Emerald Waterways has introduced a River Cruise Travel
Guarantee that covers every guest against delays or cancellations due to
weather, natural disasters, mechanical breakdowns or labor strikes.
Approved claimants will receive up to $475 per day for a
maximum of seven days, or up to $3,325 per guest, during the cruise.
The insurance, which is offered at no additional charge to
passengers, covers some disruptions caused by high or low water levels.
In the event an Emerald Waterways cruise is delayed or canceled,
guests will be reimbursed for some or all the cruise fare under several
circumstances:
• If there is a complete halt in the itinerary whereby the
ship is unable to sail and whereby Emerald Waterways cannot deliver the
scheduled shore excursions except by way of coach rides of more than three
hours each way
• If guests are
accommodated on another Emerald ship due to high or low water levels but the
itinerary is delayed for more than 24 hours
• If there is a mechanical breakdown on the ship and the
cruise is unable to continue or there are no alternative ships available
• If due to strikes, riots, river or canal lock damage or
closure, Emerald is unable to pass through a lock, which prevents the cruise
from continuing.
Some disruptions do not meet the criteria for reimbursement,
such as embarkation or disembarkation less than 60 miles from the scheduled
port, ship swaps that do not incur a delay of more than 24 hours, replacement
of scheduled itinerary activities with alternate activities of similar quality,
and short-term delays in the itinerary due to high or low water levels.
Emerald Waterways still strongly recommends that guests
purchase personal travel insurance, as the River Cruise Travel Guarantee does
not cover travelers for the cost of their trip should they be unable to start
or finish an itinerary due to their own personal or medical issues.
Emerald Waterways' sister company, Scenic, launched the insurance
program last year. The program's insurer is Chubb.