Urgent Help/Advice Needed!!

[Poppyprincess]

Can anyone advise me please. I boarded the Seabourn Odyssey on 21st December with my husband for our honeymoon. We had a PH for 4 weeks. My parents joined us on 4th Jan for our last 2 weeks. My 82 year old mother was ill for the last 3 days of the trip and was disembarked by ambulance to a hospital in Barbados on 18th January therefore missing our flight back to the UK. My 83 year old father has dementia and currently we are in a hotel here. My mother was discharged today and has been pronounced fit to fly by the doctor after suffering with pulmonary congestion. My problem is this, we booked our tickets with Seabourn Flight Ease, first class with BA. I am unable to access the booking as it says agent has to do it. Seabourn Odyssey were able to cancel our booking for 18th but now Seattle are telling me that they can not assist me but BA are telling me that I cannot do anything other than buy 4 tickets home and that the only people than can do something is the flight agent. I am getting no where fast! Having spent over £60,000 on this trip I feel that Seabourn have left us high and dry! Am I missing something here, does anyone else have any experience with a situation like this that could give me some advice.

 

Thank you and best wishes.

[margbem]

So sorry this has happened to you but glad your Mum is fit enough to travel home now.

 

Do you have travel insurance? If so, contact your insurer to see if they can help. That would be my first port of call. Good luck. I am sure other people will add ideas.

[Poppyprincess]

Yes we have travel insurance but mum and dad’s only covers them. We had to stay as dad could not be alone due to his dementia! This is a total nightmare and I can believe that after our loyalty to Seabourn from when it was called The Yachts of Seabourn that we are being treated like this. BA say that their hands are tied, that it is possible to change the booking but only FlightEase can do it!!

 

Thank you for your help and taking the time to reply. 

[margbem]

Have you contacted your insurers to see if they can help? I know it’s unlikely but worth asking the question. 
 

Did you use a travel agent, or did you book direct with Seabourn?

[Poppyprincess]

Insurance company won’t help. We booked through a travel agency but they used Seabourn to do the flights and private transfers etc, they did not do it directly themselves.

[margbem]

Your travel agent should help you with this but obviously they will be closed now. Did you contact them for help?

[Poppyprincess]

No as we were told whilst onboard the Odyssey that they would sort out the flights and change ticket to an open return. Then they called me to say that Seattle needed a date to work to, even if that had to be changed. We have the date as 23 Jan, my father and husband were still onboard at this time. Then when I went back to the ship to collect them and bags etc we were told that the ship itself could do no more, they had alerted BA to the situation but that Family Assistance in Seattle would take over. I am trying through Family Assistance, the chap is very nice but he is not having much luck with FlightEase.

[margbem]

What a nightmare. Hope you get help to get sorted and get home. All the best.

[SLSD]

I think your travel agent should be calling Seabourn and getting this sorted out.  What sort of travel agent did you use?  Did you use a big box outfit, or an individual you have a relationship with?  

[Poppyprincess]

Seabourn’s largest UK agent. I would have called them straight away on Saturday if the Guest Manager and the Medical team on the Odyssey had not said that they would do everything necessary. At the point I was just anxious about my mother and about to go with her in the ambulance. I was then told on my return to the ship to collect my father and husband that Seabourn Family Assistance would take over everything so I have not contacted the travel agency yet. By the time Family Assistance told me that there is nothing they can do I then tried them but they are closed due to time difference. I will be contacting them first thing. I always was such an advocate of Seabourn but this has left such a bad taste and I suppose a warning to other passengers that may unfortunately be taken ill. They use the strap line onboard ‘your home away from home’ but once you are off the ship you are alone and forgotten about. Not very nice for my elderly parents!

[fdnycruiser]

If you have an American Express card you can call global assist, and probably get some assistance. Even better if you used the card to charge the trip. I wish you the best in getting this all sorted out. 

[Poppyprincess]

We don’t I’m afraid, only MasterCard and the payment was made by bank transfer. But thank you. 

[SLSD]

If your travel agent does deal with SB more than any other agency in the UK, they should be able to sort this out with Seabourn. I know that all of our dealings with SB have been through an agent--including our air when we purchased it through them.  So--I have high hopes that your agent will be able to help.  

[Poppyprincess]

I do hope so. I’ll report back. Have found out from BA that Seabourn called them, BA we’re happy to defer the ticket but required further information from Seabourn. Seabourn did not call me for this info or go back to BA so consequently we were down as a No Show. BA have told us to go back to Seabourn. Family Assistance answer .... buy 4 new tickets! 

[SLSD]

52 minutes ago, Poppyprincess said:

I do hope so. I’ll report back. Have found out from BA that Seabourn called them, BA we’re happy to defer the ticket but required further information from Seabourn. Seabourn did not call me for this info or go back to BA so consequently we were down as a No Show. BA have told us to go back to Seabourn. Family Assistance answer .... buy 4 new tickets! 

Your travel agent is essential to learn this up.  Hopefully they will come through for you tomorrow. 

[cruiseryder]

Sorry to learn of the situation you find yourself.

 

The Agent you booked through has an Emergency Helpline that I understand is manned 24hrs. Get them to involve the ‘top brass’ at both Seabourn and B.A. 

Failing that the UK press would be interested!

This is unacceptable and dreadful for you.

 

Good luck, hope you are home soon.

[frantic36]

Just my opinion, but this is a good reminder for us. 

 

If we have to change plans with air or hotel bookings to get our travel agent involved early on so that they can oversee what is requiring to be done. Especially if you are dealing with someone in your party being ill. This way you can feel secure that while you are busy that your TA, if they're good, is making sure everything is being organised.

 

Julie

 

 

[Poppyprincess]

Hi Julie, I would have done this had Seabourn not said that they would organise everything. Also our Atol certificate name Seabourn as the carrier and responsible for us! I was told onboard at the medical centre that they change flights all the time. What happened to us transpires to be (We were told this by BA) that Seabourn did call them, but too late, the flight had already left, so we were down as no shows. How that can be when we had been advised by the hospital in Barbados that mum couldn’t fly at 11.30am which I communicated with the ship and have a call log and our flight didn’t leave until 8.05PM!

[cruiseryder]

Poppy princess, have you managed to contact you TA yet?

 

They should be working on your behalf. Hopefully something gets sorted out for you soon.

 

Doesn’t reflect well on Seabourn on the face of it.

[Poppyprincess]

Hi, just spoken with our TA, Seabourns largest agent in UK apparently, as they booked the flights through FlightEase they are saying there is nothing they can do. They have spoken to Seabourn Guest Relations and I have had to email them. I also emailed the president Rick Meadows and the CEO S Kruze. The crux of the matter is that Seabourn rang BA but BA needed further information from them and Seabourn never rang them back with it. If they had BA would have deferred the flights!

[Reef Knot]

This is probably a dead end, but the folks over on the BA forum of Flyertalk are pretty well informed on all things BA.

A long shot I know but maybe they might have a suggestion ?

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club-446/

 

[LEESRE]

Poppyprincess.

So sorry to hear that your Mum was ill and hope that now you can get her back to the UK.

I know what you mean about Seabourn's  negligence, about Seabourn Flight Ease. We had flights from St Martin with them in November and we could not make the connections in Antigua, we phoned Seabourn Square to inform them and they (Seabourn) claim that our TA and their clients were kept well informed of what was happening. We heard nothing, It took us, from leaving the ship to getting home 52 hours. Seabourn do not want to know say it is the airlines responsibilty not theirs.

It seems once you leave the ship they have had their money so it is up to you to sort out problems even though they booked all the tickets through Seabourn Flight Ease via our TA, also I think the same TA as you have used.

[toseaornottosea]

Poppyprincess,

We had a similar situation on another cruise line where we had booked flight thru their air program.  I contacted airline and was told only cruise line air department could change flights.  Cruise line air department was not open and the need to change flights was immediate.  TA could do nothing.  Had to purchase new costly flights.  Fortunately had travel insurance that covered the problem and recovered all extra costs associated with the event.  Moral of the story.  Make sure to purchase travel insurance.  Do not use cruise line air departments.  I would rather have complete control of my travel arrangements and use credits for air from cruise line to help offset cost of flights.  Also allows us to use mileage/points awards to help offset flight costs.

[Poppyprincess]

Thanks Toseaornottosea, we do have travel insurance but BA have told them the same story .... Seabourn did not do what they were meant to do. Will definitely book my own flights in future. It is horrible being in the hands of others and all of this anxiety is having an effect on my mother. She has started having difficulty in breathing again, we think due to stress but the insurance company wants her checked by the doc again and it is a bank holiday today in Barbados so everything is closed! 

[Flamin_June]

All this unecessary suffering, anguish and stress, because the people at Seabourn lack the gumption and basic humanity to just do the right thing and and get something sorted that really should be very little trouble to  put right.

Bah!

As much as one loves the Seabourn end-product - the ships, the crew, the itinerararies - their shoreside operation and corporate 'customer care' are just the worst kind of big fails, arrogant, abysmal, smarmy and insincere. Starting with Meadows they should all be taken outside and horsewhipped.

I know this post is not going to help in any practical sense, but I feel your despair and have shared in your fustration.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Flamin_June
toned it down a bit