When a liveaboard trip is cancelled the day you arrive....

[Erica Watson]

I have done several liveaboards in the last 10 plus years and never had one canceled. I traveled 20 plus hours, one way, to get to Oman, for a trip I won, only to have it canceled the day I arrived. I was told this was due to another group canceling and that it was too expensive to take the boat out for just 1 or 2 people. I was given the offer of staying on the boat and taking day trips out with another provider but I didn't really want to stay on a boat in a marina alone on Christmas. The only other thing offered was an extension of my voucher.

Has this happened to you? It was with Aggressor so I really thought that this trip would go on. What compensation were you offered?

Other notes: I won the trip in February 2017 and was given until January 2018 to use it. Not a problem except cruises didn't start until late November 2017, giving me very little time to actually use it.

 

[TheCoolBeans]

on one hand you've been given a free trip, on the other, you've had to pay out for your travel to the boat.

I would approach them and ask if they would extend the voucher expiry for another 12 months and see how you go from there.

It sucks that they didn't let you know before you set off for a 40hr roundtrip.

edit: re read it and noticed they already offered a voucher extension. This seems reasonable.
What were your travel costs like getting to the boat and back? Is it worth asking for something towards this?

 

[Erica Watson]

SammyW- they did offer to extend the voucher- but I honestly don't want to go all the way back within the next year for that trip, I would prefer somewhere new.

on one hand you've been given a free trip, on the other, you've had to pay out for your travel to the boat.

I would approach them and ask if they would extend the voucher expiry for another 12 months and see how you go from there.

It sucks that they didn't let you know before you set off for a 40hr roundtrip.

 

[Dogbowl]

SammyW- they did offer to extend the voucher- but I honestly don't want to go all the way back within the next year for that trip, I would prefer somewhere new.

Can you ask for a voucher to a trip closer to your country? Cayman, Belize, Roatan? So you don’t have to fly so far again?

 

[Erica Watson]

This is what i am asking for - or at least someplace that is on my list of must go - vs. well that's interesting.

Can you ask for a voucher to a trip closer to your country? Cayman, Belize, Roatan? So you don’t have to fly so far again?

 

[Lorenzoid]

No consolation to the OP, but for the benefit of the rest of us in the future, this is where insurance--which I have always been reluctant to buy--could come in handy. If the operator cancels at the last minute, at least one could recoup travel expenses and perhaps take the operator up on the offer of a voucher for a future trip.

 

[Erica Watson]

So i have insurance- but it doesn't cover the boat canceling due to another group canceling- just if there is a mechanical failure or weather conditions or due to a flight delay and missing the departure date. As you can see this is very very frustrating for me.

No consolation to the OP, but for the benefit of the rest of us in the future, this is where insurance--which I have always been reluctant to buy--could come in handy. If the operator cancels at the last minute, at least one could recoup travel expenses and perhaps take the operator up on the offer of a voucher for a future trip.

 

[Erica Watson]

SammyW- it was 2k in flights alone.

on one hand you've been given a free trip, on the other, you've had to pay out for your travel to the boat.

I would approach them and ask if they would extend the voucher expiry for another 12 months and see how you go from there.

It sucks that they didn't let you know before you set off for a 40hr roundtrip.

edit: re read it and noticed they already offered a voucher extension. This seems reasonable.
What were your travel costs like getting to the boat and back? Is it worth asking for something towards this?

 

[Lorenzoid]

So i have insurance- but it doesn't cover the boat canceling due to another group canceling- just if there is a mechanical failure or weather conditions or due to a flight delay and missing the departure date. As you can see this is very very frustrating for me.

Ouch. So a liveaboard can cancel for any reason they feel like that is not a mechanical failure or weather, and the insurance company will refuse coverage. That's amazing.

 

[Erica Watson]

I am still waiting to hear back- but that is how the language in my rider reads. SO I am upset i planned this trip since April, and no one is really covering what happened and there was nothing I could have done to fix it.

Ouch. So a liveaboard can cancel for any reason they feel like that is not a mechanical failure or weather, and the insurance company will refuse coverage. That's amazing.