Cruise debarkation 1 day late due to fog. What next?

[MinnesotaCruiser423]

With all of the fog going on in Galveston I am curious what happens to those disembarking late. From the ship how do you handle missed flights and/or potential booking hotels stays due to flight changes?

 

DW and I cruise out of Galveston next Sunday (hopefully). We are not concerned about leaving later or even next day if fog happens. But I am curious about the process if we are delayed getting back. We have flights schedule for debarkation day and we have never missed a flight. Can anyone tell me if we will be able to use the internet or phones to make the necessary changes to travel plans?

 

DW and I typically just roll with the punches and make the best of any situation, but I am just trying to be as mentally prepared as possible in case the situation arises to minimize any stress or frustration. Any thoughts, ideas or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

Matt & Aubry

[BoDidly]

We simply drive to the ports , you see this fog problem often winter /spring months.

[cruisengrammie7]

We just always have travel insurance that covers as much as possible that we can afford.

[jimbo5544]

We had a fog delay returning to port when we sailed the Legend out of Tampa a few years back. They closed the port due to fog (and it was thick) and instead of 8 am we returned at 4:45PM they did open internet, but I could get a phone signal, so we just worked on our end..... Sure made the debarkation and next cruise embarkation a hassle, felt sorry for the port staff.

 

 

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[msmayor]

With all of the fog going on in Galveston I am curious what happens to those disembarking late. From the ship how do you handle missed flights and/or potential booking hotels stays due to flight changes?

 

DW and I cruise out of Galveston next Sunday (hopefully). We are not concerned about leaving later or even next day if fog happens. But I am curious about the process if we are delayed getting back. We have flights schedule for debarkation day and we have never missed a flight. Can anyone tell me if we will be able to use the internet or phones to make the necessary changes to travel plans?

 

DW and I typically just roll with the punches and make the best of any situation, but I am just trying to be as mentally prepared as possible in case the situation arises to minimize any stress or frustration. Any thoughts, ideas or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

Matt & Aubry

 

We've never sailed out of Galveston and have never experienced a delayed debarkation...but I still prepare for that scenario.

 

Make a list NOW of flight options after your scheduled flight...this avoids you needing to do the research 'in the moment' and wasting internet time....while others are scooping up your preferred alternative.

 

If you have a travel insurance policy, make sure you have the necessary contact and policy information in hand so you can reach out to them for help. My policy comes with a toll-free help line I can call for assistance in the event I have a problem.

[scuddles]

We are in Galveston now after flying in last night. We are now leaving tomorrow morning hopefully on the Breeze, although they are saying "limited" port staff. Not sure what that means. Thanks for the heads up on our flights next week. Hopefully we will be back in next Sunday but I will check for alternatives now and make notes. We have a 5pm out of Bush so we will have some time.

Does anyone know if we have Carnival insurance, if we just keep receipts for the extra hotel night? They are closed today and probably tomorrow due to the holiday. We are just taking it in stride. At least its a lot warmer than home. :)

[DebJ14]

We are in Galveston now after flying in last night. We are now leaving tomorrow morning hopefully on the Breeze, although they are saying "limited" port staff. Not sure what that means. Thanks for the heads up on our flights next week. Hopefully we will be back in next Sunday but I will check for alternatives now and make notes. We have a 5pm out of Bush so we will have some time.

Does anyone know if we have Carnival insurance, if we just keep receipts for the extra hotel night? They are closed today and probably tomorrow due to the holiday. We are just taking it in stride. At least its a lot warmer than home. :)

 

Keep your receipts for the hotel. You will need to get a claim form from the insurance company when you get back, along with documentation from Carnival that the sailing was delayed. Keep copies of any communications from Carnival about the delay, such as emails, texts and any papers they hand out at embarkation about the delay and changed itinerary. It will make filing the claim easier.

 

Next Sunday we are due to board the Breeze. The weather forecast for next Sunday calls for pretty windy conditions, so there should be no fog. You should be OK for a 5pm flight as long as the ship is able to dock sometime in the morning.

 

If there is going to be an issue they will let you know and the ship will open up the Internet to everyone for free, and give free phone calls to make changes to your reservations. If you can't get a dial tone, switch your cell phone to internet calls and call for free that way. We've done that on a couple of fog delayed cruises.

 

We had an issue on the Liberty in Nov. when we were actually scheduled for a 2pm arrival in Galveston, but the Captain announced they got more propulsion and told us the day before the cruise ended that we would get into Galveston at 9am. People contacted friends and family and ground transportation companies about earlier pick up times and some changed their flights to earlier times.

 

If you did your own air it is probably not insured under Carnival's policy, but the cruise line may reimburse you for flight change fees. Keep all that paperwork too if you do have to change flights.

 

We buy 3rd party insurance that covers both the flights and the cruise when we fly. Third party insurance is almost always cheaper than the Carnival insurance on the cruise and we have better coverage. We use Travel Safe. Best part is we can start the claim online 24/7.

Edited January 15, 2017 by DebJ14

[scuddles]

Ok thanks for the info. Glad you said to keep the delay and itinerary information. I wouldn't have thought of that. I guess any proof.

[riclop]

With all of the fog going on in Galveston I am curious what happens to those disembarking late. From the ship how do you handle missed flights and/or potential booking hotels stays due to flight changes?

 

DW and I cruise out of Galveston next Sunday (hopefully). We are not concerned about leaving later or even next day if fog happens. But I am curious about the process if we are delayed getting back. We have flights schedule for debarkation day and we have never missed a flight. Can anyone tell me if we will be able to use the internet or phones to make the necessary changes to travel plans?

 

DW and I typically just roll with the punches and make the best of any situation, but I am just trying to be as mentally prepared as possible in case the situation arises to minimize any stress or frustration. Any thoughts, ideas or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

Matt & Aubry

 

Galveston is the worst port to travel from in the winter, you have lots of much better ports.

[Tapit]

We had to be out of the room at 4 waited on deck 5 until 630 then the long line for customs. Our bag was not checked. The asked everyone to take their own bag. The called floors 1 2 6 then 789 together then 10 and whoever was left. Yep we were deck 10. We got on the shuttle to our car at 8 pm and loving this 14 hr drive right now.

 

 

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[Tapit]

I forgot to add some of the people rescheduled the flights a couple of times The airlines to the Midwest most of them waived any fees because of an ice storm. I did talk to someone said it cost them $1000 to rebook the flight only to have to pay it again because the valor had birthing rights. they started letting people off at 5pm. It was a mess never had anything like this and it was our 3rd cruise.

 

 

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[Tapit]

One other thing. The did open the phone lines for people to make arrangements. We did get to port about 7 am on sat. We had phone service on our cell phones. Around 130 they said we needed to cruise around so we would have great water. We circled around a few times thru the night. The port was closed. As we circled around the phones went to the cellular sea. Woke up in port at 7. Funny we didn't need to cruise around for fresh water today. The luggage was returned to each state room.

 

 

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[Tapit]

 

 

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