Unbelievable!! NCL refuses to protect guests on air they booked!

[slavetoabunny]

I never purchase air through through the cruise line.  Other than perhaps a cheaper fare and an inconvenient travel schedule, it doesn't have any value.  If I have to fly (I live in Florida, so frequently don't), I've always booked air to arrive the day before.  I also get insurance.

 

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, LloydJr said:

If the fare was paid and is non-refundable, don't they make the same amount of profit from an empty cabin as one with passengers?

No. Most of the revenue per passenger comes from onboard spending. The actual cruise fare is a only a small part of the total money from the average cruiser. 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, WYB! said:

Just wondering if there someone here that has missed the ship but had the insurance and what the process for them was for a missed connection and what was reimbursed?

Read the summary of any insurance package and see what is covered. 

 

We were flying into the departure city a day before departure last year. Weather caused flight cancellations and we ended up spending the night in a hotel and flying on day of cruise. Our basic insurance paid $500 of the hotel, uber, food, and rebooking fees. Our claim was for $600+. 

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, WYB! said:

 

 

It's unfortunate that the OP's friend didn't have travel insurance.

I don't know if I would have used the word unfortunate. That makes it sound like they did not have the choice to buy travel insurance. It was unfortunate they missed the connection to the plane. It was reckless that they did not have insurance. I wonder if they had been advised to buy insurance, but said no.

[sanger727]

12 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

And even if they had - and this is VERY important! - was the "event causing the loss" included in the insurance coverage?  Not everything is.

For "missed connections", were there requirements about how much time was arranged to start with?  (I wouldn't expect insurance to cover a missed connection if someone tried to schedule a connection that was too tight, etc.)

 

This is where an insurance broker can be helpful in advance, when deciding which policy to purchase... discussing what is included in each policy under consideration, or, importantly, what is not included.

And keep in mind, there may be "things one didn't think of" that may - or may not - be covered.

 

We've had quite a few claims, and everything has been covered... thus far! 

 

GC

 

As long as you are ticketed on one airline to your final destination its a "legal" connection. The only time you can end up with a illegal connection (and likely wouldn't be covered by insurance) is if you booked the connecting flights separately. So CVG to ATL on one ticket and then ATL to MIA on a second ticket. Those tickets are a bad idea no matter what. You couldn't check a bag since it wouldn't go on to your final destination. You are also SOL for the second flight if the first one is late. As long as you are traveling on one ticket, the airline will get you on a second flight even if it's late or the next day. 

[hallux]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

 

As long as you are ticketed on one airline to your final destination its a "legal" connection. The only time you can end up with a illegal connection (and likely wouldn't be covered by insurance) is if you booked the connecting flights separately. So CVG to ATL on one ticket and then ATL to MIA on a second ticket. Those tickets are a bad idea no matter what. You couldn't check a bag since it wouldn't go on to your final destination. You are also SOL for the second flight if the first one is late. As long as you are traveling on one ticket, the airline will get you on a second flight even if it's late or the next day. 

Correct.  I've even had an airline re-book my second flight because something at the airport changed after I booked the flights and the original connection time no longer met the minimum.

[Amberle3]

3 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

As long as you are ticketed on one airline to your final destination its a "legal" connection. .

 

Not necessarily. The term "legal connection" just means that it meets the minimum required connecting time. I have had schedule changes that resulted in my flights no longer having a "legal connection". Most times the airline has automatically changed my connecting flight to one that does have adequate connecting time, but not always. They don't always tell the passenger that the new connection time doesn't meet the minimum.

 

For example, I had a flight to Orlando booked through Air Canada, departing from Canada and connecting in Toronto.  Minimum "legal" connection time for Canada to US flights in Toronto is 1hr10min. AC had a flight schedule that left us with less than an hour to make that connection (I think it was about 45min). Although they sent me an email about the schedule change there was no mention in it that the new connection time was too short. I had to call AC and talk to a rep who actually tried to tell me that she was sure that would be enough time and that it wasn't necessary to change my connecting flight.  It took quite a while and a supervisor to get her to make that change.

[DCGuy64]

4 hours ago, Amberle3 said:

AC had a flight schedule that left us with less than an hour to make that connection (I think it was about 45min). Although they sent me an email about the schedule change there was no mention in it that the new connection time was too short. I had to call AC and talk to a rep who actually tried to tell me that she was sure that would be enough time and that it wasn't necessary to change my connecting flight.  It took quite a while and a supervisor to get her to make that change.

Glad you got that changed. I agree that 45 minutes isn't enough-most of the time they start boarding by then, unless it's a really short flight. We've had connections that tight a few times, but were lucky enough that the gates were close together AND that we alerted the staff immediately upon leaving the first plane so they knew we were on the way. Didn't AC tell you in the email when the 1st plane was due to land? Or was it just a generic "your flight has changed" email? Ironically, we're on Air Canada next month going from Washington, DC to Tokyo, Japan via Toronto. They did send us an updated schedule but the times only differed by less than 5 minutes, so no big deal.

[Amberle3]

22 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Glad you got that changed. I agree that 45 minutes isn't enough-most of the time they start boarding by then, unless it's a really short flight. We've had connections that tight a few times, but were lucky enough that the gates were close together AND that we alerted the staff immediately upon leaving the first plane so they knew we were on the way. Didn't AC tell you in the email when the 1st plane was due to land? 

They did include the information for both flights, but unless you're used to flying, and the Toronto airport, you might not know that 45 min (or even 55 min) isn't enough in Toronto.  The Toronto airport can be really disorganized and chaotic to begin with, and then when you factor in having to make your way from your arrival gate, go through US customs and Immigration and get to your departure gate there's just no way that less than an hour is enough.  

But if the airline doesn't tell you that no longer have a legal connection and just leaves it to chance, and you don't find out that you're not going to make your connecting flight until you get to your connecting airport, then the airline reaccomodates on you a flight that they have room on - which might be a much later flight than one you could have gotten onto if the situation had been rectified sooner.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, Amberle3 said:

The Toronto airport can be really disorganized and chaotic to begin with, and then when you factor in having to make your way from your arrival gate, go through US customs and Immigration and get to your departure gate there's just no way that less than an hour is enough.  

Wow, given all that, I'm surprised 1'10" is considered enough time. I think we only have 1 1/2 hours to make our connection to Tokyo. I hope that is enough time.

[Amberle3]

11 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Wow, given all that, I'm surprised 1'10" is considered enough time. I think we only have 1 1/2 hours to make our connection to Tokyo. I hope that is enough time.

Because you're a transiting passenger and not staying in Canada I think you should be fine.
According to the AC website transiting passengers in Toronto don't have to go through customs/immigration or clear security again.  They say "a quick passport check and you'll be on your way!".

[RD64]

19 minutes ago, Amberle3 said:

They did include the information for both flights, but unless you're used to flying, and the Toronto airport, you might not know that 45 min (or even 55 min) isn't enough in Toronto.  The Toronto airport can be really disorganized and chaotic to begin with, and then when you factor in having to make your way from your arrival gate, go through US customs and Immigration and get to your departure gate there's just no way that less than an hour is enough.  

But if the airline doesn't tell you that no longer have a legal connection and just leaves it to chance, and you don't find out that you're not going to make your connecting flight until you get to your connecting airport, then the airline reaccomodates on you a flight that they have room on - which might be a much later flight than one you could have gotten onto if the situation had been rectified sooner.

Having experienced YYZ first hand, I would not be comfortable connecting to the US with less than a three hour connection.

[DCGuy64]

9 minutes ago, Amberle3 said:

Because you're a transiting passenger and not staying in Canada I think you should be fine.
According to the AC website transiting passengers in Toronto don't have to go through customs/immigration or clear security again.  They say "a quick passport check and you'll be on your way!".

Thanks. BTW I was just checking out Toronto airport and there are a lot of delayed flights. Any idea why? Weather? The flight we would be taking from here to Toronto was cancelled, and the one to Japan left nearly 2 hours late!

[julig22]

43 minutes ago, Amberle3 said:

The Toronto airport can be really disorganized and chaotic to begin with, and then when you factor in having to make your way from your arrival gate, go through US customs and Immigration and get to your departure gate there's just no way that less than an hour is enough. 

Amen to that!!  I had a layover that was very short because my previous flight was delayed - no other flights available to get me to my cruise in Italy so the airline told me to give it a try - even said they'd get me a wheelchair so I wouldn't have to run with my bags (I'm no spring chicken!)

Well, of course no wheelchair or shuttle - the only one available was already being used, so I'd have to wait.  I took off running and kept going and going and going - there was absolutely NO signage to let me know how far I needed to go.  Got to the passport checkpoint and it wouldn't let me through so I had to interrupt someone to get me through.  Made it to my gate just as my group was boarding. Not my favorite airport...

PS - that was my first post-covid cruise.  Now I usually fly at least a day early, lesson learned.

[Amberle3]

6 hours ago, julig22 said:

Amen to that!! 

...

Made it to my gate just as my group was boarding. Not my favorite airport...

PS - that was my first post-covid cruise.  Now I usually fly at least a day early, lesson learned.

 

My lesson was my honeymoon with my ex.  It should have been a sign really.  We left a day before, ran into weather delays, got re-routed to another airport and that connecting flight was cancelled.  Spent my first official "honeymoon night" in a Detroit airport hotel.  Made it onto a flight the next morning and made it to the cruise on time but man what a headache. Now I fly in at least 2 days ahead - I'd rather be relaxing at the port city than worrying about my flights.

 

6 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thanks. BTW I was just checking out Toronto airport and there are a lot of delayed flights. Any idea why? Weather? The flight we would be taking from here to Toronto was cancelled, and the one to Japan left nearly 2 hours late!

I honestly have no idea.  I know it's raining there but that's all I can tell.  Toronto is just chaotic in general, there always seems to be something going on or going wrong. It is hands-down my least favourite airport for connections.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/inside-toronto-pearson-airport-1.6772718

 

[SimplyAlbert]

On 3/15/2023 at 11:37 PM, BirdTravels said:

Read the summary of any insurance package and see what is covered. 

 

We were flying into the departure city a day before departure last year. Weather caused flight cancellations and we ended up spending the night in a hotel and flying on day of cruise. Our basic insurance paid $500 of the hotel, uber, food, and rebooking fees. Our claim was for $600+. 

 

When this happened to us I ended paying $1350 for two one way tickets from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale (and was lucky to get them with all of the cancelled flights).  Insurance reimbursed $500 under our trip delay and the original carrier reimbursed the cost of the original tickets at $300.  We were OOP for the balance.  This is also a good reason to carry a credit card with "room" for unexpected charges.

 

Everyone buying travel insurance should understand what it does and does not pay for.  It pays to go through a broker who sells it and can steer you to the right policy based on your needs.