Woman Loses Thousands On Missed Cruise After Flight Cancellation

[Kennywood]

A Los Angeles resident has found herself out of thousands of dollars after a fight cancellation led to a missed cruise, according to ABC 7.

Britney Webb of South Central had saved up so that she and her family could enjoy a spring break cruise aboard Royal Caribbean‘s Odyssey of the Seas. However, after numerous delays, their April 9 Florida-bound flight with Delta was ultimately canceled altogether.

A different flight to Florida was also canceled, leaving Webb and her family disappointed and stuck in Los Angeles. The unexpected last-minute cancellation left them unable to make it to the ship.

Delta agreed to issue Webb a full refund and voucher for future travel. However, she will not be able to receive a refund from Royal Caribbean for the missed cruise, aside from the tax and gratuity fees, which only make up a small percentage of the money she had put out.

Having planned to sail with her family of four, Webb paid over $1,000 per person for the cruise tickets, money which she now has no chance of getting back.

“Due to the fact that we don’t have travelers’ insurance, no. They’re not going to give us a refund,” Webb said. “They said, ‘What we will refund you is the gratuity and taxes,’ and that’s basically $800.”

However, Webb refuses to give up. After the stressful and inconvenient ordeal, she persists in trying to get the full refund she feels she is owed for the missed cruise.

“I’ve been stressed since I got off the plane and they told me we weren’t going anywhere,” said Webb. “I’ve been stressed calling this place, that place, trying to get a hold to see who’s going to pay me my money back for this cruise.”

Webb’s story serves as a reminder of the importance of obtaining travel insurance to cover our trips. Now, more than ever, in the COVID-19 age of last-minute changes, airline staff shortages, and cancellations, one can gain much peace of mind by purchasing a protection policy that will prevent the loss of money in the instance of an unexpected issue.

“The purpose of travel insurance is to cover the nonrefundable costs associated with your trip in case of an unforeseen event,” said Nerd Wallet. The finance website recommends knowing exactly what is and is not covered by the policy and shopping around for coverage before purchasing.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/woman-loses-thousands-on-missed-cruise-after-flight-cancellation/ar-AAW9SUC?ocid=BingHp01

 

[Dug720]

The only reason RCCL should even consider a refund/rescheduling is IF (and it doesn't sound like it) she had purchased airfare through their flights program - which considering Delta is refunding the cancelled flight sounds like it was NOT.

Otherwise, I'm sorry, but it's an expensive lesson to travel prior to the cruise and/or get trip insurance.

 

[nancipants]

The situation sucks, but no, she should not receive a refund. Not getting trip insurance, especially during these Covid times, is an odd choice.

 

[soniam]

She should have gotten trip insurance if she couldn't afford to not be refunded. She should have also flown in a day before.

 

[ironz]

Confused-- it says both the original and then re-booked flight to Florida were both canceled, but says she was upset since she got off the plane? I guess they had gone so far as to actually board one of the flights before it was canceled?

Awful situation, but that is exactly what travel insurance is for.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

I would never ever ever fly in the same day. Too many things can happen--bad weather, flights delayed/cancelled, traffic to the port, lost bags...etc.

 

[tink1970]

Even before 2020 and the resulting challenges in travel, my rule of thumb is always getting trip insurance if a trip costs over a certain amount I'm not comfortable losing AND the more expensive the trip, the more days ahead of time I fly in. For DF's bucket list DCL in a suite from Dover to Barcelona, it was 2, for DD's graduation ABD, it was 3, for our Australia/NZ cruise 3 (but now I wish- just because Sydney was so awesome-I would've spent 4). Perhaps overkill but vacation is no time to be stressed and anxious!

 

[dez1978]

I'm not sure why she'd thing RC should refund her the money. Its not their fault she didn't make it there. If anyone should refund it should be Delta. But thats why I'd purchase travel insurance

 

[KdKyA]

She should have purchased trip insurance, yes, but I also think the cruise company would be better off PR wise to at least offer cruise credit (not a refund). That way they retain her as a customer and also good publicity to get other future customers. I don’t think it should be expected though. If she were to show up at port and test positive for Covid she would be fully reimbursed even without trip insurance, I don’t see how this should be treated any differently.

 

[Cheburashka]

Doesn't RCCL refund people who are too sick to travel? Is so she could have called in and said she was sick and gotten a refund. Instead she told the truth and lost her money.

And everyone is busy condemning her...

 

[tvguy]

Covid has made travel insurance more important.
But I would also advise you book with a credit card that offers coverage for this kind of loss at no additional cost.
And while RCCL is under NO obligation to make a refund, my mom had a stroke a few weeks before a cruise. HAL gave her a full refund......without travel insurance.......no questions asked. No, they weren't legally obligated to do so, but as our travel agent put it, a cruise line that draws older cruisers is likely going to be more flexible to an 89 year old frequent cruiser who had a stroke.

 

[happycamper47]

I also think the cruise company would be better off PR wise to at least offer cruise credit (not a refund). That way they retain her as a customer and also good publicity to get other future customers. I don’t think it should be expected though.

But if they do it for one then they are obligated to do it for all..

 

[starlite_]

That is some bad planning on her part.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And she was flying from SoCal, same day? ai yi yi.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

It’s not RCCL’s fault she missed the boat. They have no obligation to refund.

Cruising 101: always fly in at least 1 day before and always bring a passport

 

[Kwami]

Doesn't RCCL refund people who are too sick to travel? Is so she could have called in and said she was sick and gotten a refund. Instead she told the truth and lost her money.

And this is the real problem, I think. The current situation benefits liars instead of honest customers. That can't be good.

Anyway, the "fly in 1 day before the cruise" advice really isn't good enough. With all of the staffing problems and bad weather, there's a good chance that you won't be able to fly in on the day of the cruise if your day-before flight is canceled.

That's exactly what happened to me last February. We ended up taking a different cruise entirely. DCL handled the situation better than Royal Caribbean seems to be, though. They waived the change fees (because DCL had recently modified the original cruise itinerary) and applied our balance to the new cruise, which left three days later. Even if we had to pay the change fees, the overwhelming majority of our balance would have gone to the new cruise. Disney never suggested just keeping all of our money for nothing.

 

[spiders]

I too like the benefits of having insurance without having to pay the premiums.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Her story checked all the boxes on prerequisites for Cruising 101.

 

[DLgal]

People drop thousands of dollars for a cruise but can't part with a couple hundred for trip insurance ? Oh well, thems the breaks.

She doesn't deserve a refund for making a bad choice.

 

[Deb]

Doesn't RCCL refund people who are too sick to travel? Is so she could have called in and said she was sick and gotten a refund. Instead she told the truth and lost her money.

pretty sure you have to provide test results. You can't just call and say "I'm sick cough cough":