Supposed to board Harmony tomorrow, but instead I'm still in Phoenix

[DukeASUGirl]

After a giant fiasco with our flights (we inquired into the possibility of rebooking our Friday flight to Orlando instead to Saturday with the fare waiver Delta was offering due to the hurricane, but our third-party discount site seems to have cancelled our ticket instead and then when they tried to rebook us, Delta wanted $1400 more per person on top of what we'd already paid), we ended up just cancelling.

 

Royal offered us Future Cruise Credit to use within 365 days, and we are being refunded by the third-party discount site (at first the discounter tried to blame Delta, but after I spent 3.5 hours in person with the ticket counter at my local airport, I'm assured that it was in fact the discounter's fault, but once the ticket was canceled, Delta can't recreate it), and we have 24 months to roll over the insurance package to the new cruise.

 

All in all, we're only out a very minimal amount of money (I think GoPort charges a 30% cancellation penalty on the shuttle reservation, but we're still looking into whether that can be waived, but really, we're talking like $40 or something), so in the great scheme of things, it's really not a bad outcome. And while I'm sad that Fall Break was "ruined," at least I don't have to deal with the nightmare that many Floridians who lost everything are dealing with right now. My heart goes out to them.

 

But man...I was supposed to have toured Kennedy Space Center today, and boarding a cruise ship tomorrow. And the entire reason we'd picked this ship is because my daughter's coach is a soloist in the skating show, but she'll be off contract and back to our rink by the time we'll be able to reschedule something. So that's the biggest bummer.

 

I think we'll pick something much closer to home next time so we don't need to deal with the airline nightmare. Probably LA, so we can just drive there.

 

Bon voyage to anyone here who will be on that sailing tomorrow. Wish I could join you! Have a margarita for me!

[ARandomTraveler]

Aww that sucks! Sounds like you have a good attitude about it though. The coach will definitely appreciate that you guys made the effort, and will surely understand the circumstances of the cancellation due to the storm.
 

This is the sole reason I don't book anything through 3rd party sites. The deals are great when things work out, but if there's a problem, the airline/hotel always treats people like gum on the bottom of their shoe.
 

You're basically not their customer, and they'll do everything they can not to help you, brush you off and send you back to the company who has your money. Makes me wonder why they make deals with those 3rd party sites to begin with, because they seem to really hate that anyone uses them.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[DukeASUGirl]

8 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Aww that sucks! Sounds like you have a good attitude about it though.

 

 

Oh, believe me. I cried for HOURS and hours. My good attitude is definitely a work in progress.

 

And I won't use third-party sites anymore after this. I've learned my lesson.

 

But the Delta ticket counter supervisor at the airport really was a good guy. He did try really hard to get it to work out for us. He made multiple calls to the special internal customer service on my behalf, and while he was waiting for them to look into the matter, he even started searching for the cheapest option for us on other airlines. 

 

The best he and I (searching on each of our phones) could find was about $800/ticket on American out of Las Vegas - but of course it would entail driving 5 hours to Vegas first. And it would still be an extra $3200 out of pocket for airline tickets on top of the $1800 we'd already paid. $5000 total for 4 people to fly to a cruise that cost under $2500! Nope!

 

I guess this just wasn't meant to be this week.

Edited October 2, 2022 by DukeASUGirl

[soremekun]

Wow!  I'm so sorry.  What are your alternative plans?

[2chiefs]

So sorry this happened to you. What a nightmare.

Perhaps Royal's Air2Sea flight booking might be a better choice for future cruises. Their prices are reasonable and that might provide more reassurance for you.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS book direct from the airline.  There are all kinds of on line tools to  help you search for flights (I agree with Google flights), but the potential savings of using a 3rd party can quickly get wiped out if there is a problem.  

Edited October 2, 2022 by S.A.M.J.R.

[Janet524]

So sorry about your misfortune.  Even when you know it was result of weather that you just can't control, it's still a disappointment.  I'm not trying to be offensive, but when you rebook, perhaps consider doing it outside hurricane season.  There's usually a good chance that you'll be okay booking then, but there's always the chance that something like Ian happens and throws a monkey wrench into well made plans.  Good luck with whatever you plan to do.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Thank you for your good attitude, even if it is a "work in progress," as you say. 🙂 Canceled vacation plans can be S U P E R sad, but it is refreshing to see people keep things in perspective.

 

Hoping you find something fun to do next week, and enjoy making your plans for the next cruise!

[Jimbo]

@DukeASUGirl How about a 5 nighter  Mexican Rivera out of LA on Carnival Miracle since you are going to have the time off anyway. Only a little over 5 hour drive. Prices are reasonable too.  October 6th - October 11th

 

• • Day 1: LOS ANGELES (LONG BEACH), CA
  • Thu Oct 06 2022 | Depart 04:00 PM
• • Day 2: FUN DAY AT SEA
  • Fri Oct 07 2022 |
• • Day 3: CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO
  • Sat Oct 08 2022 | 10:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 4: FUN DAY AT SEA
  • Sun Oct 09 2022 |
• • Day 5: ENSENADA, MEXICO
  • Mon Oct 10 2022 | 08:00 AM To 05:00 PM
• • Day 6: LOS ANGELES (LONG BEACH), CA
  • Tue Oct 11 2022 | Arrive 08:00 AM
• ___________________________________________________________________________
•  
• Or if you can back up your vacation a  week sail on Celebrity Solstice 7 nighter
• • Day 1: Los Angeles - California
  • Sat Oct 08 2022 | Depart 04:00 PM
• • Day 2: At Sea
  • Sun Oct 09 2022 |
• • Day 3: At Sea
  • Mon Oct 10 2022 |
• • Day 4: Puerto Vallarta - Mexico
  • Tue Oct 11 2022 | 08:00 AM To 04:30 PM
• • Day 5: Cabo San Lucas - Mexico
  • Wed Oct 12 2022 | 09:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 6: At Sea
  • Thu Oct 13 2022 |
• • Day 7: Ensenada - Mexico
  • Fri Oct 14 2022 | 09:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 8: Los Angeles - California
  • Sat Oct 15 2022 | Arrive 06:00 AM

Edited October 2, 2022 by Jimbo

[DukeASUGirl]

29 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

@DukeASUGirl How about a 5 nighter  Mexican Rivera out of LA on Carnival Miracle since you are going to have the time off anyway. Only a little over 5 hour drive. Prices are reasonable too.  October 6th - October 11th

 

• • Day 1: LOS ANGELES (LONG BEACH), CA
  • Thu Oct 06 2022 | Depart 04:00 PM
• • Day 2: FUN DAY AT SEA
  • Fri Oct 07 2022 |
• • Day 3: CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO
  • Sat Oct 08 2022 | 10:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 4: FUN DAY AT SEA
  • Sun Oct 09 2022 |
• • Day 5: ENSENADA, MEXICO
  • Mon Oct 10 2022 | 08:00 AM To 05:00 PM
• • Day 6: LOS ANGELES (LONG BEACH), CA
  • Tue Oct 11 2022 | Arrive 08:00 AM
• ___________________________________________________________________________
•  
• Or if you can back up your vacation a  week sail on Celebrity Solstice 7 nighter
• • Day 1: Los Angeles - California
  • Sat Oct 08 2022 | Depart 04:00 PM
• • Day 2: At Sea
  • Sun Oct 09 2022 |
• • Day 3: At Sea
  • Mon Oct 10 2022 |
• • Day 4: Puerto Vallarta - Mexico
  • Tue Oct 11 2022 | 08:00 AM To 04:30 PM
• • Day 5: Cabo San Lucas - Mexico
  • Wed Oct 12 2022 | 09:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 6: At Sea
  • Thu Oct 13 2022 |
• • Day 7: Ensenada - Mexico
  • Fri Oct 14 2022 | 09:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 8: Los Angeles - California
  • Sat Oct 15 2022 | Arrive 06:00 AM

 

Sounds great, but the kids' (5th and 7th grades) and my (university professor) Fall Breaks off from school are this coming week, not the next. And we all have to be back in class on Tues, Oct 11. 

 

Wish we could!

[Jimbo]

43 minutes ago, DukeASUGirl said:

 

Sounds great, but the kids' (5th and 7th grades) and my (university professor) Fall Breaks off from school are this coming week, not the next. And we all have to be back in class on Tues, Oct 11. 

 

Wish we could!

Then your only other option was to get on Navigator tomorrow for a short 4 night cruise. Monday the 3rd until Friday.

Edited October 2, 2022 by Jimbo

[DukeASUGirl]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Then your only other option was to get on Navigator tomorrow for a short 4 night cruise. Monday the 3rd until Friday.

Love the idea, but our FCC won't be available to be used for 30-45 days from now, and I don't see my husband willingly shelling out of pocket for another cruise right now when we'll have one already paid for in the next year.

 

Sigh.

 

But thank you! I really do appreciate your suggestions!

[Jimbo]

14 minutes ago, DukeASUGirl said:

Love the idea, but our FCC won't be available to be used for 30-45 days from now, and I don't see my husband willingly shelling out of pocket for another cruise right now when we'll have one already paid for in the next year.

 

Sigh.

 

But thank you! I really do appreciate your suggestions!

Should be able to call and get the funds transfered over to the  the new cruise immediately  as long as you keep same booking number..............take what extra is left then in FCC .

 

Better trying that then sitting home for the week.

Edited October 2, 2022 by Jimbo

[DukeASUGirl]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Should be able to call and get the funds transfered over to the  the new cruise immediately  as long as you keep same booking number..............take what extra is left then in FCC .

 

Better trying that then sitting home for the week.

Oh interesting! The email confirmation I have says it's cancelled and that FCC will come in 30-45 days. Hmmm. Maybe I'll try this! Thanks!

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Should be able to call and get the funds transfered over to the  the new cruise immediately  as long as you keep same booking number..............take what extra is left then in FCC .

 

Better trying that then sitting home for the week.

I thought the new thing was if you apply a fcc, any left over is now obc on the cruise you applied it to. 

 

They always talk about dont book thru a 3rd party. I booked thru american. First my flight and then my hotel. Never booked a hotel thru american. Said I'd get pts but havent. So technically hotel is thru a 3rd party. Got my fingers crossed none of us on bellas cruise during spring break have issues. Flights will be full .. as will hotels. 

[Jimbo]

17 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I thought the new thing was if you apply a fcc, any left over is now obc on the cruise you applied it to. 

 

They always talk about dont book thru a 3rd party. I booked thru american. First my flight and then my hotel. Never booked a hotel thru american. Said I'd get pts but havent. So technically hotel is thru a 3rd party. Got my fingers crossed none of us on bellas cruise during spring break have issues. Flights will be full .. as will hotels. 

Either way it doesn't matter, if it is applied as OBC, just go to Casino and cash it out for real Cash.

 

Time is of the  essence though since this cruise is so close, Has to act quick to even have a chance of pulling this off. Dealing directly with Royal would be quicker then getting a travel agency involved.

 

Surprised some one didn't suggest this yesterday would have gave her  an extra 8 to 10 more hours to make this happen.

 

Pretty sure she is going to have cash left over going from a 7 day on Harmony to a 4 day on Navigator in less she can score a suite at this late date. Since Navigator leaves tomorrow. She has 3 extra hours to make this happen since she lives on the West Coast.

Edited October 2, 2022 by Jimbo

[pfdaxe358]

Sorry to hear. We're also in Phoenix and sail on 10/15. We're flying into MIA a couple of days early to enjoy some time on South Beach. I ALWAYS book directly with the airline. I've been traveling for years and book direct as at the end of the day, from numerous price comparisons, it seems to work out the best. Third party is a gamble. My mother is a cruise specialist TA who always suggests booking direct with the airline. Best wishes!

Edited October 2, 2022 by pfdaxe358

[coaster]

10 hours ago, ChC said:

That is a sad story.

 

Make sure you use google flight from now on. It can provide insight for the flight price. Like you can search flights from nearby airports like Yuma (better than Las Vegas) or combine 2 separate tickets (like fly Spirit to Dallas then another ticket to Orlando, ###figuratively speaking not factual). It may not work perfectly and may require you to take some risks (i.e. tight connections or overnight connections). But at least it is really useful to find some alternatives on your own if you don't have the help from the super nice Delta ticketing agent.

The downside to Google Flights it does not include Southwest. I was looking for my son to come into Tampa to visit us in a few weeks. I was about to book him into Orlando and was going to do the horrible I-4 drive to pick him up. My wife reminded me about the Southwest exclusion and luckily checked their site and got him direct into Tampa for around the same price, but without baggage fees that Southwest does not charge for. Google Flights is a great resource, but take the time to also go to Southwest's website.

Edited October 2, 2022 by coaster

[SPacificbound]

I'm so sorry, that really sucks. I hope you can be sailing away before long.

 

Poor people in Florida, my heart goes out to them.

[DukeASUGirl]

It was just too soon a turnaround to get something together to leave tomorrow, so we're scrapping it all until May right after the kids get out of school.

 

I tried calling Royal, but they insisted it couldn't be done because FCC's are being processed, or something like that. I'm sure if I kept calling back I would eventually get an agent with a different story who would be able to do it, but I've spent hours and hours on hold and customer service in the last few days and I just don't have the patience anymore at this point.

 

So we're going to do Navigator in May. Sigh. 

 

Sucks not to be on a ship, but we ended up driving to my parents up north and will day trip around AZ instead. Sedona, Grand Canyon, Prescott...not what we'd planned but it'll do.

[pcur]

21 hours ago, DukeASUGirl said:

After a giant fiasco with our flights (we inquired into the possibility of rebooking our Friday flight to Orlando instead to Saturday with the fare waiver Delta was offering due to the hurricane, but our third-party discount site seems to have cancelled our ticket instead and then when they tried to rebook us, Delta wanted $1400 more per person on top of what we'd already paid), we ended up just cancelling.

 

Royal offered us Future Cruise Credit to use within 365 days, and we are being refunded by the third-party discount site (at first the discounter tried to blame Delta, but after I spent 3.5 hours in person with the ticket counter at my local airport, I'm assured that it was in fact the discounter's fault, but once the ticket was canceled, Delta can't recreate it), and we have 24 months to roll over the insurance package to the new cruise.

 

All in all, we're only out a very minimal amount of money (I think GoPort charges a 30% cancellation penalty on the shuttle reservation, but we're still looking into whether that can be waived, but really, we're talking like $40 or something), so in the great scheme of things, it's really not a bad outcome. And while I'm sad that Fall Break was "ruined," at least I don't have to deal with the nightmare that many Floridians who lost everything are dealing with right now. My heart goes out to them.

 

But man...I was supposed to have toured Kennedy Space Center today, and boarding a cruise ship tomorrow. And the entire reason we'd picked this ship is because my daughter's coach is a soloist in the skating show, but she'll be off contract and back to our rink by the time we'll be able to reschedule something. So that's the biggest bummer.

 

I think we'll pick something much closer to home next time so we don't need to deal with the airline nightmare. Probably LA, so we can just drive there.

 

Bon voyage to anyone here who will be on that sailing tomorrow. Wish I could join you! Have a margarita for me!

After every.single.sentence you wrote above, I kept thinking "the ending here is going to suck, big time............................and, it does.  So sorry your great trip is not happening.  May your substitute be a terrific itinerary, and my you have endless fun!!

[mugtech]

I agree with not booking through third parties, to deal directly with the airlines.  Another rule I have is to not plan to fly into Florida during the peak of hurricane season.