Toss that plan out the porthole

PASSENGERS on a July sailing of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas thought they were bound for Bermuda. They packed for Bermuda. They were ready for the sun and fun of Bermuda.

Imagine their surprise when they ended up sailing to cold, rainy eastern Canada.

Like many ships this year, the Voyager altered its itinerary because of weather. And like many cruise ship passengers this year, the Voyager's guests discovered the fine-print facts of cruising: You may not end up sailing the itinerary you booked. And you have little recourse if the schedule changes.

Ships alter courses for many reasons: weather, mechanical problems, strikes at ports, even medical emergencies. Don't expect to be compensated for those changes. Furthermore, it will be difficult to cancel without losing your money.

"Basically, you have no protection," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of Cruise Critic, a Web-based guide to cruising.

In the legalese on the back pages of cruise brochures and in passenger contracts that come with tickets, cruise lines reserve the right to change itineraries for a litany of reasons, and they are not required to offer refunds or compensation.

If you are advised of an itinerary change, you may be able to cancel 60 to 90 days before departure and get a full refund. But the closer you are to sailing, the bigger the penalty. Vacationers commonly forfeit 100% of their fares for canceling within seven or 14 days.

Lorie and Mitch Poe of Fort Worth, Texas, learned the hard way about what the fine print allows cruise lines to do.

The Poes were recently booked on the Norwegian Dream, sailing from Houston to the Caribbean. One major attraction for them was calls in Cozumel and Cancún in Mexico.

Hurricane Wilma severely damaged Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, closing the ports at Cozumel and Cancún. After learning their cruise would visit only Belize and Honduras, the Poes called Norwegian Cruise Line to see if they could reschedule or cancel. They could — if they wanted to forfeit their fares.

"The supervisor said the cruise line had the right to do this and any change would be subject to penalties," Lorie Poe said. "We could either go or give our $3,500 to NCL and walk away." They decided to go.

Their cruise was altered again before sailing. Cozumel returned to the itinerary when the island reopened Nov. 14. Because of an engine problem, the Norwegian Dream could not make a call in Roatán, Honduras, so NCL was substituting Progreso, Mexico.

"When an act of God forces itinerary changes, generally there's no compensation," said Susan Robison, NCL spokeswoman. "If there's a technical issue with a ship, then we look at compensation on a case-by-case basis."

When NCL dropped the two ports from the Norwegian Dream itinerary last month, no compensation was offered. Because a ship problem caused the change from Roatán to Progreso, NCL is giving an onboard credit of $50 per person.

To change a reservation, the usual NCL cancellation fees apply, and that means forfeiting 50% to 100% of the fare within the month before sailing.

Most cruise lines' policies are similar to NCL's. If time allows, lines try to notify passengers in advance through travel agents or by e-mail, fax or phone. When a tropical storm threatens ports, frequent updates are posted at the cruise line website.

But passengers don't always get notices, and some changes are made within a day of sailing. So vacationers can be caught by surprise.

The Bermuda-bound Voyager passengers received a letter as they arrived at the pier in Bayonne, N.J. The day before the Voyager's sailing, Royal Caribbean was still considering its options as it watched Tropical Storm Franklin threaten Bermuda. Citing safety concerns, the line decided to go north. No option was given to cancel without losing money.

Carnival Cruise Lines is more lenient. When it advises guests or agents of an itinerary change, passengers have 24 hours to cancel without penalty. When changes are made at the last minute, as in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in Mexico, Carnival has allowed passengers to cancel without penalty up to embarkation.





Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean are among several lines offering vacation-protection plans. These provide cancellation insurance for specified covered reasons, such as a death in the family, and also allow last-minute cancellation for any reason. If canceling for a covered reason, you get a refund, up to 100% of the fare. If you cancel for a noninsured reason, credit is given toward a later cruise, usually 75% of the original fare.