What would it take to make you postpone a cruise?

We had to cancel a trans Atlantic repo that we had booked for last spring. Between the drop in the Canadian dollar and having just done a 14 day repo from Boston to NO in the fall and the price of flights home from EU my bank account gave me a very stern no.

Other than financial issues it would take a very serious illness or a death to postpone or cancel a cruise

I have canceled for waking up the morning of the cruise with the flu (there is no way an airline let alone a cruise ship would let me on the way I looked) I also canceled for dad being ill and once for a pending spine surgery.

I would also cancel a cruise if my pet was ill. Dogs are part of the family.

Agreed

Every ship in every fleet sinking.

seriously, we've cancelled several due to injury, illness, snowstorm, or unemployment.

Every ship in every fleet sinking

We have had to cancel a cruise because of the death of my father... as far as postpone, we would postpone before final payment for sever illness or accident. I nearly did several years ago for gall bladder surgery... had the surgery and went on the cruise to recover in luxury.

Any health issue for myself or hubby would be an immediate nix. The impending passing of a close relative or friend requires careful examination and would be a case-by-case decision.

True story...
We had just boarded the ship when we received the news that an aunt started to fail and was being hospitalized. We were pretty sure she was ready and wanting to pass because her ill-health had sapped her stamina and immune system; she was in pain all of the time. We FaceTimed with her and she made us promise not to come home on her account. It was an extremely difficult decision but she told us she would be extremely unhappy if we came home and that there was nothing we could do. She would rather think about us being in a warm sunny place. With heavy hearts, we decided to respect her wishes and cruised off.
We were not in phone range to get texts or calls. Ship to shore seemed idiotic considering there was nothing we were going to be able to do. The following day, I was walking on deck and over the PA comes strains of "Ave Maria". It was a song that she used to sing at weddings (she used to play the organ and sing at church). I paused a moment to reflect about what a profound impact she had on my entire life... felt a warm embrace (as best I can describe the sensation) and continued on my way. When we reached port the next day, my brother had left a message the day before that she had passed peacefully with family around her reminiscing about all the laughs we shared over the years. I've never heard that song played on any ship before or since... and have no regrets about having stayed on the ship.

Illness or lack of money.

Ditto.

Family illness (serious) or death. That is pretty much it!