The debut of two brand-new new cruise ships — Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth earlier this fall and Royal Caribbean’s massive 16-deck Allure of the Seas in December — coincides with the beginning of “wave period,” a time of year when most people book their cruise vacations.
CRUISE
If you ever want to feel confused, outraged and powerless all at the same time, just read your cruise line’s ticket contract.
It looked like smooth sailing for the DellaPenna family’s Alaska cruise. The airline tickets were booked and the seats confirmed. But just a day before they were to leave, United Airlines almost scuttled their vacation.
Any day now, the president is expected to sign the Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act, which promises to make cruising safer.
The largest customer service database for consumer complaints just got a little larger. We’ve added contact information for the major cruise lines.
There’s something for everyone on a cruise. And I don’t mean that the same way your travel agent or cruise line does.
Selma Sobelman wants to know. She booked a Panama Canal cruise through Overseas Adventure Travel, with the understanding that she’d have 30 days to cancel her trip, if necessary. But when she called the whole thing off, she learned the truth.
Gennaro Ottomanelli and his wife were left left high and dry when his riverboat cruise was canceled at the last minute. His AAA travel agent offered two choices: Either cancel his vacation or go on the substitute bus tour. He decided to stay home, hoping to get a refund.
Vanessa Thompson checks into what she thinks is an all-inclusive hotel before her cruise. Then she discovers she doesn’t have a reservation. When she’s allowed in, she discovers there’s nothing all-inclusive about her room. Is she entitled to a refund?
A word of warning to anyone taking a cruse: Don’t trust anyone with your valuables.
Remember the Prime Travel Protection scandal? You know, the one involving fraudulent insurance policies, scores of denied claims and an investigation by state regulators?
Now there’s a headline I thought I’d never write. But it’s true: Carnival has refunded a passenger’s cruise fare after a last-minute cancellation.
Is the Jones Act a legitimate reason for a travel insurance company to deny a claim, or a convenient excuse? Depends on your perspective.
Here’s a real Morton’s Fork dilemma: You’re about to go on a cruise when you’re suddenly diagnosed with an infectious disease. But your cruise line won’t refund your fare if you cancel.
Timing is everything when you pull a bait-and-switch. Most of them happen just before or after the purchase – an “oops-the-price-isn’t-available” or a “sorry-did-we-forget-to-mention-a-fee” stunt. But for Mary Hoefs’ Royal Caribbean cruise, she didn’t find out until she tried to board.
Every now and then, it’s useful to take a peek behind the scenes in the travel industry to see how the machinery works. But don’t stare — it could drive you mad. That’s what almost happened to me when I tried to mediate the case between Jerri Olsen and Carnival Cruise Lines. Before you continue, a warning: The following case contains information that some travel agents might find offensive.
One of the most common swine flu-related questions I’ve been getting relates to rescheduled cruises. Many cruise lines are diverted their ships to avoid Mexican ports. What if you don’t want to go? Should you be able to get a refund?
Let’s say your cruise is cut short by the outbreak of a gastrointestinal virus. You spend most of your vacation quarantined in your cabin. Should you pay for it?
Cruising isn’t what it used to be. Just ask Steve Roberts, who recently sailed from Costa Maya, Mexico, to Nassau, Bahamas on the Carnival Glory. Although his floating vacation was billed as an “all inclusive” experience, Roberts found it was anything but that.
