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

[JadedRaverLA]

Hi I just read through all your original story and just wanted to make a few points. First of all, great job keeping the family together and getting through the ordeal and making the best of Juneau, etc. Hopefully, that at least somewhat salvaged your trip.

 

Secondly, obviously you learned the big lesson... if at all possible, travel the day before! That really can't be stressed enough, but often its just not possible or practical. So, I'd like to give a few tips from someone who travels by air frequently on how to deal with these situations when they do come up and you must be at your destination on the day scheduled:

 

1) If you're flying and NEED to arrive at your destination on the day you are scheduled, always book the earliest flight possible, so that if it's delayed or cancelled you have the most options.

 

2) Know your actual airline and flight number. With all the codeshare flights going on, many people get very confused by this, but your ticketing confirmation should show a second airline and flight number if you'll actually be travelling on another airline's "metal." Always check the day before, and then first thing in the morning the day of, for any delays on that ACTUAL airline and flight number. The sooner you have information, the more likely you can get your situation resolved before all the other passenger's even know there's a problem.

 

3) Know the flight schedules from your departure airport to your destination airport for your date of travel. (If you have a layover at an intermediate airport, also know alternate flights that will get you from that intermediate airport to your final destination on time.) You will want to use any of the major online TA mega-sites to check the major airlines and then ALSO check LLCs (low cost carriers) that you know fly out of your airport (Southwest, etc) as some of those aren't visible to most other booking systems. If you end up at the airport and your flight is delayd/cancelled, you want to know exactly what flights are available on every airline that will get you where you need to be on time. There's almost always other flights if you know what they are -- and you can't count on the airline that's cancelled or delayed your flight having access to the full inventory of all those other airlines. Knowing the other flights can make sure that YOU get placed in seats on another line, while everybody else scrambles. If you have others with you in your party, my advice is this: get in line with everybody else, but have one person immediately call the airline you're scheduled to be on and have somebody else immediately call the airline with the flight you want to be on. If your original airline can get you seated on the new flight you want (give them the airline and flight number directly), then grwat, you're set. If not, the person on the phone with the other airline just needs to book seats over the phone with them. Pay for the seats on a credit card to make SURE you have those seats. Have them also verify that the NEW flight is showing an on-time departure AND if the plane its not already there verify that the previous flight on that aircraft is showing an on-time arrival. If either of those is also showing delayed, you may want to continue moving down your list of flights, depending on how many options you initially found.

 

Whichever way you are able to get rebooked, finish the wait in line if you possibly can, get to the front and calmly explain what you've already done and see what they can do. If they can still get you on the same flight you just paid for over the phone, great! Those last minute tickets you just bought are fully refundable and you can immediately call back and cancel with no penalty. More than likely, by that point, they'll be talking to you about flights leaving WAY too late for your needs, and then you just need a refund. They delayed the flight, you had to pay to rebook with another airline, and none of the "change and cancellation fees" apply. Don't ask if they apply. They don't. Don't give them the opportunity to try to come up with a reason why they still do. Also, don't accept travel vouchers or anything else in lieu of a full cash refund of that segment. If you've had to pay to get a seat on another airline, a refund is expected, and if you remain firm on that, I've never seen an airline really put up much of a fight. Also, have them call down to the baggage personnel and get you bags pulled, retagged, and put on the new flight. In some cases they may have already returned your bags, but if not, they should just transfer them to the other airline.

 

All of this sounds like a ton of work, and it is, but having the information on alternate flights and airline 800 numbers ahead of time is by far the best way to get yourself where you need to be on time, especially if a flight is cancelled and EVERYBODY needs to be rebooked. In this case, knowing that Southwest had a flight that left in plenty of time to have gotten to the embarkation port for your cruise would have made all the difference in the world, but only a fully informed (or OCD depending on your opinion I suppose) traveler could have pulled it off as most everybody else would just accept and do what their airline told them.

 

Anyway, I'm very sorry to hear about all your issues, but it was a great write-up and very important for other (especially new) cruisers to realize that things can and do go wrong with flights all the time, and that there's just not a way for the cruiseships to wait on a few passengers who, for whatever reason, cannot make it on time. Plan for the worst case scenarios and have contingency plans, though, and you can cut the chances of ending up missing your boat down to almost nothing.

[richkinkade]

Alaskabound, I enjoyed reading your story and sympathize with you. I hope your post puts an end (although I know it won't) to all those who tout travel insurance as a necessity for everyone. At its best, travel insurance gets you an argument with an insurance company. Flying in a day early gets you on the lido deck, enjoying an umbrella drink.

[Hutch&Pat]

There must be a good one out there ...... those of us who choose to buy trip insurance surely don't want to end up with one that doesn't cover various incidents including missing the cruise due to airline problems.

Suggests please .... especially from those of you who have had to file a claim.

[FLACRUISER99]

Read this Page http://tripinsurancestore.com/3/travel-delay.shtml

[hammybee]

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).

 

The " someone was sleeping in my bed" routine was the added feature.

 

The cabins were not ready when the OP's party embarked, not too different from a normal embarkation albeit, the icing on the cake, in this adventure.

 

I am still surprised that HAL picked up the tab for the hotel rooms in Juneau, given HAL was not a party to this misadventure that caused the OP to miss the ship.

 

Jade your advise for those who do not fly in a day early is sound and bottom line, it's all about taking ownership of the cards you are dealt and having a Plan B ready to invoke. And even then....... there is nothing certain about travel, especially given subseuent flights are apt to be sold out.

 

Trip insurance coverage changes all the time. I am reluctant to recommend a better policy and have someone buy it, assuming they were covered, only to learn the hard way. I have noticed that some carriers are carving out hurricane coverage into its own surcharged rider. The devil is in the details and the time to get into those details is before you buy it.

 

I know, been there/done that and have been burnt, by my own assumptions/negligence that the situation was a covered risk.

[Jade13]

The " someone was sleeping in my bed" routine was the added feature.

 

The cabins were not ready when the OP's party embarked, not too different from a normal embarkation albeit, the icing on the cake, in this adventure.

 

I am still surprised that HAL picked up the tab for the hotel rooms in Juneau, given HAL was not a party to this misadventure that caused the OP to miss the ship.

 

 

 

That was where HAL went wrong (not having the cabin ready and I agree with the OP, they paid in full for the cabin and didn't need to know who was sleeping in it before they boarded), as they were not responsible for the missed flight. I am surprised that HAL picked up the tab but I think they were doing this because (I need to reread the original thread) but they gave misinformation when the OP and family arrived. It helps to get the full name etc. of whom you are dealing with.

 

Our family once got really bad info on costs on a medical test (I knew it was out of Network but a recommended doctor/clinic) and this was after talking to the billing department multiple times. In any event I had about 4K knocked off a bill and the only reason I negotiated that was because I knew exactly whom I was speaking to and she knew it and I used that (spoke to her first) and got this person to negotiate my rate with the medical center (and before I even had to write that letter). My advise is to always write the down the names of everyone you speak to at the insurance company, HAL, Airlines etc., so if an issue comes up and you need to write, you know who told you what.

[mountainmare]

JadedRaverLA--Excellent advice that would be well worth putting in a separate thread and on the cruiseair board. It is all well and good to say fly in a day (two days three days...) early, but sometimes that is not possible. When we booked our air we have a back-up of six later flights --all non-stop (eight if you count different airlines), booked through HAL and have trip insurance. I'm printing out your instructions "just in case". In our situation DH was given the ok for three weeks off--with the understanding that the Friday before we sail is non-negotiable--its not worth losing your job to fly in a day early.

 

This saga is a wonderful read and a heads up to all. I know good things will come out of all this.

[JadedRaverLA]

I am still surprised that HAL picked up the tab for the hotel rooms in Juneau, given HAL was not a party to this misadventure that caused the OP to miss the ship.

 

Jade your advise for those who do not fly in a day early is sound and bottom line, it's all about taking ownership of the cards you are dealt and having a Plan B ready to invoke. And even then....... there is nothing certain about travel, especially given subseuent flights are apt to be sold out.

 

Reading the original story, I was actually very impressed with HALs customer service up until they actually got on the ship and things weren't ready, etc. Picking up the tab on the hotel room was something I would never expect of the cruise line, and I thought it really showed that the cared and were doing what they could (at least on land) to improve the situation. Similarly, the airline flying the group to their next port for free was a very nice offer that they technically aren't forced to do for you -- though as they were actually responsible for the initial problems, it should be expected that they will do more to get your trip back on track.

 

Well said on taking ownership of the cards you are dealt. That's VERY true, and mainly what my advice was trying to get people to do. Your interests (getting to your ship on time) and the airline's interest (getting to keep your money) really aren't the same. They'd be most happy if you'd just accept a flight on their airline the next day and stop bugging them. You'd be most happy if they got you on the next flight out one way or another. You have rights, and if you know your options and have a plan B ahead of time, you can almost always win this battle. As far as sell outs, I didn't really talk too much about that, but its an important topic.

 

There are really 3 levels of "sold out" flights that you can run across when dealing with last minute changes like this. (This is my personal classification to make it easier to understand, not really a formal explanation as the airlines would describe it.) Type 1 is a flight where the airline you were booked on can't see any additional inventory on the other airline/flight. That doesn't mean there are no seats available, jus tthat the fare code they are looking at shows no inventory. Often, if you call the "new" airline, they'll have seats available showing as either "y" fares (full faare coach) or as restricted sales fares (essentially saving those seats for last minute purchase). Call the other airline, you can get those seats.

 

The second type of "sold out" flight is when all the seats on the other flight are actually filled, but the airline hasn't hit their "oversell" limit for the flight. Call the new airline and explain that you need seats. If they still have the ability to, they can sell you seats without a confirmed seat number yet, though they may end up begging for people to be bumped when you get to the gate. Shoiuldn't matter to you, though, you're confirmed!

 

The third type (and the only TRULY sold-out flight) is one where all the seats and all the oversell inventory are completely gone, and not even a supervisor can add more oversell inventory for you. You have no option but to fly standy on that flight or continue down your list of alternative flights if you have one.

 

No one is going to tell you which of those types refers to a given flight. But if your original airline tells you there's no seats on another airline's flight, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't get a seat. Call the other airline yourself, and see what they can do. If that doesn't work, go to their nearest desk at the airport and beg a supervisor for a seat. You'd be amazed what can be done if you have a positive and kind attitude, and remain firm that you need to be on flight x.

 

Day of the week makes a huge difference, too. On a Monday, no matter how well prepared you are, you may not be able to get confirmed on another flight as they really are all sold out and running long standby lists. But, going on a cruise, Saturday or Sunday is more likely, and, on those days, any kind of sell-out is less common, and a TRUE sell-out is even less so.

 

Trip insurance coverage changes all the time. I am reluctant to recommend a better policy and have someone buy it, assuming they were covered, only to learn the hard way. I have noticed that some carriers are carving out hurricane coverage into its own surcharged rider. The devil is in the details and the time to get into those details is before you buy it.

 

I know, been there/done that and have been burnt, by my own assumptions/negligence that the situation was a covered risk.

 

The thing with trip insurance (at least in my experience) is that its usually not something the purchaser has ever seen. Often, it's an included benefit of a credit card, or it was a free "bonus" for using a specific TA, or otherwise was packaged in with the trip itself. In any of those cases, the customer really isn't shopping around for insurance (which is what should be done for ANY insurance) leaving the customer at the mercy of a plan they really didn't have a lot of input in.

 

If that's the case, then AT LEAST try to decipher the policy before you leave so you have an idea of what you are and are not covered for, and should you need to file a claim, don't do so in the heat of the moment. Wait till you are calmed down, and BE SURE to have the policy in front of you, so you can "tweak" your statement based on the legal contract that will determine your coverage. I certainly don't advocate trying to lie about what happened, however, how you write your statement, and what facts you choose to specifically include or exclude can make the difference between an approved or denied claim (or at least how much the insurance pays out).

 

JadedRaverLA--Excellent advice that would be well worth putting in a separate thread and on the cruiseair board. It is all well and good to say fly in a day (two days three days...) early, but sometimes that is not possible. When we booked our air we have a back-up of six later flights --all non-stop (eight if you count different airlines), booked through HAL and have trip insurance. I'm printing out your instructions "just in case". In our situation DH was given the ok for three weeks off--with the understanding that the Friday before we sail is non-negotiable--its not worth losing your job to fly in a day early.

 

Thanks and I couldn't agree more. Some people have the luxury of flying out early, and for those that do, it's definitely the way to go. But for those whose schedules just don't allow it, its important to know that you have rights even in a worst-case scenario and that knowing the options and planning ahead for such a situation can quite literally save your trip! I mean, how will you pay for your next cruise if you had to quit your job to go on the current one? I'm sure there's several other things that should be mentioned for a full thread of same-day travel advice, so I'll probably see if anyone else asks or mentions anything here before trying to consolidate everything to a "trip" thread like that. But it's definitely a good idea.

 

Great planning on your part on your upcoming cruise. With 8 total flights (and 6 on the same airline as you're currently booked) you are in about as perfect of a position as you can be. I'm usually happy if there's at least 4 alternate flights that will get me where I'm going in time (as well as a couple from any layover stop). If there's 8 flights, all non-stop, and on a Saturday, it would take a miracle (of the worst kind) for you to not make it in plenty of time for your ship.

[sunnydelaware]

I would really appreciate it if you'd write up some same day travel advice. I'm afraid we might need it.

 

My DH and I booked a cruise and flights through AAA some 16 months ago. Our first, so we didn't know at the time of booking that it's better to fly in a day ahead, or we would have, we just went with the TA's plans.

 

Our original flights got us to Athens early enough, to catch our cruise.

But then our TA told us that Air One cancelled a bunch of flights.

So now we leave Philadelphia on Oct. 1st and arive in Rome where we catch a connecting flight to Athens and arrive at 2:00. This is the only flight we can get without paying a bunch of money (over $1,000) to change to another. We can't fly out earlier now, because of work.

 

Now comes the hard part... the last HAL transfer leaves the airport at 3:00, the ship leaves the port at 6:00. Oh no, Oh no, Oh no!

The TA has told us to trade in the HAL transfer and hire a private car to be waiting for us and that she's confident that this way we will make the ship. But right now, I'm not so sure.

 

I am trying not to panic and I think a "Plan B" would be a smart thing right now. What should we do if we get to the ship and it's too late? What should we do right now to be prepared?

If we miss the boat it will be in Alexandria, Egypt about 36 hours later.

 

This is a second honeymoon for us, our first trip without the kiddies, our youngest just left the nest. So please help with any advice.

[Lotsacruising]

did you even think that if you had flown in the day before like everyone advises you would not have had any of these problems? It is hard to have alot of sympathy when you try to fly in the same day. Sorry, but common sense should have prevailed:(

[SarahQ]

did you even think that if you had flown in the day before like everyone advises you would not have had any of these problems? It is hard to have alot of sympathy when you try to fly in the same day. Sorry, but common sense should have prevailed:(

 

Don't you think this is a little harsh? It may be "common sense" and "obvious" to those who frequent the CC boards, but that is a very, very small number of cruisers in the big picture (and the OP stated she was sorry she hadn't found the board EARLIER so she could have had the benefit of that advice).

 

There are many, many, many cruisers who fly in same day - I would say by far the majority quite likely. This has been/will be changing, as the airline industry problems continue to escalate, but I can tell you that in using TA's (various) to book our cruises, I was NEVER told that I should consider flying in early. If your TA won't even give you that advice (when it should be their responsiblity to help ensure a smooth trip), how many people do you think choose to do so on their own, simply out of "common sense" - sadly, probably not as many as you think.

 

Also sadly in this case, I would hope that "common sense" would prevent people from posting snarky comments to an OP who has obviously had a rough go - but apparently not.

[Alaskabound77]

Don't you think this is a little harsh? It may be "common sense" and "obvious" to those who frequent the CC boards, but that is a very, very small number of cruisers in the big picture (and the OP stated she was sorry she hadn't found the board EARLIER so she could have had the benefit of that advice).

 

There are many, many, many cruisers who fly in same day - I would say by far the majority quite likely. This has been/will be changing, as the airline industry problems continue to escalate, but I can tell you that in using TA's (various) to book our cruises, I was NEVER told that I should consider flying in early. If your TA won't even give you that advice (when it should be their responsiblity to help ensure a smooth trip), how many people do you think choose to do so on their own, simply out of "common sense" - sadly, probably not as many as you think.

 

Also sadly in this case, I would hope that "common sense" would prevent people from posting snarky comments to an OP who has obviously had a rough go - but apparently not.

 

Thank you for posting this reply. My laptop died this weekend and now I can only post from work. I would like to say that it was never suggested to us to fly in the day before. Sure, now it makes sense, but we were actually told by our TA that she was doing the same cruise in a few weeks and was booked on the same exact flights and was confident that there would be no problems. With two busy people with full-time jobs, it's also really hard to swing an extra day just for transporting your body to a location.

 

If you had read my original post, I didn't post it for sympathy and I'm still not looking for any sympathy. To be quite honest, our days in Juneau were the best part of the trip and I think three more days on the cruise ship would have been even more difficult for me. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

 

What I do hope is that people can learn some mistakes to avoid. Read the fine print on your trip insurance. There have been some GREAT suggestions posted on this thread and I hope they are valuable to other readers. JadedRaverLA wrote up some great advice and I would love to see that poster start a new thread with his/her tips for other cruisers.

[MightyQuinn]

What I do hope is that people can learn some mistakes to avoid. Read the fine print on your trip insurance. There have been some GREAT suggestions posted on this thread and I hope they are valuable to other readers. JadedRaverLA wrote up some great advice and I would love to see that poster start a new thread with his/her tips for other cruisers.

Alaskabound - I was engaged by your well-told story & came away a bit wiser from your hard-fought lessons. :o:o

 

I agree that JadedRaverLA offered some exceptional advice in posts #51 and #58. The info is kinda "buried" here and deserves its own thread, maybe on the Cruise Air Forum, so many others can benefit.

[Alaskabound77]

Alaskabound - I was engaged by your well-told story & came away a bit wiser from your hard-fought lessons. :o:o

 

I agree that JadedRaverLA offered some exceptional advice in posts #51 and #58. The info is kinda "buried" here and deserves its own thread, maybe on the Cruise Air Forum, so many others can benefit.

 

I think they should post it as a sticky at the top - especially given the uncertainty of airline travel lately. I also think that a sticky about advice on trip insurance would be helpful. That is also getting interesting with the problems of AIG going on right now.

[Lotsacruising]

my point is that most travel agents always tell their clients to fly in the day before. Also, unless you are totally oblivious to the news, you know that flights get cancelled and delayed all the time. So it is common sense to avoid stress and fly in the day before.

[Alaskabound77]

my point is that most travel agents always tell their clients to fly in the day before. Also, unless you are totally oblivious to the news, you know that flights get cancelled and delayed all the time. So it is common sense to avoid stress and fly in the day before.

 

Well, I'm here to tell you that TAs don't always tell their clients to fly in early. For someone that is new to cruising, it is not obvious that you need to fly in the day before.

[Robin7]

Well, I'm here to tell you that TAs don't always tell their clients to fly in early. For someone that is new to cruising, it is not obvious that you need to fly in the day before.

 

True! Our first two cruises, our TA had us fly in the day before, even though it was 1991 and 1992 and flying wasn't as much of a hassle then. We just figured that was best and have always done so until last fall. We had to leave Thanksigiving night and take the red-eye to Ft Lauderdale, arriving the morning of boarding. (My kids would have had a FIT if I wasn't there to cook the turkey!) I was a complete nervous wreck until we got there and saw those beautiful black suitcases coming along the conveyor belt. We used an online TA and the rep I dealt with never once mentioned flying in early.

 

Our cruise next month is to New Zealand and Australia. We get there three days before we board. I figure that should give us PLENTY of time to have delays/lost luggage/catastrophes. :D

 

I hope your next cruise is less stressful.

 

Robin

[kenish]

Good thread. I consider myself pretty travel and airline savvy, but this proved you can never know enough! It was definitely an eye-opener.

 

The post with the link from jtutak (about 15 above this one) are where we purchase travel insurance. They are helpful and provide great customer support and communication at every step of the process.

 

We had the opposite experience in July. We flew to Vancouver 2 days before the cruise. Alaska Air got us onto a better connection and we arrived 4 hours earlier than our original flight!

[hmorrow]

Fying in early takes ALL the stress out of travel. We do it every time, and I have never regretted it. On our last trip 8/30 to Alaska, one of our planes kept geting delayed and delayed and delayed. Instead of being in a panic, we knew we could get there the next day if we missed our connection(which fortuantely, we didn't) It's the only way to fly..........ha ha

[mountainmare]

Ya know--I just have to say it.

Not everyone has the time or money to fly in a day (or two days or three days early). AND ...for new cruisers, not on cruise critic often the TA will sell them cruise-air, which will usually be same day arrival.

In the best of all worlds we would all fly in, non-stop two days early, find a wonderful hotel with a easy shuttle to the port and all will be fine.

But I find that nieve.

We sometimes fly in same day, sometimes fly in early. For our transatlantic--requiring a three week time period the boss said no way to missing the Friday before.

I've asked advice on stopping at Total wine and Publix here and on the departures board and the reaction is "ARE YOU CRAZY???YOU ARE TAKING A CHANCE FLYING IN SAME DAY"

It was not the OPs fault that she took the advice of travel professionals, and we all know if funds and time permit --extending a vacation is wonderful, but be a bit more realistic for the rest of us.

I would love to know the percentage of regular cruisers (not on cc) who fly in the same day.

[kalliekae]

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.

 

In the HAL docs, it clearly states that pax are advised to confirm their airline reservations prior to departing. We flew American to Rome in May and our flight time was changed the day before we left. We had previously set up the American alert to be sent to our cell phone, but we also confirmed our reservations again before we left the house.

 

As an aside, dh flew out today for a meeting tomorrow in New Orleans and his United flight was confirmed on time; but when he arrived at OHare, the flight had been moved back 3.5 hours. So one just never knows what can happen with flights these days. It is a necessity to fly out the day before a cruise. I am sorry the OP had a bad experience, but you have helped others not to make the same mistake. Sorry, that's probably not much consolation.:(

[Toots]

I've stayed up til 2 a.m. reading Alaskabound77's entire story, feeling bad but also laughing out loud. What an experience! It's too bad, but not surprising, that she's getting the run-around from all the companies involved. Now I'm concerned about our upcoming cruise out of San Francisco. We're doing Princess air from Orlando (too late to change) and they're flying us in on the day of the cruise. We leave Orlando at 7:30 a.m. and get in at 12:30 pm. The ship leaves at 4. So if everything goes right, we make it. If not, .................

 

Does anyone have experience with Access America travel insurance? Our TA recommended them and we've paid the premium.

[Mistletoe76]

Ya know--I just have to say it.

Not everyone has the time or money to fly in a day (or two days or three days early). AND ...for new cruisers, not on cruise critic often the TA will sell them cruise-air, which will usually be same day arrival.

In the best of all worlds we would all fly in, non-stop two days early, find a wonderful hotel with a easy shuttle to the port and all will be fine.

But I find that nieve.

We sometimes fly in same day, sometimes fly in early. For our transatlantic--requiring a three week time period the boss said no way to missing the Friday before.

I've asked advice on stopping at Total wine and Publix here and on the departures board and the reaction is "ARE YOU CRAZY???YOU ARE TAKING A CHANCE FLYING IN SAME DAY"

It was not the OPs fault that she took the advice of travel professionals, and we all know if funds and time permit --extending a vacation is wonderful, but be a bit more realistic for the rest of us.

I would love to know the percentage of regular cruisers (not on cc) who fly in the same day.

 

I appreciate this post! I am about to take my 3rd cruise and have always flown the day of the cruise and never thought that it would be wise to fly in a day ahead. It simply never crossed my mind. Of course now I am TERRIFIED that I am going to miss my cruise in November.

 

That being said each and every one of us (7 total in our party) cannot take the Friday before our vacation off of work. I now realize that perhaps we could have flown late Friday but to me that seems more stressful trying to coordinate 7 people (including a school aged child who will want to trick or treat on Halloween) getting off of work and getting to the airport, taking a flight and finding a hotel that won't break the budget and shuttle us to the pier.

 

I guess according to a lot of the other posters (not moutainmare who I quoted) I don't have common sense as it wasn't obvious for me to fly in advance. I should also note that my parents who are in their young 50's have gone on about 10 cruises have never flown down in advance and they have always booked through a TA (except for our Eurodam cruise which I booked online for all of us).

 

Melissa

[hammybee]

There are many, many, many cruisers who fly in same day - I would say by far the majority quite likely. This has been/will be changing, as the airline industry problems continue to escalate, but I can tell you that in using TA's (various) to book our cruises, I was NEVER told that I should consider flying in early. If your TA won't even give you that advice (when it should be their responsiblity to help ensure a smooth trip), how many people do you think choose to do so on their own, simply out of "common sense" - sadly, probably not as many as you think.

 

Most people choose their cruise and travel agency by price. Most people are not loyal to a single agency or agent within agency. When people do this, they choose best price over service. The consumer decides what's important and in doing so, the potential consequences.

 

The agent's job is to book you on a cruise. Flying in early means paying for a hotel room, at least two restaurant meals and additional transportation. Flying in early might also mean taking another vacation day. It gives the consumer a reason to hesitate, pulling the trigger.

Telling passengers to seriously consider flying in a day early is counter-productive to selling cruises.

 

Agents who balance service with price are looking to establish longer term relationships. They will risk giving the consumer a reason to hesitate to ensure that they have a better overall outcome and refer them.

 

Having said all this, no doubt about it, most people who fly in the same day have no problem making their cruise, on time. Despite all the airline hoopla, the majority of flights arrive ontime, as expected, darn incredible given the dependencies and factors beyond anyone's control.

 

As for me, if it was a " trip of a lifetime", I would not rely upon luck to get me to the ship ontime. I do not want to start out a vacation on the note of anxiety.

[hammybee]

Travel agencies are routinely compensated by cruise lines, not the consumer. The more bookings sold means the more the agency makes. It's a numbers game.

 

I have found that the more service oriented and "connected" agencies require the consumer, especially an unknown to them consumer, to pay a nominal ( $25.00) upfront non-refundable processing fee along with the booking. This fee eliminates serial bargain shoppers right off the bat.

 

My experience with such agencies has been overwhelmingly better than online agencies with best price. Cabin selection has also been better, too. The agents know the ships, the intineraries and work to give the consumer the best possible outcome. These are the types of agencies who will advise their clients to fly in a day early and are ready to advise on local hotels/restaurants in all price ranges.

 

We are all free to choose best service or price.

 

( I am not a travel agent)