The Highs and the Lows of Travel

Let me give you a little background about myself. I work in education, so I by no means make a lot of money. I work all kinds of odd jobs to pay for my travel obsession. I tell people all the time, my main job pays my bills; my odd jobs pay for what makes me happiest, travelling.

So, when my travel plans go horribly wrong (which, thankfully, is extremely rare), I am absolutely devastated. I work very hard for the money I use to travel and when a company takes my money and does not follow through, I make sure I learn lessons from the experience and then never use those companies again.

It has taken me awhile to get to the point to put this down in writing, as I have tried for weeks to work with these companies to no avail.

The first company is Norwegian Cruise Lines. Don’t be fooled by the lure of the free/reduced air they offer. Norwegian views booking air through them as a courtesy and takes absolutely no responsibility when the airline they book through cancels or delays flights. They are quick to push blame on the airlines. When trying to fly in a day early, Norwegian will only change the flight IF you stay in the hotel they tell you to stay in, which is always extremely expensive.

If you purchase insurance through the company, read the policy line by line. Canceled flights do not qualify for a full refund, merely a 75% future cruise credit. You are better off purchasing through a 3rd party insurance company if air is involved.

Norwegian has the absolute worst customer service department of any company I have ever dealt with, ever! They were of absolutely no help when we were trying to get to the ship. Quite simply, they do not care.

The second company is American Airlines. Now, I personally never use them when flying, but Norwegian booked them as the “only airline option out of Houston”. They too are the most incompetent airline I have ever dealt with. So, as you have guessed…the worst cruise line partnered with the worst airline could only lead to one thing….disaster!

Here are a few things I would suggest when travelling:

1. If you are cruising, fly in the day before. If you do not like the terms that are offered through the cruise line, book your own air.
2. Use a third party insurance company when air is involved.
3. Always carry extra clothes on the plane, you never know when you will see your luggage if your flight is canceled or you miss your connection.
4. Don’t expect companies to do the right thing if anything happens to your vacation plans. Expect to spend many hours fighting for what is rightfully yours.
5. If you are cruising within the US (Alaska, Hawaii, the East Coast), read up on the Jones Act!
6. Know that there are some things that happen that you could never have anticipated, even with the best laid plans. I hope that none of you have to fall back on this one!
7. Never give up on travel. The experiences and wisdom you learn through travel far outweigh not travelling at all!

Now, with that said, I did not stop travelling. I booked another cruise, with another cruise line, and a month later had a fabulous trip! I will be sharing that adventure with you shortly!