I am SO bummed! I'm supposed to be in Hawaii right now

[urkidn]

It's probably too late now but did you try going through Canada? Both Westjet and Air Canada fly into Honolulu from Vancouver and all major US carriers go into Vancouver. I just checked Air Canada's rates and they had seats leaving today/returning next week for around $400 incl. taxes. That's an awesome deal, BTW. Assuming you can get to Vancouver for $400/return that's less than half of what you were quoted.

[80sGurl]

I had an agent checking Canada for me a few days ago and the best he could find was another $5800 total for us, that didn't count the san diego to canada leg. I just checked Kayak and a flight today, ONE WAY, from san diego to Vancouver is running $2200 a person. That's on kayak and there was only one option. I guess I'm just in the wrong city! :(

 

It's probably too late now but did you try going through Canada? Both Westjet and Air Canada fly into Honolulu from Vancouver and all major US carriers go into Vancouver. I just checked Air Canada's rates and they had seats leaving today/returning next week for around $400 incl. taxes. That's an awesome deal, BTW. Assuming you can get to Vancouver for $400/return that's less than half of what you were quoted.

[urkidn]

Wow, that just sucks! Sorry, I didn't read the entire thread and I see now that you've already covered the Vancouver angle. I've never bought insurance in the past either so I know I would have been in your situation as well.

[MaryZ]

Some bad news to pass on. My family and I will probably have to cancel our cruise. We had 10.00 tickets from skybus and everybody knows what happen to skybus. We have been on-line all night trying to get a new flight but everything is so expensive. The cheapest has been Southwest and that is still 900 dollars we didn't expect to pay. Anybody else affected by this. We are traveling from Columbus,oh. We have tried every route from flying into other airports in the Florida but with no luck. To expensive. We have even thought of driving there and flying back but still would have to pay over 500 dollars. We are going to loose all of our on-board credit which totals around 300 dollars. All other airlines all over priced.

 

In a way, that's pretty humorous. You won't pay $900 to fly but you'll cancel your cruise?

I hope you have cancel for any reason, because your travel insurance most likely won't cover the cruise otherwise. You are far enough out that you can easily find flights or make other arrangements to get to your cruise. And you are already in 50% penalty phase. Most travel insurance policies are not cancel for any reason.

You can drive the 1,000 miles to florida for less than $300.

[DenverVal]

Some bad news to pass on. My family and I will probably have to cancel our cruise. We had 10.00 tickets from skybus and everybody knows what happen to skybus. We have been on-line all night trying to get a new flight but everything is so expensive. The cheapest has been Southwest and that is still 900 dollars we didn't expect to pay. Anybody else affected by this. We are traveling from Columbus,oh. We have tried every route from flying into other airports in the Florida but with no luck. To expensive. We have even thought of driving there and flying back but still would have to pay over 500 dollars. We are going to loose all of our on-board credit which totals around 300 dollars. All other airlines all over priced.

Well, look at it a different way. I don't know how many travelers you have, but for simplicity, let's say two. $900 is two $450 tickets. Expensive, yes. With the cost of oil right now, everything is more expensive than it was a few months ago. Compare that to your alternative of driving a thousand miles each way at $250 apiece, hopefully including gas, food, and lodging on the way to and from, and parking at the pier. 1000 miles is at least two very long days of driving. What is your vacation time worth? Is it really worth it to have four long days on the interstates, to arrive at the ship and back at your house frazzled and tired when you wanted to relax for a net savings of $400? Add dealing with children for that many hours in a car into the equation and ... :eek: !

[Gingee]

To Columbus, we have driven from Peoria, Illinois to Florida. It did take almost two days. If you aren't on a tight schedule, leave early in the morning and stop in mid afternoon with a indoor pool for the kids (and you). Someone mentioned Amtrak but I don't think you can get to Florida without going to the eastern coast (I've tried). At least you have a good time of the year to drive (no snow - usually or ice).

 

Good luck.

[Sparkylok6]

What about Greyhound to Florida?

[Crosboro]

80sGurl, I thought I was having a bad day until I read your post.

 

No, you are not being unreasonable. It certainly sounds like you did everything you could to resolve the flight problem. I wonder why your TA didn't know about the implosion of ATA before the fact. Putting travel arrangements in the hands of a TA should reduce the vacation planning stress factor to zero. The stateroom upgrade only adds to the pain.

 

I'll be very curious about how the cruise line will help you. Hopefully, they will offer some kind of credit.

 

Hang in there.

 

Why/how would the TA know that ATA was shutting down? If they did, every one would have known. You are putting the blame where it does not belong. That is a ludicrous statement to make.

[Bigdog49]

Why/how would the TA know that ATA was shutting down? If they did, every one would have known. You are putting the blame where it does not belong. That is a ludicrous statement to make.

 

I don't think that is the issue Tina had. I put blame on the TA for going home and not helping their clients dig out of a very big hole. Even if no answer was found an effort would have gone a long way. Anyone in sales that leaves the customer in the lurch and makes no effort to make the prodiuct they sold right had better find a new job. Just my $.02

[80sGurl]

Bigdog49- well said, that's pretty much how I feel. Just some good effort and care is all I ask. I don't expect the guy to perform miracles, but I would at least think he'd be concerned and want to help out the best he could...

 

Tina

 

 

I don't think that is the issue Tina had. I put blame on the TA for going home and not helping their clients dig out of a very big hole. Even if no answer was found an effort would have gone a long way. Anyone in sales that leaves the customer in the lurch and makes no effort to make the prodiuct they sold right had better find a new job. Just my $.02

[SakeDad]

I know, Tina. Sure, you could have routed through Vancouver but I'd hazard a guess that it would have cost in the ballpark of $1000 a pop to do so on an open jaw from San Diego -- even with the cheapo YVR-HNL flights. This is not something I would have done if I knew I wouldn't see a refund of this money.

 

You sound like both a terrific person and a great mom, and I honestly do feel horrible for you. My comments about insurance are more or less directed to the folks that figure that insurance shouldn't be a necessity, and that a travel agent and/or the cruise line will make you whole in these cases if you simply stamp your foot enough. They're wrong.

 

Oh, okay. So, as a former travel agent please feel free to tell us what you would have done in this case for your client. I suspect it'd be something along the lines of "make a phone call", and when NCL says "sorry" then what? They deal with unforeseen cancellations on probably every sailing, and there's a reason why they offer insurance themselves. I guess we shouldn't forget here that trip interruption/cancellation insurance would have paid out in this situation if other last-minute arrangements couldn't have been made.

 

I do sympathize, and I expect the media will be awash with stories of people who have had their vacations ruined because yet another charter or budget airline folded. Hopefully the OP will at least receive a goodwill credit of some sort.

 

Davey,

As a TA I would never have promised to "Make them whole" but I certainly would have stayed late to make some phone calls, try my best to get the BEST airfare possible from SAN To Hawaii and do everything I could to get this family to enjoy their vacation that they worked hard for and was ruined due to no fault of their own. Yes, travel insurance MAY have helped get them there for the cruise but remember that THOUSANDS of people on ATA and Aloha were searching for the same alternatives so flights were scarce and the airlines were jacking up fares quicker than you could bat an eye! No TA can say they will fix the problem but a GOOD TA stays late and works for their client and says "I'm sorry" when they can't make it work. Clearly Tina's TA didn't do any of that and for that she should immediately go to the manager or owner of the agency and complain. Not because he couldn't get her to Hawaii but because his attitude clearly told her he didn't care. This is the kind of TA that give the rest a bad image and why so many just decide it's easier to book themselves. Of course, I also HATE that the cruise lines won't discuss your reservation with you in times of emergency, especially on weekends when the TA's offices are closed!:mad: I understand why the rule was made but the lack of compassion in emergencies astounds me....for ALL cruise lines.

[80sGurl]

SakeDad-

I wish you were my travel agent!! :) :) :)

Tina

 

 

Davey,

As a TA I would never have promised to "Make them whole" but I certainly would have stayed late to make some phone calls, try my best to get the BEST airfare possible from SAN To Hawaii and do everything I could to get this family to enjoy their vacation that they worked hard for and was ruined due to no fault of their own. Yes, travel insurance MAY have helped get them there for the cruise but remember that THOUSANDS of people on ATA and Aloha were searching for the same alternatives so flights were scarce and the airlines were jacking up fares quicker than you could bat an eye! No TA can say they will fix the problem but a GOOD TA stays late and works for their client and says "I'm sorry" when they can't make it work. Clearly Tina's TA didn't do any of that and for that she should immediately go to the manager or owner of the agency and complain. Not because he couldn't get her to Hawaii but because his attitude clearly told her he didn't care. This is the kind of TA that give the rest a bad image and why so many just decide it's easier to book themselves. Of course, I also HATE that the cruise lines won't discuss your reservation with you in times of emergency, especially on weekends when the TA's offices are closed!:mad: I understand why the rule was made but the lack of compassion in emergencies astounds me....for ALL cruise lines.

[cruizinwithkids]

SakeDad-

I wish you were my travel agent!! :) :) :)

Tina

 

I was SO spoiled in my earlier traveling days as my mom was my Travel Agent.

[80sGurl]

that would be nice too! :)

 

I am usually my own travel agent but I was forced to use Carnival Sea Miles travel agents because I redeemed 88,000 miles to purchase the cruise.

 

I did just call the Sea Miles dept and there is nothing they can do to re-instate any miles. I didn't think they would. It was worth a try though.

 

I was SO spoiled in my earlier traveling days as my mom was my Travel Agent.

[SomeBeach]

80sGurl,

How terrible to lose your cruise after waiting so long for the day to arrive. As a parent/grandparent, I know the last thing any of us would want to do is explain economics to our children when they are feeling so disappointed over missing their vacation. I have been very impressed with your attitude during this time and I do hope something positive comes back to you.

As you said in one of your posts, you took a gamble and lost on this one. Many people that cruise do the same thing, always with the thought that "nothing bad will happen." It is unfortunate because we can not control certain things in life and the smartest thing we can do is to make sure we protect/cover ourselves. I always view travel insurance as a necessary evil and weigh the cost of it against any unforseen occurance.

I am not a travel agent but I will play a devils advocate for just a moment here. Were you the first customer to call about this situation. If so, he should have tried much harder to help you (this based on information you provided.) Or were you his 10th, 20th, etc. Is it possible that by the time he spoke with you he had already been searching for others and knew there was nothing available within reasonable cost to help you. Maybe what you preceived as lack of emotion/help was exhaustion from trying to help others in your same situation. There was also one other airline that went out just prior to yours. Is it possible that he knew from dealing with that, your options were very limited with ATA going down.

From reading your posts, it's clear that you accept the responsibility for your lack of insurance. But I also see you are looking for someone to help bail you out of this too. You took the risk, you gambled with vacation dollars and lost. While having insurance would not have changed the final outcome of missing your cruise, it would have made it possible to to recoup some of your monetary loses and possibly allowed for you to make other plans knowing you would receive some of your money back. Hopefully others that gamble in the same way will have learned something from you.

[80sGurl]

Micki,

 

no, he knew nothing about ATA. When I told him he said, "Really?" - almost like, "ah, that's too bad". He had no others in my situation at least when I called. His very blase attitude is what really irks me, lack of caring, lack of follow up. He is the only one that can speak with NCL which makes it hard because as someone else said, no one will fight for something as good as the person that has been affected (or something like that)

 

Yup, I'm very well aware of my travel insurance blunder. Live and learn I guess. There is nothing I can do to reverse not getting the insurance, but I have learned for the future.

 

The ironic thing about my miles is that my travel agent forgot to deduct my account the 88,000 miles. I booked this trip back in october and happened to review my miles balance online for the first time in march, just to see how many more miles I had accumulated off my credit card. I noticed he hadn't deducted the 88,000 miles! In my own right consious, I felt I needed to be honest and let Sea Miles know. So they made an adjustment a few weeks ago and took the 88,000 miles, as they rightly should have. I'm not saying I regret being honest, I just think it's funny the way it all worked out.

 

T

 

 

 

 

80sGurl,

How terrible to lose your cruise after waiting so long for the day to arrive. As a parent/grandparent, I know the last thing any of us would want to do is explain economics to our children when they are feeling so disappointed over missing their vacation. I have been very impressed with your attitude during this time and I do hope something positive comes back to you.

As you said in one of your posts, you took a gamble and lost on this one. Many people that cruise do the same thing, always with the thought that "nothing bad will happen." It is unfortunate because we can not control certain things in life and the smartest thing we can do is to make sure we protect/cover ourselves. I always view travel insurance as a necessary evil and weigh the cost of it against any unforseen occurance.

I am not a travel agent but I will play a devils advocate for just a moment here. Were you the first customer to call about this situation. If so, he should have tried much harder to help you (this based on information you provided.) Or were you his 10th, 20th, etc. Is it possible that by the time he spoke with you he had already been searching for others and knew there was nothing available within reasonable cost to help you. Maybe what you preceived as lack of emotion/help was exhaustion from trying to help others in your same situation. There was also one other airline that went out just prior to yours. Is it possible that he knew from dealing with that, your options were very limited with ATA going down.

From reading your posts, it's clear that you accept the responsibility for your lack of insurance. But I also see you are looking for someone to help bail you out of this too. You took the risk, you gambled with vacation dollars and lost. While having insurance would not have changed the final outcome of missing your cruise, it would have made it possible to to recoup some of your monetary loses and possibly allowed for you to make other plans knowing you would receive some of your money back. Hopefully others that gamble in the same way will have learned something from you.

[SakeDad]

OK..it's Monday...we're all waiting to hear what the TA says. Make sure you ask for the manager or owner if you need to. They may not be able to help but at least you can complain about the TA's bad attitude.

[80sGurl]

hi all,

 

I actually just got off the phone with the TA's mgr and he was very apologetic about my TA. He said he'd discuss the situation and how it was handled with him. He also said that NCL is saying the only thing I can do is write to Guest Relations. They are the ones that handle these types of things. I guess there is nothing that can be done from the TA's standpoint at this time, it's in the hands of NCL. Perhaps they can offer a discount on a future cruise. I doubt they'd give me a completely free cruise, but maybe some kind of good faith/customer service offering.

 

I will mail Guest Relations a letter and then put this to bed :)

 

Thanks to all for listening and offering advice and maybe my story will encourage others to get travel insurance, especially if your trip is expensive. My trip wasn't as expensive as it could have been, but expensive enough where it hurts a bit ;)

 

thx!!

Tina

 

OK..it's Monday...we're all waiting to hear what the TA says. Make sure you ask for the manager or owner if you need to. They may not be able to help but at least you can complain about the TA's bad attitude.

[AFT_LOVER]

They wer not uused, so they should go back on the acount. The Credit card never contacted you about NO FLIGHT. So go get them now. We had Delta go bankrupt & cancel flights & their miles went back on our AMEX.

 

hi all,

 

I actually just got off the phone with the TA's mgr and he was very apologetic about my TA. He said he'd discuss the situation and how it was handled with him. He also said that NCL is saying the only thing I can do is write to Guest Relations. They are the ones that handle these types of things. I guess there is nothing that can be done from the TA's standpoint at this time, it's in the hands of NCL. Perhaps they can offer a discount on a future cruise. I doubt they'd give me a completely free cruise, but maybe some kind of good faith/customer service offering.

 

I will mail Guest Relations a letter and then put this to bed :)

 

Thanks to all for listening and offering advice and maybe my story will encourage others to get travel insurance, especially if your trip is expensive. My trip wasn't as expensive as it could have been, but expensive enough where it hurts a bit ;)

 

thx!!

Tina

[SomeBeach]

Tina,

Thank you for clearing up the TA part. Yes, it would have been nice had he tried harder. Now from reading more, I see you have talked to the manager and learned there still was not a lot to be done.

Good luck to you through the rest of this.

[80sGurl]

MACOP- the problem is the 'miles' were used to purchase a cruise, not flights. So theoretically, the cruise is being used, albeit an empty family suite sailing around the Hawaiian islands this week, but it's used... does that make sense? Carnival Sea Miles basically told me I'm not getting the miles back...

 

Tina

 

They wer not uused, so they should go back on the acount. The Credit card never contacted you about NO FLIGHT. So go get them now. We had Delta go bankrupt & cancel flights & their miles went back on our AMEX.

[pajammies]

I feel for you 80sgurl! UGH! and Hawaii, that would be hard to handle for me. :( We have never gotten insurance either but your situation is making me think... Your cruise mile points gave you a discount on your cruise leaving you a much smaller balance. Had you gotten insurance what would you have gotten back? 1) the portion that you paid in cash or 2) both the portion that you paid in cash plus cash in the amount of what your cruise miles were worth. Does this make sense? So in other words even with insurance I'm thinking you would still be out those cruise points, but not sure. Not that it makes it any easier for you. :( I'm just curious, we also use NCL's cruise rewards points and wonder what would happen to those points in a similar situation. Again sorry about your cruise.

[AFT_LOVER]

Without the air, there was no cruise. SO I feel no miles should be lost.

Plenty of money lost that made those miles & whomever giving them should be human.........

 

So is NCL going to help at least?

 

 

MACOP- the problem is the 'miles' were used to purchase a cruise, not flights. So theoretically, the cruise is being used, albeit an empty family suite sailing around the Hawaiian islands this week, but it's used... does that make sense? Carnival Sea Miles basically told me I'm not getting the miles back...

 

Tina

[mbisson]

Without the air, there was no cruise.

 

Did the ship sail?

 

I think Tina has it correct and I admire her attitude. That said-if it were me, I'd probably ask if there were any possibility of a future cruise credit, but I certainly wouldn't expect one.

[80sGurl]

Pajammies- I know, Hawaii makes it doubly worse. I wish it were Mexico because we've done that one a few times. But then again, that wouldn't be an issue since we live in San Diego (one of the embarkation ports) and are 2 hours away from the LA port (another Mexico cruise embarkation location).

 

I guess if we had cruise insurance, we'd get back the $2099 we paid, actually $2699 since we upgraded earlier last week. I am really not sure about the cruise miles, if we'd get those back? That's a good question. I used the Carnival Sea Miles Credit Card. I'm not sure if their conditions and terms are different than NCL's cruise reward points...

 

Tina

 

I feel for you 80sgurl! UGH! and Hawaii, that would be hard to handle for me. :( We have never gotten insurance either but your situation is making me think... Your cruise mile points gave you a discount on your cruise leaving you a much smaller balance. Had you gotten insurance what would you have gotten back? 1) the portion that you paid in cash or 2) both the portion that you paid in cash plus cash in the amount of what your cruise miles were worth. Does this make sense? So in other words even with insurance I'm thinking you would still be out those cruise points, but not sure. Not that it makes it any easier for you. :( I'm just curious, we also use NCL's cruise rewards points and wonder what would happen to those points in a similar situation. Again sorry about your cruise.