Well, trip insurance claim was denied. The perfect ending.

[hammybee]

The OP chose to fly American from Denver to Seattle on the date of departure, with adequate time, assuming everything occured, as scheduled.

 

Airlines do not guarantee their schedules. Airlines have no responsibility to compensate passengers due to events out of their control, including mechanical issues.

 

Flights sold under the name of one carrier are often operated by another carrier.

 

American cancelled the original flight and the OP's party were rebooked on a flight operated by another carrier departing later, that morn. That flight had a mechanical problem and departure was delayed, which eventually caused the OP's party to miss the ship by minutes.

 

Cruise lines usually do not dealy departure to accommodate a handful of passengers who are delayed. Laws now require cruise line's to finalize their onboard passenger list 90 minutes before departure. This may or may not have been a factor in this situation.

 

Alaskan Air gave the OP's party complimentary tickets from Seattle to Junueu although they were not required to do anything for them, under the circumstances.

 

HAL picked up the tab for 2 hotel rooms, in Juneau for 2 nights, even though they had nothing to do with the OP party's inability to get to the ship.

 

Not all Trip insurance covers all risks. Carrier caused delays are often excluded and/ or sometimes available as a rider, at additional cost. Perhaps this is the case in this situation.

 

Moral of this sad story: Flying in on departure date is always risky business. Not all trip insurance is equal and the devil is in the details.

 

I am sorry this happens to anyone.

[Alaskabound77]

You seem like to nice of person for this to happen too. So I have decided that your friends here on Cruise Critic are going to give you the support and strength to fight this. We won't take "NO" for an answer. Come here daily for help and support. YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!:p :) :D ;) .

 

Isn't this the sweetest community?

 

I just called the attorney at AIG and left a message. I'm sitting here reading through the policy and I simply don't see the carrier caused delay exclusion. I see one regarding a cancelled flight but I have emails stating that the plane had a mechanical difficulty and it was not a cancelled.

[bigwally]

I generally book CSA policies. It's been a while, but seems to me that there has to be a delay of more than 6 hours before the protection kicks in, and then it's only $150 per person, per day, to a maximum of $1000 per person. Clearly not enough to help you reach your ship in most instances, especially with a non-cooperative airline or if you need an overnight stay.

 

The only other coverage this policy provides that's even close to this is "trip interruption", which is designed to get you home NOT to catch you up to your ship. I suppose if I'd missed my ship I could have said "OK, I missed my ship....vacation is now unsalvageable.....get me home. OR...you could help me catch my ship and it won't cost as much" (trip interruption pays 150% of the vacation cost). Just might have worked.

 

Of course, the real answer (and I hate to say this, because you've probably heard it all too readily in the other thread?) is not to fly the same day as your cruise. It's just folly, pure and simple.

 

Edit: Wow, I've just read hammybee's post. Didn't know the providers had bent over that far for you. Think you've just lost most of my sympathy! You had bad luck, and the folks with Alaska and HAL look like they tried to put it right.

[lardor]

The OP chose to fly American from Denver to Seattle on the date of departure, with adequate time, assuming everything occured, as scheduled.

 

Airlines do not guarantee their schedules. Airlines have no responsibility to compensate passengers due to events out of their control, including mechanical issues.

 

Flights sold under the name of one carrier are often operated by another carrier.

 

American cancelled the original flight and the OP's party were rebooked on a flight operated by another carrier departing later, that morn. That flight had a mechanical problem and departure was delayed, which eventually caused the OP's party to miss the ship by minutes.

 

Cruise lines usually do not dealy departure to accommodate a handful of passengers who are delayed. Laws now require cruise line's to finalize their onboard passenger list 90 minutes before departure. This may or may not have been a factor in this situation.

 

Alaskan Air gave the OP's party complimentary tickets from Seattle to Junueu although they were not required to do anything for them, under the circumstances.

 

HAL picked up the tab for 2 hotel rooms, in Juneau for 2 nights, even though they had nothing to do with the OP party's inability to get to the ship.

 

Not all Trip insurance covers all risks. Carrier caused delays are often excluded and/ or sometimes available as a rider, at additional cost. Perhaps this is the case in this situation.

 

Moral of this sad story: Flying in on departure date is always risky business. Not all trip insurance is equal and the devil is in the details.

 

I am sorry this happens to anyone.

 

What you say is true but there is no insurance that you can buy that protects you from lying and miss-direction. This should be the heart of her letter, the CEO's need this kind of information, they don't hear these stories from their employees. IF an airline cancel a flight before there is a weather problems and puts you on another flight and says "don't worry"...

They are responsible. If they put you on another plane and say "it should be OK" then I think they are off the hook. I don't remember the time frame for the cancellation, but you and I would probably would make them put us on an earlier flight...And of course, she should spell out what she wants the airline/cruise company to do for her because of the lying that she heard.

[Pam in CA]

To the OP, I'm terribly sorry this happened to you but it seems to be an unfortunate series of events, few of which were HAL's responsibility. Hammybee is correct in that there is a new Homeland Security regulation requiring all cruiselines to submit a completed manifest 60 minutes before sailing. The cruiselines are using 90 minutes in order to make sure all passengers are checked in before the 60-minute requirement. This has to include all checked-in passengers so that if one arrives 30 minutes late, a new manifest has to be submitted and the ship has to wait another 60 minutes before they are allowed to sail. Like airlines, ships have scheduled departure times where they have the pilot onboard and must leave at a specific time. Often, other ship departures are dependent on the ship before them leaving. If there is a delay, the pilot is assigned to another ship and the ship loses it's place in the departure order. I've been on ships where this has happened. It's not a matter of, "Why couldn't the ship wait another five minutes for us?" They often don't have much flexibility. There are several warnings on cruiseline sites and on documents about checking in at least 90 minutes before sailing.

 

The moral of the story is:

 

-- always fly in the day before

-- always check your insurance and make sure it covers what you think it does

 

FYI, if I'd found someone in my cabin, particularly if they were asleep, I would have plopped the baby on the bed, preferably screaming, and left the cabin (but within earshot.) Even though the ship has the right to use the cabin, YOU have the right to use the cabin as soon as you board. HAL knew when you were arriving and should have adjusted things accordingly. That was YOUR cabin as soon as you boarded.

[bigwally]

FYI, if I'd found someone in my cabin, particularly if they were asleep, I would have plopped the baby on the bed, preferably screaming, and left the cabin (but within earshot.) Even though the ship has the right to use the cabin, YOU have the right to use the cabin as soon as you board. HAL knew when you were arriving and should have adjusted things accordingly. That was YOUR cabin as soon as you boarded.

 

 

OK after reading Pam's post, you've got some of my sympathy back. Perhaps I need to go back to the original thread and see the whole tragedy unfold.

 

You know what, sometimes bad vacations happen to good people. My opinion, chalk it up to experience and get on with our life.

[sail7seas]

What's the point of everyone buying all these policies when we hear stories like this where they don't pay. Sure are good about collecting premiums, aren't they?

 

AlaskaBound..... I am sorry you are STILL having aggravation from this 'less than perfect' cruise experience.

 

I hope you are able to recover more from insurance.

 

Thanks for updating us.

 

How are those sweet kids of yours? Fine and happy, I hope.

[kayden]

Unfortunately I am not sure what monies you will get back, if any. Insurance companies absolutely will no pay you for the time it takes to file a claim. But if you go through a lawyer, you could ask for such a thing if you are asking for time spent/damages etc.

 

As for the policy, I re-read the story and it appears that if the airline and HAL were able to allow you to "catch up" to the tour (or in this case the cruise) then I think that is likely what your policy covered. Most policies don't cover a $ reimbursement plus compensation in order to continue on your trip.

 

Having said that it still seems that you had a very unhappy vacation and I think most of us can learn from this situation. Good luck for your case though, honestly! :D

[pms4104]

From Travel Guard's Gold policy:

TRIP DELAY

The Insurer will reimburse up to $150 a day to the

Maximum Limit shown on the Schedule of Benefits if the

Insured’s Trip is delayed for more than 5 hours for

Reasonable Additional Expenses until travel becomes

possible. Incurred expenses must be accompanied by

receipts. This benefit is payable for only one delay per

Insured, per Trip. Trip Delay must be caused by reasons

listed under Trip Cancellation & Interruption, in addition to:

(a) carrier-caused delay; (b) lost or stolen passports, travel

documents, or money; © quarantine; (d) the Insured

being delayed by a traffic accident while en route to a

departure; or (e) Natural Disaster that causes a complete

cessation of travel services at the point of departure or

Destination.

The Insured Must: Contact LiveTravel (1.800.826.8597)

as soon as he/she knows his/her Trip is going to be

delayed more than 5 hours. Failure to do so may affect

coverge.

 

So, is it possible the denial is based on an original delay of less than 5 hours?

[codyody]

I see the following when claims are denied initially where I work (and am ashamed to admit it); if a response letter is sent on your behalf, signed by an attorney, on his/her letterhead, more attention is paid. Hopefully you have an attorney friend who can do this for you.

[hammybee]

What you say is true but there is no insurance that you can buy that protects you from lying and miss-direction. This should be the heart of her letter, the CEO's need this kind of information, they don't hear these stories from their employees. IF an airline cancel a flight before there is a weather problems and puts you on another flight and says "don't worry"...

They are responsible. If they put you on another plane and say "it should be OK" then I think they are off the hook. I don't remember the time frame for the cancellation, but you and I would probably would make them put us on an earlier flight...And of course, she should spell out what she wants the airline/cruise company to do for her because of the lying that she heard.

 

I understand what you are saying. Unfortunately, no airline gurantees their schedules and there are no laws that require an airline to do anything, under these circumstances. Alaska Airlines did absorb the cost of getting the OP's party to Juneau, which is probably more than some airlines would or could do.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for the advice. I will start to work on this. I have tried to start the letter to HAL and then have to fight the urge to say, "just go read my story on cruisecritic and here is the link." And I know they would never do that anyway.

 

 

Don't be sure they wouldn't follow a link you provided. They just might. Many HAL 'people' have most assuredly heard of CC.

[pms4104]

Don't be sure they wouldn't follow a link you provided. They just might. Many HAL 'people' have most assuredly heard of CC.

But, isn't the real issue with Travel Guard? I'm not certain that HAL has anything to do with resolving that claim.

[Zippercat]

Isn't this the sweetest community?

 

I just called the attorney at AIG and left a message. I'm sitting here reading through the policy and I simply don't see the carrier caused delay exclusion. I see one regarding a cancelled flight but I have emails stating that the plane had a mechanical difficulty and it was not a cancelled.

 

Don't quit fighting them. IF their attorney calls you back, mention to him that you are not going to go down without a long fight and that you intend to file a complaint against their company with your state's department of insurance and attorney general. Then do it.

 

Tell the department of insurance and attorney general (in most state's they will have a complaint 800 number and/or website form for consumer complaints) the details of what happened, including how much you paid for the so-called coverage and the amount of your denied claims. Be sure to mention to them anything you were told when you bought the coverage. Remember that the TA is probably, for insurance purposes, deemed to be the agent of the insurance company since they probably got a commission on the sale. So, the company should be held to what the TA told you about the coverage.

 

 

 

GOOD LUCK!!

[Coral]

I am truly sorry! You deserve better!

[RuthC]

After laughing and crying through your original thread, I'm sorry to read that it has come to a denial of your claim. I hope you prevail eventually.

You have taught me a lesson, though. I took out my magnifying glass and took a good look at the fine print in my insurance for my 10/09 cruise. And I understood it, because of your tale.

So, I've decided to fly over two days before sailing, instead of the one I was planning on.

Thank you for opening my eyes.

[sail7seas]

But, isn't the real issue with Travel Guard? I'm not certain that HAL has anything to do with resolving that claim.

 

 

I totally agree. This is an issue about insurance but there is nothing wrong with anyone from HAL reading the whole story, is there? Could be 'informative' or better.

[Alaskabound77]

Ah, the kids are finally asleep and I can respond now to all your comments.

 

The issue here is really about the insurance claim, not about HAL. Yes, HAL did pay for our hotel rooms in Juneau but that was because they really misled us in Seattle. I think it was extremely unprofessional for the airport representative to "fake" phone calls about making us reservations at two different locations. When we arrived at the Seattle airport, it was really a scene of confusion for everyone. Alaska Airlines was pushing us to board a 7:30 pm flight for Juneau and I was saying that I didn't think I could handle waiting for 4 more hours in an airport and another plane trip that left after the kids bedtime. I wish we had all calmed down, looked at our options and not let HAL send us to the Quality Inn (which, again, is a complete dump). Since we had trip insurance, we could have chosen a nicer place to stay. But it was so hectic with a whining 4 year old and a crying baby. Oh, yeah, and the other crying baby strapped to my chest.

 

I also feel like neither Alaska Airlines or HAL really did that much for us. The flight to Juneau the next day was less than half full. Yes, they paid for the fuel costs to get us up there but it's not like they were kicking paying passengers out of their seats. They weren't going to sell those seats by the next morning anyway. Same story at the Baranof Hotel that was pretty empty. And Alaska knew they were at fault because it turns out that the plane had actually been cancelled the night before but they did not inform the passengers or American Airlines. If I had logged on the night before and checked the status of the plane, I would have seen the delay and could have started to find an alternative that night. But I didn't do that, dammit. They should have either called or sent an email.

 

Sail-

The family is doing great and thanks for asking. You are right, someone at HAL probably would be interested in the story. I'm not angry at HAL for our missing the ship, but I do feel like we didn't really have a good experience on the ship. After spending a lot of time on cc, I had a good idea of what to expect and I felt like HAL fell short on this trip. They should know that much about their product. I don't expect or want anything from them but they should know about the problems that we encountered.

 

Camp367-

I got home and opened up my letter this afternoon and Travel Guard says that "your trip was interrupted due to your Alaska Airlines flight #677 being cancelled for mechanical reasons. Per our exclusions, "travel arrangements cancelled by the airline, cruise line, or tour operator...." This is interesting because they really should have put the part the you pasted in your post. What they say here is not actually correct. Flight #677 was not cancelled, but was delayed 4 hours. I don't expect this to go any further per the info you posted, but I might make them research it some more for the hell of it.

 

Kayden-

I wasn't trying to imply that I should be reimbursed for the time I spent putting together the claim (which was massive because I had to file the claim for our room, the claim for my parents and the claim for Tyler who shared a room with sister and was covered under their policy). But I probably wouldn't have gone to so much trouble if I had known that carrier caused delays weren't covered (just to save $200).

 

There are several things that bother me here. First, I did not do my homework in regards to reading the fine print on the policy and did not know that there are differnet levels of insurance available. The TA said to buy the trip insurance and we did. That is totally my fault. However, I also find it annoying that everyone acted like this situation would be totally covered. When we landed at SEA/TAC, HAL told us that we should probably just turn around and go home since we had the trip insurance. That way, we could try again in a few weeks and get the whole trip on the ship. Thankfully, we did not do that! We immediately called Travel Guard and they were actually the ones that suggested that we should file both a Trip Delay and a Trip Interruption claim. They explained that they would take the total cost the trip, divide it by 7, and reimburse us for 3 nights that we missed. We were told this by at least 8 different employees at Travel Guard. It bothers me that when we called, they pulled up our account and were able to see which policy we had bought. They all knew the details of our claim and you would think that at least one person would say, "hey, wait, we don't actually cover carried caused delays." I mean, they do this all day long, right?? Wouldn't this just be a standard claim denial?

 

And, of course, I wish I had found cruisecritic before we had booked the cruise to begin with. You all would have suggested to fly in the day before. Expensive mistakes, but in the end, we had a nice time with the family and we made it home safely.

[kryos]

I hate to say this ... but I too had a similar situation back in 2004 with HAL's insurance. Missed three days of my cruise due to US Air's incompetence. Spent two nights in Costa Rica waiting for the ship to catch up to me after missing it in Fort Lauderdale.

 

I don't quite remember what I spent for the flight to Costa Rica, along with one night in a hotel in Atlanta and two nights in the hotel in Costa Rica. I received a reimbursement check for $500 -- the maximum allowable for "trip interruption" under the policy.

 

At this point, I was home and trying to look upon the experience as an adventure. I enjoyed my two days in Costa Rica and considered it an add-on to my vacation. But I wasn't happy at all with this $500 reimbursement ... especially considering I had probably spent over a grand between the extra flight and the three nights hotel stay ... not to mention meals and "entertainment."

 

I think trip insurance is great for some things, like emergency medical expenses, but sucks for certain other things.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[jhannah]

How many of us have read "trip interruption" as a covered item but glossed over the dollar limitation? I know I have! This is a good wake-up call. READ YOUR TRIP INSURANCE CONTRACT AND EVIDENCE OF COVERAGE. Know what you have ... and what you DON'T have.

 

We've been extremely fortunate in that we've never had to endure an experience like this. But should it ever happen, I want to be as prepared as I can be to deal with it. This includes knowing exactly what benefits accrue to me.

[slabeaume]

Wow---your story would make a fun movie!

 

I had an incident on Disney a few years ago that caused us to miss the end of our cruise (Dad almost drowned and we were airvac-ed to the USA). We didn't have trip insurance, but I wrote a letter to Disney anyway. I knew they didn't owe us anything, but it was a ship offered excursion and I wanted to make sure they were aware of what happened. Disney actually sent us vouchers for 50% off a future cruise---which we took and had a great time. After hearing your sad story, maybe HAL will offer you something, too.

[terrydtx]

I understand what you are saying. Unfortunately, no airline gurantees their schedules and there are no laws that require an airline to do anything, under these circumstances. Alaska Airlines did absorb the cost of getting the OP's party to Juneau, which is probably more than some airlines would or could do.

 

Hammy so true and when you do take the risk of traveling the day of the cruise you need to be diligent and check with the air carrier to make sure that flights and scheduling have not been changed since the time you booked the original trip. The OP from her original posting did not know the until the morning of departure that American had changed her departure time and air carrier. This should have been checked with American no less than 3 days before departure by the OP. On our X cruise leaving from Barcelona next Friday, the air that we booked last year has changed 3 times and not once did the airline notify me, but I go online and check my reservation every Saturday morning to find any changes and make corrections if needed. Also I will call Delta on Tuesday to reconfirm our flight just to make sure we have no surprises either.

[Jade13]

The OP chose to fly American from Denver to Seattle on the date of departure, with adequate time, assuming everything occured, as scheduled.

 

Airlines do not guarantee their schedules. Airlines have no responsibility to compensate passengers due to events out of their control, including mechanical issues.

 

Flights sold under the name of one carrier are often operated by another carrier.

 

American cancelled the original flight and the OP's party were rebooked on a flight operated by another carrier departing later, that morn. That flight had a mechanical problem and departure was delayed, which eventually caused the OP's party to miss the ship by minutes.

 

Cruise lines usually do not dealy departure to accommodate a handful of passengers who are delayed. Laws now require cruise line's to finalize their onboard passenger list 90 minutes before departure. This may or may not have been a factor in this situation.

 

Alaskan Air gave the OP's party complimentary tickets from Seattle to Junueu although they were not required to do anything for them, under the circumstances.

 

HAL picked up the tab for 2 hotel rooms, in Juneau for 2 nights, even though they had nothing to do with the OP party's inability to get to the ship.

 

Not all Trip insurance covers all risks. Carrier caused delays are often excluded and/ or sometimes available as a rider, at additional cost. Perhaps this is the case in this situation.

 

Moral of this sad story: Flying in on departure date is always risky business. Not all trip insurance is equal and the devil is in the details.

 

I am sorry this happens to anyone.

 

I agree with all of this, but I believe OP (I recall reading the original thread), had issues with HAL while onboard the ship. If I recall correctly, when they finally boarded in Juneau someone else was sleeping in their cabin (maybe an entertainer etc.) but the ship should have been made aware that the OP would be boarding in Juneau and the cabin they paid for should have been empty and cleaned by the 7:00am (?) dock time that morning. So, the letter needs to go to Seattle regarding disappointment upon boarding (which is different than the insurance issue which should be mainly the missed days).

 

I still would like more info on which vacation policies (with plan numbers/IDs) would cover mechanical vs those that will not? I am fully aware that many are just x amount per day (such as $100.00 per person) which may not get you far nor cover the catch up costs (which Alaskan Airlines did). This information would be helpful to CC members besides the advice to come a day early. For some reason I thought weather was typically not covered ("acts of g-d") but than would think cancellations for mechanical would be.

[WeLoveCruising]

but the ship should have been made aware that the OP would be boarding in Juneau and the cabin they paid for should have been empty and cleaned by the 7:00am (?) dock time that morning. So, the letter needs to go to Seattle regarding disappointment upon boarding (which is different than the insurance issue which should be mainly the missed days).

 

.

 

I totally agree with you. I dont know what they meant about the "security issue" that wouldnt allow her sister access. Maybe because the name was different that was the issue? In any event, I think that is inexcusable.

[1cruiselvr]

I think the 'security issue' was somebody else using the room and they didn't want to admit it. Happy Sailing!