Screwed myself... WWYD? ---UPDATE 7/29 Thank you Disers!!

[deputymama]

So I thought I had everything all planned out great and now I am realizing that I think I screwed myself up.

I booked our plane home from Oct. Galveston cruise at 1:00pm out of IAH. Well the airline bumped it up to 12:40pm. Ok whatev. I still thought that if we were off the boat by 8:30am we'd be able to take the DCL shuttle to the airport. But when I called the TA said she wouldn't risk it.

So now I'm trying decide if I should rent a car, take a taxi or what?

I'm so frustrated because the whole reason I opted to fly into IAH in the first place was because of the DCL shuttle. If I knew I was going to have to take a taxi or whatever else I would have flown into Hobby. Dang it! I hate being stressed out about this!!

WWYD?
p.s. Can't change flights. Too costly. I already checked into that.

 

[ukintheus]

I think you will be OK. I'd stick with your plan to use the DCL transfers. Unless there is some massive wreck on I-45, which would affect whatever type of transport you take, it should only take you 1 1/2 hours of driving time (and that's padding it) to get from Galveston to IAH. If you leave as late as 9:30, you will still be at IAH at 11 am. That will leave you enough time to check in and get your flight.

 

[Dug720]

So I thought I had everything all planned out great and now I am realizing that I think I screwed myself up.

I booked our plane home from Oct. Galveston cruise at 1:00pm out of IAH. Well the airline bumped it up to 12:40pm. Ok whatev. I still thought that if we were off the boat by 8:30am we'd be able to take the DCL shuttle to the airport. But when I called the TA said she wouldn't risk it.

So now I'm trying decide if I should rent a car, take a taxi or what?

I'm so frustrated because the whole reason I opted to fly into IAH in the first place was because of the DCL shuttle. If I knew I was going to have to take a taxi or whatever else I would have flown into Hobby. Dang it! I hate being stressed out about this!!

WWYD?
p.s. Can't change flights. Too costly. I already checked into that.

Even when the airline changed the flight? Every time that has happened to me, the airline has worked with me if the change doesn't work for me because THEY changed it.

 

[crashbb]

Even when the airline changed the flight? Every time that has happened to me, the airline has worked with me if the change doesn't work for me because THEY changed it.

A change of 20 minutes may not qualify for a free change (some airlines say that the change has to be 90 minutes), but it definitely doesn't hurt to try.

OP - does the airline have flights that would work for you? If so, call the airline, tell them that the flight you are on no longer works (due to to their change) and request that you be moved (with no fees) onto the flight that does work. As I said, they may not waive the fees (since the change is small), but they may (and often do).

 

[deputymama]

Even when the airline changed the flight? Every time that has happened to me, the airline has worked with me if the change doesn't work for me because THEY changed it.

Already called. It has to be 2 hrs or more for there to be a "free" change. Otherwise it is like $200+ pp to make a change.

And yes they do have other flights that would work.

 

[MillauFr]

I wouldn't worry about making the flight. Sounds like plenty of time to me.

 

[woody73]

. . . WWYD?

Book a towncar in advance.

Woody

 

[lilpooh108]

Already called. It has to be 2 hrs or more for there to be a "free" change. Otherwise it is like $200+ pp to make a change.

And yes they do have other flights that would work.

Really? I've had flights changed by United, AA, Delta, and they've all worked with me when I said it impacted a different connection.

Call again and ask to talk to a supervisor. You can't have already approved the change though, in your account.

 

[Melissa S]

Is there just one shuttle to the airport? or is there more than one and then they leave as they fill up? This happened to me on a business trip and I just had to make sure I was on the first shuttle out (hotel to airport).

We're also the type to risk it and then fly standby if we miss our flight, but there is only 3 of us and we live in NY where there are multiple flights...

 

[MDTerp]

Last Spring Break, we had a return flight at 11:25 out of MIA (which was early by DCL standards and the port is only 30 min away). We opted to keep our luggage with us (saved time finding it) and disembark shortly after the ship was cleared. We still have plenty (more than enough) time to wait for our flight at the airport.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[quarkwright]

Do you have trip insurance? Check the wording to see if it will cover a missed flight. This might help lower your stress level if you know what plan B is.

 

[deputymama]

OMG! I'm absolutely amazed! After checking on a taxi, a town car & a rental car. I decided to call United Airlines direct. You see, I booked through Travelocity and they told me the airline would charge me $230+ pp change fee plus $40 change fee for Travelocity. So I thought that was the end of that. But because of all of you I thought, what IF I call United directly and ask them to change it? I called assuming they would say no. But they said YES! No problem. It was no hassle what so ever! After about 15 minutes on the phone the TA got me on a 3:30 flight instead of the 12:30 flight.

THANK YOU so much DISers!! If it weren't for you I would have seriously given up after Travelocity said no. Lesson learned. Next time I'm cutting out the middle man. There's no advantage to booking through them. Next time I may use a 3rd party to find the best deal but I'm booking directly with the airline.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Guess if you book with Travelocity, you really will 'roam alone'.. So much for the gnome...

Glad it worked out for u!

 

[bumbershoot]

OMG! I'm absolutely amazed! After checking on a taxi, a town car & a rental car. I decided to call United Airlines direct. You see, I booked through Travelocity and they told me the airline would charge me $230+ pp change fee plus $40 change fee for Travelocity. So I thought that was the end of that. But because of all of you I thought, what IF I call United directly and ask them to change it? I called assuming they would say no. But they said YES! No problem. It was no hassle what so ever! After about 15 minutes on the phone the TA got me on a 3:30 flight instead of the 12:30 flight.

THANK YOU so much DISers!! If it weren't for you I would have seriously given up after Travelocity said no. Lesson learned. Next time I'm cutting out the middle man. There's no advantage to booking through them. Next time I may use a 3rd party to find the best deal but I'm booking directly with the airline.

Excellent! I had a feeling there was someone involved there (though I thought you'd booked through Disney). Hope you at least earned some reward dollars through a cashback site or something; that's the only reason I book with travelocity/expedia/orbitz/hotwire...

 

[mmouse37]

Glad to hear it worked out....most airlines will change the flights for you if they don't work, as long as the original change was made by them.

MJ

 

[trickiwoo]

Next time I'm cutting out the middle man. There's no advantage to booking through them. Next time I may use a 3rd party to find the best deal but I'm booking directly with the airline.

I'm not sure about airlines, but I know most hotels will match Travelocity/Expedia/Priceline/etc. online rates if you call them directly.

 

[kissimeekathy]

I'm not sure about airlines, but I know most hotels will match Travelocity/Expedia/Priceline/etc. online rates if you call them directly.

I am a hotel GM and this is totally true! The rate you pay with many of those sites is much closer to rack then you think with more fees (and usually more hassles) for both sides. Plus if you are a Rewards member with that hotel you can still get your Rewards points for that rate which you can't with the opaque websites.

 

[deputymama]

Excellent! I had a feeling there was someone involved there (though I thought you'd booked through Disney). Hope you at least earned some reward dollars through a cashback site or something; that's the only reason I book with travelocity/expedia/orbitz/hotwire...

Nope no rewards or anything for booking with them. I didn't think it mattered all that much. But now I see an advantage to booking with the airline so I'll do that next time.