Author Topic: How Much Can Your Cruise Line Help When the Unexpected Happens?  (Read 1239 times)

Offline Host Mike

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Can Your Cruise Line Change Your Flights for You?

"Short answer: Yes. Real answer: It's complicated.

There are two problems at play here.

First, if you booked your air through the cruise line, calling the airline won't help. Airlines consider these tickets to be booked through a third-party; depending on the airline, you might not even be able to manage basic elements of your booking, like seat selection, online.

When you run into problems with tickets booked through the cruise line, the airline will throw up its arms and tell you to call the cruise line. The cruise line, in turn, will sometimes tell you it's out of their hands -- and advise you to contact the airline.

Second, that's if you can get through to your cruise line. Most lines have air departments that are only open from 8 a.m. Eastern to 5 p.m. Eastern and can be closed entirely on holidays and weekends. And like the airlines, cruise lines are facing staffing shortages. Even those companies with 24/7 emergency lines are unable to keep up with demand when air schedules around the world are routinely disrupted.'"

What Happens If Your Cruise Line Flights Change Well Before Departure?

'Flights that change or are canceled by airlines earlier can sometimes have a bit more wiggle room -- but not much. The closer you are to your sail date, the more likely it is that you will find yourself on "the milk run" -- a collection of less-desirable flights routed through places you perhaps hadn't intended to go.'"

Is There Still an Advantage to Booking Your Air Through the Cruise Line?

"'Several Cruise Critic readers cite the reduced cost of booking air through cruise lines as one of the major benefits to doing so. What you lose in control in terms of being able to select your preferred airline, seats, and routing, you gain in savings which can, in some instances, be substantial.'"

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=7031