My flight was just cancelled

[LML101]

I'm scheduled to fly tomorrow night, flying from Anchorage to Lisbon. My last connection is in London, and flying British Airways from London to Lisbon on 11/24. BA just cancelled my flight, and said there is a nationwide strike planned for Portugal for 11/24.

 

My cruise departs on 11/25, heading down to South America. I really don't want to miss the cruise, because I have a whole two month trip planned. Originally, I would have liked to fly in an extra day early, but was not able to get space because of Thanksgiving Holiday, although I booked my flight six month ago. I know, I know, it would be best to fly in two days early, but it just wasn't possible, so no flames about that, please.

 

So my schedule right now is that I'm arriving into London around noon on Thursday, and have rescheduled me for an evening flight on 11/24. However, they advised that flight might be cancelled due to the strike also. There really won't be any way of knowing until I get there.

 

The only option that I can figure out is if I leave here tonight, and just go ahead and buy a new ticket so that I can fly in on 11/23 - the day before the strike. I have two options. The first is about $1100 going through Boston (I could use miles to Boston so it would only be $600). My family lives there also, so I could visit for a few hours. The flight from Boston has a change of planes in Ponte Delgada, Azores. I'd worry that if there were a problem with that flight, I could end up stuck on the Azores, watching my ship in the far distance.

 

The other flight is through Newark, and cost about $1300. Non-stop flight from Newark.

 

Other issue is that I'm taking my bicycle with me. If I took the first flight and got stuck in London without my bags, I'd be really messed up, because I'm riding my bicycle about 1,600 miles in South America.

 

Oh, yeah, one more thing. I just heard that a major blizzard is on the way here, by about dinnertime. I have 130 miles to drive to Anchorage, so it will be fun in a Blizzard.

[av8tr21]

I would call the airline you booked your original ticket with, explain the situation, and see if they can refund you or give you different connection opportunities. Tell them the revised itinerary is not going to work for you. The nonstop from Newark to Lisbon sounds like a safe bet to me.....as long as you get from ANC to EWR without a hitch. You would certainly have to make at least one stop as there are no nonstops from ANC-EWR. Good luck!

[LML101]

I can't change my original flight, because there is no space available due to Thanksgiving.

[paul929207]

I am not an expert on train schedules, but have you considered a train. London to Lisbon is probably doable in the 24 hours or so you have. ANother possibility would be renting a car, but that might be pushing it.

[LML101]

I would call the airline you booked your original ticket with, explain the situation, and see if they can refund you or give you different connection opportunities. Tell them the revised itinerary is not going to work for you. The nonstop from Newark to Lisbon sounds like a safe bet to me.....as long as you get from ANC to EWR without a hitch. You would certainly have to make at least one stop as there are no nonstops from ANC-EWR. Good luck!

 

 

Original ticket from Anchorage to London was a mileage ticket - the other half of one that I used in April when I did a TA on Eclipse. I already paid $175 plus another 20,000 miles to change the date to use it for this trip - did that 6 months ago. I purchased the British Airways as a separate ticket from London to Lisbon. It was only about $120, but I would expect that they would refund since my flight was cancelled.

 

I already called Alaska Airlines, who I had the original mileage ticket through. They advised that there are NO mileage seats available.

 

So my options are to go with the original plan and hope for the best, or pay $1300 and leave in a few hours.

[Cotswold Eagle]

I am not an expert on train schedules, but have you considered a train. London to Lisbon is probably doable in the 24 hours or so you have. ANother possibility would be renting a car, but that might be pushing it.

 

It's a general strike in Portugal, so likely trains will be disrupted on 24th too.

 

OP - have you spoken to RCI, this must be affecting a lot of pax, I would think?

[LML101]

It's a general strike in Portugal, so likely trains will be disrupted on 24th too.

 

OP - have you spoken to RCI, this must be affecting a lot of pax, I would think?

 

I spoke with Royal Caribbean, and they said the ship will sail anyway.

 

Funny, the ship is in drydock right now, and I've always kept in my mind that it might be a little delayed. They advise me that she is right on schedule - of course.

[Beth C]

In the big scheme of things... is $1300 worth ruining the whole game plan? I know for myself i'd go for it and figure out refunds etc afterwards ... I'm actually impressed it's only $1300 being this close to the flight! The cheapest flight for myself to get from Nova Scotia to Newark leaves in 15 minutes, a 5.5hr flight rather than the typical non stop of 1.5hrs and is $1104!

 

Can you get to EWR by tomorrow @ 6pm? There's a TAP flight direct from EWR to Lisbon for $745...

[LML101]

I know that this stike thing is really my fault. I think it is my 'aura,' or the fact that I was born on Friday the 13th, in Salem, Massachusetts. But on more than 1/2 of the international trips that I've ever taken, which is a lot, I end up with something going on. It's usually: War, coups, natural disaster, nationwide strike, weather anomoly, or something unusual. I could go on and on with my stories.

 

For this trip, I thought I was already covered. I'm eventually heading to Chile and Argentina, and plan on bicycling from Puerto Montt or Bariloche back to Santiago. One road, called the '7 lakes road,' seemed particularly appealing. However, there was recently a volcano, about 10 miles from this road.

 

Also, I'll be in Buenos Aires on December 20, 2011. I was reading about Argentina, and was reminded that on December 20, 2001 was when 'the crisis' or 'the situation' as it was called when I was there. I was actually teargassed on a subway in the middle of the riots, so I figured there might be something for the 10 year anniversary.

 

I've passed through Paris twice, and both times I've tried to go to the Louvre, and both times there was a strike and it was closed.

 

I flew into Cuzco and landed in the middle of a 'nationwide' strike, with cars burning, tanks in the streets, and a police escort for us.

 

There are many more stories like this. Seriously, I don't seek it out, but trouble seems to find me.

 

 

Thanks if anyone has any advice!

 

LINDA

[icat2000]

Have a look at this site for suggested other methods of getting to Lisbon.

 

http://www.seat61.com/Portugal.htm

 

I would either get to London or another European destination and figure it out from there whether you have to train, bus, hire a car or cycle :D

[LML101]

western prince william sound-

including the cities of...whittier...seward...girdwood...

moose pass

1209 pm akst mon nov 21 2011

...blizzard warning remains in effect from 6 pm this evening to

6 pm akst tuesday...

* snow...snow developing monday afternoon. Total snow

accumulation of 8 to 17 inches.

* visibility...snow and blowing snow will reduce visibility to

one quarter mile or less at times.

* wind...north to west wind 30 to 45 mph. Near whittier

southwest winds will gust as high as 65 mph at times.

* timing...this evening through late tuesday afternoon.

* impacts...severe visibility reductions may cause travel to be

extremely difficult or impossible at times.

precautionary/preparedness actions...

a blizzard warning means severe winter weather conditions are

expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds

and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to white-out

conditions...making travel extremely dangerous. All travel and

outdoor activity is strongly discouraged.

[scottbee]

I'm scheduled to fly tomorrow night, flying from Anchorage to Lisbon. My last connection is in London, and flying British Airways from London to Lisbon on 11/24. BA just cancelled my flight, and said there is a nationwide strike planned for Portugal for 11/24.

 

My cruise departs on 11/25, heading down to South America. I really don't want to miss the cruise, because I have a whole two month trip planned. Originally, I would have liked to fly in an extra day early, but was not able to get space because of Thanksgiving Holiday, although I booked my flight six month ago. I know, I know, it would be best to fly in two days early, but it just wasn't possible, so no flames about that, please.

 

So my schedule right now is that I'm arriving into London around noon on Thursday, and have rescheduled me for an evening flight on 11/24. However, they advised that flight might be cancelled due to the strike also. There really won't be any way of knowing until I get there.

 

The only option that I can figure out is if I leave here tonight, and just go ahead and buy a new ticket so that I can fly in on 11/23 - the day before the strike. I have two options. The first is about $1100 going through Boston (I could use miles to Boston so it would only be $600). My family lives there also, so I could visit for a few hours. The flight from Boston has a change of planes in Ponte Delgada, Azores. I'd worry that if there were a problem with that flight, I could end up stuck on the Azores, watching my ship in the far distance.

 

The other flight is through Newark, and cost about $1300. Non-stop flight from Newark.

 

Other issue is that I'm taking my bicycle with me. If I took the first flight and got stuck in London without my bags, I'd be really messed up, because I'm riding my bicycle about 1,600 miles in South America.

 

Oh, yeah, one more thing. I just heard that a major blizzard is on the way here, by about dinnertime. I have 130 miles to drive to Anchorage, so it will be fun in a Blizzard.

 

get to London. If you have to, you might need to reroute SEA-(YVR/SFO/LAX)-LHR on BA, but the very worst case here is you meet the ship in the Canaries. If you can't get to LIS, try MAD or AGP, or any of the Canary stops. The first portion of your flight is on Alaska, get to the airport -- go now if there's snow in the forecast, talk to AS, they're pretty acommodating.

 

I can't believe you'd book an ANC-SEA-LHR-LIS in late November, with the busiest travel day of the year (in the USA), and only have 1/2 day of wiggle room in the schedule.

 

 

 

 

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART Fri Nov 25 Lisbon, Portugal

5:00pm Sat Nov 26 At Sea

 

Sun Nov 27 Lanzarote, Canary Islands 7:00am 4:00pm Mon Nov 28 Las Palmas, Grand Canary Island, Canary Islands 7:00am 5:00pm Tue Nov 29 Tenerife, Canary Islands (Cruising) 7:00am 5:00pm Wed Nov 30 At Sea

 

Thu Dec 1 At Sea

 

Fri Dec 2 At Sea

 

Sat Dec 3 At Sea

 

Sun Dec 4 At Sea

 

Mon Dec 5 At Sea

 

Tue Dec 6 Salvador, Brazil 8:00am 5:00pm Wed Dec 7 At Sea

 

Thu Dec 8 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 8:00am 5:00pm Fri Dec 9 Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil 7:00am

[Cotswold Eagle]

There's a Lufthansa from Dusseldorf to Lison on Friday morning that would work - no problem getting London-DUS on Thursday afternoon. But I know that's leaving it very late and should be a final option....

[Cotswold Eagle]

Oh, three stops in the Canaries? Great, you should have no problem catching up there if Lisbon doesn't work, as scotbee says :)

 

You may want to discuss that with RCI, of course.

[LML101]

Sorry again about only 24 hours of wiggle room. I booked flight six months ago, and that was the only flight that I could get.

 

Ok, I think I'm set at this point. My friend has a bit more time than I do (I'm still at work, supposed to be working, ha!) and she got a nicer agent at AS who looked at all the flight and found me a flight from ANC/SEA/DFW/LON, arriving into LHR on 11/23. I'm now booking a flight on Air Portugal from LHR to Lisbon on 11/23. $521, but at this point, I'm grateful! Also, Mom is flying from Boston, and will be through London and will actually be on this same flight.

 

I looked at flights to the Canary Islands, thinking that would be a back up, but flights were crazy expensive and not very direct (unless I was looking at wrong island). I was looking at Tenerife, thinking that was the busiest, and it would have been about $1700 with flights back through the states. Not a very good option.

 

So now I have to leave work (won't be back till February 1), go home and finish packing and try to get out of here as fast as I can with the major blizzard coming.

 

Wish me luck!

[wrp96]

Fingers crossed it all works for you (prayers that the fog doesn't return to London).

[alidor]

Did you buy insurance? TravelGuard has their service that would figure this out of you, book it and there would be no extra insurance. If you did buy insurance, check with them to see what they can arrange.

[scottbee]

Sorry again about only 24 hours of wiggle room. I booked flight six months ago, and that was the only flight that I could get.

 

Ok, I think I'm set at this point. My friend has a bit more time than I do (I'm still at work, supposed to be working, ha!) and she got a nicer agent at AS who looked at all the flight and found me a flight from ANC/SEA/DFW/LON, arriving into LHR on 11/23. I'm now booking a flight on Air Portugal from LHR to Lisbon on 11/23. $521, but at this point, I'm grateful! Also, Mom is flying from Boston, and will be through London and will actually be on this same flight.

 

I looked at flights to the Canary Islands, thinking that would be a back up, but flights were crazy expensive and not very direct (unless I was looking at wrong island). I was looking at Tenerife, thinking that was the busiest, and it would have been about $1700 with flights back through the states. Not a very good option.

 

So now I have to leave work (won't be back till February 1), go home and finish packing and try to get out of here as fast as I can with the major blizzard coming.

 

Wish me luck!

 

EasyJet can get you from LGW to any of the Canaries very inexpensively. Wikipedia each airport on the Canaries to get an idea of who flies there and from where, but example LGW-ACE/Lanzerote is GBP 89; and LGW-TFS is similar on the 23rd

[Globaliser]

I'm scheduled to fly tomorrow night, flying from Anchorage to Lisbon. My last connection is in London, and flying British Airways from London to Lisbon on 11/24. BA just cancelled my flight, and said there is a nationwide strike planned for Portugal for 11/24.

 

My cruise departs on 11/25, heading down to South America. I really don't want to miss the cruise, because I have a whole two month trip planned. Originally, I would have liked to fly in an extra day early, but was not able to get space because of Thanksgiving Holiday, although I booked my flight six month ago. I know, I know, it would be best to fly in two days early, but it just wasn't possible, so no flames about that, please.

 

So my schedule right now is that I'm arriving into London around noon on Thursday, and have rescheduled me for an evening flight on 11/24. However, they advised that flight might be cancelled due to the strike also. There really won't be any way of knowing until I get there.

I think you're panicking unnecessarily.

 

Your schedule is currently something like this:

• Arrive Heathrow about midday on Wednesday 23 November
• Depart Heathrow at 1940 on Thursday 24 November (for which you have a confirmed reservation)
• Sail from Lisbon at 1700 on Friday 25 November

So you have a good chance of getting to Lisbon on your originally-scheduled day. And even if the Heathrow-Lisbon flight were ultimately cancelled on Thursday, you could still fly on BA500 at 0740 on Friday 25 November and get to Lisbon in plenty of time for your ship to sail.

 

And if things went unbelievably pear-shaped, it should still be pretty easy to get to the Canaries by Sunday or Monday.

 

So I personally wouldn't be throwing hundreds of dollars at this problem at the present time.

 

If you were really concerned, why not see if BA would put you on BA502 to Lisbon at 1525 on Wednesday 23 November, so you connect straight through to Lisbon when you arrive at Heathrow? If you're arriving at Terminal 5 at about midday, you'd have plenty of time to make this connection (NB Lisbon flights depart from Terminal 3).

[Fattony]

I know that this stike thing is really my fault. I think it is my 'aura,' or the fact that I was born on Friday the 13th, in Salem, Massachusetts. But on more than 1/2 of the international trips that I've ever taken, which is a lot, I end up with something going on. It's usually: War, coups, natural disaster, nationwide strike, weather anomoly, or something unusual. I could go on and on with my stories.

 

For this trip, I thought I was already covered. I'm eventually heading to Chile and Argentina, and plan on bicycling from Puerto Montt or Bariloche back to Santiago. One road, called the '7 lakes road,' seemed particularly appealing. However, there was recently a volcano, about 10 miles from this road.

 

Also, I'll be in Buenos Aires on December 20, 2011. I was reading about Argentina, and was reminded that on December 20, 2001 was when 'the crisis' or 'the situation' as it was called when I was there. I was actually teargassed on a subway in the middle of the riots, so I figured there might be something for the 10 year anniversary.

 

I've passed through Paris twice, and both times I've tried to go to the Louvre, and both times there was a strike and it was closed.

 

I flew into Cuzco and landed in the middle of a 'nationwide' strike, with cars burning, tanks in the streets, and a police escort for us.

 

There are many more stories like this. Seriously, I don't seek it out, but trouble seems to find me.

 

 

Thanks if anyone has any advice!

 

LINDA

 

As a service to others, I think you should post her your travel plans for the next year, so everyone else can avoid those dates, routes, etc.

 

There must be a lot of people booked on the cruise facing similar problems. I wonder what the cruise line is doing for those with cruise-air packages.

[t60]

Bon Voyage, please let us know how it worked out for you. Do you do a blog of your adventures?

 

Sandy in Spain

[LML101]

The adventure coninues. I drove 120miles through dark, temp of 0, blizzard to Anchorage. First flight was delayed over an hour due to mechanical. I had ten minutes in Seattle,but made the flight. Went to Dallas and flew AA to LHR. I found Mom at Heathrow and we are waiting for Lisbon flight. Airline says all fights to Portugal are cancelled tomorrow. Since I will be doing a bicycle tour in South America, I cannot take a chance on gettng separated from my bike and all camping and cycling gear. So I went ahead and paid for the TAP flight and will try to get a refund from BA. I will still be out about $400. ALaska Airlines also double charged me for my bike saying that it was AA fee. It took over an hour to check in my bike.

[LML101]

TAP flight is now two hours delayed. Fingers and toes are crossed.

[frugaltravel]

The adventure coninues. I drove 120miles through dark, temp of 0, blizzard to Anchorage. First flight was delayed over an hour due to mechanical. I had ten minutes in Seattle,but made the flight. Went to Dallas and flew AA to LHR. I found Mom at Heathrow and we are waiting for Lisbon flight. Airline says all fights to Portugal are cancelled tomorrow. Since I will be doing a bicycle tour in South America, I cannot take a chance on gettng separated from my bike and all camping and cycling gear. So I went ahead and paid for the TAP flight and will try to get a refund from BA. I will still be out about $400. ALaska Airlines also double charged me for my bike saying that it was AA fee. It took over an hour to check in my bike.

 

Good luck. Most flights from LHR to LIS are either canceled or totally sold out, so feel fortunate you even have a reservation and a boarding pass!

 

Re: bike fee. It is the passenger's responsibility to know what they should be paying for something. I never rely on what an airline says at check in. I look at the fees online and even print them out. It should be pretty clear from there.

 

Re: checking in with special items. It is always wise to arrive at the airport plenty early when you have special issues - bicycles, checking luggage between airlines, especially when the flights are not all in the same reservation, and other anomalies.

 

Hopefully your travel insurance will cover some of the cost and/or you have learned an expensive lesson about travel insurance (that might or might not have covered some of the airline change fees, but for a trip such as yours is a no-brainer due to the nature of your trip).

[PennyAgain]

Glad to know you got out of Alaska. Nasty weather! I have family who live outside of Anchorage in the Chugach. They have no phone service right now.