Slippery When Wet!

Well I’ve heard of the deck of a cruise ship being slippery when wet but what about when it is caught in a snow storm…

This is what happened to the Queen Mary 2 as she was due to leave New York on 3rd January to sail transatlantic back to Southampton.  The ships was delayed until mid night to allow passengers to still make their cruise due to flight delays into New York. Winter Storm Hercules as it has been named caused havoc in New York City by dumping over 2 ft of snow overnight.

Passengers travel from all over the USA to board the Queen Mary 2 transatlantic to visit the UK.  So for instance, if you live in California and you have booked a flight that is delayed due to bad weather in New York you will miss the cruise. Hats off to Cunard for delaying the ship so passengers could still make their vacation.  I’m sure lots of people didn’t make it as not all flights were able to take off/land at New York as over 3,000 flights were cancelled.

The roads were cleared so passengers could get to the port but many delays from flights & traffic would prevent them arriving on time for check-in.

So this poses the question of ‘Why would you fly the same day?’ – I know I wouldn’t.  This is where our knowledge comes in and we advise our customers to always fly the day before or a couple of days before the ship is due to depart.  There are a few very good reasons for this:-

1. Less chance of missing the cruise due to flight delays.
2. See the city/destination you are departing from before you cruise.
3. Piece of mind you know you are there so will not miss out on your holiday.
4. Extends your holiday by a day or 2.

I also considered the fact that the passengers booked on Queen Mary 2 that would not make it – did they have full insurance?  I hope so as if not they would lose their money paid out for their trip.

Those with full travel insurance will be able to claim their money back due to bad weather but those who didn’t take insurance will lose everything.  Another good reason to always travel with full insurance as these days you never can tell what is going to happen.  Especially travelling in the winter months where there is more risk of cancellations or even being ill and not being able to make your trip.

I would never travel without it.

Has it ever happened to you?
Have you ever missed your cruise for any reason?
I would love to hear about it..

So to book you next cruise with an overnight stay pre-cruise, call me on 0800 408 6108 or email me at [email protected].