Flight Delay Results in Missing Ship - Any Relief?

[Ocean Fan]

My wife and I recently sailed on Radiance of the Seas in Alaska. Mechanical delays on our United Airlines fight from Chicago caused us to miss the ship departure in Anchorage, so we had to fly to Juneau and pick up the ship on day 3 of the cruise. Although United Airlines paid for our flight to Juneau and our hotel charges, Royal Caribbean will not compensate us for the time missed on the cruise ship. We purchased our airline tickets through their Air 2 Sea program, but they will not budge on a refund or discount on a future cruise. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line we have sailed on, and I am seriously thinking about sailing with some other cruise line in the future.

[BirdTravels]

Nope. We never fly into a port on day of cruise. Especially someplace like anchorage with limited flights.

Edited September 14, 2018 by BirdTravels

[Ocean Fan]

Ok. Thanks

[klfrodo]

File a claim with your travel insurance. If you were remiss and didn't purchase travel insurance, check if the credit card you paid for the trip has any included travel insurance benefits.

 

Royal owes you nothing, the ship (your hotel) sailed on time as scheduled.

[Cali girl]

Even if they booked though air2sea? I thought RC covered it

 

 

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[Ocean Fan]

Thank you

[internetwhiz]

My wife and I recently sailed on Radiance of the Seas in Alaska. Mechanical delays on our United Airlines fight from Chicago caused us to miss the ship departure in Anchorage, so we had to fly to Juneau and pick up the ship on day 3 of the cruise. Although United Airlines paid for our flight to Juneau and our hotel charges, Royal Caribbean will not compensate us for the time missed on the cruise ship. We purchased our airline tickets through their Air 2 Sea program, but they will not budge on a refund or discount on a future cruise. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line we have sailed on, and I am seriously thinking about sailing with some other cruise line in the future.

 

 

Did you contact air2sea when the flight was missed and request their assistance? Did you have trip insurance? Knowing that would helpl

[BNBR]

I think the Air2Sea is the key factor here. You bought everything through Royal! So it doesn't seem unreasonable in this circumstance to expect them to credit you the missed time. Kind of like a contractor being responsible for their sub contractors. It just seems like the right thing to do. I'm disappointed in their response and lack of responsibility in the matter.

[Clarea]

Even if they booked though air2sea? I thought RC covered it

Booking air through Air2Sea will make sure RC pays for transportation to the ship, but there is no provision for compensation for missed cruise days.

[Ourusualbeach]

I was under the assumption that all Air to Sea was responsible for was ensuring that you get to the next port to meet the ship.

[Biker19]

I was under the assumption that all Air to Sea was responsible for was ensuring that you get to the next port to meet the ship.

But as Bob mentioned, not to compensate for any missed days. The OP should get the full 7 points though.

[Ocean Fan]

We did contact air2sea when our flight was delayed. I am going to check to see if my credit card used to purchase the cruise and flight tickets has travel insurance benefits.

[Ourusualbeach]

But as Bob mentioned, not to compensate for any missed days. The OP should get the full 7 points though.

That’s what I stated. “All Air to Sea was responsible responsible for was getting you to the next port to meet the ship”

[Tapi]

As others have stated, Air2Sea is responsible to get you to your next port of call should your flights be canceled or delayed. Unfortunately, without travel insurance, there’s little to no compensation that you’re entitled to beyond catch-up transportation.

 

Tough lesson to learn and I truly feel for you. Many of us have learned not to fly on the day of the cruise or without insurance exactly because of situations like what you’ve encountered.

 

Hoping that the rest of the cruise was enjoyable!

 

 

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[Ocean Fan]

Thank you. It was an fantastic cruise once we made it to the ship.

[Jammu2]

So they put you up in a hotel. Did you het vouchers for food?

 

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[swoopy2110]

As others have said. Air2Sea gets you to the next port to board. It doesn't provide compensation. You need to go to your travel insurance for that and see there is anything in your policy.

[renata102]

Never ever fly in same day of cruise.

[sparks1093]

Thank you. It was an fantastic cruise once we made it to the ship.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully others will learn from your experience.

[SargassoPirate]

Traveling without travel insurance is like driving a car with just liability coverage - you are essentially self-insured for any loss.

 

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I carry an annual travel insurance policy that costs us just ovet $250 a year each. This policy is augment by included trip interruption insurance when we book cruises through our big box warehouse club's travel department and use their branded credit card.

 

Our annual policy also covers us for road trips and land travel not part of a cruise.

 

We also fly a day or two before the cruise and enjoy the local area and traveling without the frenzy of ttying to jam flights and boarding into one day.

 

I hope your next cruise works out better.

[Havingfun2010]

My wife and I recently sailed on Radiance of the Seas in Alaska. Mechanical delays on our United Airlines fight from Chicago caused us to miss the ship departure in Anchorage, so we had to fly to Juneau and pick up the ship on day 3 of the cruise. Although United Airlines paid for our flight to Juneau and our hotel charges, Royal Caribbean will not compensate us for the time missed on the cruise ship. We purchased our airline tickets through their Air 2 Sea program, but they will not budge on a refund or discount on a future cruise. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line we have sailed on, and I am seriously thinking about sailing with some other cruise line in the future.

 

A few things. They got you to the ship, which is what they promise to do. When you miss an item due to another item being messed up, you usually are out of luck. Example, I had flight delays, and missed a day in Italy once. Not on a ship, but instead of touring in Italy, I toured the airport. I didn't get a refund of any kind. The tour company did do everything possible to catch us up.

 

You bought a cruise, and you got on the cruise. Late, but you still did. You also had an opportunity to stay someplace and enjoy that area for 2 days. Maybe not what you wanted, but it was something else.

 

There are some places that I would never fly on the same day to. Alaska is one of them.

[dutchclogs]

If the missing days had included port days, I presume you would have the port fees/taxes refunded?

[papaflamingo]

... Although United Airlines paid for our flight to Juneau and our hotel charges,

I know you've had a flood of answers, and some seem a bit unsympathetic. In reality, we all do actually sympathize with your situation. But as many of us know, you need Cruise Insurance if you want compensation for missing part of the trip. As many others have told you, booking Air2Sea guarantees that Royal Caribbean will get you to the ship at the next possible port if you miss the ship. You were lucky that you booked through them. If you had booked your own transportation, you'd have been responsible for getting to the next port at your own expense. So... obviously you now know the value of Cruise Insurance. A lesson much cheaper for you than for most.

Anyway, just to clear something up. I am retired Air Lines (28 year pilot). United did not pay for your flight to Juneau OR the hotel. Royal Caribbean did. United was only responsible to get you to the original destination. The fact that you experienced a delay does not obligate them to fly you to a second destination. They only get you to where you were booked originally. It was Air2Sea that paid your flight to Juneau and your hotel stay. So really you were very lucky that you booked through the cruise line.

[klfrodo]

papaflamingo is correct.

 

Since we're having teaching moments here, let's take a different approach.

 

OP, let's keep all things the same but you were sailing out of Miami. Ports were the western sailing. Usually Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Mexico.

Same thing, Air2Sea booked your flight to Miami. Your connection gets messed up and you are delayed into Miami and miss the ship.

Scenario 1) You don't have passport book. You are missing your entire cruise with zero course for retrieving any money back. All ports are foreign ports. Insurance would not cover this and Air2Sea would not accept responsibility.

Scenario 2) You do have passport book. (I say "book" because you can't fly internationally with a passport card). In this scenario, you would have had the same experience as your Alaska cruise.

 

Lessons Learned

 

1. Never fly in the same day. (okay, never say never. If you must fly in the same day, minimize your risks)

2. Get passport book

3 Depending on level of financial risk, get travel insurance. This would have fallen under "Trip Delay". But know what "Trip Delay" means with your policy. All policies are different. Some policies have a 4 hour delay minimum, some have as much as a 12 hour delay minimum. (With a policy that has a 12 hour delay,,, and your flight was only 6 hours delayed,,, you would not be covered)

[ma23peas]

We’ve flown in the day of a cruise on a European cruise...not a hitch. We have always bought trip insurance the same day we booked our cruise by finding a good deal using InsureMyTrip...never had to use it, but for a family of five, the costs usually run between $90-140 for travel costs ranging from 3k-7k.