I just joined the forum today because I wanted to see what divers were saying about LB cancellations. My 2 LB trips got cancelled by the operator and there is no refund coming...just a reschedule for future trips. I asked again for a refund and they said no. I will withhold any company information until I get a final resolution. With these awful worldwide events playing out, I am not confident that the LB company will financially survive, and it is abhorrent behavior on the LB company to keep $1 of any of my money if they cannot fulfill their side of the contract. By keeping my money, I am bankrolling their debt, payroll, expenses, and overhead and that is unacceptable!! If these companies don't have enough capital and assets in their business to keep them afloat during a crisis, then they've set themselves up for failure and shame on their owners, and we, as the customers, are not supposed to be their bailout!!
I've only been on one other LB trip (different company) and loved the experience so much that I booked these 2 LB trips. I made my booking directly with the company and paid with a credit card. If you book through a third-party vendor or a dive shop, you're at higher risk of not recovering your money should something bad happen and you need to make an insurance claim. I also always use a credit card (not debit or checks) so I have dispute protection from the credit card company. I always have dive insurance through DAN, then I also purchased travel insurance. I thought I did everything right, yet I find myself fighting for a refund.
One thing I've learned through this experience with travel insurance is that you have to carefully read the "covered reasons" as well as the exclusions. Oftentimes, the exclusions are the longer list of events. Also, in the future, I'll be getting travel insurance within the first 10 days of a trip deposit in order to get the "cancel for any reason" provision and also coverage for "financial default."
Please see this thread:
Cancelled/postponed trips due to COVID - please share your outcomes
The TL;DR version is not all companies are even offering reschedules, let alone a refund. To give you perspective, some companies (both resorts and liveabords) are just offering a % of the original paid value, some even as low as 40%-60% and then you have to pay more to even get on the trip that you originally already paid for when you do decide to return. This also applies to people who have already paid all deposits and balances, a fully paid trip on the thousands. Some have dragged their feet in offering any reschedule at all even though the marine park they sail in is closed. The fact that they are agreeing to a reschedule is great because they are essentially giving you 100% value - and not just in credit, but a voucher for the same trip even if it changes in cost.
Also, regarding a refund...Think of it this way: if a full refund was NEVER part of the original policy or T&C and an option on the table, especially considering how many days prior to the trip it is now and what policy applies at that point when things are normal, why would you expect or demand a refund now? That is a very one-sided resolution for the customer and as the customer, I feel is not fair at all for the ops IMO. At the same time, what the ops are doing as far as rescheduling has now become an industry courtesy and many people are expecting and hoping for this because many other companies within the industry are doing it. They technically don't "have to" but it would be marketing and social media suicide to not do it and swallow funds. The vast majority of people will not be able to claim this to their insurance as most policies don't cover pandemics/epidemics and/or they would have had to buy prior to a certain date (Jan 21 or 24 is a common date being used) if their policy does include it. My credit card offers quarantine coverage but even with us being on lockdown, they are denying a claim based on that.
As this was a cancellation made on the operator's end, you may feel that you had no control over this situation, but neither do they. Force majeure, if you will. They are canceling likely because none of their clients can get into the country anyway, whether by way of travel restrictions/bans, lack of flights as many countries and airlines are slashing flights/routes with very little notice, or because their own governments or their clients' governments have lockdowns which prevent them from going anywhere or operating. This is obviously an unprecedented event with unprecedented results and everyone is scrambling to figure out what options there are.
I am saying all this as someone who is fighting an op who is dealing with a marine park closure that won't even allow them to sail. They are still dragging their feet on a reschedule but they are letting new bookings reschedule with a "COVID clause". I am participating in this conversation as someone who has thousands upon thousands of dollars to lose to the tune of 5 digits so I am not armchairing this one by any means.
I have booked many liveaboards (13 total) and many resorts directly and more recently, more often through an agent. Whether you book through a third party vendor or a dive shop does not increase your risk of losing your money and needing to make an insurance claim or chargeback if you did indeed pay by credit card. It does not matter, and I say this as someone who has had to make an insurance claim before. Your contract is then with the agent or the dive shop. You can still do chargebacks and insurance claims that involve them. In this situation, what the agency or dive shop is able to do or offer you is still dependent on what the liveaboard or resort's policies are. They act based on what answer they get from the operator/travel supplier. The important part is to find someone you trust that won't swallow or benefit from misfortune. If anything, this experience has taught me that there is more flexibility and more negotiation weight when you book through an agency rather than negotiating on your own, as my agent and his agency has proven. I don't have to do any of the work...He just keeps me posted.
Reading the fine print and T&C of an insurance policy should always be happening way before something bad happens.
