Missed the boat!

[ubetcha]

Has anyone had the experience of missing the boat? We just returned from a cruise, where (due to engine troubles on a connecting flight in Atlanta) we missed the boat by about 45 minutes! We finally caught up with the ship on the 4th day of the cruise in Grand Cayman, so we were able to experience approx 1/2 a cruise.

We had booked the entire vacation (airfare and cruise) through Disney Cruise Lines; we even purchased insurance through Disney!

I was wondering if anyone else has ever missed a Disney Cruise and what, if anything can be done about receiving another cruise at a discount rate? Can't hurt to ask??

Thanks!

-Rich

 

[burma]

cant answer your question but my adivce is send in your email or letter then follow up with a phone call to whomever you write to ... we had a bad park experience this past Dec and after 2 emails and 2 phone calls which were quite simple and I must say easy to do .. Disney made us feel the magic back here in RI and took care of us. I was not the final outcome but the fact that they just went above and beyond to make good on a bad experience.

 

[natdencro]

Sorry to hear of your dilemma, but not sure why you didnt catch up with the ship until GC? Many people have missed the boat for the same reasons, and have always caught up with the ship in Key West. I would have thought you had plenty of time to be driven/flown to Key West by Disney, if indeed you had booked through them. Lots of people had this problem last year, and all made it to KW in time, as the ship is there until late evening.How disappointing. Nat

 

[ubetcha2]

Good question about getting onto the boat in Key West. That is exactly the question we asked Disney Ground Transportation, Disney's Insurance company (Access America) and our travel agency. Everyone gave the same answer:

"The Jones Act" says that if a ship leaves from a US port, then it cannot accept passengers from the US onto the boat a another US port. That is why we had to fly to a different country (Grand Cayman) and board the ship there! I think it is an extremely silly rule, but it is pretty set in stone.

If you know of people who missed the boat in Port Canavaral, then were able to board in Key West, I would love to know how they did it? We were told that we couldn't.... which really cut our cruise short (by almost 1/2)!!

-Rich

 

[ubetcha2]

Clarification of the Jones Act... according to a travel glossary:

Jones Act
A law dating back to 1886, that forbids foreign-flagged ships from carrying passengers between us ports with no foreign port stops in-between

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

I am so sorry this happened to you. What a nightmare. Are the airlines compensating you in anyway?

 

[LAMPSKIES]

I'm sorry it happened to you, we had our whole sailing cancelled...11/03 Eastern.....what did you do for the 3 days? Where did you stay and who "paid the bill"? Just wondering.........

 

[nrk]

I would have freaked out...then passed out
Hope they can do something for you

 

[ubetcha2]

Disney was real nice about the whole ordeal. When we finally landed in Orlando and realized we missed the boat, a Disney Rep did the following:
- transferred all luggage from airplane to hotel
- put us up for 3 nights in Swan Resort
- gave us 2 day hopper passes to DisneyWorld
- arranged for shuttle and airfare from Orlando, to NORTH CAROLINA, then back to Grand Cayman, where we boarded the ship

Disney arranged for all of this and we appreciate it - a lot.... but it's still not the same as a 7 day cruise. We have been going to Disney parks for over 15 years now and were really looking forward to this 7 day cruise. We'd been planning it for 3 years and booked it over a year ago. (It's our daughters "golden birthday", so thought this would be special for her).

During our 2 days at the parks, we went to Magic Kingdom one day and Epcot Center the 2nd day.

-Rich

 

[allears]

Wow, that just stinks, how disappointing! I certainly would check with DCL to see if they will so anything else, but they may say that they've compensated you and made all of the arragnements they needed to. If you had booked your airfare seperately they wouldn't have done anything.

On the upside, you have insurance and that should pay you for all of the missed days of your cruise. I'm not sure what the amount they use, but it should be fairly substantial. You could consider that a refund and use it toward a new cruise.

It is really ashame about that stupid Jones Act. I know last fall they got special permission from what ever agency governs that, to board a bunch of folks in Key West due air port delays caused by one of the hurricanes.

Please keep us posted, this is a such an unusual situtation, it will be very helpful to all of us to know how it works out.

 

[disneydaveN.Y.]

So sorry to hear what happen, hope it does not happen to us!

 

[smilingmouse]

Hey ubetcha,
This is a little OT, but where in MN are you? I'm in Duluth

 

[2angelsinheaven]

Wow, I would certainly check into your insurance for this... you should have 1/2 the cruise fare refunded or atleast credited towards your next trip. Sorry you had that experience.

 

[natdencro]

Glad Disney came up trumps with help, but loads of people missed the ship last year after being delayed during the hurricane,(airport closed, and planes late arriving) and all were allowed to board in Key West. Maybe a change of policy should be considered. Anyway, thankfully it doesnt happen many times, but sad you had to miss half of your cruise. Nat

 

[allears]

Glad Disney came up trumps with help, but loads of people missed the ship last year after being delayed during the hurricane,(airport closed, and planes late arriving) and all were allowed to board in Key West. Maybe a change of policy should be considered. Anyway, thankfully it doesnt happen many times, but sad you had to miss half of your cruise. Nat

There was only one time that I think DCL was allowed to board folks at Key West, and they had to gain special permission from whatever authority governs the Jones Act. So it's not a matter of policy, it's a matter of law, which probably should be changed.

 

[natdencro]

Guess it's a case of yet another ancient law needing to be addressed in the 21st century.Not too many cruise ships and airplanes around in 1886!Nat

 

[allears]

Guess it's a case of yet another ancient law needing to be addressed in the 21st century.Not too many cruise ships and airplanes around in 1886!Nat

Soooooo True!

 

[lp69]

I am so sorry to hear about what happened during your trip!
I am glad to hear that Disney did their best to make the best of the situation.
We went on the Magic in 4/04. We flew in the day before and stayed (via Priceline) at the downtown Radisson for $35/night. That way, if there were any flight delays/problems we were covered.

 

[PiperG]

Hey ubetcha,
This is a little OT, but where in MN are you? I'm in Duluth

We are in Maple Grove (a Twin Cities suburb).

Off topic. . . but we are from San Diego, CA originally! We have decided that we need to take a trip to either WDW or on DCL in Dec, Jan or Feb to get away from ole' man winter for a while! That keeps us sane.

 

[smilingmouse]

We are in Maple Grove (a Twin Cities suburb).

Off topic. . . but we are from San Diego, CA originally! We have decided that we need to take a trip to either WDW or on DCL in Dec, Jan or Feb to get away from ole' man winter for a while! That keeps us sane.

I agree....it's nice to "thaw" for a bit in the winter, lol