Cruise line charges widower $853 'rebooking fee' after wife's death

LOVELAND, Colo. — A Colorado man who recently lost his wife to cancer is speaking out after a cruise line tried to charge him $853 to remove her from the reservation.

According to KDVR, Tom Ast and his wife of 45 years, Marilyn, had planned to take a "dream vacation" – an $11,000 cruise with Viking River Cruises. In her final days, Marilyn, who died in December, told her husband to take the trip without her. He decided to go and treat the vacation as a celebration of her life.

But after Ast told the cruise line about the change in plans, he was charged a $853 "rebooking fee" – even though he was keeping the same room and excursions.

"They said it was a rebooking because her name was taken off – that was their policy," he told KDVR.

He said the company told him that he might lose the $11,000 he had spent on the prepaid trip if he didn't pay the fee.

That's when Ast approached KDVR with his story. The station contacted Viking River Cruises, and one week later, the company agreed to refund the fee.