susiesan

I have a deposit on a Windstar cruise from St. Maarten SXM for Dec. 8. I will be buying a plane tickets from AA to get there for the cruise. Last year the hurricane hit the island hard in September and destroyed the airport and the cruise dock, and cruises from there were moved to Barbados. If this happens again this season will AA refund the cost of the plane ticket 100%? If the cruise line switched the cruise to another port like last year, from St. Maarten to Barbados, would AA allow me to change to an alternate flight without a change fee?

I am thinking of switching to a Windstar cruise from San Juan since there are more flight options to there than SXM, which is incredibly expensive for Dec, over $900. But the same scenario could apply to cruises from San Juan.

GNRMatt

For the hurricane last year, AA provided a change fee waiver for anyone who needed to change/cancel their flights to SXM. If a similar situation hits, chances are they will do the same thing. However, if you are looking to then move to another airport, you'll probably have to cancel, get a refund, and book a new flight, which if it is last minute, may be expensive. Also, keep in mind, that if it is a hurricane like last year causing the flight to be cancelled, there's a decent chance your cruise may also get cancelled.

If the hurricane issues are a significant concern for you, which is understandable, your best bet would be travel insurance.

susiesan

Last year Windstar operated their St. Maarten cruises from Barbados for the season. I believe they allowed people to completely cancel and get a full refund if they didn't want the diverted cruise as it was past final payment date when the hurricane hit.

As I will use a credit card to pay for the plane tix and cruise I will have travel insurance included.

JDiver

I was scheduled on a Windstar* cruise (Wind Surf, TFN-SXM) arriving at SXM November 17, 2017; the Wind Surf was rescheduled to BGI (Bridgetown, Barbados). AA was very generous with hurricane changes. I had no troubles changing our one way SXM-SFO (non-direct) to BGI-SFO other than initial reluctance because it was so late in the year. (No way did we want to cancel our cruise, though we could have without problems and full refund, iirc.)

See the thread here: AA policy: Flights booked to hurricane affected areas through 2017; the Wikipost at the top of the page contains the AA weather policy for the hurricanes.

*We usually take a few Windstar cruises every year. #34 , iirc, coming up REK - NYC via Greenland, Labrador. Another Wind Surf crossing later, and a DOS-CGK-SIN-BWN-MNL-HKG etc. by way of Komodo, Borneo, etc. early next year. PM with any questions.