DOOR SLAMS SHUT 7 TIMES

Last Monday should have been the first of 14 days sailing aboard the Norwegian Jewel, exploring the beauty and majesty of all that Alaska has to offer.  Unfortunately the travel gods were fuming that day. 

My alarm rang at 3:30am but I was up before the alarm sounded.  I was scheduled to depart from the Medford, Oregon airport aboard a Delta Airlines flight for a short hop up to Vancouver, BC, Canada.  I had reservations on the Norwegian Jewel for a 14-day cruise scheduled to depart Vancouver at 4pm.  My flight arrival should have been at 9:53am and I was looking forward to having lunch onboard the Jewel at noon. 

Now you are probably asking “Why would she fly on the same day as her scheduled cruise?”  As a very seasoned traveler, having traveled since 1978, I am all too familiar with that old adage “Never fly on the day of your cruise.”  It’s common knowledge that one should fly, at minimum, the day prior.  Just too many things can go wrong and you don’t want to “miss the boat”. 

Only twice during my travel career have I attempted to fly on the same day as my cruise departure, typically caused by availability of award travel.  Both times it proved fatal.

The first was on, what should have been, a quick flight from Medford to San Diego.  With wheels down and a few hundred feet from touchdown our captain suddenly aborted the landing, rapidly and steeply climbing toward the heavens.  Just minutes later came the dreaded announcement advising there was an active shooter at the San Diego airport and all runways were closed to incoming traffic.   Who could predict such an event?  Our plane would be diverted to another airport and the conclusion of that story will be kept for another day. 

This past Mondays adventure represented the second time I have tried to fly on the same day of my cruise departure and it proved to be a very frustrating day.  My Delta flight from Medford, Oregon was scheduled to depart at 5:40am.  Walking into the terminal around 4:30am I was immediately confronted with a line of passengers stretching almost the entire length of the ticket counter area. 

DOOR #1

I had efficiently completed the online check-in process and had even prepaid my baggage fees prior to my arrival at the airport.  Unfortunately I was still required to wait in line for a passport check, have my baggage tags issued and to drop my bag.  With only 1 person working the ticket counter, the line progressed at a snails pace.  Finally I was next in line.  I glanced at my phone and the time was 5:23am.  As I handed my passport and boarding pass to the agent I was greeted with a snarky “You are too late for check-in.”  and was abruptly handed a red card entitled “Need Help?”.  The next words I heard were "You need to call the number on the card for further assistance".  

Trying to reason with the gate agent proved to be futile.  Obviously she was not a morning person.

I stepped away from the ticket counter and placed a call to the “Need Help?” number given as 1-855-548-2505 to inquire about alternative flights.  I was told I would be unable to use my existing ticket as it had been marked “NO SHOW” by the gate agent.  I was furious to say the least.  I had been standing in line for close to a hour and she had marked me as a “NO SHOW”.  

I explained the situation to the agent on the phone and with considerable time and effort I managed to get the “NO SHOW” status removed.  Now I was free to re-book my flight and reuse my existing ticket. 

DOOR #2

As I attempted to re-book my flight with the agent on the phone, I was informed that Delta had NO seats available out of Medford for the entire day.   

I then made my way back to the ticket counter and asked the agent why she didn’t make an announcement for passengers on DL4749 to move to the front of the line.  Her sarcastic response was “The PA system is way over there and I am here all by myself so I don’t have time to do that.”   I once again asked the gate agent if she would re-book my flight but her response was “You need to call that number", pointing the my little red "Need Help?" card.

I ended up purchasing a ticket to fly Alaska Airlines from Medford to Portland departing Medford at 7:37am.  I determined that Delta had a flight from Portland to Vancouver at 11:15am so I booked the flights and was able to reuse my old ticket but was required to pay an additional charge of $96.40.

DOOR #3

Immediately upon landing in Portland I turned on my cellphone to receive numerous messages from Delta that my flight departure from Portland had been delayed 1.5 hours.  Once again I had been re-booked for a 1:15pm departure.  Unfortunately this would put me into Vancouver at 4:18pm and the ship was scheduled to leave Vancouver at 4:00pm.

DOOR #4

I attempted to book an earlier departure out of Portland but ALL flights on ALL airlines were sold out. 

DOOR #5

I placed a call to Norwegian Cruise Lines to let them know that I would not be boarding at 4pm but would join the cruise at Ketchikan, the first port of call.  I was advised that the option was available but it came with a price tag of $778. 

At this point it became evident that the cruise was not going to materialize so the difficult decision was made to simply return to Medford.  Another ticket purchase, another $249 expense.

The time was now 12:10pm and I was scheduled on a flight back to Medford at 1:40pm. Lunch seemed appropriate, another $28.20 expense. 

DOOR #6

The departure from Portland was on time.  Our scheduled arrival into Medford was 2:40pm but we managed to loose another 15 minutes, flying around smoke I suspected, landing in Medford at 2:55pm.  Our plane stopped on the tarmac and the captain made an announcement that we would need to wait for the ground crew to arrive. We were only 15 minutes late.  Where did they go? 

DOOR #7

Once inside the Medford terminal I made my way to the baggage claim area as I needed to file a claim on my luggage.  My bag was checked to Vancouver and I was now back in Medford.  The office was closed with a sign on the door saying a person would be available 25 minutes after flight arrival.  Nothing else to do but sit and wait 25 more minutes.

Finally completed my lost baggage claim and walked out the door of the airport.  The time was now 4:30pm.

After 14 hours of total frustration, a flight to Portland, lunch at the airport, and a flight back to Medford, two things became ever so evident and should be a lesson to anyone reading this . . . . .

ALWAYS FLY AT LEAST 1 DAY PRIOR TO YOUR CRUISE DEPARTURE

ALWAYS PURCHASE TRAVEL INSURANCE