A Household Spent $30k on a Cruise, Then Misplaced It All on the Airport Gate

Flying to the cruise port on the day of the cruise is asking for hassle. One delayed or missed flight and your complete trip plan is out the window.

On this case, it was not solely a household trip of a lifetime and a son’s birthday celebration that had been ruined, but additionally $30,000 in journey bills that vanished into skinny air.

Social media posts about this very concern are nonetheless approach too frequent, so hopefully this story may also help persuade anybody who remains to be on the fence.

A Reddit publish titled “One other reminder to by no means fly in on the day of your cruise” goes viral on the platform. It racked up over 800 feedback in underneath 24 hours, and extra are pouring in.   

Whereas most are in shock that the household didn’t have journey insurance coverage and nonetheless tried to fly to the cruise port on the day of the cruise, the household’s alternative of airways is drawing lots of consideration as properly.

The place it All Went Mistaken

The story facilities on a household of 5 who booked a $7,000 suite on a Royal Caribbean ship, with a complete “operating value” of $30,000 for the week. 

This whole value was calculated by the daddy after he mentioned each he and his spouse “cleared our calendars…for the entire week”, presumably factoring in day off work as properly.

Regardless of the excessive value concerned for such a visit, they booked a 6:30 AM Spirit Airways flight from Dallas (DFW) to Miami the morning of the 4:00 PM crusing.

Overbooked Flight

The issue started the night time earlier than when the household realized the flight was overbooked. Though they managed to test in, they had been left with out assigned seat numbers.

“Informed my spouse we needed to get to the airport. Our flight was at 6:30 a.m., so we left house at 3:30 a.m. and arrived earlier than 5 a.m.”, the publish acknowledged.

After arriving on the airport earlier than 5:00 AM, they had been met with conflicting tales from airline workers about why they couldn’t board, starting from flight attendant shortages to climate points.

“What I do know is that the flight went to Miami, however as a result of it was overbooked, they randomly cancelled some passengers,” the daddy mentioned.

Ultimately, they had been left standing on the gate whereas their ship ready to sail with out them.

“My kids’s spring break and my son’s birthday have been ruined simply because we booked with Spirit Airways,” the daddy shared. “Royal Caribbean didn’t refund our cash. My son is meant to show 9 on Wednesday; all of that’s gone.”

Feedback Weigh In

The cruise neighborhood on Reddit was fast to share their ideas on the scenario.  Some of the widespread questions was in regards to the mixture of a high-end trip and a low-cost flight.

One remark acknowledged, “They spent $30,000 for the week and had been flying SPIRIT?!”

Others identified that on a DFW-to-Miami route, American Airways has 11 every day flights, providing loads of choices to get to the cruise port in the event that they actually appeared into it.

As one consumer put it, selecting Spirit with its restricted every day service was “mistake quantity two.”

The Worth of a Lodge Room

There was positively a scarcity of sympathy within the remark part.  Many famous {that a} $200 lodge room in Miami would have saved a $30,000 funding if the household had deliberate to only arrive a day early, one thing we all the time advocate at Cruise Fever.

One particular person remarked that the daddy “tried to chop a nook to save lots of a dime and ended up spending 100,” whereas one other in contrast the scenario to “constructing a mansion on a basis of balsa wooden and hope.”

Birthday Desires

The daddy’s declare that his son’s birthday was “gone” was highlighted as properly.  One remark joked, “Birthday is cancelled. Higher luck subsequent yr, child,” whereas one other teased that the boy was now “caught in 8-year-old purgatory for all times.”

Refund Request

The daddy acknowledged that Royal Caribbean didn’t refund the cash, however that isn’t one thing that must be anticipated on this scenario.  It’s the traveler’s duty to get to the cruise port on time.

Cruise journey insurance coverage would have made all of the distinction on this case, nevertheless it actually shouldn’t have been wanted if the household merely made the try and arrive a day earlier.

In fact, in hindsight it in all probability appears apparent to the household now, however I can’t assist however a minimum of sympathize a bit with their scenario.

As a lot as we preach that it is best to arrive a day earlier, not everybody will get the memo, and a few study it the onerous approach.

One remark famous that vacationers shouldn’t attempt to disgrace the cruise line for a refund, as “Royal Caribbean aren’t chargeable for the OP not attending to the port.”

Backside Line

The household might be already hurting sufficient from lacking out on what seems like would have been a tremendous cruising expertise. So, not desirous to bear a lifeless horse, we’ll concentrate on what others can do to keep away from this sort of scenario. 

• Arrive a day early, possibly two: Even those that normally e-book inside cabins and fly price range airways admitted they nonetheless account for a lodge night time to be secure.
• Spend money on journey insurance coverage: For a five-figure journey, skipping insurance coverage is a large gamble.  Even when the cruise is a price range $1,500 journey, journey insurance coverage helps stop ballooning prices like medical emergencies, additional journey preparations, and many others.
• Have a Plan B: Wanting into different airways with same-day flights might have saved this complete journey.   As one remark talked about, American Airways provides a number of flights from Dallas to Miami every day.  And though Miami is a 20 hour drive from Dallas, if the household came upon in regards to the flight points quickly sufficient they might have made the grueling drive, though anybody would NEED a trip after a drive like that.

For this household, it was a tough lesson on the logistics of cruising and arriving on the port on time.  For the remainder of us, it’s yet one more reminder that when the ship pulls out of port, it is best to make each effort potential to be sure to’re on it, even when it means springing an additional $150 or so for a close-by lodge.