Flight Delay and Will Miss Transatlantic Cruise

[kamik86]

Just curious about the luggage. I didn't think the airlines would allow luggage to fly without the owners. In fact, I think I read something recently about flights being delayed because the airline had to remove the luggage of folks who got caught in security lines and didn't make the flight.

I'm not sure its supposed to but it happens.

I arrived in Albany once when two flights from DC to Albany got delayed to be within 30 min of each other. Despite me having been in DC for several hours I was on the first flight and my luggage on the second.

Several people's luggage was on the wrong flight, it was like they just randomly loaded them.

Another time I arrived to have a bag missing. It was found and came in on the next flight which I obviously wasn't on.

I have also seen bags get pulled into the office that were tagged for different airports entirely.

 

[steves100]

I feel bad for you all and I hope DCL is able to compensate you or make it right somehow. Nevertheless this is why I always fly out three or more days prior to my cruise because I too have experienced flight delays and lost luggage but luckily because I flew out early everything turned out okay.

Although disney is wrong for the late arrival time (I would never had accepted it), it is not their fault Delta had plane issues. I feel Delta should compensate somehow...

 

[kamik86]

I've never booked air through Disney before but do they not give you options on flights? There is no way on earth I would have accepted that flight, especially having been on 10 previous cruises, OP should know better. Even if I would have to spend more money I would not book that flight, and I don't care how many times the DCL reps said it was ok, common sense has to step in and say 3+ hours is not close enough to be comfortable with. Sorry OP but that was not a smart decision and especially not smart to not purchase insurance. I agree Disney should be doing better to help out though and am completely shocked they aren't.

Carnival handles this better, people I know that have ran into problems like this have had 1 of 2 things happen; either CCL booked them on other flights/airlines and got them there in time or they held the ship a few hours until the delayed flight arrived and had a private car at the airport to shuttle the guests to the cruise port as quickly as possible.

I really hope you are able to enjoy the cruise from Boston.

Everyone is assuming there was another flight from the airport to MCO that night with seats on it for the family, on any airline. Its possible there wasn't. There is a limit to how long they could hold the ship as well. I mean if you were one of the other thousands on the ship would you want to be delayed because someones flight got delayed and the next flight in wasn't going to get there until 7 PM?

 

[kamik86]

Although disney is wrong for the late arrival time (I would never had accepted it), it is not their fault Delta had plane issues. I feel Delta should compensate somehow...

Yes but the airlines aren't responsible for missed plans becuase of mechanical issues. The only thing they are really responsible for here is the luggage and in a 4 hour delay to the destination. However a 4 hour delay to a destination isnt something that would normally get compensation as it isn't delta's fault that this passenger was booked on such a short timeline. Think about most flights you have been on and how much of a difference 4 hours would have made. In most cases that was very little at all.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

This is awful! I would feel I was safe booking flights and cruise through Disney even with no insurance surely pushing timings to this limit was foolish of them and you could argue incompetant? The poster is right the dissapointment is the worse. Even meeting the ship on Wednesday you lost a whole bunch of your vacation. I am so sorry.

 

[Allison]

It sounds like you found a way to get a day of vacation back by seeing Boston today and staying on the ship tomorrow. That's a bright spot.

 

[squirk]

Although disney is wrong for the late arrival time (I would never had accepted it), it is not their fault Delta had plane issues. I feel Delta should compensate somehow...

Are you saying Delta should compensate as far as the flight goes, or that they should also compensate for the missed portion of the cruise?

 

[EllieBride]

I'm so glad you made it to Boston! Hoping your luggage has caught up to you by now, as well, and that you and your family enjoy a magical trip.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Everyone is assuming there was another flight from the airport to MCO that night with seats on it for the family, on any airline. Its possible there wasn't. There is a limit to how long they could hold the ship as well. I mean if you were one of the other thousands on the ship would you want to be delayed because someones flight got delayed and the next flight in wasn't going to get there until 7 PM?

Which is even more of a reason to not accept the flight and tell Disney no, put me on a different flight a day earlier.

 

[Ofinn]

Although disney is wrong for the late arrival time (I would never had accepted it), it is not their fault Delta had plane issues. I feel Delta should compensate somehow...

OP stated Delta paid for their hotel rooms in Boston. That seems pretty generous of Delta. If the delay would have been weather related I'm sure they would have not gotten compensated by Delta at all.

 

[steves100]

OP stated Delta paid for their hotel rooms in Boston. That seems pretty generous of Delta. If the delay would have been weather related I'm sure they would have not gotten compensated by Delta at all.

Weather is an act of God, plane repairs is not. Delta isnt being generous, they are doing the right thing....

 

[Ofinn]

Weather is an act of God, plane repairs is not. Delta isnt being generous, they are doing the right thing....

You stated you thought Delta should compensate them more. What else do you think Delta should do? That seems pretty fair to me.

 

[steves100]

You stated you thought Delta should compensate them more. What else do you think Delta should do? That seems pretty fair to me.

I didnt say more.....

I said Delta was at fault not Disney. The poster should take some responsibility for agreeing to a ridicules time to arrive at MCO.....

 

[kamik86]

Weather is an act of God, plane repairs is not. Delta isnt being generous, they are doing the right thing....

Normally an airline would not put you up for multiple nights for a delay of a flight that would have gotten you to your destination city in the same day. They were supposed to land at 1 something and it was a 4 hour delay. The plane would have landed by 6. Some compensation maybe but not multiple days in hotels. Delta is being very generous for that.

 

[kamik86]

I didnt say more.....

I said Delta was at fault not Disney. The poster should take some responsibility for agreeing to a ridicules time to arrive at MCO.....

At what point of a delay would you say delta was at fault. What if it was only an hour. There is no reason to look for compensation with an hour delay of a flight and that still would have been enough for the OP to have missed her cruise.

It was not delta's fault the OP had an unreasonably tight itinerary. Frankly I am shocked they got anything from delta besides maybe a few hundred in vouchers for the luggage issue (as this one was delta's fault)

 

[morgan98]

** DISCLAIMER: I am in no way blaming the OP for the flight situation. I am just making an observation.**

I think another thing to consider in this type of situation is at your home airport. OP said they were in Louisville KY. If they were flying Delta to MCO, they would have also had to connect in Atlanta. While it is risky to fly in the morning of the cruise, it is even riskier to take a same day flight with a connection out of a relatively small airport.

In other words, because of the size and service provided at the Louisville airport the number of flights and airlines flying to MCO is probably very limited. This is very different than flying in the same day from major airports or airports that do not require a connection.

 

[Ofinn]

Normally an airline would not put you up for multiple nights for a delay of a flight that would have gotten you to your destination city in the same day. They were supposed to land at 1 something and it was a 4 hour delay. The plane would have landed by 6. Some compensation maybe but not multiple days in hotels. Delta is being very generous for that.

I agree. I'm surprised they did that, but good for them. My point for bringing up weather is that if it had been weather they would have gotten nothing. They were lucky it was a mechanical issue.

 

[Terapin]

Just a note about one-way flights: I find that many airlines offer a multi-city option and this brings the flight costs way down. For instance, we are on the 12 night Iceland cruise in June and one way flights on Air Canada to London and then home from Copenhagen were ridiculous. But when I chose the multi-city option the prices were inline with half the regular round-trip fare. We got direct flights both ways for under $800 CAD, which was the same prices as a round-trip to just London. Many of the travel resellers offer this option, too, for instance, Flight Network.

 

[mmouse37]

I have booked air with Disney a few times and all those times we choose the time of arrival and when to leave by our schedule. Once we had to fly in late the morning of the cruise because of our schedule and they let us choose that flight however there was no promises made about making the ship. We were taking the chance because of limited flights out that worked with our schedule. I wonder if this was OP situation. For us it worked out fine but if it didn't I knew it was a risk we were taking because I read all the fine print. i wonder how much was assumption because of Disney booking the air rather then being told Disney would fix a situation if it came up.

DCL let you pick what times you wanted? Usually that is called Custom Air and comes with a surcharge for picking your own flights, times, airlines, etc. They will book you on what you want but usually for a higher fee. We used DCL air once for our first cruise. The next 33 we booked our own air each time.

MJ

 

[Jennifer777]

So glad you made it to Boston and at least got the hotel portion of this nightmare taken care of. Hope you enjoyed your day in Boston Yesterday and are boarding the ship as soon as it docks! What a relief it will be to get your luggage to your room and settle in! Wishing you smooth sailing for the rest of your trip!