Delayed cruise; missed return flight

Flycruise8

Hi All
Hopefully someone can give some advice here as I'm sure it's not the first time this has happened.

MSC Cruise returned to Venice - delayed disembarkment meant the return flight with EasyJet was missed coming home to Manchester. Earliest next flight was next day hence had to pay for additional flights and hotel room.

Fly Cruise holiday booked with 'Flights and Packages Ltd' including all hotels, transfers, flights, and cruise for both going and returning.

Struggling to get a response from company as to weather or not they will reimburse us. Struggling even to get a letter to evidence the delays so we can try to claim travel insurance.

Had a prelimanary enquiry though to the travel insurers who apparently says our policy does not cover for return journey delays and said 'you should've read the small print'. I find it hard to fathom that if a policy ticks on it's summarised one pager summary that delays are covered then you would assume the basics that both departure and return journeys are covered. If not, it should be clearly ticked as an exclusion surely and I can complain and take them to the FCA for being misleading on their policy documents?

Has anyone come across this for either a) the flights & package firm and how to deal with this; and b) the travel insurers?

Many thanks

Westin

My understanding is that if you booked this as a package with flights included within the cruise holiday and purchased at the same time, the tour operator would be responsible for rearranging your return flight should the cruise ship be late in arriving at the disembarkation port.

Had you bought the cruise on its own and flights separately (as a DIY holiday) then the return flight missed would be down for you to sort out and cover the cost.

happyandcontented

Why was disembarkment delayed?

What time was your return flight?

Alan_Bowen

You should have an ATOL Certificate stating that this was a package holiday. If you do, then it was the responsibility of the organiser to arrange a return flight, you should have been given a contact number to call before your holiday began and allowed them to arrange the details but providing you didn't move into a 5 star hotel for the night, they should reimburse your extra expenses

leylandsunaddict

Good luck with Flights and Packages. One look at their website T&Cs and I'd have run a mile. They've not been updated from last July yet.

With the insurance what does your policy say? Not the summarised one pager but the actual policy. Presumably you read the cover before you took it out so would be aware of whether it covered return delays? I've never bought a cruise policy so I'm not aware of the ways they may vary. I do know though that if you want your connecting flight protected that with some policies it is an additional add on.

TELLIT01

Just tried accessing Flights & Packages website and it doesn't connect. No error message - just keeps trying.

Westin

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Just tried accessing Flights & Packages website and it doesn't connect. No error message - just keeps trying.

Seems ok
https://www.flightsandpackages.com/

TELLIT01

Finally connected. Claims to have ATOL cover so should have issued an ATOL certificate. If they didn't you need to contact ATOL to see if they are actually members. If they aren't they shouldn't be selling any form of packaged holiday.

leylandsunaddict

Claims to have ATOL cover so should have issued an ATOL certificate. If they didn't you need to contact ATOL to see if they are actually members. If they aren't they shouldn't be selling any form of packaged holiday.

They do hold an Atol.

headpin

I believe that the OP issue will be that by not contacting the package provider and requesting that they sort out how to get them home they have prejudiced their position.

The package provider will, if they wish to rely upon it, say that they were not afforded the opportunity to resolve the issue and that the OP effectively took over the responsibility themselves.

In these situations reverting to the package provider must always be the first course of action to follow. If you can then demonstrate that they could not or would not help for any reason then it is not unreasonable to make your own arrangements and seek redress.

The OP may be able to recover the costs but may find that they now struggle as the package operator/provider was effectively denied any opportunity to manage the problem.

getmore4less

Start with ATOL protections

A cruise is a package holiday so covered by the regulations even if no flight added.

If booking is UK make a claim using those regulations.