If you’re planning to board a cruise ship soon, the recent news reports on the industry are probably causing concern. From vessels being refused docking privileges to passengers being confined to their cabins, cruising during this pandemic is iffy.
But many die-hard cruisers are undeterred and intend to sail no matter the outcome. So if you’re one of those cruise fans, here’s what could be in your cruising future.
Hertz gave Vincent Iannacci a most unpleasant surprise at the end of his recent car rental: a $400 cleaning fee.
Knowing that he’d returned the vehicle in pristine condition, Iannacci assumed Hertz had billed him in error. But when he tried to get the cleaning fee removed, the car rental giant told him there was no mistake. In fact, a company representative explained, employees had snapped photos of cigarette butts smashed into the vehicle’s carpet. As a result, the $400 cleaning fee would stand.
Now outraged, Iannacci, a life-long nonsmoker, intends to fully defend himself against this false accusation. He says no one smoked in his rental car, and he refuses to let the cleaning fee stand.
Iannacci is hoping the Elliott Advocacy team can help him fight this battle. But will photos of the offending cigarette make his case impossible to successfully mediate?
Patrick Doyle and his wife recently boarded a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, vaccinated and COVID negative. They intended to celebrate Christmas with a tropical cruise sailing on NCL’s Dawn. Unfortunately, within three days of embarkation, Lee Doyle became very ill. In the medical center onboard the vessel, she received a diagnosis of influenza. Her husband, who was feeling fine, tested positive for COVID, and their holiday adventure suddenly took an awful turn.
Within hours, Norwegian crew members dressed in hazmat suits relocated the Doyles from their regular cabin to the medical floor. There, NCL personnel informed the stunned couple of how they would be spending the rest of the cruise. They would be required to quarantine not only from the rest of the passengers – but from each other, as well.
The couple says their days in quarantine were filled with boredom, loneliness, and poor communication from Norwegian Cruise Line. It was a decidedly very unmerry Christmas.
Norwegian Cruise Line just forced a triple-vaccinated husband and wife to stay inside their cabin without reprieve for four days. And when the ship finally returned to New York, two burly NCL crew members inexplicably continued to prevent the couple’s escape. How is this possible? That’s what the bewildered COVID-negative duo wants to know.
Kelly Cotto and her husband had never taken a cruise before last week’s bizarre experience. But after what they endured aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Gem, they likely never will again.
Now, finally released from their involuntary confinement, the Cottos want answers from Norwegian Cruise Line – and a refund. The couple is asking us to find out why NCL forced them inside their cabin for nearly the entire cruise.
But with the cruise line staying tight-lipped about NCL’s written COVID protocol, that might be a tall order. (Jump to: Jan 7 update)
Home Depot sold Marcea Cazel a beautiful 7-foot pre-lit Christmas tree with an extended warranty in November 2019. The family loved the tree’s realistic look and soft twinkling lights and hoped to enjoy it for years to come. Unfortunately, the tree turned out to be a dud.
Last Christmas, the family spent hours placing sentimental ornaments on their tree and reminiscing about each one. After the decorating was complete, the family gathered around for the big reveal. To their great disappointment, when Cazel flipped the switch, the bottom of the pre-lit tree remained completely dark. Since that time, Cazel has repeatedly asked Home Depot to honor the warranty and replace the tree. But she still has a pre-lit tree that only lights up on top.
Now Cazel is asking for our team’s assistance. She’s hoping that we can help Home Depot see the light about this tree and save this year’s Christmas!
With just days before Santa’s scheduled arrival, can we do it?
Stephen Delisle is a seasoned traveler with a proven track record of successfully navigating the globe – even during the pandemic. But Carnival Cruise Line recently put an end to that success streak. His family planned to celebrate Thanksgiving aboard Carnival’s newest ship, the Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, they never made it past the pier on the day of embarkation. That’s where Delisle was summarily denied boarding the cruise by the boat’s medical personnel.
Delisle says the crew members made an awful mistake when they refused to let him board the Mardi Gras. That error caused his family to miss their much-anticipated Carnival cruise.
To add insult to injury, Carnival firmly rejected Delisle’s refund request for the missed cruise. Now he’s asking us for help. He wants the Elliott Advocacy team to properly investigate and prove this was the cruise line’s mistake, not his.
Can we do it?
If American Airlines delays or cancels your flight home from vacation, what does it really owe you?
That’s what Mikayla Shade wants to know after finding herself in this unfortunate situation. She says an American Airlines agent told her that when the airline cancels a flight, the passenger will receive a full refund. Shade used that guidance to determine her budget for a new flight home. It wasn’t until American Airlines processed her “full refund” that she discovered she’d relied on incorrect guidance from the agent.
Now Shade wants the Elliott Advocacy team to ask American Airlines to provide what its representative promised her.
Scoring an Air Canada refund during the pandemic has been nearly impossible. The airline has consistently ignored the Department of Transportation’s refund rules for most of the past 20 months. Instead, the carrier has been automatically issuing flight credits — even when it owes passengers cash refunds.
Which makes this story particularly improbable…but true.
Renette Frank was one of the lucky ones who actually received her Air Canada refund last year. So imagine her surprise when the airline recently sent her another $4,282. Even more surprising: When she tried to return the extra money, the airline made that impossible, too.
Now she’s asking the Elliott Advocacy team to help facilitate the return of the duplicate Air Canada refund.
This case is from our “Weird and Silly” files for Thanksgiving. Readers often ask why company mistakes never lean in favor of the customer. But the truth is, we do receive these types of cases from time to time. And, unbelievably, these consumers have hit the same frustrating hurdles as we’ve seen in our standard cases. Here Air Canada made a mistake and sent Frank a refund that it had already given her. So why is the airline making it so difficult to return the cash? Should she just keep it??
It’s ok for United Airlines to fly a family to Morocco, cancel their return flight, and leave them stranded there. Right?
Wrong. But the airline seems to think so.
Ahmed Benidamou purchased economical, round-trip tickets from Tulsa to Casablanca directly through the airline’s website. He, his wife, and two small children flew to Africa as scheduled. But then, United Airlines suddenly canceled their flight home and offered no alternatives, leaving the family stranded there.
Now, still stuck in Morocco with no affordable way home, the troubled father is asking for our help. He’s hoping that we’ll convince United Airlines to try a little harder to get his stranded family back to Oklahoma.
Benidamou’s experience is yet another example of just how far customer service has fallen during the pandemic. United Airlines has a vast network of partner airlines spanning the globe, in addition to its own giant fleet. But United repeatedly rejected the bewildered family’s plea for help and simply abandoned them.
Can we find out what is going on here and help get the Benidamous home by Thanksgiving?
Mai Le says that an in-flight injury on Hawaiian Airlines nearly put an end to her life. Now she’s asking Elliott Advocacy to force the airline to pay her medical bills and other compensation. But without supporting documentation, is this something we can do?
Le’s tale is an example of what happens when a traveler overshoots the mark with a complaint. We know that often companies will go out of their way to respond to a customer’s valid problem. But the opposite is also true. When a passenger wildly exaggerates the details of an experience, their grievance might just get hit with the delete button.
Le’s troubles began aboard a long-haul flight from Honolulu to Sydney. Things started going wrong soon into the 10-hour, 5000-mile journey. (Reprint)
