What happens when they change ports due to storm?

[divetraveler]

Hi All,

Just curious, what happens if they drop you off in Fort Lauderdale instead of Port Canaveral? Does the cruise line offer any type of assistance? How about if your port of departure is changed, and you leave out of Ft. Lauderdale instead of Port Canaveral? Thanks for the information. Happy/safe travels!

[LHP]

Based on what has happened in the past, (the latest experience being when the Fantasy could not return to New Orleans due to the river being closed)...

 

Carnival will bus you and your luggage from the port back to your Home port.

 

When folks on the Fantasy had to dock in Mobile, Carnival used 50 buses to get folks from Mobile back to New Orleans at the end of the first cruise.

[firefly333]

The ship that was supposed to go back to Port Canveral and rerouted due to Fay, they went into Ft. Lauderdale and were bussed to either the Orlando airport or the Port Canaveral area, sounds like they had their choice of either.

[b714210]

I was on the Sensation which left from Port Canaveral on the 17th, but returned to Port Everglades on the 21st. If you had Carnival Air, they changed your flights to depart from Miami or FLL, no charge. The previous poster is correct, we had the choice of a bus trip directly to Orlando Airport, or back to Port Canaveral. You could choose to leave directly from the ship, if you had a way back from Port E.

 

Carnival did not offer any compensation. They did, however pay for a call from my cabin to my airline to reschedule our flights, which were not possible to make due to the bus ride.

 

The staff at Port E. was very helpful, including customs. They got us out of the Port and on busses in minutes. Getting off the ship was another story, as I would estimate about 80% off passengers decided to do self assist and it was crazy!:rolleyes:

[pjtulsa]

 

They did, however pay for a call from my cabin to my airline to reschedule our flights, which were not possible to make due to the bus ride.

 

 

We you able to work with the airlines to finally get your flights changed? Was there a huge fee for the change? We cruise in Oct and just want to be prepared.

[DG2004]

We you able to work with the airlines to finally get your flights changed? Was there a huge fee for the change? We cruise in Oct and just want to be prepared.

 

 

I think most airlines nail you with a fee. I know Southwest doesnt charge anything more than a change in the fair which is normally pretty fair when you consider the timing.

[wrp96]

I think most airlines nail you with a fee. I know Southwest doesnt charge anything more than a change in the fair which is normally pretty fair when you consider the timing.

 

When a hurricane is hitting an area, all airlines usually will waive their change fees for flights into and out of an area. For example with Hurricane Gustav, American is currently allowing people to change flights for this week to or from Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. I'm sure that the list will be added to as we know more about where Gustav is headed. Same thing with US Air, and I'm sure the other airlines are doing the same.

[b714210]

To answer your question, due to the storm, Midwest Airlines waived the $100 each change fee. They did charge us the difference in the price of the tickets, though. There were 4 of us originally flying from Orlando to Madison, and we could only get on a flight from Tampa to Milwaukee the next day. It cost an additional &48. each, which was a bargain since the Orlando to Madison flight was $300 apiece more:eek: . We were supposed to fly out of Orlando Thursday and because of the storm the next flight availability was TODAY, 5 days later. That's why we rented a car, drove to Tampa, spent the night and flew the next day. Originally Midwest was also going to charge the $400, but after arguing they waived it. They have you over a barrel, though because they could have played hardball and made us wait out the 5 days. I did buy insurance through Insure My Trip, thanks to the great people on this board, so eventually I should get back the extra $ for airfare, hotel, car rental, food and gas.

[ManyMore]

Which company did you end up with for the insurance? My eyes glazed over looking at them all!

[G'ma]

Hi All,

Just curious, what happens if they drop you off in Fort Lauderdale instead of Port Canaveral? Does the cruise line offer any type of assistance? How about if your port of departure is changed, and you leave out of Ft. Lauderdale instead of Port Canaveral? Thanks for the information. Happy/safe travels!

 

You've gotten really good advice. The most important thing to do is to keep in touch with the cruise line using their toll-free number. I you have access to the internet, you will usually receive an email or a phone call. But, if you are already in transit, they have no way of touching base with you.

 

Take your cell phone and call the toll-free number often to check for any updates.