Another Reason to Fly in Early

[Chairsin]

In today's NY Times there is an article about the a Delta debacle which mentions a guy from PHX on his way to Miami via Atlanta for a cruise who said he had a 12:35AM flight and sat on the runway in PHX for five hours. When he realized he would miss his connection, he left the plane and said he would seek a refund from Delta and NCL. "We had been planning this trip for months, and to find that based off of one flight everything is cancelled," he said , "we're very bummed out." It appears they were flying in the day of the cruise!!!! And now they want someone to blame.

[Got2Cruise]

Do you think that "insurance" will get you to your cruise? If so, you are sadly mistaken.

 

Travel insurance is to protect against the FINANCIAL losses one may incur due to travel disruptions. They are very specific coverages that vary from company to company and policy to policy. They provide for a reimbursement of covered expenses incurred due to travel problems.

 

There is no way that "travel insurance" will be the magic bullet to "get you there". What it will do is protect you from financial loss....IF, and it's an important if, the incident is specifically covered by the policy AND the expenses are specifically covered by the policy. And unless you read the coverage terms and conditions, you can not safely assume anything other than that you have paid an insurance premium for some unknown type of coverage.

 

Insurance and pro-active risk mitigation are apples and oranges. Both tools in a risk-management program but definitely NOT interchangable pieces.

 

 

 

I realize that. I'm more concerned about missing my cruise AND losing my money. If I get my money back I can always try again.

[FlyerTalker]

I realize that. I'm more concerned about missing my cruise AND losing my money. If I get my money back I can always try again.

Let's go back and look at your words:

Isn't it better just to get insurance?

You phrased it as a singular option...just get insurance. Now, you have morphed it into missing the cruise AND the money.

 

My post addressed the words you originally wrote, which reflect the mistaken view of many that "insurance" will get them to their ship - when its purpose is far, far different. And if you already knew that, why were you suggesting that insurance was a better option ("Isn't it better")?

[Got2Cruise]

Let's go back and look at your words:

You phrased it as a singular option...just get insurance. Now, you have morphed it into missing the cruise AND the money.

 

My post addressed the words you originally wrote, which reflect the mistaken view of many that "insurance" will get them to their ship - when its purpose is far, far different. And if you already knew that, why were you suggesting that insurance was a better option ("Isn't it better")?

 

 

I'm here to help my fellow cruisers. Laughing at folks, mocking folks, posting political cartoons is not my style. So to help me or anyone who might not know the definitive answer I would like to know if one had insurance would it have paid for the missed cruise in the Delta fiasco situation?

[ducklite]

I'm here to help my fellow cruisers. Laughing at folks, mocking folks, posting political cartoons is not my style. So to help me or anyone who might not know the definitive answer I would like to know if one had insurance would it have paid for the missed cruise in the Delta fiasco situation?

 

 

 

Probably, but not definitely. You have to read the policy and what it does and does not cover. Some policies would not cover the delay by the airline unless you also insured the airfare through the indemnifying company. Buyer beware.

[ducklite]

I will add to my previous comment... The policy might require you to make all reasonable efforts to meet the ship, including buying walk up airfare out of pocket on another carrier and submitting for reimbursement. They would also want to see what Delta gave you for missing the flight in terms of reimbursement and would subtract that amount from the cost of the new tickets.

[FlyerTalker]

I'm here to help my fellow cruisers. Laughing at folks, mocking folks, posting political cartoons is not my style. So to help me or anyone who might not know the definitive answer I would like to know if one had insurance would it have paid for the missed cruise in the Delta fiasco situation?

The definitive answer is:

 

It completely depends on the terms and conditions of the specific policy held by a individual. Without knowing the T&C, and especially the listed exclusions, ANY statement would be educated guess at best and a huge assumption in most all cases. Further, anyone who says "Well my policy says it would be covered" is guilty of taking the singular and extrapolating it to the general.

 

Oh, and by the way...the "political cartoons" were about the hilarity of the assumptions people make about air travel. I too have to laugh when I read the complete "inaccuracies" (to be less "mocking") that get posted here on a regular basis.

[FlyerTalker]

They would also want to see what Delta gave you for missing the flight in terms of reimbursement and would subtract that amount from the cost of the new tickets.

Information I have is that DL is giving $200 worth of "Delta Dollars" if your flight was either completely cancelled or you had a delay of more than three hours.

[ducklite]

Information I have is that DL is giving $200 worth of "Delta Dollars" if your flight was either completely cancelled or you had a delay of more than three hours.

 

 

Is that in lieu of a refund of the ticket or in addition to? If it is in lieu of, I would think that would contradict the CoC.

[msmayor]

I'm here to help my fellow cruisers. Laughing at folks, mocking folks, posting political cartoons is not my style. So to help me or anyone who might not know the definitive answer I would like to know if one had insurance would it have paid for the missed cruise in the Delta fiasco situation?

 

I have seen some policies that will only pay benefits if the delay in your arrival from the originally scheduled time is six hours or more. Some people who fly in same day don't even realize that they kill that provision of their policy by scheduling a flight that arrives at, say, 11am day of departure.

 

Let's look at some times. Your flight is scheduled to arrive at 10 am and your sail away is 4pm. With the 90 minute check in and boarding requirement, that would mean you need to be on board the ship at 2:30pm. Your flight is late and you get to the port at 3:30pm, too late to board. No problem, you have insurance, right? Except that you're only covered for a SIX hour or more delay, and your delay was only 5.5 hours.

 

That time of delay provision is one every insurance purchaser should read and know BEFORE choosing flight times to ensure coverage for late flights.

[FlyerTalker]

Is that in lieu of a refund of the ticket or in addition to? If it is in lieu of, I would think that would contradict the CoC.

It's the "we're sorry" apology, not in place of refund/reissue.

[ducklite]

It's the "we're sorry" apology, not in place of refund/reissue.

 

 

 

Understood. Thanks.

[waterbug123]

"they" will not fly you - they will TRY to find an open seat on a flight, which does not mean you will be on the NEXT flight. If there are 2 of you and there is 1 seat available, you either bid each other goodbye or you wait again. AND, you must have a passport if your next opportunity to board is other than Puerto Rico or the USVI, AND you have to be boarding at a port which will not violate the terms of your specific cruise.

 

And therein lies the catch for most cruises out of US ports. If the next port is USVI or Puerto Rico you don't need a passport to fly there, but you also can't join the ship there because it violates maritime law to start your cruise in one US port and finish in another US port if cruising on a foreign flagged carrier (and all Caribbean cruise ships are foreign flagged).

 

I'm here to help my fellow cruisers. Laughing at folks, mocking folks, posting political cartoons is not my style. So to help me or anyone who might not know the definitive answer I would like to know if one had insurance would it have paid for the missed cruise in the Delta fiasco situation?

 

Depends on the terms of the policy. Some will, some won't.

[Cyber Kat]

I'm just hoping they are back to normal by the end of the month when we fly out to Amsterdam

 

 

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