did I make a mistake rebooking air

[sugarsparkles]

My parents are on the British Isle cruise now and their flight home for Sunday has been cancelled. Their TA had already closed for the weekend (but they had Princess book their air) and when we saw their flight was cancelled we rebooked it on our own hoping that by doing it now and not waiting for them to get to the airport we could be ahead of the game and get them home sooner. did we make a mistake by rebooking on our own? Should the cruise line have done it? I was able to log on to British airways site and it gave me the option to rebook so I did. Please tell me this isn't going to cause any issues down the line?!?!?

[sugarsparkles]

I'm seriously having a panic attack over this! I booked them a hotel room for Sunday night too and I'm so stressed something is going to go wrong and it's my fault. It doesn't help that we are hours away from the hurricane kicking our butt and my son work up covered in hives. So it's now 3:15 and I'm a hot mess worrying!

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Your folks are safe, you know were there are, how they are going to get home, so relax.

 

As to costs you may be out of pocket but that is for the future,

 

Princess or airline should have rebooked if flight was cancelled,

 

however you may get all your costs back, so much will depend on the small print.

 

do not panic

 

yours |Shogun

[sugarsparkles]

There was no added cost since the flight was cancelled for weather. It was just picking the next available flight. I guess we jumped the gun but my parents wanted to get home ASAP and didn't want to risk waiting and then being stuck for a few days. Guess they should have asked on board? Now we know better for next time! This was the first problem we have ever had with air so we panicked!

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

 

If no costs, no issues, your folks will be home soon.

 

yours Shogun

[paul929207]

Don't worry about it. YOu did the best you could and they will be fine.

[spongerob]

You might have done your parents a HUGE favor and you should be quite proud of your ability to plan ahead. Imagine the mess that everyone else is going through trying to rebook flights and make hotel reservations from the ship. No doubt there will be a complaint or two from those who were not so fortunate to have caring relatives like yourself about how difficult it was to make their changes at the last minute.

 

There is never anything wrong with taking matters into your hands and being responsible for yourself. Good luck going through the storm, best wishes.

[sugarsparkles]

Thank you everyone. After it was all done I was think oh crap!

[Coral]

I think you are fine.

 

I had a friend who had booked Princess air and an earthquake happened and he couldn't fly to South America. Princess pretty much told him to call American Airlines direct and deal with them (specifically the cruise air dept and they were not open over the weekend).

 

Relax, breathe. You did the right thing.

[robtulipe]

Thank you everyone. After it was all done I was think oh crap!

Yes, IMO you did them a great favor.

Have you been able to get a message to your parents advising them of the revised flight schedule or are they able to check their flight booking online to find this has been taken care of?

[SuiteTraveler]

Sugarsparkles: I think you did exactly right. The only other thing you need do is inform the travel agent that arrangements have already been made, so no additional assistance is required in terms of him/her arranging a hotel/flight. If your parents pay a bit more to come home sooner - well, so what? That's exactly what they wanted and additional cost is nothing compared to losing days of time trying to get back after a situation like this hurricane! Think of it this way...if your mom and dad work, their time is worth $$$ - so getting them back sooner, you are saving them money. Even if they don't work, their time is still worth something and their EXPRESS desire was to get home ASAP, which you have accomplished. Therefore, no one should have any complaints about what you have done.

 

I've been in travel situations with serious weather issues many times and I rushed ahead and made changes. Guess what? Everytime I did this, it turned out I made the right moves and actually got home ahead of hundreds of thousands and sometimes more than a million who got trapped for days.

 

As to your situation, try to be calm and if you are told to evacuate due to the hurricane, do it ASAP but in an organized calm manner. Having had to evacuate due to hurricanes myself, it is also helpful print out several sets of instructions and maps on how to get out of town - not just the major highways that the majority of people will use, but less used back roads, if possible - I've avoided 4 - 6 hour traffic snarls on the highway by doing that. Take water, food, meds, anything that is terribly emotionally important to you (wedding ring and family photos for example) and enough clothes and underwear for several days - don't forget swimsuits for the hotel pool. Don't forget cash and credit cards. Tell your son it is an adventure and bring along things he enjoys to entertain him with. Try not to stress. Everything will be OK one way or the other. It ALWAYS is.

 

Take care and know you did the right thing.

[Pam in CA]

You did absolutely the right thing. There are a limited number of seats available on each flight and the early bird (you) gets the worm. By the time the Princess Air Dept. rebooks passengers, that flight could have been full and their flight home options minimal. They might have been forced to stay another day or two. Relax and stay safe.

[Toto2Kansas]

I agree with the others, you were able to rebook them on a different flight before all of the seats were gone. You did GREAT!

[sugarsparkles]

I do have email access with them. They are (were) in Normandy today. I haven't heard back yet today but they know to check their email to see when they are coming home. Thank again for your kind words!