NOTICE: THIS PROGRAM IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE WITH NEW RESERVATIONS MADE AFTER 9/3/19.
FUTURE CRUISE CERTIFICATES
if you change, cancel or postpone your cruise for ANY reason
If you book your cruise through Direct Line Cruises and then decide to change, cancel or postpone your cruise for ANY reason, we won't charge you any administrative fees AND we will give you a complimentary Future Cruise Certificate equal to 80% of any non-refundable penalties that the cruise line charges you....up to $5,000 per person (maximum 1 outstanding Future Cruise certificate per person).
That's right! Your complimentary Future Cruise Certificate will be applied to the next cruise you book through Direct Line Cruises (on the same cruise line or on any other major cruise line that you choose) up to 3 years after the date your Certificate is issued. This valuable benefit is provided exclusively through Direct Line Cruises, an official agency for the cruise industry.
Q1. Is this benefit available for all clients of Direct Line Cruises?
A1. Yes….it is available for all clients of Direct Line Cruises who reside in the U.S., Canada and all other countries (unless prohibited by law). It applies to all cruises (regardless of length) that are booked through Direct Line Cruises on or after July 1, 2018.
Q2. What happens if I change, cancel or postpone my cruise before my Final Payment?.
A2. Most cruise lines don’t require Final Payment until 3 or 4 months before the cruise departure date and you would typically get a full refund of your deposit if you changed, postponed or cancelled your cruise before Final Payment (unless you chose to book with a non-refundable deposit).
But, if you do choose to book with a non-refundable deposit, or if your cruise line imposes penalty charges before Final Payment (as some of the higher-priced cruise lines do), Direct Line Cruises would give you a Future Cruise Certificate equal to 80% of the non-refundable deposit amount that you forfeited (not counting any portion of your deposit that the cruise line refunds to you or agrees to give you as a future cruise credit).
Q3. What happens if I change, cancel or postpone my cruise after Final Payment?
A3. Depending on how close you were to the cruise departure date, the cruise line could penalize you up to the full cost of your cruise. But, Direct Line Cruises would give you a FREE Future Cruise Certificate equal to 80% of whatever non-refundable penalties that the cruise line charged you up to $5,000 per person, regardless of why you decided to change, cancel or postpone your cruise reservation.
Q4. Can I get a cash reimbursement instead of a Future Cruise Certificate?
A4. No. This is NOT insurance. So, you don’t have to get sick, or have a death in your family or suffer any other “covered risk” to get your FREE Future Cruise Certificate. Just let us know that you decided to change, cancel or postpone your cruise for ANY reason. It’s that simple! There is no application for coverage or claim forms, no exclusions and, best of all, there are no premiums to pay because this is not insurance. It’s just one of the many services that we provide to all of our clients and our way of encouraging you to book your next cruise (and, hopefully, all your future cruises) with Direct Line Cruises.
Q5. Is this Future Cruise Certificate program as good as the cancellation insurance that Direct Line Cruises used to offer?
A5. This non-insured certificate program is actually better in many respects. Although it doesn’t provide cash reimbursements (like cancellation insurance does), Direct Line cruises will give you a Future Cruise Certificates if you are penalized by your cruise line for changing, canceling or postponing your cruise FOR ANY REASON. Unlike insurance, there are no exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions or any exclusions at all. So, if your cruise line comes out with a much better deal after you’ve paid in full for your cruise, you can cancel and re-book. Or, if you just decide that you’d like to postpone your cruise to another time of year (even if you don’t know exactly when), you won’t be “hand-cuffed”. And, the Future Cruise Certificate program also covers cruise line penalties for “non-refundable deposits”. So, it provides you with much more flexibility than cancellation insurance.
Q6. What if I cancel my cruise reservation and don’t go on another cruise within 3 years? Can I give my Future Cruise Certificate to somebody else?
A6. These certificates are non-transferable which means that they are valid for use only by the person to whom they are issued. So, if you don’t book another cruise within 3 years after Direct Line Cruises issues your Future Cruise Certificate, it will expire and there will be no cash value or other alternative compensation. Remember, this is not insurance. It’s an accommodation that Direct Line Cruises provides at no cost to our clients.
Q7. How long will it take for me to get my Future Cruise Certificate from Direct Line Cruises?
A7. Typically, 30 days (or less) after you first notify us that you are changing, postponing or cancelling your cruise for any reason.
Q8. Would the Future Cruise Certificate also include 80% of the value of my airline tickets if I changed, cancelled or postponed my cruise to another date?
A8. No. The Future Cruise Certificate from Direct Line Cruises would be equal to 80% any non-refundable penalties that the cruise line charged you for your cruise or cruise tour.
Q9. Suppose the cruise line gives me a full or partial refund, credit, waiver or reimbursement of the cruise line penalty fees?
A9. The Future Cruise Certificate from Direct Line Cruises would be for 80% of any non-refundable cruise line penalty fees that you actually incur up to $5,000 per person. This would not include any fees that are waived by the cruise line, or reimbursed to you in cash, credit, voucher or in any other way.
Q10. Since Direct Line Cruises would give me a Future Cruise Certificate for only 80% of the non-refundable penalties that the cruise line charged me, wouldn’t I be better off buying the cruise line’s insurance so I could get 100% of my money back if I had to cancel?
A10. Probably not. First of all, the cruise line’s insurance would reimburse you for 100% of their penalty charges only if you cancelled your cruise for one of their specified “Covered Reasons” (such as sudden and serious illness or death in the family) and it wasn’t due to a pre-existing medical condition. But if you changed, cancelled or postponed your cruise for any other reason (or due to a pre-existing medical condition), most cruise line insurance would only give you a future cruise credit for 75% (not 80% or 100%) of their penalty charges. And, even if you did cancel for a “Covered Reason”, you would still never get back 100% of your money from the cruise line because they would keep the premium that you paid to buy their insurance (whether or not you cancelled). So, in most cases, you would be much better off with our free Future Cruise Certificate program.
Q11. How do I redeem my Future Cruise Certificate?
A11. Just call Direct Line Cruises and tell your Sales / Service agent that you want to book a cruise and apply your Future Cruise Certificate to the cost of that cruise. You can mail, fax or e-mail us your Certificate or, if you’ve lost it, you can ask the agent to verify it through our records. Your agent will then apply the entire amount of your Certificate as a non-refundable deposit against the total cost of your cruise, excluding government taxes and any insurance that you may elect to purchase (Future Cruise Certificates cannot be applied to those costs).
Q12. What happens if the amount of my Future Cruise Certificate is less than the amount that the cruise line requires as a deposit for the new cruise that I am booking?
A12. If the amount that the cruise line requires as a deposit for the new cruise that you are booking is more the amount of your Future Cruise Certificate, the balance of the cruise line’s required deposit will need to be charged to your credit card at the time of booking.
Q13. What happens if the amount of my Future Cruise Certificate is enough to cover the cruise line’s required deposit but less than the full cost of the cruise that I am booking?
A13. If the cost of the cruise you are booking (excluding government taxes and insurance) is more than the amount of your Future Cruise Certificate, the entire amount your Future Cruise Certificate will be redeemed and immediately applied as a non-refundable deposit against the cost of your cruise and your balance due at Final Payment (excluding government taxes and insurance) will be reduced accordingly.
Q14. What happens if the amount of my Future Cruise Certificate is more than the total cost of the cruise that I am booking?
A14. If the cost of the cruise you are booking (excluding government taxes and any insurance that you may elect to purchase) is less than the amount of your Future Cruise Certificate, your Future Cruise Certificate will be applied as a non-refundable payment to cover the full cost of the new cruise you are booking (excluding government taxes and insurance) and Direct Line Cruises will issue you a new Future Cruise Certificate for the unused portion of the original Certificate that you redeemed (with the same 3-year expiration date as your original Certificate)
Q15. What would happen if I change, cancel or postpone the new cruise that I booked when I redeemed my Future Cruise Certificate?
A15. As stated above, when you redeem a Future Cruise Certificate, it is applied as a non-refundable payment against the cost of the new cruise that you are booking (excluding government taxes and insurance). However, if the cost of the new cruise (not including government taxes and insurance) is more than the amount of the Future Cruise Certificate that you redeemed, Direct Line Cruises would issue you a new Future Cruise Certificate equal to 80% of the penalties that the cruise line charged you for changing, cancelling or postponing the new cruise (not counting the amount of your original Future Cruise Certificate which was redeemed as non-refundable payment for the new cruise).
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