Travel lessons learned the hard way

M

masq

Guest
mike-suz You are correct...... Sally did not quit smoking. In Cancun she was sharing her cigs with Denise & Kurt, and if I didn't have asthma so bad, I'd have probably had one. :-D
Sally didn't need any cigs on board, but she did have a few in port. We saw a lot of people smoking outside the Paradise before heading back on board.
Glad you enjoyed the tale and I just hope that everyone who reads doesn't have to learn the lessons the hard way. :)
 
C

CruisingDiva

Guest
Masq,

I was intrigued! I couldn't move. What a fascinating story! What great attitudes you all maintained during this whole ordeal.

I think for your next reunion cruise, I may join you guys. So don't forget to post your info. I just simply love your positive attitudes.

Diva



Post Edited (03-11-04 16:44)
 
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cruiseonly4me

Guest
WOW! You guys should write a book on this experience. Im sure it would be made into a movie! There is some great material here! Im serious. As the the above posters say you folks should be commended on your positive attitudes and perseverence. Bravo! and thanks for sharing!
Helen
 
V

voss749

Guest
The poster has learned his lesson the hard way...

Good points he made

1) If your traveling outside of US canada or Mexico and you
dont have a passport...you are an idiot. I dont care what anyone says. It costs $60 and is good for 10 years...how hard is that?

2) Your spending a $1000 a person on a cruise, you can afford the $50 to 80 for the hotel in (insert port here) for a hotel the night before. My cruise is march 21st amd I got a
3* room(embassy suites) at the miami airport on priceline for $45 for saturday night.

3) If youre flying into a city for a cruise...LEAVE THE DAY BEFORE.

4) never fly northwest....their ticket agents dont know basic geography. They could have flown you into west palm beach which is 80 miles from miami and 60 miles from port everglades
 
P

prettygigi

Guest
OH MY GOD!

I started reading this story by myself and literally people started crowding around my desk to hear what's going to happen next!

What did Carnival do about it? You did report it to them????

HEY, they should make a movie about you! Serious!!!

Have you thought of that?

I can't believe what good sports you all are!
 
M

masq

Guest
Gigi,
Carnival basically did not care. We first received a letter of apology with a free Bon Voyage gift for our next cruise. That was a slap in the face since when we got back they told our TA we would be getting a $280 credit. Hey they said it and we didn't even ask for it. Then when we didn't get it and pursued it, they said 'It's not our policy to refund for lost days'. Well then they shouldn't have mentioned it to us in the first place! So I was thinking of a good place they could stick the Bon Voyage gift when we got another letter giving us a credit toward a future cruise. We are actually going to give them another try in January, but it may be the last time. Time to try different lines now that Carnival is getting rid of the 'smoke free' ship. :-(

I need to get off my rear and send this story to places. Everyone seems to love it. :grin

Feel free to visit: http://community.webshots.com/user/ajtladd
 
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voss749

Guest
Did you make your airline reservations through Carnival or did you do it independently?
 
M

masq

Guest
voss749
We booked our airfare with Carnival. The only advantage booking Carnival's air gives you is lower prices. Many people think (like I did) that if you book the airfare with Carnival, that they get you to the boat if you miss your flight for some reason. This is not true.
The only thing that helps you is to have the insurance and it will cover up to $500 for extra travel arrangements if you have to catch the boat elsewhere.
 
K

kujobie

Guest
Always travel the day before
Always have toiletries & clothes with you
Always travel with a passport (you never know where you could end up)
Always read the fine print of your documents
(Carnival is conveniently not responsible for anything)
Document everything and get names of people you talk to

You forgot one. Always get insurance, especially if you are flying in the day of the cruise. I don't get it because I live in Florida and drive to my ports, but I'll tell you this. I'm cruiseing from Port Canaveral in a month and i"m doing the 2 hour drive from Tampa and staying on Cocoa Beach the day before, just in case. Nothing short of World War III is gonna make me miss that boat.
 
M

masq

Guest
How right you are kujobie!!!
Travel Insurance is a must. Several people in our group did not have it and were not reimbursed for the extra expenses we had.
 
L

LHP

Guest
The only time I have flown in the day of the cruise was with Northwest through Carnival.

We were flying to San Juan. We got to the New Orleans airport at 5AM and boy am I glad we did. We also were suppose to fly through Memphis and the Memphis airbus that would have taken us from Memphis to San Juan broke down. It was a full flight ....most for this cruise.

I have to give a great word of compliment to the Northwest ticket lady in New Orleans. At 5:30am, we got the four of us on American from NO to Dallas and then from Dallas to San Juan FIRST CLASS!!! We made the cruise with no problem.

Friends of ours who live in Memphis and were suppose to meet us at the Memphis leg ended up not getting on until St Thomas. Lots of people who got to Memphis ended up with problems. Looks like Northwest has a "Memphis problem".

So if you are flying, don't use Northwest...if you have to connect in Memphis!
 
M

masq

Guest
LHP, I guess all of the good ticket agents are in New Orleans. :grin
At least she didn't send you though Cancun or something. :lol

I never expected so many problems with Memphis. I will not fly through there again. I'll pay the extra money to use an airline that doesn't go there. :thumb
 
J

jano

Guest
Well...I am just amazed at this story. I am so surprised that you survived it all...traveling into Belize alone was an experience. I despise Carnival..I was on the Pride...will not go into the story..but, was left on a jungle trail by the guide when I slowed down due to heat exhaustion....on the way to cave tubing..long story over on the Carnival page you will find it...some people on another group stopped to help me and then they were left behind..so 5 of us struggled in the jungle to find the cave..entered one...and they left me yelling they would send someone...Not...long story..I ended up in a black cave, alone..and out of my tube...and hyperthermia was next....rescued eventually by a miracle and the fact that i used to be a cheerleader...kept throwing my voice..for help...the reason I tell you all of this ...is that Carnival personel were swine...eventually I got a letter from them offering me 10% off my next cruise and $30. off my next excursion..I simply told them to keep it...it was insulting...when I nearly returned on the Pride on ice!!! I found them to be insensitive, offensive and patronizing...The 2nd Purser did not believe my husband...when he went down to cancel my next days scuba .....it so infuriated me that I dressed (I had been in bed I was so beat up after finally returning to the ship)....and he was Turkish...I flayed him in Turkish which shocked him..(lived there once)....I think the advice given: passport, insurance and overnight items is the best advice...but, I wish to add something....Carnival is responsible for absolutely nothing..Everything is independent contractors....they cover their rears that way....Do not expect that they really care about a damn thing but the profit line... I had a probable law suit against the travel agency...that supplied the guides etc...But, the Belizian owners met me after the rescue, returned my money, apologized profusely....and those people are so darn poor...I just could not bring myself to do it...Would I go cave tubing again...You bet...but, with a private guide to see to just me...not 35 people....it is a great experience....will I sail again on Carnival? I am...I had to eat my own words...I found a great trip on the Paradise thru the Panama Canal 21 days...dirt cheap...and using the offending 10% discount even made it sweeter.... so we sail September 5/04...
Again..thanks for that story...it is just the most amazing I have ever heard.....YOu and your friends must be commended for perserverance...I agree with someone who said I would have chucked it right there and stayed at the Omni...Good Luck in the future...and oh yeah....offer that story to some magazines....and embarrass the hell out of Carnival!
 
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PINEVIEW01

Guest
Jano,
I'm doing the Paradise 9/5/04 thru the Panama Canal. Did youcheck in at roll call? I'd like to meet up and hear the long version.
Melody
 
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longarm

Guest
Reading your story made me a nervous wreck.They dont make enough paxil to get me through a trip like that.I wonder how many times your party looked at one another and said,patience now, patience, because somebody had to come close to going postal on either the airline, customs or carnival.I told my wife the story and all she could say was,Im glad that wasnt us or u would be in jail somewhere still. I will have to hand it to youns that u prob had the right approach to get through that kind of ordeal and am glad that u all got home in one peace.




fantasy- 2002
conquest- 2003
celebration- Dec 2004
 
M

masq

Guest
longarm,
We were very lucky to have ended up with the group we did. There were several very tense moments, but everyone remained rational. We did think it was pretty funny when Brian told us he worked for the post office. :lol We had to wonder.


Since our return we have all kept in contact and have made plans to meet up this summer before our January cruise. Since three of the couples live within a 100 mile radius of each other, we've actually been able to party together a couple of times since the cruise.



A bad experience has yielded life long friendships and not Carnival or Northwest could take that away from us.
 
J

jano

Guest
Its a date...!!!! Robert and Jan McChesney....look for us...or we can make a date to meet anywhere except in a Cave!!!
 
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