Honeymoon woes

[buttercup80]

We had a VERY difficult time choosing a destination for our honeymoon that suited both our budget and our schedules (we''re both teachers) - but now we''re kind of back at square one - I just got this e-mail from our travel agent:

I wanted to let you know that there has been a schedule change with the airline. American Airlines was the last airline to fly non-stop, but they have now done away with this and are making a connection as well.

You were originally scheduled to fly: Oct 13th Leave JFK at 10:15 am Arrive St. Lucia at 2:50 pm

You are now scheduled to fly: Oct 13th Leave JFK at 5:45 am Arrive Miami at 8:45 am
Leave Miami at 10:50 am Arrive St. Lucia at 2:15 pm


I know that leaving out of JFK at 5:45 in the morning is rough ---- I did check other airlines for you and they are all doing the same itinerary leaving at 5 am or 6 am, all of them with a connection either though Miami, Atlanta, or San Juan.


Now for the return flight:

You were originally scheduled to fly: Oct 19th Leave St. Lucia at 4:05 pm Arrive JFK at 9:15 pm

Now you are scheduled: Oct 19th Leave St. Lucia at 3:50 pm Arrive Miami at 7:25 pm
Leave Miami at 9:00 pm Arrive JFK at 11:59 pm

I apologize for this. I have looked into other airlines, and as I stated above all the airlines are running similar itineraries. If we do decide to change the flight schedule, other then the one the airline supplied, you run the risk of having to pay more for the tickets.

The same holds true is you decide to change the airline all together, you would have to pay the difference of the ticket, and we can try to get the refund from American to go to a different airline.

I hope all of this is making sense.

Just let me know if the new flight itinerary is OK with you.

I *might* have just sucked it up and dealt with it, rather than had to start all over again, but FI is adament that this is not an option. I''m sort of inordinately upset right now, because we had finally chosen a place and I got really excited about it and now it looks like we are going to have to figure something else out.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

I am so sorry buttercup! Do you think the two of you can come to a compromise? Are there any other options other than picking a new place? No other airlines? Sigh. So frustrating! This schedule is pretty crazy!

Here''s some PS dust and ((Hugs)). I hope this works out for you!

 

[musey]

I''m so sorry, this sucks!! I was nervous about something like this happening because I got a "schedule change" email from Air New Zealand the other day... I opened it up and the only change was that our flight was leaving one minute later than originally planned

Maybe we can help? What kind of destination are you looking for, something similar to St. Lucia, or are you open?

 

[Octavia]

Eek!! I don't want to make you more upset, but I've done this exact trip with AA (crazy early flight from JFK with a layover in Miami on the way to St. Lucia) and the Miami airport was awful. Do you know how much the difference in costs would be to change airlines? I think United is the one that stops in San Juan, and while there was the same crappy service on both airlines, I'd fly through San Juan over Miami any day, we did that on the way back and it was a drastically more pleasant experience, to the point where I didn't even mind having a layover. Of course, it could have just been the timing, so don't take my word for it, because who knows what airlines and airports will get up to next

.

Where on St. Lucia were/are you going to stay? It's a pretty island and it would be sad if you're not able to go because of the flights.

 

[Harleigh]

I''m so sorry, buttercup! I wish there was an easy answer, but as I''ve discovered, there''s not. With all of the airline closures we lost all of our flights, then at least managed to get flights on the correct dates, but they have since changed TWICE since we booked them, thus getting us to Maui almost 12 hours later than originally planned, as well as leaving about 10 hours earlier on the way home, so essentially we''re wasting two whole days we had plans to do things.

I am sad that you are having to deal with this...is there a reason that the change in times and connecting flights is unacceptable? I''m afraid that at this late date, it will be much too costly to find anything else with the way gas prices are going up so fast.

Best of luck and hang in there! Hugs!

 

[buttercup80]

Thanks to everyone for your sympathy. . .all of the other airlines have similar/worse schedules so it doesn''t really make sense. All of our parents/bridal party have to work on the 13th so it''s not really fair to ask anyone to drive us to the airport at 3am, which means we''d have the added expense of hiring a limo for that trip. Also, it would mean we''d be exhausted when we finally arrived, rather than rested and relaxed. Additionally, we both teach so a flight that would get us home at 1:30am on a school night is no good - plus we''d have to pay for another limo to get home as that''s too late to ask anyone to pick us up.

We had originally considered Secrets Capri (in Riviera Maya), but had ultimately decided on the Sandals Grande because we felt that St. Lucia was a bit more "special" than Mexico. . . so now we''re crossing our fingers that we can switch our booking, but that might not work out and it''s still our second choice. We''re looking for someplace tropical, all-inclusive, no kids.

Here''s the e-mail I sent back to the travel agent:

Honestly, the new flight times are not acceptable. . . Leaving that early the morning after our wedding AND arriving back home so late (on a school night for both of us) is not what we envisioned as a relaxing honeymoon. We never would have booked this resort knowing these flight times in advance. Can you advise us of other options we might have? I understand that all of the airlines are running similar itineraries - would it be possible at this point to switch our destination to the Riviera Maya as we had discussed?

 

[noelwr]

if you can''t change your destination, I am sure there must be someone friend or family who would be willing to drive you to the airport and pick you up. you only get married once, right?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If you can''t switch it, I''d get a room at an airport hotel and at least get a few hours of sleep and take the short taxi ride to the terminal. That way, someone can drop you off at the hotel the afternoon before. I''d never ask anyone to take me to the airport in the middle of the night! The only way to resolve the return flight is to return the night before.

 

[Daydreamer7130]

FI and I are getting married at one of the Sandals in St. Lucia. I was shocked at how expensive the flight was! There is no getting around the over 800.00 price tag per person. It makes no sense to me! Especially when we can travel from Cleveland to San Juan for 198 RT on the same dates but then it was over 600.00 from San Juan to St. Lucia. As you can see we tried all the tricks.

We have a huge layover in Atlanta. I believe it''s an overnight layover. We plan on leaving the airport and getting in a cab and seeing the city and stay overnight at a local hotel to make life better. We travel back through Atlanta also but there is a minimal layover coming home. I heard that Atlanta is much better and easier for going through customs. I have heard nothing but horror stories about Miami customs.

When we were looking into flights, we could have had similar layover as ours in Atlanta but in NYC (which I myself preferred) or we could have had one in Philly and then just rented a car and headed to Atlantic City for some overnight gambling. Either way, it''s all good (except that airfare price.. YIKES). Moral of the story.... turn lemons into lemonade like we are.. we are getting out and doing some exploring... wedding gown in tow!

Good luck!

 

[surfgirl]

I dont understand why you''re thinking you have to change your honeymoon. The only difference now is that you have to leave a few hours earlier and you come home a few hours later, right? But the travel dates are the same and the arrival times in St. Lucia and departure time from St. Lucia are almost identical so it''s not like you''re losing a half day or more out of your honeymoon. Those seem to be the only changes so why would you consider changing the entire destination? Or am I missing something?

 

[rockzilla]

I agree w/surfgirl - as someone who is a VERY frequent flier (right now I live in SF, family is in Boston, fiance is in LA, and my clients are in Portland and Seattle...) part of travel is being able to be flexible and go with the flow, because something with UNDOUBTABLY go not according to plan. I understand that this is your honeymoon, and you want everything to be "perfect" but when you book this far in advance things can and do change. For the flight out, yes, you will have to get up earlier, but you can also sleep on the plane. You get in at 2pm - plenty of time to take a nap, and then go out and party or whatever else you have planned.

For the flight back, sure, you''re getting in two hours later, but that is a margin of error that could have likely happened even if your flight had never changed - flights are OFTEN delayed/cancelled/etc and 2 hours is NOT a big deal. Take this from someone who has been stranded overnight in Phoenix on the day after Christmas. When you think about it - you are travelling 2,000 miles in 1 day - you have to leave room for error here, and quite honestly, be thankful for how miraculous that is that we can do that for relatively little money (whether it is in 5 hours or in 8 hours).

And, if you do the mexico thing, there is also no guarantee that your flights won''t be changed the same way - since it is so far out.

Another trick I''ve learned is (and this isn''t always possible, but when I can I ALWAYS do this) - when you are doing any kind of longish flight after a vacation -travel time over 3-4 hours - I try not to come back to work the day after. I always try to get back in, say on a saturday night rather than sunday night. This way you have a day to relax and some wiggle room if travel things go awry. Also, flights are usually cheaper coming back on a Saturday than a Sunday - it pays to do things differently than other people.

Maybe it would help to get in the Carribean mindset a little earlier and not stress too much about it. From the emails you''ve posted, it looks like you have a pretty darn good travel agent too!

PS I''m not defending the airlines - it is screwy that they do this. But, as long as we continue to make our purchasing decisions on the lowest possible dollar amount, this stuff will continue to happen.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 6/1/2008 8:45:50 AM
Author: surfgirl
I dont understand why you''re thinking you have to change your honeymoon. The only difference now is that you have to leave a few hours earlier and you come home a few hours later, right? But the travel dates are the same and the arrival times in St. Lucia and departure time from St. Lucia are almost identical so it''s not like you''re losing a half day or more out of your honeymoon. Those seem to be the only changes so why would you consider changing the entire destination? Or am I missing something?

I agree-there''s no way I would change my entire honeymoon just because of a flight change. You can sleep on the airplanes and just go lay on the beach when you get there and take a nap under an umbrella.

I don''t know-flights getting messed up is just the way it goes with travel these days. Even if you do switch flights and places there''s no guarantee your new flights are going to not get delayed or changed also. I''d stick with your original choice and just stay at the airport hotel that night and take a shuttle over to the airport. Good luck either way, though!

 

[Pandora II]

I don't understand what the problem is either...

So it's a couple of hours difference, why would you change your plans for that?

Having been stranded in Guam due to a coup, stranded in Hong Kong for 2 days due to cabin crew strikes, stuck overnight in more airports than I can remember due to 'technical' problems and/or cancellations, delays etc etc you just learn to go with the flow.

I quite like stopovers - I've got a 3hr one in Qatar on the way to Sri Lanka, and 6 hours on the way back. I just hope they have good shops!

 

[Rhea]

There is no perfect. My honeymoon started with a delay more than 7 hours which got us to the airport so late that no trains were running to the city that we were headed to. So we took a very slow, overnight train. No exactly my ideal start of a honeymoon.

And then there was getting stranded in another country for an extra 48 hours with no working ATM or credit cards.

The fours and a half hours on one side, and two and half hours on another side don''t seem like such a big deal to me. Best of luck in whatever you decide!

 

[Independent Gal]

I 100% agree with those who have suggested you just get a room at an airport hotel and then sleep on the plane. Check in online the night before, if your airline allows it, get up at 4, leave at 4:30, and away you go.

Sucks, but par for the course.

You won''t melt from missing a little sleep. Or, y''know, lose an arm or something.

BTW, I generally avoid using travel agents. You can usually get a better deal on your own, using airfarewatchdog.com or various other sites.