Not sure what to do re: potential cancellation

[WeatherGeek]

My husband asked for the time off to take our cruise next week and his leave was approved when I booked it in October. Now it turns out he may not be able to go after all. My daughter & I would still go. Do we just show up at the pier without him to check in or do I need to call beforehand to cancel him out of the room? It's a tricky situation, we may not know until 1 day before cruising whether he'll be able to go or not. It's very frustrating, but it's out of our hands, so we're rolling with it. Any insight you could provide would be helpful.

[bzpilot]

Leave it alone, just cruise without him if you need to. Cancelling him will cost you. If you tell them when checking in at the port there will be no issues and no costs.

[seashinesunshine]

My husband asked for the time off to take our cruise next week and his leave was approved when I booked it in October. Now it turns out he may not be able to go after all. My daughter & I would still go. Do we just show up at the pier without him to check in or do I need to call beforehand to cancel him out of the room? It's a tricky situation, we may not know until 1 day before cruising whether he'll be able to go or not. It's very frustrating, but it's out of our hands, so we're rolling with it. Any insight you could provide would be helpful.

 

Since it is kind of iffy, I would leave it alone. If they deny the time off and you cancel, they may change thier mind at the last minute and give it to him again, then you might have to pay rebooking. A batch of homemade cookies for his boss might be a good idea right now! :D

[apatrol]

I had a company cancel one of my pre-approved vacations and I asked them to reimburse change fees for my already booked trip and they did. You might call Carnival and ask how much to change to another cruise and then see if the spouses company is willing to help...if other dates are an option.

[WeatherGeek]

Since it is kind of iffy, I would leave it alone. If they deny the time off and you cancel, they may change thier mind at the last minute and give it to him again, then you might have to pay rebooking. A batch of homemade cookies for his boss might be a good idea right now! :D

 

I wish it were that easy. :( Unfortunately there are some travel restrictions in place for US Air Force personnel traveling to Mexico for leisure purposes. It's a bunch of red tape. His leave was initially approved without anyone realizing these travel restrictions were in place (realized after final payment was made). Supposedly he can take a class and he'll be approved to leave the country for travel to Cozumel, but no one will schedule the class for him. He can't schedule it himself, it has to go up the chain of command or something. It's just an unfortunate situation.

[WeatherGeek]

I had a company cancel one of my pre-approved vacations and I asked them to reimburse change fees for my already booked trip and they did. You might call Carnival and ask how much to change to another cruise and then see if the spouses company is willing to help...if other dates are an option.

 

My DH is in the military, something tells me they won't give a hoot about any fees incurred in a change of travel plans caused by them ;)

 

We have trip insurance, but I would just rather DD & I go and then never book another cruise going to Mexico again unless the Air Force lifts it's travel restrictions. Looks like we'll be taking lots of eastern itineraries in the future!

[najnelle]

This might be a dumb question, so I apologize in advance: Can't he just stay on the ship when you get to Cozumel?

[suzbcruiser]

I had to forgo taking a cruise I had booked last October due to starting a new job. I called Carnival and explained the situation. I had booked ES so if I cancelled, I would forfeit pretty much everything except for tips and taxes and my cabin mate would have to pay an additional amount or I could just not show up at the ship. That is what I chose to do. My cabin mate just explained I wasn't going to make it at check in and told the cabin steward as well. I was not expecting any reimbursement at all, but a few weeks after the cruise, my checking account was credited the tip and taxes I had paid.

[WeatherGeek]

This might be a dumb question, so I apologize in advance: Can't he just stay on the ship when you get to Cozumel?

 

Not a dumb question at all. Without going to the class that no one will schedule him for, he won't have approval to go to Mexico, whether or not he gets off the ship. So, his leave will still be approved, but not for travel to Mexico and he'll still have the days off if he wants to take them - more likely he'd just save his leave days and go to work. If they don't approve his travel to Mexico but he still takes leave, they can recall him at any time, which means he would have to go in to work - which would be hard to do from a ship at sea. Not worth the risk of the amount of trouble he would get into.

[WeatherGeek]

And thank you all for your help. It looks like if it comes down to it, we will just arrive at the pier for check-in without him without canceling his portion beforehand. I don't even care about the money lost. We got an incredible regional deal and even with just DD and I going, it's still a great price. Though we hope someone will come through for him and he'll be able to go to the class and go with us. DD adores Camp Carnival and I will be pretty lonely without her for those few hours a day :)

[crzycick]

Any chance the insurance is with the company USAA uses? I don't know if your insurance covers this but going through USAA I specifically asked if he would be covered if his leave was taken back last minute and they said yes. So maybe come cruise day if he can't go then try and make a claim and your insurance might at least recoup some costs.

[klfrodo]

I would hold off until last minute and THEN cancel him.

Double check with your insurance though.

I believe most policies allow cancellation for active duty military personnel being denied leave.

If you don't cancel him and just show up, then you'll never get your money back for his portion. Even though you'll only get reimbursed for the 3rd person rate.

[tef43]

Insurance and special dispensation notwithstanding, a last-minute cancellation is in the 100% penalty period. I would go forward and classify him as a no-show.

[firefly333]

Absolutely leave it alone. You dont want them moving your daughter to 2nd pax rate, and being charged more. (well unless you have insurance and have to cancel him, but be aware it could affect the pax #3 rate).

 

Do not do anything. Dont tell them he will be a no show. Just go on the cruise and enjoy.

[gelo7]

I would leave it alone, and show up hopefully with him, or without him.

[Froufie]

I'm curious - how do they know he is going to Mexico? Do you have to tell them each port/stop or country you are visiting in order for him to get his leave approved? Is this done in advance? (e.g. did they know this in October? or has this 'restriction' been put into place since then?)...and if you changed/ships itineraries (e.g. no mexico stop) would the leave be once again 'approved'?

[WeatherGeek]

I'm curious - how do they know he is going to Mexico? Do you have to tell them each port/stop or country you are visiting in order for him to get his leave approved? Is this done in advance? (e.g. did they know this in October? or has this 'restriction' been put into place since then?)...and if you changed/ships itineraries (e.g. no mexico stop) would the leave be once again 'approved'?

 

When he goes on leave, he has to provide them with his travel information. Cabin number, ports of call, how to reach him on the ship, etc. This is standard and he has to give this information every time we go anywhere on vacation.

 

The travel restriction went into place on July 5th, I believe. No one at his squadron who approved his leave knew about it. They can't clear him to go due to their mistake, it has to be done through another agency on base, so everyone's hands are tied right now and it's a matter of that other agency following through. And believe me, he's on it daily, but there's only so much he can do because it has to go up the chain of command there, which can be a slow process (so far, 6 weeks).

[Froufie]

When he goes on leave, he has to provide them with his travel information. Cabin number, ports of call, how to reach him on the ship, etc. This is standard and he has to give this information every time we go anywhere on vacation.

 

The travel restriction went into place on July 5th, I believe. No one at his squadron who approved his leave knew about it. They can't clear him to go due to their mistake, it has to be done through another agency on base, so everyone's hands are tied right now and it's a matter of that other agency following through. And believe me, he's on it daily, but there's only so much he can do because it has to go up the chain of command there, which can be a slow process (so far, 6 weeks).

 

Well then I do feel for you! ...and hope this can be resolved before you leave! You would think this would be treated as urgent especially by those who messed up by being unaware of the requirements - a good manager/supervisor should know what is needed so his/her employees can have their vacations as planned!

[WeatherGeek]

I used to be active duty in the Navy. I remember those days of feeling "owned". I don't miss them at all!

 

I bet! :D Well thankfully they don't own me or my DD, so Viva Mexico for us no matter what! It will really stink if he can't go, but I've learned in my years of being married to the military that anything goes and to be prepared to roll with the punches. Doesn't look like the class is happening today and most of the base is shut down tomorrow, so that's not likely either. That leaves Tuesday & Wednesday of next week since the base is closed on Monday. Not looking too hopeful for him.

 

Thank you for your service :)

[crzycick]

Yep, if you're driving somewhere you have to give the exact route you're taking and which hotels you're staying at. We usually have to make that up because you never know if due to traffic and how you feel if you're going to stop sooner or later than you think you might. Technically if you take a different route (say a detour or bad weather) you can get charged for not being where you said you would be but the command would have to be pretty douchey to follow through.

 

 

 

We didn't even know if he would be making it to our wedding! We were planning it before he went to all of his schools and whatnot and he kept getting delays and then nobody would confirm if he could go or not. My mom and I had to keep planning the wedding hoping he'd make it. She said the wedding would go on, groom or not. I think video cam was her plan, honestly! He had a flight booked for 1 week before the wedding and he didn't know until the day of if he could go or not. And the entire 3 hour trip to the airport he *could* have been called back!

 

 

 

Actually, he had a friend who was on approved leave across the country to visit family. Marine Corps said they needed him back and he was expected to be on the next flight. The Marine Corps didn't pay for this expensive last minute one way flight or reimburse him for the flight he didn't get to take. The military "don't give a sh*t!"

[kammerer3209]

Actually this restriction has been in place for nearly two years. We cruised January 2010 and received the phone call asking if my husband or any of his immediate family were in Mexico. So it has been out there for a long time. However, there was a thread on this last fall of another family in the same situation. He can indeed stay on the ship in Cozumel, because the ship is not considered Mexico. They like to get people worked up when in reality it isn't worth worrying about. Oh how glad I am to no longer be in that situation!!

[WeatherGeek]

Had no idea it had been in place for so long. They gave him some briefing about it initially and it was dated July 7th from USNORTHCOM, so that's where I got the date from. We cruised to 2 Mexican ports last year and I guess flew under the radar because we a. didn't know about the travel restriction and b. I don't think his command did either. At any rate, he's being told he can't go period until he takes this anti-terrorism training, so it's a moot point whether he'll be getting off of the ship or not. And no such luck today, so I guess our next hope is for Tuesday.

[WeatherGeek]

Yep, if you're driving somewhere you have to give the exact route you're taking and which hotels you're staying at. We usually have to make that up because you never know if due to traffic and how you feel if you're going to stop sooner or later than you think you might. Technically if you take a different route (say a detour or bad weather) you can get charged for not being where you said you would be but the command would have to be pretty douchey to follow through.

 

 

 

We didn't even know if he would be making it to our wedding! We were planning it before he went to all of his schools and whatnot and he kept getting delays and then nobody would confirm if he could go or not. My mom and I had to keep planning the wedding hoping he'd make it. She said the wedding would go on, groom or not. I think video cam was her plan, honestly! He had a flight booked for 1 week before the wedding and he didn't know until the day of if he could go or not. And the entire 3 hour trip to the airport he *could* have been called back!

 

 

 

Actually, he had a friend who was on approved leave across the country to visit family. Marine Corps said they needed him back and he was expected to be on the next flight. The Marine Corps didn't pay for this expensive last minute one way flight or reimburse him for the flight he didn't get to take. The military "don't give a sh*t!"

 

That was a wonderful initiation into the world of being a military wife, huh?!

[crzycick]

That was a wonderful initiation into the world of being a military wife, huh?!

 

 

Yep, I learned "Semper Gumby" early!

 

 

 

For those that don't know, the Marine's motto is Semper Fi(delis), always faithful. The wives' motto is Semper Gumby, always flexible!

[SueW]

If this is all he needs see if he can take the Anti terrorism training on-line. Most of the mandatory training of this nature is given on line now and you can print the certificate immediately after finishing.

 

I work for the Navy...

 

Hope this helps!!

 

Sue