Our Most Excellent Adventure - We Missed the Ship

At this point I am sure that everyone who see's the title will jump right in to read what Happen and to provide unlimited advice on how we caused the problem by flying into the port on the day of embarkation.

Good now that is taken care of I am posting this because we were hit with a mountian of problems and I want to share how we over came and pressed on so if this happens to someone else they will have an idea how to proceed.

The information I am about to provide came from two seperate family's that sustained the same initial event and moved forward along seperate paths solving the same problems.

This was going to be our 12th cruise and the first one that we decided to fly in the same day. The cruise was a 7 day trip out of San Pedro down to Puerto Vallarta then back up to Mazatlan, Cabo, and then back to L.A.

Princess made Mrs 4x4 an offer she could not refuse that contained $300.00 OBC. Plus, the Princess EZ Air made it an attractive package. We live in Centeral California so the flight was going to be only 1 hr 20 min. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? RIGHT?

The morning of 21 Feb. the Blue Shuttle arrives at our house at 0700. Gets us to the Airport at 0805. Drops us off at the Delta terminal. The skycap out side offers to check our baggage and tells us "you do not want to go in there". Of course I go in an see a long line of mad/angry people lined up in front of the Delta Desk. So, back out side and check the large luggage.

Up stairs after clearing security I see the big board has the 0700 Delta flight to L.A. Canceled and our 1000 flight delayed to 1100. We walk to Gate 43 and see the 0700 flight number still posted. I tell the wife something is wrong so I look around and find our flight number on Gate 41. We sit down at Gate 41.

At approximatley 0845 a Delta employee wearing a green vest announces that our Flight is being moved back to Gate 43 and those passengers off the Cancelled 0700 flight would move to gate 41 and board our plane. Five minutes before departure Delta Gate Desk tells us if any of us want to we can board the departing flight to L.A. Right. Our luggage is lost in limbo and what chances of making that flight?

At 1100 the delayed flight sign changes to 1130. Another 30 min, another sign change. Gate Desk states that a step plate fell off and needs to be replaced, should not take long. A look out window see's two people sitting on concrete behind the front stairway which is open and down. After a few trips to the window and I don't see any repair action I think they are rolling dice or something.

At 1230 a passenger sitting next to us tells me that Delta has to fly in a certified mechanic along the part from L.A. The local people are not certified to work on plane.

1300 hrs. The mechanic is now working on installing part. Gate Desk states will only take 20 minutes. I tell Mrs. 4x4 if they get us out here by 1330 we can still catch the ship.

1330 hrs. Gate Desk states The Step Part has been installed, However, during testing they found another problem and the flight is cancelled.

Mrs. 4x4 jumped out of her chair and ran to the line forming in front of the Desk. She was number 30 in line out of about 100. I looked over at Gate 41 and saw two Delta employees standing behind the gate desk at the computers. I told Mrs 4x4 to go over there and ask to be booked on the 3:30 PM flight to LA. I will hold her place in line. She came back and said they told her they can not help at that gate, but would be over in 15-20 minutes to help.

Mrs 4x4 called Delta on her cell phone while still in line. Was booked onto the 3:30 flight and given a confirmation number. I took that confirmation number to gate 45 and asked the Delta Clerk standing there doing nothing to print out two boarding passes. He asked if I was off the cancelled flight? I said yes, so he told me to get back in line and gate 43 desk will help me.

Continued in a minute. If I wait too too long to post, I will be dropped.

Anxiously awaiting the rest of the fiasco/tale.

Ouch. Sorry for your troubles. I have missed a couple of connecting flights but have not missed a cruise yet. I'm also a person who flies in the same day for cruises in sydney when coming from Melbourne. Look forward to the rest of the story.

No snarky remarks from me but I do have to ask, how would a 3:30 flight get you to port in time to catch the ship?

I told Mrs 4x4 the clerk at gate 45 would not help. The man who told me about flying in a mechanic got up an talked to the clerk at gate 45. He came back and said he will help you now. He must have been a Delta Employee trying to fly home himself.

I call Mrs 4x4 over to gate 45 since she has all of our paper work in her purse. We get our boarding passes and have our luggage re tagged to the new flight.

We arrive at LA airport at 4:55 PM. The ship had sailed at 4:00 PM on time.

At the baggage carousel we met the Princess Rep who had waited for us. Her Name was Consuelo. The other Princess Rep, Lorena was waiting at the Delta Special Assistance Desk with two people who missed the ship thanks to Delta.

Consuelo told us we must contact the Princess Call Center in India for help with our transportation to catch the ship a PV because Princess shuts down at 5:00 PM.

Now I am here to tell you that you have not lived until you stand in a busy Airport next the baggage Carousel with over head speakers calling out info every few minutes, door to the out side opening, and other passengers talking in loud voices to be heard over the noise. And, you are trying to get help from India. Mrs 4x4 who's hearing is better then mine was almost yelling into her cell phone telling person on other end she could not understand, please speak up. Finally Mrs 4x4 ask Consuelo to try and use her phone and find out what is going on.

This took one hour of having connection either broken or they just hung up on us. Finally were given a confermation number on an Alaska Airline flight for the next morning to PV.

Consuelo then took us up stairs to the Delta Special Assistance Desk at which we Met Ed and Barb. They had missed the ship and had been standing there for two hours while the Delta Clerk was on Hold with Delta Hq, trying to get them a flight to PV the next day also.

The line at the desk was long and very very slow. Finally I reach the front and told the Clerk that I required Hotel Voucher since Delta Caused me to miss the ship. Also I asked for meal vouchers. The Clerk said "We have screwed up so much in the past and is costing the company so much money that we no longer issued meal voucher" Umm that was my take on her stating that Delta no longer issues meal voucher to travelers in distress.

Consuelo then led us to the elevator and outside to curb to catch the shuttle to our Hotel for the night. The four Point Sheriden Hotel was book and had not extra rooms. We talked to other young man who had just been turned with a Delta Voucher. He was really up set. Delta connection missed and he had a very sick baby at home.

Back to the Airport and stand in line. I am almost to the front and three of the five Delta employees hit the station closed button at the same time, swing off their chair and march out just like a drill team leaving only two to help the muttering crowd.

Minutes later another man shows up and spins up a computer and waits on me. I handed him the voucher and said this is no good. The Hotel was booked, the clerk who issued it did not call first. I want another Hotel and I want a phone call verifying that there is space for me.. These 1 hours turns around's is eating up my time. So calls, issues a Hotel Voucher. Then hands me a transportation voucher. He stated this will cover your trip to the Hotel tonight and then back to the airport tomorrow.

Our Hotel was about 25 minutes away from Airport. The Red Van Driver told me he needed both transportation slips because each one was only for one person one trip. I gave him both.

The Hotel was the Double Tree and was very nice. Once we told our story they went out of their way to help. We had free computer access was save our day.

After dinner we went looking for a Hotel in PV. Now since we had not planned on staying there it was an up hill battle.

We settled on the Wesson. Gave them a call at 10:00PM and was told they do not accept phone reservations. So, had to dig into their program to find the reservation section. Picked a ocean view room and made the reservation.

At 11:00 we are back up in the room and are talking. Decide that we had better check on our boarding passes since every step of the way has had problems. Sign into Alaska Airlines. Find out that the confirmation number given by the Princess Call Center was bogus. However, by our last name we found that the seats were reserved, but not paid for.

Call 800 number. End up back in India. Said sorry for the call and hung up.

Next morning we call Princess and get some good help. The clerk provides

confirmation number after making sure the flight is paid for. This happens 15 minutes before the blue van shows up to take us to the airport. No stress, Right?

Continued in Minute.

Omg , 🙀

I can't wait for the rest of the story. Thanks for giving us the details as many of us have not experienced this first hand.

I had no idea that Princess has a call center in India??? They can't employ people in the US during off hours?

This is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Reminds me of some of my odysseys. You have my sympathies.

We make the flight Sunday morning and onto PV. On the plane the crew gives us visa forms to fill out.

We arrive just as another flight came in. So, several hundred newly arrived people are trying to process through the Mexican immigration desks. Most are from the USA or Canada. The very short line to the left was for Mexicans coming back home.

We ask the Mexican clerk just what are supposed to do with the Visa when we leave. She said when your plane leaves turn it in. We said not flying, going out on a ship. At that point communication broke down. We asked can we turn it in at the Port. No, turn it in here. Can we turn it in at Mexican Consuelate back home? No turn it in here. Have a nice day and on our way we went.

At the front desk of the Hotel we asked what to do with the Visa forms. The did not know either, just told us to hold on to them.

We had made a lucky/good choice on that Hotel. Our room was on the 11th floor looking out at the Ocean. We watched a Cruise ship leave at night all lite up and then saw the Crown princess come into port from our room

The first night we were sitting at a outside table eating dinner and saw Ed and Barb from the Delta Desk walk past. What a surprise. When we left they did even know if they had a plane ride down to PV or not.

We teamed up and had a good time with them for the whole week. They were good folks.

Barb told us that they also were turn away from the four Point which was full. However, they did not want to go back and face that slow desk at the Delta assist. So, they asked a Four Point employee to recommend a hotel that was close by. They told them about the Travel Lodge.

Turned out that it was a flea bag Hotel. Barb was afraid to take a shower the next morning. The only reason they stayed was because the bed was clean. They had flown out to Calif from Detroit and were beat.

Next up on our list of fun things that happened to us was check out of the Hotel. The Bill was for $7,000.00 which caused us to trot right on down to the front desk. Turns out we were billed in Pesos not USD and the exchange rate was 15 Pesos to 1 USD. Their web site did not ask how we wanted to be billed so we expect that our Credit Card company will also hits us with an exchange charge.

Continued in a minute, on to the ship.

Wow, this story is one of the worst I have ever heard (and my own DH did miss the ship once). You have my sympathy and a second request for which airport did you fly out from?

Yikes, looking forward to the rest of the story! Especially since things seem to have worked out in the end, based on your having enjoyed Ed and Barb's company for the week.

Never ever count on Delta to do good in a crisis. I have had to fly them often but they are worthless in a crisis. Even the so called information they put out at the check in desk is often wrong. Good luck in the future.

That's terrible! I'm so sorry!

We were thinking of flying in from LA to San Francisco the day of our cruise to Alaska (1 hour flight) but I'm seriously reconsidering.... Rest assured, we won't be flying Delta!

You and Mrs 4X4bob have my sympathies!

As someone who's worked in the travel industry for 30+ years (thank God not an airline), I do know first hand the horror stories that occur when things don't go "as scheduled". And that's certainly not to cut Delta ANY slack here!

I'm just curious since so many other airlines fly SFO-LAX besides Delta (United, American, Virgin and Southwest) if you ever considered taking matters in your own hands and booking an alternate carrier? If I were in the same predicament and saw that my ticketed carrier was dropping the ball in getting me to the embarkation port in time to make the ship, I would start looking for alternatives on my own. At this point, I can do a lot more going at it on my own than waiting with 100+ other people to be rescheduled. If I was able to get to my destination on another carrier in time to make the ship, I'd gladly pay out of pocket for the alternate flight and then "deal" with Princess' Air department for reimbursement when I returned home. That is not to chastise 4X4bob in any way, but maybe taken as a suggestion if anyone reading finds themselves in a similar situation some day. Granted it's not always going to be possible to even find an alternate carrier, however SFO-LAX offers lots of possibilities when in this situation.

Can't wait for the "rest of the story" and hope the second half of your week aboard ship was better than the first half!

Tuesday morning we meet up with Ed and Barb and walked out of the Hotel down the street to a little resturant that we had found the day before. Enjoyed eating there. No pressure to leave, take your time, want another beer, etc.

Since there was four of us with bags we asked the door man to call up a van which he did. It took longer to load and unload our baggage then to drive to the port. Later when on the top deck it looked like the bow of the ship was pointing right at our hotel.

Arriving at the port we walked up to the first check point told our story. They called the ship who sent down a crew member with envelopes with our cruise cards and health forms to fill out. Our baggage was hand inspected right there and on the ship we went. Our picture was taken then off to our cabins we went.

To keep me out her hair Mrs 4x4 suggested that I run down to the Service Desk and print out a copy of our Folio. I wanted to make sure our OBC was on it. Because on our Sept 2014 cruise the OBC was missing and it took 24 hrs for the ship to contact HQ to approve it even when we had paper work. As Pam always said, never leave home with out it.

Yep, OBC was on the Filio, but the wrong Credit Card number was listed. A few months ago our card was compromised, so the bank issued a new card.

We reported the new number to Princess but records were not changed. I was glad it caught the wrong number. I could see myself being paged at 0800 Saturday Morning to report to the Service Desk to settle my account.

Then we get a call to bring our passports to the Service Desk. While there the staff person who brought our cruise cards down to the check point was at the desk and he asked for our Mexican Visas. Lucky that we had stuck them into our passports and not thrown them away.

Now I want to make something very clear. I am not critizing any Princess employee on the ship. They all worked hard to help us and were always cheerful while dealing with us.

However, since we missed the ship the paperwork fauchet was turned off for our cabin and was not ever turned back on. Our room stweard, Roger, saved our bacon several times when he told us to check on something that we had not received.

On Tuesday a $100.00 credit was added to our account. Asked at the Service Desk they had no idea what it was. Then the next day it was removed with no information provided.

Then credit was added for missed port days and for customer goodwill. We were surprised, however we did not complain.

Then Roger told us we were not delivered our disembarkation package that we must go up to the service desk and get out luggage tags.

We were given Red 3 for flights leaving between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM. After reading the chart we went back to the Service Desk and were told to come back the next morning and go to the Tour Desk to make exchange. I then asked for a copy of the Custom form because we had not been given one.

Friday morning we contacted the tour desk and asked for an exchange. We told the staff person that our plane was boarding at 1:30 and departing at 2:00 PM. He told us not to worry, that he always gives out Red 3 for 2:00 PM departures. We told him we were not interested in taking a chance on missing our flight home, we wanted Red 2.

Next we asked him about our Princess transfer tickets. We told him we had not received them. He said he will check and have them delivered to our mail box. We asked when that would happen and what time should be start follow up because noting has been delivered to our mail box and it is not the fault of our room steward. We went back an hour later and our tickets were laying on the desk at the Tour Desk.

Saturday morning came, we departed the ship with no problem, caught our flight and flew home. The easiest day of the whole cruise.

Now, we must contact the Princess Insurance file our claim. And, after a few days when I have a chance to relax a little I will be writing a letter to the Delta CEO outlining the poor customer service that we received at both Sacramento and LA airports. I really think I will not receive a answer back, but will make me feel better for trying.

Note: I realize that my post has some misspelled words due to typing fast and not proof reading before I get signed out. If the spelling police are out and about, hope they have fun.

Bob

While writing, I had not stopped to read the other posts.

We tried to fly out of Sacramento, Ca (SMF) with Delta. That is where the train jumped off the track.

Yes, we could have booked another flight if Delta had been up front with us on the broken airplane and needing to fly in a mechanic with part from LA. Instead they just bumped the flight down 30 minutes at time and then made the announcement that the plane would be repaired at 1:30. Then they Canceled the flight. The next flight was then at 3:30 PM which arrived at 4:40 PM.

Bob

I have to say, my flights with Delta have not been quite as bad as yours, but I refuse to fly Delta....They screw up on a regular basis. I realize that all airlines screw up occasionally, but they seem to do so even more than usual...one of their last screw ups was the disappearance of a couple of thousand miles, which somehow disappeared in the magical air....and never were found again...Good advice to quickly find another airline and deal with the problems of getting reimbursed later.

What a nightmare! And I thought holidays were supposed to de-stress you.

I've only ever cruised out of Southampton (I'm in the UK) and even then I driven down the night before - just to be sure. I don't think I could cope with the stress of a flight!

I hope you get it all sorted out with Delta - good luck!!!:eek:

We have had some airline horror stories but luckily never missed a ship due to them.

Sadly delta is bad and being from Atlanta we often have to deal with there incompetence but one other airlines land crew are way worse :(

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While writing, I had not stopped to read the other posts.

 

We tried to fly out of Sacramento, Ca (SMF) with Delta. That is where the train jumped off the track.

 

 

Bob

Just from reading your posts, I was pretty sure that you were coming out of SMF. That's the airport that we normally use as well. We've booked same day flights with Southwest (and knock on wood) we haven't had any issues. After reading your story though, it makes one want to re-think the whole same day flight thing. What series of unfortunate events. :eek:

In our case, DH missed the ship due to losing his passport somewhere between the Delta counter at SFO and the Air Italia counter at JFK. We had already shown our passports once when we checked the bags, but the gate attendant made us show them a second time. We're pretty sure (but we were never able to prove) that the gate agent didn't return DH's passport.

Luckily when we got to JFK (and discovered that the passport was missing) the Air Italia agent was able to re-book DH's flight. He had to get an emergency passport in Connecticut, but was able to catch up to the ship the next day.

Believe me when I say you have my total sympathy and sometimes things happen that are out of our control. It seems like you made the best of it and had a good time in spite of everything.

Bob - Thank you for your level headed report! So many others would have come on here grousing and name calling etc. It's was nice reading your report of what could and did happen and how you handled it. Happy cruising from here on in! :)

For what it's worth and to the benefit of anybody reading this, I fly nearly weekly for work and have for 25 years. This exact kind of thing happens everyday with every airline. Mechanical issues are far less predictable than weather and more challenging to manage. There are some things as a savvy traveler that you can do. First, make sure that you have a few tools on your phone or tablet - I recommend your airline's app and either Flight Stats or Flight Aware. The combination of these sites will give you updates about your flight status before your gate agents even know. A modest delay for a mechanical is tolerable - but when you first learn of it is when you need to start making a back-up plan. Things to check: when's the next flight on your airline to your destination and does it meet your timing needs. If not start looking at other airlines and identify flights that would work. Are those flights on time? If things go south with your mechanical - like they're flying in a mechanic and part (or they'er driving it across the airport from the hangar) - that's when you bail. Don't wait until the end. Ask to be booked over on one of your identified back-ups. Insist they book you over to another airline if necessary. Through those apps you can also check where your inbound plane is coming from and whether it's on time. Airlines often do not post delays even though they know an inbound aircraft will arrive too late to turnaround in the alotted time. It's best to take these matters into your own hands and actively monitor your flights and be prepared to change plans quickly. Typically under this kind of scenario bailing and changing flights could cause you to be separated from your checked luggage. However, in this case, given the type of delay and size of the airport, I think they would have been able to pull the bags and move them to the new flight.

The same kinds of things hold true for hotels. When I get stranded (sometimes it still happens, especially at the end of the day) I try to take matters into my own hands and identify available, acceptable, and convenient hotels. If waiting for an airline voucher looks like it's going to take a TON of time, I just eat it because my time is valuable too.

Happy travels all!

 

We tried to fly out of Sacramento, Ca (SMF) with Delta. That is where the train jumped off the track.

 

 

Sorry about the mix-up SMF vs SFO. I had made the assumption you were flying from SFO because Delta uses Gates 41, 43, 45 in Terminal 1 while Terminal A in SMF doesn't have gates numbered that high.

That's terrible! I'm so sorry!

 

We were thinking of flying in from LA to San Francisco the day of our cruise to Alaska (1 hour flight) but I'm seriously reconsidering.... Rest assured, we won't be flying Delta!

OT: If you aren't aware, SFO has far more delays for fog than Oakland or San Jose. The latter two are farther from SF, but are a safer bet if flying in the day of a cruise, IMO.

You said the other couple had a different experience. How did they handle the problems?