What did you do when you couldn't make your cruise due to flight cancellations?

[1412p0oi]

I just read about the 2000(!!!) flight cancellations that happened TODAY alone across the US, not only with storm issues but also with the Boeing 737-Max 9 problems, which greatly affected the only two airlines at my closest airport (Seattle-Tacoma international airport). My flight status shows no change at the moment, but I was worried and wondered if any cruise travelers were caught up in all the cancellations today. So what did you or would you do in such a situation? Just try to contact travel insurance and get a refund? Or try to catch up at the next port?

Edited January 13 by 1412p0oi

[cr8tiv1]

Lots of questions for you.

 

When is your cruise?

Do you have Princess Insurance?

Are you arriving a day early?

Did you book EZ Air?

According to one youtuber (Don's Vacation), you have to make every effort to get to the port...even if you know you will miss the boat.  Then insurance can be filed.

[1412p0oi]

Just now, cr8tiv1 said:

Lots of questions for you.

 

When is your cruise?

Do you have Princess Insurance?

Are you arriving a day early?

Did you book EZ Air?

According to one youtuber (Don's Vacation), you have to make every effort to get to the port...even if you know you will miss the boat.  Then insurance can be filed.

Cruise is this Sunday, and I'm flying out tomorrow (Saturday). I think I should be fine because my flight isn't using the Boeing 737-Max 9 plane that's grounded, but I was just generally concerned given the recent situations.

 

I bought travel insurance separately so not through Princess and booked my airfare myself. 

 

So Don is saying that I'd have to try to fly out and get to Galveston anyways in order to file for insurance in a scenario if flights are all cancelled?

[cr8tiv1]

Since you didn't book through EZ Air, Princess won't help you get there.

 

If you have cancel for any reason, you can do that with Princess/AON.  You might only get (a portion) in Future Cruise Credits.  I'm no into insurance so don't know the ins and outs.

 

You could "buy" yourself an insurance policy:  Southwest fully refundable ticket and cancel.

 

Was your flight number cancelled today?  Check airline website or flight aware.

 

Glad you are flying out tomorrow. Wicked weather too.

 

 

Edited January 13 by cr8tiv1

[luv2kroooz]

Contact my insurance provider and let them advise on next steps.

[SCX22]

Call Princess' En Route Desk and inform them of your flight delay.  They will advise you as to whether or not the ship will wait for you (maybe the shop is delayed to being with or if there are EZ Air passengers on your flight, the ship might wait be waiting for them as well) and/or which port you can be accommodated at (can't fly to Princess Cays if this is your first port) or if you can be accommodated at all (PVSA violations).

 

After this, I would start an insurance claim.  I would take photos of airport departures board/gate info board showing flight delay/cancellations.  Also screen shot flight status on the airline website/app to have proof for insurance.

[Honolulu Blue]

57 minutes ago, 1412p0oi said:

I just read about the 2000(!!!) flight cancellations that happened TODAY alone across the US, not only with storm issues but also with the Boeing 737-Max 9 problems, which greatly affected the only two airlines at my closest airport (Seattle-Tacoma international airport). My flight status shows no change at the moment, but I was worried and wondered if any cruise travelers were caught up in all the cancellations today. So what did you or would you do in such a situation? Just try to contact travel insurance and get a refund? Or try to catch up at the next port?

I had a flight into Houston on Saturday. Bad weather was due at my home airport on Friday. United offered a window to change my flight for free to one on Thursday (yesterday). I changed it to that and got everything to line up along with it. DTW turned out to be one of the hardest hit airports with cancellations and delays today, with tomorrow not looking good either, so I think I did the right thing for once. 😀 Your mileage may vary.

[AZjohn]

I would suggest having a plan B, C, and D of alternate flights to get you where you want to go tomorrow (look online).

 

Its handy if you show up at the airport and flight gets cancelled (for whatever reason) and have to call a agent to find you alternate flights (don’t stand in a long line at customer service, just call the airline). Try to think outside the box with connections.

 

It’s just something I do every time we fly anywhere. I had to do a ton of business travel and it’s just something that I learned to do as something always seemed to screw up my best laid plans😊.

 

Your insurance will cover any extra cost to get you to your cruise.

 

Cheers and have a great cruise!

[MacMadame]

11 minutes ago, AZjohn said:

Its handy if you show up at the airport and flight gets cancelled (for whatever reason) and have to call a agent to find you alternate flights (don’t stand in a long line at customer service, just call the airline). Try to think outside the box with connections.

I second this. We had a flight canceled on us and my husband didn't want to stand in line because they said we'd get an email with instructions. Eventually, I ignored him and got in line. By the time I got to the front of the line, the only flight they could get us on left 3 days later!! Someone behind me in line made his own plane reservations while standing in line and was able to get out the next day. He was also the last person to get vouchers for hotel & transportation because then they *ran out*.

[1412p0oi]

49 minutes ago, AZjohn said:

I would suggest having a plan B, C, and D of alternate flights to get you where you want to go tomorrow (look online).

 

Its handy if you show up at the airport and flight gets cancelled (for whatever reason) and have to call a agent to find you alternate flights (don’t stand in a long line at customer service, just call the airline). Try to think outside the box with connections.

 

It’s just something I do every time we fly anywhere. I had to do a ton of business travel and it’s just something that I learned to do as something always seemed to screw up my best laid plans😊.

 

Your insurance will cover any extra cost to get you to your cruise.

 

Cheers and have a great cruise!

I've actually never tried calling the airlines directly to book (just always booked online). Is it faster to use the airline number I can find on google versus immediately buying a ticket out on my own, since an agent can perhaps find better routes?

Edited January 13 by 1412p0oi

[AZjohn]

35 minutes ago, 1412p0oi said:

I've actually never tried calling the airlines directly to book (just always booked online). Is it faster to use the airline number I can find on google versus immediately buying a ticket out on my own, since an agent can perhaps find better routes?

Usually a very long line airside when flights get cancelled.

 

If you want the airline you booked with to book the alternate flight (especially with their partners) I would just call their customer service number you found on Google or airline web page.

 

If you just want to book with Southwest (who doesn’t partner with other airlines) just book the ticket on your smart phone or call them. Turn that cost into your insurance company.

 

Cheers

[Steelers36]

11 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Call Princess' En Route Desk and inform them of your flight delay.  They will advise you as to whether or not the ship will wait for you (maybe the shop is delayed to being with or if there are EZ Air passengers on your flight, the ship might wait be waiting for them as well) and/or which port you can be accommodated at (can't fly to Princess Cays if this is your first port) or if you can be accommodated at all (PVSA violations).

 

After this, I would start an insurance claim.  I would take photos of airport departures board/gate info board showing flight delay/cancellations.  Also screen shot flight status on the airline website/app to have proof for insurance.

Going to disagree - although I have not flown there myself.  Several airlines service Eleuthera from FLL.  Another option is flying to NAS and connecting.  Once landed, you could take ground transportation to the Princess compound and presumably gain entry with ID, etc.

 

So, it can be done, but IDK if the ship accepts delayed guests there.

[Coral]

A friend had their flight cancelled (United cancelled a bunch of flights due to weather). They did not want to try to catch up to the next port (Europe). Air and cruise booked with Princess and Princess insurance. Princess did not cover their cancellation. They got a cruise credit.

[Coral]

24 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Going to disagree - although I have not flown there myself.  Several airlines service Eleuthera from FLL.  Another option is flying to NAS and connecting.  Once landed, you could take ground transportation to the Princess compound and presumably gain entry with ID, etc.

 

This is correct. There is an airport on the island. I have seen people catch up to the ship on this island.

[DCThunder]

OP, you also never said what airline you were booked on.  If you're flying on Frontier or Spirit you may be SOL regarding much assistance from the airline in the event of a cancellation.  Also, my guess is you don't have any status on the airline, which also makes a difference, like it or not.  Is your flight from SEA direct to Houston, or do you stop in Denver or somewhere?  A direct flight would at least eliminate the risk of missing a connecting flight if your SEA flight left late. 

 

Anyway, good luck and safe travels.

[nymshowdown]

If you have miles with American, I recommend booking an alternative with them. Their last minute redemptions are sometimes priced really well, and the miles are refundable up to departure time. Gives you a very flexible/refundable alternative that also won't get you stuck with future flight credit

[azbirdmom]

@1412p0oi - did you make it?

[coldweather]

One suggestion.  I usually print out a detailed hard copy of the travel insurance I purchased. During travel if a situation occurs, I can refer to the policy I bought to know what is covered.  This should help me make good decisions.  This is all in theory because I almost always have the hard copy but I have never had to refer to it. 

[ldubs]

17 hours ago, 1412p0oi said:

I just read about the 2000(!!!) flight cancellations that happened TODAY alone across the US, not only with storm issues but also with the Boeing 737-Max 9 problems, which greatly affected the only two airlines at my closest airport (Seattle-Tacoma international airport). My flight status shows no change at the moment, but I was worried and wondered if any cruise travelers were caught up in all the cancellations today. So what did you or would you do in such a situation? Just try to contact travel insurance and get a refund? Or try to catch up at the next port?

 

Sea-Tac has only two airlines?   

[1412p0oi]

2 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

@1412p0oi - did you make it?

Thankfully my flight was not cancelled so I arrived! 

Thank you for caring 

 

[1412p0oi]

56 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Sea-Tac has only two airlines?   

No it’s just that those two had a huge number of cancellations due to the Boeing 737 Max 9 plane needing to be inspected and my flight was on United. From what I could see pretty much all of the flights to Houston are those two. Except for a Frontier flight but that would take 16 hours for me to get to Houston past midnight at a much higher cost and I don’t think my back can handle that. 

[ldubs]

ENJOY!!  

[Firefly74]

13 minutes ago, 1412p0oi said:

Thankfully my flight was not cancelled so I arrived! 

Thank you for caring 

 

Yay!

[azbirdmom]

36 minutes ago, 1412p0oi said:

Thankfully my flight was not cancelled so I arrived! 

Thank you for caring 

 

 

Good to hear!  Enjoy your cruise.

[cr8tiv1]

Enjoy your cruise.  Check to see what your credit card offers for insurance on the way back.  Hopefully you will not have any issues on your return flight.  And if so, enjoy the extra vacation time on your insurance $$$.