VERY ANGRY at DCL!!!RE: Air travel SOLVED:UPDATE ON PAGE 4

[SC Minnie]

Kami,

I am glad to hear everything worked out to your satisfaction. I figured that once you got to the right person something would be-could be- done. As to the 'its free so go with the flow' I have to disagree. If you miss the first part of the 'free' cruise because your flight was late because DCL put you on a flight that cut it too close then it becomes a vacation from **** instead of a wonderful trip. If the CM had been nicer and explained that the ship would wait on anyone using DCL transfers this may have been a mute point. Instead they said if you miss the ship you can catch up with it at the next port. Anyway, From reading this thread it appears your main problem was the attitude and rudeness of the CM. Free trip or not I wouldn't want to have to catch the ship in another port- what a hassle.

 

[kamgen]

Thanks again! It will all work out. We are blessed.


Kamy

 

[Bob Noble]

Have a great trip.

 

[mcnuss]

I know kamgen's situation has been strainghtened out, but there was a bit of incorrect information in one post that I feel that I must point out and correct so that nobody will have a bad surprise.

FWIW, there is a difference between going standby and getting on an earlier flight with a non-change, non-refundable ticket. If there is space on the earlier flight, and you are there in plenty of time, most airlines at the ticket counter will put you on the earlier flight without charge. For every person they move to an earlier flight (when they clearly have space) they create an extra space that can be used to accomodate later passengers who may have been bumped or overbooked. I have found airlines to be EXTREMELY cooperative, even after September 11. The big thing, though, is that you need to do this up front at the ticket counter so that your luggage is matched with you right away. I am, therefore, not panicking about the $100 fee as that is a slightly different situation.

This policy has changed for most airlines within the last week. The airlines are not being as open about letting you stand-by for earlier flights as they were before. (And stand-by is the proper terminology; nobody is referring to stand-by when you have no ticket, we are all talking about stand-by with a ticket for a later flight that same day.) Anyone who wants the most up-to-date information can check a) their airline's web site b)www.flyertalk.com or c)www.webflyer.com - or of course, your TA! Many of the changes will not go into effect until 2003, but it was US Airways that lead the charge (no pun intended) to change these "freebie" stand-by changes on discounted tickets. I am on airplanes at least 2 days out of every week, and I assure you, this has been a hot topic.

ABN