FAA grounded all flights to Florida missed cruise

[BND]

I would also think if 1000 people actually missed the ship, we would see more than one post about it.

 

I also checked the roll call and not a single post since before they sailed and nothing about anyone missing the cruise. I also have issue with the title, as the OP says, ALL flights into FL were grounded. Another one hit wonder this week. How many is that, 4?

Edited April 3, 2016 by BND

[Aquahound]

At approximately 9am the FAA grounded all flights entering Florida airspace due to severe weather.

 

There is no truth to this whatsoever. All one needs to do is go to a flight tracker site and they can see this isn't true. Heck, even here in Key West, we had 15 flights go out yesterday that landed safely, and on time, in Ft Lauderdale.

[mollyeilis]

I wonder if they would have let the people who had passports meet the ship in the next port, and then the couple without passports take the trip on the Allure. Splitting up the group wouldn't have been ideal, but at least everyone would have gotten a vacation.

 

I so agree. Unless (as another mentioned) it involves little kids not being able to travel by plane, I would absolutely have split up the group.

 

Even with just the 3 of us we discuss the "what ifs" when traveling for cruises.

 

On our recent cruise I totally forgot to buy insurance. I was so nervous! And then the pre-Easter airfares were horrible. We ended up on a flight leaving at 9pm and landing at 6am in Orlando. I was tremendously nervous about this. 2 days before our flight, my MIL, who doesn't like our traveling anymore because we're the main ones who help her, had to go to urgent care because of pain in her hip.

 

As I was changing my whole day around to take her (my BIL would have taken her a WEEK later) to the doctor, I decided that if she had a clot or a broken hip that I would stay behind and DH and DS would go on the cruise. When we were at the airport, they needed ONE person to take a bump; they were offering $700 (and hotel and flight) to that person. We were so sad that we were flying in the night before the cruise and not two nights before, because that credit would have been fabulous! One of the adults would have bumped in a heartbeat, but we just couldn't. But we still talked about it!

 

...I bit the bullet and purchased insurance. Just my husband and I this time, but with his work, his schedule can change.

 

Did you make sure that the insurance you purchased covers work-related cancellations?

 

 

Can someone currently on the ship weigh in on this point because I highly doubt the ship would leave on time with this many passengers missing.

 

I doubt it, too.

 

 

My understanding is that air2sea is required to help you get to the ship. However, the folks without a passport still couldn't have gone.

 

That's my understanding as well.

Edited April 3, 2016 by mollyeilis

[richstowe]

 

For us, like the PP being given so much flack--we are currently (still young and healthy, etc) money ahead to NOT by insurance for trip cancellation/disruption/etc (since we have medical covered) and know we are risking losing our money if we miss a ship, or having to pay for our own flights home if we have to leave a ship for some reason mid cruise, etc.

 

We figure over the past 20 years, at $100 per trip for insurance (and with four it seems to usually be more than that) we have "saved" at least $12000--and since no one trip we take is ever even close to that cost, we are doing the right thing for us. I think for many people insurance makes more sense--but I admit that I get annoyed when people act like it is a MUST for everyone.

Yep . Perhaps when DW and I are older, with various ailments , we will consider trip insurance . Until then , we are

self-insuring and are currently ahead by doing so . Having said that , we fly in (so far) at least a day ahead .

Edited April 3, 2016 by richstowe

[mollyeilis]

It's ironic how the cruise lines can blame "Mother nature" for weather problems and not be held responsible for anything such as changing ports or cancelling cruises, but won't accept that for a valid reason from a paying customer.

 

You make a good point. :)

 

 

You can board a plane leaving the US without a passport. Just need other accepted id. You can't come back by plane without one.

 

In theory I'm sure that's true. But I dare you to try it. :)

 

 

There were over 1000 passengers that missed this boat yesterday.

 

Yeah, I just really really doubt this. I really feel for you, assuming the basics of your post are true. And if you were actually told the things you're telling us, I feel for you because I think you were lied to more than once. But ultimately, you turned down the two good options given. (it's too bad this was a weekend, because otherwise a rental car to another state to get a same-day passport (there are none in TN; I checked) and then continuing on to meet the ship might have happened)

[BND]

Yep . Perhaps when DW and I are older, with various ailments , we will consider trip insurance . Until then , we are

self-insuring and are currently ahead by doing so . Having said that , we fly in (so far) at least a day ahead .

 

That's fine as long as you don't expect compensation. If you're willing to take the risk, it doesn't matter whether you take insurance or not. It's the ones who don't and then complain and expect compensation for it that are the real issue.

[xxHadleyxx]

Yep . Perhaps when DW and I are older, with various ailments , we will consider trip insurance . Until then , we are

self-insuring and are currently ahead by doing so . Having said that , we fly in (so far) at least a day ahead .

 

Oh goodness YES on the arriving at lest a day ahead thing. That is not even about the money to me--I just don't want to miss a vacation I am looking forward to, and DO want to be calm and relaxed on embarkation day.

[mollyeilis]

Yep . Perhaps when DW and I are older, with various ailments , we will consider trip insurance . Until then , we are

self-insuring and are currently ahead by doing so . Having said that , we fly in (so far) at least a day ahead .

 

For us, the issue IS our elders. :)

 

That's why I like to take the insurance, and it's why I have to get the insurance with pre-existing conditions covered. At this point I'm not sure there's a way for MIL to end up in the hospital without it being a pre-existing condition, as she has so many.

 

Trip cancellation/interruption insurance isn't for the 3 of us in my immediate family...it's to cover problems arising from emergencies in others.

[reddytotravel]

I too went on my first cruise flying in on the day of the cruise and without travel insurance. I was nervous the whole time!!! After that I always get travel insurance and go at least the day before to relax before cruising!!!

[maryjaden]

Mollyeilis,

Yes I did check that, thank you.

 

Even though this post may be a OPW, it has brought up some good information pro and con.

[xxHadleyxx]

For us, the issue IS our elders. :)

 

That's why I like to take the insurance, and it's why I have to get the insurance with pre-existing conditions covered. At this point I'm not sure there's a way for MIL to end up in the hospital without it being a pre-existing condition, as she has so many.

 

Trip cancellation/interruption insurance isn't for the 3 of us in my immediate family...it's to cover problems arising from emergencies in others.

 

I can absolutely understand how that would be a factor for many people.

 

In our case, we live in Germany, My parents live in Mexico and my in laws live in the US. If either of our parents have any medical emergencies necessitating that we are with them, we are looking at spending huge sums on last minute international travel regardless of if we are on vacation or not. So the insurance wouldn'T really help us there.

 

Again, it makes sense for many, but some people can critically analyze their own situations and find it does not make sense for them (and I agree, that if you choose not to bus it then do not complain and expect to be covered anyway---but you know, there might well be many such people who do not complain, but their very lack of complaining means you'll never know about them)

[Aquahound]

Traveling with 3 other friends next Sunday on the Navigator. WE were originally on the Empress and were canc.

 

WE all have trip insurance. But because of the change in schedules, we are not flying in the day of the cruise. (Navigator sails on Sunday, Empress was suppose to go out monday)

 

None of us changed our flights, due to other obligations the day before.

 

We all get into Fort Lauderdale by 11AM. Lets just hope and pray we don't get crazy weather two weekends in a row.

 

Are you sure you said this right? You're sailing 1 day earlier than planned, and not flying on the day of the cruise? :confused:

[spookyfudge]

We always buy cruise insurance, especially when you fly the same day, I think it is only 10% of the cruise price. So sorry.

 

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[Paulette3028]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the ship sailed.

 

How long should they have waited? An hour? Three? Six? If the ship waited, then the port employees would have to be there. The porters, the longshoreman...all the support staff necessary to ultimately 'disconnect' from the pier and move out.

 

Not to mention that it is a Dept of Homeland Security requirement that manifests be turned in at least 90 minutes before the ship sails. Yet another delay once those passengers arrived.

 

If the delay is too long, will that mean a missed port?

 

Should the few thousand already on board have THEIR vacation altered to accommodate others?

 

We were on a sailing in mid winter one time, that had quite few people flying down from a northern city and their flight was delayed. Many on the flight booked through Royal and Royal waited for them all to arrive....probably about 90 minutes, if my memory is correct. There may have been people on that flight that booked it themselves and were lucky that others went through Royal for their flights.

 

I am sure that there is some built in time frame for delays that Royal is responsible to either wait for the cruisers or have the cruisers meet the ship at the next port stop and it might just be easier to wait, if at all possible

[Bound4Bermuda]

Whether the OP is exaggerating, misinformed, or just late with an April Fool's joke, it is enough to get me a little worried. I have 7 hours' leeway on arrival on a direct flight and also have the Air2Sea guarantee that they'll either wait for me or get me to the next port. So I feel like worst-case scenario RCI will cover me. I wonder, though, whether anyone has had to rely on that Air2Sea without additional insurance and what happened?

 

 

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[Oak Hill Cruisers]

What with us getting older, and our old relatives, and our medical problems, we are thinking of moving up the trip insurance ladder and start getting 'cancel for any reason' insurance.

 

We have had to miss two cruises because of medical emergencies for DW. We were adequately covered by standard trip cancellation insurance, but the hassle of getting all that medical paperwork (especially statements from the attending ER physician) together for the claim process is really too much.

[A&L_Ont]

I was at the port yesterday for a Car Auction (the convention center is at the port). It took us over 30 minutes to get in to the port from the main road (17th street) because there were so many people waiting to get IN. I live in South Florida and have never seen so much traffic on 17th street on a Saturday. (Yes, there were quite a few ships there). I did NOT seem to me that 1,000 people on just the Oasis missed the ship...

 

Also, air traffic did not appear to be closed. My three year old was remarking on the planes in the sky while we waited in the car line.

 

I'm guessing it was Auctions America and how was it? Did you get anything or did you just go for the event?

 

We cruised out on the 13th of March with 8 ships in port and it was crazy. I read that a record number of 54,000 plus went through the port coming and going that day.

[lakelorain]

Whether the OP is exaggerating, misinformed, or just late with an April Fool's joke, it is enough to get me a little worried. I have 7 hours' leeway on arrival on a direct flight and also have the Air2Sea guarantee that they'll either wait for me or get me to the next port. So I feel like worst-case scenario RCI will cover me. I wonder, though, whether anyone has had to rely on that Air2Sea without additional insurance and what happened?

 

 

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We missed our very first cruise because of an airline strike. Used RC to book flights. They took wonderful care of us. Wen't above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of and were happy. Met up with the ship the second day of the cruise. We had insurance(not with RC) but we didn't need it.

[Livvie]

I think there are at least three lessons in this story. Insurance, a passport and flying in at least a day prior to your cruise date would have made a huge difference in this case.

Yup. Due to multiple poor choices on the OP's part, they have zero recourse.

[mad-dog74]

Yup. Due to multiple poor choices on the OP's part, they have zero recourse.

 

If I'd spent $11k on a cruise, I surely would have spent another $200-300 for insurance. I never thought I'd need it either, but one one cruise we had an airline loose a piece of luggage... never did turn up. Then, on our Allure cruise, I came down with a horrible strep-throat infection. I was so miserable, I finally caved and went to the medical center. It was pretty pricey just for the visit and best I recall the amoxil was over $100.

 

Those are just 2 simple things in which having insurance more than paid for itself... I couldn't imagine something like knowing I was loosing $11k

[Bound4Bermuda]

We missed our very first cruise because of an airline strike. Used RC to book flights. They took wonderful care of us. Wen't above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of and were happy. Met up with the ship the second day of the cruise. We had insurance(not with RC) but we didn't need it.

 

 

Sorry that happened, but glad it worked out well!

 

 

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[Livvie]

I think we need a bit of sociological understanding here. Experienced cruisers tend to be a tad older than the newbies found on so many of the 4-6 day cruises. You have to remember these folks come from the "participation" trophy generation and have never had to really deal with adversity such as losing their entire fare. So they honestly believe that they are due a refund and other compensation for something they could well have avoided with better planning. So don't jump to harshly on them, remember many are just fragile snowflakes.

 

Also a fast web search does NOT reveal any blanket FAA grounding of flights in any part of the US yesterday or any time recently.

Two big thumbs up for this post.

[spookyfudge]

We scheduled a Panama cruise flew out on the day of cruise, we hit snow in north east and plane was delayed to 4 hours, got to fort Lauderdale with 30 minutes to spare, one of the last people to board. And yes they did Waite about 2- hours there were about 400 people missing the cruise due to the weather. In Aruba did see lots of folks boarding (first port), they must of had insurance. So yes ships will go no matter how many no shows. Sorry, should of had insurance, and how do you go through customs when you return if you don't have a passport to 're-enter?

 

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[Isaboo]

Perhaps. But I don't see it as gambling. I have lost money on cancelled trips. But I travel a lot, and I would have spend MORE money insuring all my trips than I spend for trips I didn't end up taking. Furthermore, as I mentioned, it's not really "lost" money. I have auto insurance because if I get into an accident, I will suddenly have to spend money I wasn't planning on spending. That's lost money. This is about recovering spent money. I'm happy to self insure.

 

I disagree...to me it would be a "loss" of almost $7,000. You see things differently, and that's fine. If it were just me and my spouse and the cruise fare was $1800...then maybe I would risk it. But traveling with kids and needing two cabins entails is a lot of money. But yeah..if you don't get your vacation and you can't get a refund... that's a loss. We have actually needed the cruise insurance once, way back when I was in my 20's (YOUNG!). I had an unexpected medical situation pop up and we had to cancel. Our travel insurance refunded every dime! There have been other times when my kids had to go to the ships doctor and another time my husbands golf clubs were lost. Maybe we're just unlucky? Still, the amount of money I have spent on cruise insurance over the years doesn't come close to the amount we "saved" on that once cancelled cruise.

 

Please don't call people who by insurance "suckers". That rude and your situation is different.

[Homosassa]

I am constantly trying to get the word out on the various forums that no one can ever assume that there will not be a weather delay for flights to or from Florida at any time of the year.

 

As a peninsula, Florida has sea breezes and storms move in from both coasts, tropical air moving up from the south, and front moving down from the north.

 

It is common from airports to be closed on one coast and flights diverted to the other coast (and it is like dominoes as the storm moves across the state and the airports try to unstack the grounded planes before they are hit by the storm and closed down), or when they is a massive front moving over the entire state with thunderstorms, to completely close the air travel in the state.

 

We live in Florida and the only port we will drive to on the day of the cruise is Tampa as we are an hour away. Otherwise, we drive to the port the day before because one does not wish to be driving on the interstate during a heavy downpour.

 

Royal Caribbean does not owe a thing to the people who gambled with same day flights and lost the gamble.

 

And for those who don't think a passport is necessary and is going to cheap out with a birth certificate, a passport would have allowed them to fly to another port and save a part of the cruise.