Disappointing end to July 17th Freedom cruise

[branch155]

The July 17th-24th Freedom of the Seas cruise was diverted on the last night due to a medical emergency. The passenger had to be sent to the closest port, which happened to be Nassau. So, at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon, we had to go back 4 hours to Nassau, then to Port Canaveral. We started debarking at noon instead of 6 AM.

 

Unfortunately for us, we had a 12:30 flight. Obviously, we had to reschedule. Since we were rescheduling less than 24 hours before the flight, and there are 5 in our family, not only could I not get a flight on Southwest, but I couldn't even get a flight to my city (Raleigh, NC). We had to fly to a city 3 hours away (Charlotte), rent a car, and drive home.

 

Before I get to my issues with the way RCCL has handled this, a few disclaimers.

 

1) I have no problem whatsoever with the decision to divert. If it was my father, I'd have wanted the same thing. I'm still not sure why a helicopter couldn't have been used (as the crow flies, I'm guessing we were 100 miles or less from Nassau), but I'm sure there were valid reasons why that didn't happen.

 

2) The diversion came at a worst-case time for RCCL. 4 more hours, and Port Canaveral (maybe Miami) would have still been the closest port, and no backtracking would have been necessary.

 

3) I understand the information technology limitations, given that communications are via satellite phone.

 

Having said that, here are my beefs with RCCL:

 

1) RCCL has offered us $150 per person for the flight rescheduling. That's less than half of the actual cost. I certainly wasn't trying to find the most expensive way home; not only were there no flights to Raleigh, but we got the last flight to Charlotte. From Customer Service in Miami, I got the usual boilerplate response of "your contract says your itinerary is subject to change". Hey, I get that -- but would expect that to refer to not being able to port due to weather (as happened to us previously), or having to divert to miss a storm. But this? I spent from 4 PM to 10 PM on the last night of the cruise making alternate arrangements.

 

2) The extent of what Guest Services did for me onboard was give me the 800 number for Southwest Airlines and a credit to use the ship's internet.

 

3) You can imagine what the wait was to use the internet terminals. About half of the internet terminals were not working. The printer broke, and it took about an hour to get it fixed. (As an aside, don't even get me started on people posting on Facebook -- at length -- while others are desperate to rearrange flights!)

 

4) Getting a ship to shore line was impossible when the news was first announced -- a 1-2 hour wait to get a line. Then you pray that the call isn't dropped (as my first call to AirTran was in the middle of making a reservation for the last 5 seats available on the flight).

 

5) I would have hoped for and expected as many folks as they could possibly manage working at Guest Services. I counted 5-6.

 

Bottom line, in addition to the 6 hours of frustration trying to rearrange the flight, I missed the last show and last dinner with my family. Insult to injury.

 

So, my lessons learned:

 

1) My next flight reservation will be at 5 PM, and no earlier. That's assuming I don't make my flight reservation with the cruise line; apparently, all of those folks were taken care of.

 

2) Hope you don't get in this situation. The ship is simply not equipped to accommodate this sort of thing from an IT or Guest Services standpoint.

 

3) I'm not happy with RCCL at this point...but that will probably pass. I work in a business that has a large number of competitors, as does RCCL. To limit your restitution to what you're legally required to do, or a bit more, is not how you retain customers.

 

On the plus side, the cruise and ship were awesome (right up until 4:00 on Saturday!), and Executive VIP Limo was the absolute best at being flexible with our schedule (thanks, Mike and Marlene!).

[cruisenfever]

What you experienced on Freedom was unfortunate. Did you take out travel insurance?

[yogimax]

Strange indeed. I think RCCL needs to give a full explanation of the circumstances.

[branch155]

What you experienced on Freedom was unfortunate. Did you take out travel insurance?

 

Well, yes and no. Yes, we purchased travel insurance through the company through which we made our reservations. No, flight changes weren't covered (or so I was told by our rep).

 

I didn't have flight insurance through Southwest, although that wouldn't have covered the full cost of the alternate arrangements through AirTran.

[wingnutphl]

Strange indeed. I think RCCL needs to give a full explanation of the circumstances.

 

 

Why? They did what they thought best for the injured passenger. RCI offered $150 per person ($750 total) to cover the reschedule cost which I think is fair. Yes, they handled the people who booked air through them which is understandable because they sold the product.

 

If their costs were over what RCI offered, then it should be a claim against their cruise insurance. If they didn't purchase it, then I don't feel RCI should do anymore.

[cruisenfever]

Well, yes and no. Yes, we purchased travel insurance through ***********. No, flight changes weren't covered (or so I was told by our *********** rep).

 

I didn't have flight insurance through Southwest, although that wouldn't have covered the full cost of the alternate arrangements through AirTran.

Ouch, then I can see your frustration. Always good to make sure that your flights are covered if any unforeseen incident happens to prevent you from making your departing flight.

 

There are so many things that can delay your departure besides a medical emergency. Debarkation can be delayed because the ship was delayed due to bad weather, a mechanical problem on the ship or Customs & Immigration hold-up.

[klingoncruiser]

fyi.... consider taking a laptop with you. That not only allows you to download your pictures, but to also use wireless to get on line. I have seen this before and yes the same thoughtless (mostly young people) were playing games and on Facebook while people were desperately standing around needing to change flights. I let several people use my laptop and think I could have made some money off of it if I had been crass enough to.

[branch155]

Ouch, then I can see your frustration. Always good to make sure that your flights are covered if any unforeseen incident happens to prevent you from making your departing flight.

 

There are so many things that can delay your departure besides a medical emergency. Debarkation can be delayed because the ship was delayed due to bad weather, a mechanical problem on the ship or Customs & Immigration hold-up.

 

No doubt -- lesson learned. Although in this situation, insurance for the flight on airline A won't cover you if a flight on airline A isn't available, and a flight on airline B costs significantly more. Like in this case :)

[Jimbo]

Also you should still have the credit for the flight returning home on Southwest. That credit will be still good to used up to a year from when you first purchased the tickets.

 

I also bet if you call Southwest and tell them why you missed your flights and that right now your family won't be flying again on a trip in the near future that they will either extend your time to use the tickets or just give you a full refund.

 

Customer service at Southwest is very good.

 

Good Luck

 

Jimbo:)

[PH8]

fyi.... consider taking a laptop with you. That not only allows you to download your pictures, but to also use wireless to get on line. I have seen this before and yes the same thoughtless (mostly young people) were playing games and on Facebook while people were desperately standing around needing to change flights. I let several people use my laptop and think I could have made some money off of it if I had been crass enough to.

Great idea!!

 

Im bringing one the next time.....never have before.but you cant count on the computer area they have.

[Karma5]

I would say stop your complaining . It is what it is..................

[wingnutphl]

I'm surprised they didn't refund the money to them since they had to take another carrier. I've seen them do it on the show Airline many times for various reasons.

[yogimax]

Why?

 

Why?

 

How about an explanation of why a helicopter airlift was not possible. If the passenger could have been evacuated by helicopter, all the problems described could have been eliminated.

[branch155]

Great idea!!

 

Im bringing one the next time.....never have before.but you cant count on the computer area they have.

 

I considered it, then nixed the idea. Next time I'll know.

[branch155]

Why?

 

How about an explanation of why a helicopter airlift was not possible. If the passenger could have been evacuated by helicopter, all the problems described could have been eliminated.

 

There was a lot of speculation onboard about that. There was a rumor that the man was with a large family, and they were all getting off in Nassau. But as I said, that's just a rumor. It wouldn't have been a range issue.

[yogimax]

I would say stop your complaining . It is what it is..................

 

Terrible response!

 

Suppose this had happened to you!

[wingnutphl]

Isn't it against the law to disclose medical information? RCI said that they had to divert for medical reasons. That's all they can say and all they need to say as far as I'm concerned. The medical staff made the decision based on the persons health. Did you ever think that maybe the person was not stable enough to withstand a very stressful helicopter ride? Geesh, RCI gave a fair payout to those who had flight issues. Honestly, they didn't have to do anything at all.

[cruisenfever]

Why?

 

How about an explanation of why a helicopter airlift was not possible. If the passenger could have been evacuated by helicopter, all the problems described could have been eliminated.

Maybe the family didn't take out insurance.

[bplazo]

Why is RCCL at fault? Maybe they should have tossed the injured person overboard so everyone else was not inconvienced.

[MrsPete]

1) I have no problem whatsoever with the decision to divert. If it was my father, I'd have wanted the same thing.

Absolutely -- for all we know, it was literally a life-or-death situation for the person involved.

 

2) The diversion came at a worst-case time for RCCL. 4 more hours, and Port Canaveral (maybe Miami) would have still been the closest port, and no backtracking would have been necessary.

That really is a worst-case situation; I've been reading these boards for years and have never heard of such a thing happening -- while it was very bad for you, it's not something that's likely to happen to any of us.

Still, the idea of being prepared for delays is valid, and delays rarely come at a convenient time.

 

3) (As an aside, don't even get me started on people posting on Facebook -- at length -- while others are desperate to rearrange flights!)

That's just plain rude -- hard to believe other passengers would sit there playing KNOWING that others had a real need to communicate with others. You'd think the ship could've had a crew member monitoring /supervising the computer room and "politely nudging" people off social networks.

 

5) I would have hoped for and expected as many folks as they could possibly manage working at Guest Services. I counted 5-6.

In all fairness, how many people can work at that counter? They have limited space and limited computer access.

 

1) My next flight reservation will be at 5 PM, and no earlier. That's assuming I don't make my flight reservation with the cruise line; apparently, all of those folks were taken care of.

I'd consider driving instead. Raleigh/Charlotte is an 8-hour drive from Port Canaveral -- not a tough drive at all. If you'd had a car waiting at the port, you wouldn't have had to make a single phone call; it'd just have been a later start for you. In addition, driving is cheaper and you avoid the hassels of packing, dealing with liquids, and paying baggage fees.

Also, another option would've been to call a trusted relative and ask him or her to make new reservations for you. That person would've had better phone/internet access and probably could've managed the change in minutes . . . and then they had 'til noon the next day to let you know your new flight number.

[branch155]

Why is RCCL at fault? Maybe they should have tossed the injured person overboard so everyone else was not inconvienced.

 

As I stated in the original post, I have no problem with the decision to divert. My issues were with the way RCCL handled customer relations (or more accurately, didn't handle it) onboard and after the fact. Do you believe that "Here's an 800 number for Southwest; good luck getting a line out" is adequate?

[wingnutphl]

I've had 2 cruises delayed slightly with medical evacuations. Both delayed coming home to debark but luckily my flights were not affected. I now make sure I have all kinds of insurance - just in case.

[Artemis]

branch155, so sorry this happened to you. Bummer!

 

Just to clarify a point in the discussion of insurance, precisely because the cruise line's coverage doesn't extend to independent air/land arrangements and airline A's coverage doesn't extend to airline B, next time, consider fully protecting your travel door-to-toor by purchasing a trip insurance policy with a third-party travel insurer like CSA, Access America, Travel Guard, etc. You can cover every piece of your trip--planned and unplanned--for the same or less than the price of the cruise policy alone, plus get far more favorable coverage terms, including elimination of the number 1 basis for claim denial, the pre-existing condition exclusion (if you timely purchase the policy).

 

There are several web sites that make it very easy to shop for trip insurance, including Squaremouth and QuoteWrite. I happen to like InsureMyTrip.

 

(I'm not in the insurance biz! We just travel a lot, so I know how costly and aggravating it can be when stuff happens...and it does!)

 

So happy your Freedom cruise was awesome!

[branch155]

5) I would have hoped for and expected as many folks as they could possibly manage working at Guest Services. I counted 5-6.

In all fairness, how many people can work at that counter? They have limited space and limited computer access.

Not necessarily at the counter; they could have had folks walking around, talking to the 100 or so folks in line for Guest Services. If all they were able to do was give them an 800 number for their airline, a good number of the people in line could have been handled without going to the desk.

 

1) My next flight reservation will be at 5 PM, and no earlier. That's assuming I don't make my flight reservation with the cruise line; apparently, all of those folks were taken care of.

I'd consider driving instead. Raleigh/Charlotte is an 8-hour drive from Port Canaveral -- not a tough drive at all. If you'd had a car waiting at the port, you wouldn't have had to make a single phone call; it'd just have been a later start for you. In addition, driving is cheaper and you avoid the hassels of packing, dealing with liquids, and paying baggage fees.

 

Also, another option would've been to call a trusted relative and ask him or her to make new reservations for you. That person would've had better phone/internet access and probably could've managed the change in minutes . . . and then they had 'til noon the next day to let you know your new flight number.

Good thought on the relative/friend, although that's a pretty big "ask". Per Google Maps, Raleigh is a 10 1/2 hour drive from Port Canaveral. Had I known what would ultimately be required to change the flight, I would have either a) rented a car and driven home or b) gotten a flight Monday morning.

 

 

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[mo&fran]

How many posts have we seen “can I make a **.** flight” and replies like “I always have” . NOT.