Cruise holidays are wonderful. They offer people the chance to truly get away from the stresses and strains of life, but when things go wrong and a cruise is cancelled, it comes as a shock, a big one.

This year alone, MSC Cruises was forced to cancel itineraries after one of its ships collided with a dock in Venice, Carnival Vista had several cruises cancelled due to a malfunctioning azipod and Costa Cruises was forced to cancel several departures aboard Costa Smerelda due to her delayed delivery from the shipyard.

Cruises aboard Carnival Vista had to be cancelled earlier this year due to a malfunction

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Every year, thousands of passengers find their long-anticipated cruise cancelled or re-scheduled, potentially putting them out of pocket. Sometimes, it can even be due to a bankruptcy of a travel agency.

Although it represents a fraction of the more than 28-million people that take a cruise each year, should it happen to you, this advice from Creditfix could prove invaluable. Their infographic (below) sums up what your options are regardless of the reason behind the cancellation.

Costa Smeralda’s inaugural cruises were cancelled due to her delayed delivery from the shipyard

That includes getting your money back for the flights you may have booked to get you to and from the port, or the hotel reservation pre or post-cruise. In certain situations, it will be possible to get a refund.

If you have not yet booked your next cruise, it is still worth taking the time to read through the advice. As you will see, booking your holiday in a certain way or via the right kind of agent can make things easier for you should it be cancelled.

For example, if you live in the UK booking an ATOL or ABTA protected holiday and paying the small fee can make a huge difference. Usually, getting a refund via those schemes is very quick and easy to do, as was seen with cruise bookings after the collapse of Thomas Cook.