Flight Delay and Will Miss Transatlantic Cruise

[squirk]

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

But Delta sold plane tickets to the OP's family to "get you to MCO". Delta did not sell tickets to "get you to Port Canaveral within an incredibly tight window for your same-day cruise, and if there's a mechanical delay, we agree to fly you to wherever you can next board the ship". How could Delta have known any of that detail and thus undertaken that responsibility?

Delta may be at fault for getting them into MCO late. They are not at fault for the OP's family missing their embarkation. Call it "doing the right thing" or "good will", but Delta is being generous because they didn't have to do squat.

Flight delays are an inherent risk of traveling. No airline would ever assume the risk and responsibility of any and every conceivable financial consequence of a flight being late for any reason.

 

[LoveMickey]

I'm glad you made it to Beantown. It's a great city. Hope you enjoy your day. And your ship arrives tomorrow. Now you can relax and enjoy your trip. Keep the magic, magical

 

[roobug]

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

They let you choose the day before, red eye or day of. So yeah I see that as a choice. And knowing day of means anytime up to a 2pm arrival which is stated in the paper work.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Delta is being generous, however, not sure it is out of line compared to a voucher you might get when plane is oversold, followed by "oops! More people showed up than the plane can fit" and you get bumped involuntarily (or voluntarily). I've seen them -Delta- give a $1200 check (yes, cold hard cash -they explained to one volunteer where the closest bank was where she could cash it if desired) plus food until next flight to destination approx 12 hours later (same day). Yes, this solution for OP is not normal, and like someone else said maybe they'll bill Disney, but dollar for dollar, not out of line for rectifying a situation they helped cause. Kudos for Delta customer service.

 

[richkaryn]

Delta is being generous, however, not sure it is out of line compared to a voucher you might get when plane is oversold, followed by "oops! More people showed up than the plane can fit" and you get bumped involuntarily (or voluntarily). I've seen them -Delta- give a $1200 check (yes, cold hard cash -they explained to one volunteer where the closest bank was where she could cash it if desired) plus food until next flight to destination approx 12 hours later (same day). Yes, this solution for OP is not normal, and like someone else said maybe they'll bill Disney, but dollar for dollar, not out of line for rectifying a situation they helped cause. Kudos for Delta customer service.

Delta is notorious for overselling their flights and trying to bump you with incentive offers. Happened to us coming back from honeymoon....they held plane over in San Juan for over an hour trying to get people to stay behind.....we ended up missing our connection in atlanta and no more flights to Nashville until 5 hours later. However, they would not comp us a rental car so we could drive on home (3 hour drive vs waiting 5 hours for another flight + flight time.....then that later flight was delayed an hour.....Oh and our luggage was missing when we got to Nashville too....this is why I refuse to fly with them unless they are the only ones flying where I need to go. )

 

[Flossbolna]

But Delta sold plane tickets to the OP's family to "get you to MCO". Delta did not sell tickets to "get you to Port Canaveral within an incredibly tight window for your same-day cruise, and if there's a mechanical delay, we agree to fly you to wherever you can next board the ship". How could Delta have known any of that detail and thus undertaken that responsibility?

Actually, Delta sold a ticket to DCL, which then DCL resold to the OP. So, who knows, maybe actually DCL has something in their contract with Delta that is the reason for Delta paying the hotel here.

In my opinion DCL sold the OP a package that consisted of cruise and transportation to the cruise. Therefore DCL is responsible for getting them to the cruise. Therefore it could be that DCL either has passed on this responsibility to Delta or even has some insurance to cover this and Delta will then get a refund from that insurance.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Actually, Delta sold a ticket to DCL, which then DCL resold to the OP. So, who knows, maybe actually DCL has something in their contract with Delta that is the reason for Delta paying the hotel here.

In my opinion DCL sold the OP a package that consisted of cruise and transportation to the cruise. Therefore DCL is responsible for getting them to the cruise. Therefore it could be that DCL either has passed on this responsibility to Delta or even has some insurance to cover this and Delta will then get a refund from that insurance.

You may be right. Delta may be going 'above and beyond' because of something in their contract with DCL. They don't want to mess with that corporate client!

 

[Jwhittin]

It is now Monday evening and we are in a hotel in Boston. Delta is putting us up for two nights. The Magic Arrives on Wednesday so hopefully the nightmare will be over and we can begin our cruise. We still don't have our luggage but supposedly it will arrive here at 11:59 PM tonight. We are going to try to make the best of it and do our Boston excursion tomorrow. When everyone else on the ship is on excursions, we will spend the day on the ship and get caught up . I am just going to try to relax and enjoy the cruise with my family. When we get home, I will escalate this fiasco with Disney and Delta. Thanks so much for all the kind remarks.

Hurray! Enjoy the weather, it's pretty nice today and even nicer tomorrow!

 

[squirk]

Actually, Delta sold a ticket to DCL, which then DCL resold to the OP. So, who knows, maybe actually DCL has something in their contract with Delta that is the reason for Delta paying the hotel here.

I agree. Odds are that there is some kind of indemnity agreement between the two companies. But I think you get my point - Delta can't and shouldn't be held responsible for a missed cruise when it was the OP and DCL alone who made the decision to book a flight for embarkation day with absolutely no margin for error.

Can you imagine what airline tickets to MCO would cost if airlines started "pricing in" the risk of any possible consequential damages that the airlines had no control over?

 

[Quellman]

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.

As noted below is an example, though the luggage was on the second flight, which is a much less security risk when it happens. I had luggage miss my plane on come on the next flight plenty of times.

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.

This is slightly different, as if the luggage follows you, less security risk, since the traveler took the chance to fly. If they send luggage on without you, there is an increase in security. There COULD be something dangerous, and COULD be a chance it is set off, so what someone COULD do, is load a luggage with dangerous things, check it in at the counter, and then not actually get on the plane. Then the dangerous luggage COULD do its dangerous thing, and the perpetrator gets the ability to do it all over again.

Actually, Delta sold a ticket to DCL, which then DCL resold to the OP. So, who knows, maybe actually DCL has something in their contract with Delta that is the reason for Delta paying the hotel here.

In my opinion DCL sold the OP a package that consisted of cruise and transportation to the cruise. Therefore DCL is responsible for getting them to the cruise. Therefore it could be that DCL either has passed on this responsibility to Delta or even has some insurance to cover this and Delta will then get a refund from that insurance.

I agree that in this case, Disney Cruiseline is the travel agent on behalf of the OP. Just as if you were to use AAA or some other travel agency, like orbitz. If you have an issue you have to call your travel agency. This is the same for where I work, just recently could not get to Oklahoma due to two planes going down for maintenance. Delta has a process that would still get me to Oklahoma, but later than was acceptable. So they did their best to help me. But I had to call my travel office and they rerouted me through Dallas with a rental car pick up for driving so I could make it in time. So it would seem that Disney should have done more (maybe they had) to get the OP to the next port as part of their contract with the OP.

 

[RedSox68]

Just curious -- is Disney going to refund this family for the days they missed on the ship? Or maybe Delta should?

 

[Flossbolna]

I agree that in this case, Disney Cruiseline is the travel agent on behalf of the OP. Just as if you were to use AAA or some other travel agency, like orbitz. If you have an issue you have to call your travel agency. This is the same for where I work, just recently could not get to Oklahoma due to two planes going down for maintenance. Delta has a process that would still get me to Oklahoma, but later than was acceptable. So they did their best to help me. But I had to call my travel office and they rerouted me through Dallas with a rental car pick up for driving so I could make it in time. So it would seem that Disney should have done more (maybe they had) to get the OP to the next port as part of their contract with the OP.

Oh, I agree that I feel that DCL should have tried harder to help out. I find the OPs story very interesting from the point of view that we learn a lot about how booking air through DCL works - and what we learn is that it does not work very well! I am getting the feeling that their issue is mainly looked at from a monetary point of view, not a customer service point of view. They do what is necessary to fulfill their contract, but it appears to be more in a way that feels like they are going through the motions. I am feeling very sorry for the OP that they seemingly are just treated as a number on a spread sheet.

Add to this the other story that was posted about the reservation that was changed by some "operator who entered a code" and the family ended up with losing their connecting staterooms and the CMs at the port refusing to even look at her documentation, I am getting the feeling that shoreside DCL customer service is really not very good at all. For that person it seemed to change once they were on the ship and I hope that this will be true for the OP as well.

 

[mco65]

Delta is notorious for overselling their flights and trying to bump you with incentive offers. Happened to us coming back from honeymoon....they held plane over in San Juan for over an hour trying to get people to stay behind.....we ended up missing our connection in atlanta and no more flights to Nashville until 5 hours later. However, they would not comp us a rental car so we could drive on home (3 hour drive vs waiting 5 hours for another flight + flight time.....then that later flight was delayed an hour.....Oh and our luggage was missing when we got to Nashville too....this is why I refuse to fly with them unless they are the only ones flying where I need to go. )

All airlines do this.. standard operating procedure.. sell more seats than are actually on the plane. I never understood how they are able to get away with this but they ALL do..

Driving from Atlanta to Nashville in 3 hours??? that's what i call haulin' azz..

 

[sayhello]

The kids and I are flying to London three days before our cruise. Due to work my husband will probably fly in the night before arriving the morning of cruise. If something goes wrong his plan is to take the train to Newcastle and board there. If your going to risk it at least have a plan.

A plan is a good thing! Really, all DCL's plan is, to get you to the cruise eventually. They are getting them on the cruise in Boston, and the OP did not have to pay for that. If they had booked on their own, not through DCL, they would be on their own, working with Delta to try and get to Boston, and probably paying through the nose for the new flight. So in that way, it did benefit the OP to book through DCL. (Trip insurance would have accomplished the same thing). Did DCL do enough for them? I guess we'll find out. But DCL is not going to hold the ship for one family. If there were dozens or hundreds of people on that flight, then they might have. But for one family, I'm sure DCL feels getting them to the ship before it crosses the ocean is well done. They'll probably comp them some other things, and hopefully reimburse them for the days they missed, but that's about as much as I'd expect from DCL.

Sayhello

 

[Ofinn]

All airlines do this.. standard operating procedure.. sell more seats than are actually on the plane. I never understood how they are able to get away with this but they ALL do..

Driving from Atlanta to Nashville in 3 hours??? that's what i call haulin' azz..

Theres always a certain percentage of no shows or people. that miss their connections on every flight. Most of the time it works out. Sometimes everyone shows up. Ive never flown Delta so I dont know they do it more often. All airlines do it to some degree.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Delta is notorious for overselling their flights and trying to bump you with incentive offers. Happened to us coming back from honeymoon....they held plane over in San Juan for over an hour trying to get people to stay behind.....we ended up missing our connection in atlanta and no more flights to Nashville until 5 hours later. However, they would not comp us a rental car so we could drive on home (3 hour drive vs waiting 5 hours for another flight + flight time.....then that later flight was delayed an hour.....Oh and our luggage was missing when we got to Nashville too....this is why I refuse to fly with them unless they are the only ones flying where I need to go. )

I know I have had some bad experiences too, but they span SW, Delta, and United. But, still have to choose them when necessary. Sometimes the issues make no sense at all, like you waiting for flight, no rental option, or mine: flight delayed due to mech issue -waiting- issue fixed but....our plane given to another flight (their depart time was after original time), and all of us get to watch those people move gates and file onto our plane.... And there we all sat waiting for another plane ... Crazy logic!

 

[amanda12404]

I am so happy that you made it to Boston and going to be able to finally start your amazing cruise.

 

[jtkboston]

But DCL is not going to hold the ship for one family. If there were dozens or hundreds of people on that flight, then they might have.

On our Alaska cruise in 2014, a flight from LA to Vancouver had maybe 20 passengers on it for our cruise...they held the ship and we departed late with them aboard. Perhaps that was because the next port call near an airport was 4 days later (Juneau) on a 7-day cruise, or because there were enough delayed passengers to make it reasonable to wait for them?

 

[CM Dad]

I ponder to myself how your luggage is randomly floating around somewhere, I didn't know they would put luggage on a plane without the owner flying with it anymore.

This April, my wife and I took Magical Express from Orlando to DC, we checked our luggage at the WDW resort in the morning and had a evening flight. After we arrived, I waited at the luggage carousel and it didn't appear. Turns out it had been sent up on an earlier flight. So I can see where a person and their luggage can get separated.

 

[Captainkate]

It is now Monday evening and we are in a hotel in Boston. Delta is putting us up for two nights. The Magic Arrives on Wednesday so hopefully the nightmare will be over and we can begin our cruise. We still don't have our luggage but supposedly it will arrive here at 11:59 PM tonight. We are going to try to make the best of it and do our Boston excursion tomorrow. When everyone else on the ship is on excursions, we will spend the day on the ship and get caught up . I am just going to try to relax and enjoy the cruise with my family. When we get home, I will escalate this fiasco with Disney and Delta. Thanks so much for all the kind remarks.

How wonderful! You made it to Boston! You have an awesome cruise and don't give their incompetence another thought!