Q. Because the earthquakes resulted in delays at the airport on Sunday, my 6 p.m. flight to the East Coast was canceled. Because of this I missed the departure of a cruise that departed from the East Coast. The cruise line will not consider a credit and I'm out $10,000. Since the power outage caused the airport delays, is Hawaiian Electric going to help us recover this loss?

— Kathleen A., Honolulu

A. You aren't going to get an answer right away.

You have to first to contact Hawaiian Electric. The utility's standard refrain on damages from the outage, whether lost cruises, fried computers or spoiled food, is that people should give them a call and request a claim form.

"Anybody who thinks they have a valid claim should file it," said HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg. "We're not pre-judging anything."

He said the utility will then investigate the claim and make a decision. If you are unhappy with the outcome you may appeal HECO's findings to the state Public Utilities Commission, Rosegg said.

The number to telephone is 543-4624.

You didn't indicate which cruise line was involved. Carnival Cruises Lines, the world's largest cruise operator, said in an e-mail to The Advertiser that it has no blanket policy when it comes to natural disasters. These things are handled on a case-by-case basis.

"However, we do strive to be sensitive when such situations arise and find a resolution that is satisfactory to the guest," spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz wrote.

Gene Miyake, a vice president at Non-Stop Travel in Honolulu, said typically it's the responsibility of the customer to get to the liner's next stop when airport delays cause them to miss the scheduled sailing time.

"The ship leaves; it's not going to wait," Miyake said. "It becomes the passenger's responsibility to get to the next port on the itinerary.

"My recommendation is to write the cruise line or if they purchased it through a travel agency, to have the travel agent write the cruise line."

Miyake said he typically recommends people buy travel insurance or build enough time into their travel schedule to allow for airline delays. He said when he books people for Alaska cruises he typically has them arrive the day before the cruise departs. That way they can comfortably board with plenty of time to spare.

He said it makes sense to buy travel insurance once the cost of the trip starts reaching $3,000 or $4,000. The insurance generally costs 2 percent to 5 percent of the trip

Insurance would have repaid you 100 percent of your trip costs if you were delayed by more than 24 hours, he said.

That doesn't sound like it happened in your case since most people were able to get out Monday. If your delay is less than 24 hours the travel insurance would have reimbursed you a portion or all of the additional expenses you incurred getting to the next port, Miyake said.

Both Carnival and Miyake said without more information they couldn't determine what other remedies are available to you.

Do you have a question about personal finance, taxes or other money matters? Reach Akamai Money columnist Greg Wiles at 525-8088 or gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com