Are liveaboard deposits refundable?

[Bkk4]

I've booked a liveaboard trip to Indonesia for April this year.
I already paid the 30% deposit. The rest of the amount will be due about a week from now.

With the current COVID19 situation, I may not be able to make the trip for various potential reasons (my work blocks my travel, or Indonesia blocks travelers from my country, for examples.)
So I'm doubting if I should pay the remaining amount and risk losing all the money in the end.

I've contacted DiveAssure, and they say they can't cover trip cancellation due to COVID19 if I get their insurance plan now. (They would have covered if I got it several weeks ago.)

Ideally it would be nice to cancel my booking and ask for the deposit back. Does anyone know if this is possible?
(It might not sound fair to the boat owner, but I want to know what my options are. I contacted the trip organizer to ask what they would do if I am not allowed to make the trip. They refused to reply.)

Advice on solution will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Generally speaking the 30% deposit is lost if you cancel the trip. This is the goal of a deposit, if it was refundable then it had no purpose...
Said that, asking for a refund does not cost anything. Perhaps you'r lucky and the boat owner is a real nice guy, and sends you back at least part of the deposit.
But do not be harsh with him if he refuses. Many others are cancelling in this period for the COVID19 issue, these are bad times for touristic operators, and the deposits could be their only income in several months.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Insurance is part of the discussion in this thread, so you might have a look over there:
Is Coronavirus keeping you from booking liveaboard/overseas trips this year?

 

[Hoag]

Contact the LOB directly. They should have a Cancellation/Refund policy somewhere on their website.

 

[Doc]

Read the fine print in the contract.

 

[Tippytoes12]

They may allow you to transfer it to another departure.