US NEWS Family of nine left behind in remote Alaska, charged $9K by Norwegian Cruise Lines

[Kira]

My 'take-aways' from this thread.
1) Thanks for the notice re smaller ships. It's not that I'll be affected; it's more like telling a non-car person that automatics are stronger than manuals. It's something they don't know. Now I know....about Holland Line.

2) I had a cousin who worked for one of the notables and got her mom and my mom a great deal on a smaller ship to Alaska. Like a good Southern lady my mom said she had a wonderful time. Even though cuz worked for the line for another while, Mom never expressed one iota of interest in another cruise and frankly, her praise of the Alaska trip was tepid.

3) The anti-crowd, open schedule and sheep experience sentiments expressed here are shared by myself and Mrs. Kira.
However, if life has taught me anything at all, it's that I don't know everything. A sad wrinkle is that other people, even those who go on cruises can't describe what they like about them. Sheep who are numb consumers? No thank you.
I think I'm with opus1 in terms of temperament.

So, my elder rellies have gone on a European river cruise. They're all in the same "anti-crowd etc." camp.
That this cantankerous clutch of curmudgeons praised it is, in itself, noteworthy.
There's a chance I might be on a small, sophisticated river cruise....like the ones advertised on Antiques Roadshow.

But really, the fjord ferries I took many of in Norway were quite the mix of cruise and bus trip. Those fjord ferries were their coastal highway. I heard Norway incurred the expense of designing and building roads closer to the shoreline to make the land worth more.
The scuttlebutt I heard was that "the government" wants to attract their share of international land buyers.

 

[mk378]

When I read they were left in Ketchikan, I couldn't stop laughing. That's "remote" all right.

It's Alaska's most densely populated city, home to more than 8000 people in less than 4 square miles. It's not anything like New York City (which is more than 10x higher), but it is a density comparable to New Orleans. The population is 13th among cities in Alaska.

 

[alarmguy]

+1

The ship didn't leave them behind, they missed it. That's like saying your flight left you behind, no, you just didn't board before it left the gate haha.

Thank you it’s nice to know. A few people can still think critically.

 

[wemay]

Just because some on here don't like cruising, doesn't mean those that do are "sheep".

 

[Pablo]

Just because some on here don't like cruising, doesn't mean those that do are "sheep".

Mooooooo!!





(ok joke, couldn't resist, etc my apologies, affidavit signed, etc)

 

[GON]

Update, this later published ABC video states the excursion was booked through the cruise ship. If in fact accurate, that might better explain why the cruise operator is covering what appears all.of the expenses as a result of missing the cruise.

 

[fdcg27]

In general, if you can't afford disruptions, you probably shouldn't travel. We've had a few over the years that involved unplanned hotel stays, restaurant meals and shuttle runs, but anyone who travels much knows that this is a part of the game, and there are places where a day or two of delay would be perfectly okay and even welcome.
Cruise ships do wait for those booked on shore excursions booked through them, but not much for those booked independently. They also know who's off the ship and who's booked on a ship sponsored excursion. This is well known and if you accept the risk of going out on your own, as we often do, be prepared for the unplanned eventuality. We all have internet access on our phones and even overseas it isn't hard to find a bar or restaurant with wifi wherever you might be. If you do get stuck somewhere you should be aware of travel options to a ship's next port of call by ferry or by air. This will cost money, but once again, if you can't accept the financial consequences of the unplanned then you shouldn't journey outside of the continental US. Even then, you may experience the occasional change of plan, like all of those who can't travel today because of a widespread software update glitch.
WRT cruises, we've done probably thirty of them on various cruise lines. Selection of cruise line does matter but even within a line, ship selection matters even more. In general, the older, smaller ships provide for a much nicer experience without crowding. Also, with most lines, you operate on your own schedule for meals and activities, although port times are things you can only accommodate and not control. Suffice it to say that a cruise makes for a very easy and relaxing way in which to escape the cold North during the winter, and more than seven nights is preferred. Finally, having had the experience twice (I guess I'm a slow learner) suffice it to say that friends don't let friends travel on Carnival, although Carnival does have a large coterie of avid frequent travelers and they do offer some nice itineraries.
Travel to more obscure and less crowded regions of Europe is also very nice, but you should plan that as at least a two week trip since the flights to get there will be long with maybe long connecting times. Here, airport lounge access is a real plus even if you have to shell out maybe 100 USD for the privilege. It is remarkable how for the same money as very mediocre accommodations here you can book something really nice and non-generic in, say, Turkey or parts of France and Italy. Anyway, it is fun to travel and it's more enjoyable if you learn the rules as well as how to work around them. If you have the funds to deal with potential changes in plan, there is really nothing to worry about.

 

[ctechbob]

Update, this later published ABC video states the excursion was booked through the cruise ship. If in fact accurate, that might better explain why the cruise operator is covering what appears all.of the expenses as a result of missing the cruise.

As well they should. If that's the case, then the cruise operator screwed up bigtime.

 

[y_p_w]

In general, if you can't afford disruptions, you probably shouldn't travel. We've had a few over the years that involved unplanned hotel stays, restaurant meals and shuttle runs, but anyone who travels much knows that this is a part of the game, and there are places where a day or two of delay would be perfectly okay and even welcome.

A few months ago I was watching old episodes and clips of the A&E series Airline that followed around employees of Southwest Airlines. Man could it get crazy when people were denied boarding or if they were dealing with mechanical or weather delays with missed connections or overbooking.

There were so many people who just had to be there and they seemed to think they were the most important. One was of a passenger who was traveling on Southwest's dime as a nonrevenue passenger on a standby basis for a job interview or job fair with the airline. When she got bumped for revenue passengers, she was loudly proclaiming that it was unacceptable and that she needed to be home that night. She was doing that all while a current Southwest employee was telling her that it wasn't helpful for her job prospects to complain like that. There were other with her on the same trip (probably didn't know each other), and they wanted to avoid being associated with her.

 

[fdcg27]

A few months ago I was watching old episodes and clips of the A&E series Airline that followed around employees of Southwest Airlines. Man could it get crazy when people were denied boarding or if they were dealing with mechanical or weather delays with missed connections or overbooking.

There were so many people who just had to be there and they seemed to think they were the most important. One was of a passenger who was traveling on Southwest's dime as a nonrevenue passenger on a standby basis for a job interview or job fair with the airline. When she got bumped for revenue passengers, she was loudly proclaiming that it was unacceptable and that she needed to be home that night. She was doing that all while a current Southwest employee was telling her that it wasn't helpful for her job prospects to complain like that. There were other with her on the same trip (probably didn't know each other), and they wanted to avoid being associated with her.

I will say that when we've had airline issues, a smile and a low-key approach to the agents usually worked really well and we typically got rebooked same day, just later than planned. Once with Continental I had to be quite assertive while still polite and was able to get us interlined on a UAL codeshare operated by a USAir contracted commuter. This involved a shuttle from EWR to LGA the following morning as well as the agent I was speaking with calling her supervisor over and then a phone call by them to USAir or United, not sure which, but with a smile and peristance from me they got it done. The agent's opening bid had involved a two day delay, so I had to be aware of the options open to them to pursue. In the case of flight cancellations or missed connections the airline would typically cough up for at least some of the expense involved including ground transporatation. Our only two missed connections requiring an overnight stay were at EWR and PHL, not anyone's first pick for a winter travel delay, and we were not about to spend the night in the terminal or subsisting on airport fast food.
Bottom line is that unplanned events do happen and they may end up costing you money as well as time.

 

[y_p_w]

I will say that when we've had airline issues, a smile and a low-key approach to the agents usually worked really well and we typically got rebooked same day, just later than planned. Once with Continental I had to be quite assertive while still polite and was able to get us interlined on a UAL codeshare operated by a USAir contracted commuter. This involved a shuttle from EWR to LGA the following morning as well as the agent I was speaking with calling her supervisor over and then a phone call by them to USAir or United, not sure which, but with a smile and peristance from me they got it done. The agent's opening bid had involved a two day delay, so I had to be aware of the options open to them to pursue. In the case of flight cancellations or missed connections the airline would typically cough up for at least some of the expense involved including ground transporatation. Our only two missed connections requiring an overnight stay were at EWR and PHL, not anyone's first pick for a winter travel delay, and we were not about to spend the night in the terminal or subsisting on airport fast food.
Bottom line is that unplanned events do happen and they may end up costing you money as well as time.

Watching that series could be entertaining, especially with people who simply thought that they somehow could get more power over the airline by claiming they'd sue, yelling to the point that police were called in, etc. Southwest doesn't interline or do any arrangements with other airlines, but in this series they have shown employees walking over passengers to other airlines to see if they could be accommodated at their own expense. I guess the oddest are the meltdowns where a passenger yells and screams that they're going to be fired for missing work.

In that vid I linked, the prospective employee was really nuts, but she was told several times that her attitude was jeopardizing her chances at landing a job. And what was even crazier was that she probably signed a release allowing the producers to use the footage of her.

I've also flown standby a few times, and one gets an appreciation for how plans may need to change on short notice.

 

[zzyzzx]

I've been in one Cruise; carnival. Cool experience and expeditions but I hate being cramped on a boat...and all the people and kids...ugh not my style.

That's why I'd only go on an adult only cruise.