescription patch. I will look into and probably try it out on a short (maybe day?) cruise.

Millon deFloss

Cabin selection counts for a lot, also. Cabins on the lowest passenger deck and in the center of the ship (midships), are the most stable. Probably no balcony, but the most stable ride.

Beth C

Which Carnival ship are you booked on? The reason I ask is that Costa ships are quite small (and much more rocky) compared to some of the behemoth ships out there. I have cruised on RCCL from the Grandeur (pretty small) to the Oasis & Allure (pretty BIG) and the stabilizers on the new ships make it feel like you're on land. Here's a comparison of a Costa ship & Oasis last year in St. Maartin. You might want to 'upgrade' to a larger ship and give it a try before giving up totally on cruising!

[IMG]
Untitled by Beth_Hfx, on Flickr[/IMG]

traveldealgal

Beth,

Thanks for picture. The ship I was on was the Costa Atlantica (looks like the small ship in your picture). It started rocking and rolling the minute we took off from Miami. I had to hold onto walls as we were leaving dinner the first evening. I could not believe how much the ship rocked (the soap kept flying out of my hands when I was taking a shower!). My husband remarked that he felt like he was getting one of those step climber aerobic workouts. I didn't think cruise ships were supposed to be like that.

I am booked on the Carnival Glory and I think it's not much bigger than the Atlantica was. It may be too late to save this booking.

Thanks for the tip on the difference in the sizes of the ships. Since I didn't think I still had a motion sickness problem, I wasn't paying much attention when I booked. That Oasis ship looks HUGE. As you suggest, I think I will look at it from this angle before I completely throw in the bucket on cruising.

Thanks

Beth C

She is a monster of a ship - and can honestly say the only time I think I felt movement on either Oasis/Allure was when I had a killer migraine and was in the stateroom and heard the hangers hitting each other in the closet and one other time when I slightly staggered down the hall (most likely more related to consumption of certain fruity beverages than rocking of the ship )

Don't take your experience bouncing around as the way the ships always are - that was the exception rather than the rule!!

tcook052

FWIW at 85000 GT the Costa Atlantica isn't that small of a cruise ship.

MHO is motion sickness issues and cruising may not mix regardless of the size of the ship. Sure you'd feel it less on the behemoths but even they may only minimize not eliminate the sensation. Just MHO.

lisah101

I booked a Carnival cruise on the Magic this year and even though it is a 9 day cruise, only one day is at sea, we pretty much arrive at a port in the morning, disembark and come back every evening so hopefully there wouldn't be much "sea time" anyway.

traveldealgal

When does this cruise sail and where does it go?

lisah101

It leaves Barcelona and stops at:

Monaco
Livorno (Florence, Pisa)
Civitavecchia (Rome)
Naples
Sicily
Palma de Mallorca
Day at Sea
Marseilles, France


They are sailing between May and October this year - several different itineraries, but the 9 day cruise was my favorite.