Viking cruise ship, passengers missed bucket list cruise, cruise ship sailing away

We landed just in time… to miss our bucket list Viking cruise! Now what?

An elderly couple flew halfway around the world only to miss their $28,000 bucket list Viking cruise. Is there anything Consumer Rescue can do to help?

Last November, Thomas and Jane Entenza began a grueling 20-hour journey via United Airlines from Jacksonville, Florida to New Delhi, India. The excited couple was on their way to take a much-anticipated bucket list Viking cruise through the Bay of Bengal. 

Or so they thought. 

Unfortunately, the Entenzas would miss that bucket list cruise. In fact, the only part of India they would see was New Delhi airport’s immigration hall.

A row of vacation rental homes on a beach illustrating an article about a missing security deposit refund.

My vacation rental host won’t refund my security deposit. Is this a scam?

Can a vacation rental host refuse to refund your security deposit — no questions asked? I discovered the answer from one unreasonable VRBO host is, “Yes, I can.”

I have news for her: No, she can’t.

This story is another in our file of outrageous tales of travelers being fleeced by vacation rental hosts and franchise hotels alike. These owners are helping themselves to hundreds and even thousands of dollars of their guests’ money with little to no justification. And unfortunately, the cases are piling up at an alarming rate.

A shopper making retail returns, warning about The Retail Equation

How does The Retail Equation protect merchants from shoppers who love to make returns?

When Mahitha Saldana headed to CVS to make some returns, he wasn’t expecting any problems. So it came as a shock when the cashier firmly refused to accept the items. When he asked for an explanation, she referred him to something called The Retail Equation.

Like Mahitha, you may have never heard of The Retail Equation. But if you frequently make retail returns, your name and information about your shopping patterns may already be stored in this nationwide database.

Cruise ship sailing away, What happens if you miss your cruise?

Surprise! You just missed your cruise ship home. Now what?

What happens when you miss your cruise ship home? Kevin Rohrer knows the answer to that question: many costly and unpleasant things.

During a Norwegian cruise aboard the Sky, Rohrer and his girlfriend missed the deadline for reboarding the ship by two hours. The boat sailed home without the couple, and they suddenly found themselves stranded on the island.

Rohrer says NCL changed the cruise’s departure time with no prior warning, abandoning them in Cuba to fend for themselves. He wants Norwegian Cruise Line to refund the cruise and pay all of the couple’s costs to return home. But is that a reasonable request?

This case highlights the importance of understanding the fluid nature of cruise itineraries. All cruise lines can and do change departure times and even ports of call in some circumstances. Anytime you step off your ship for a shore excursion, it’s imperative to reconfirm the reboarding time. Or you, too, could miss your cruise home.

Editors note: I originally reported on Rohrer’s case and published this article on July 3, 2018. Despite the cautionary warning that this story offers, our team continues to receive similar requests for help from cruise ship passengers in 2023 and the guidance remains relevant. (This column has been updated and checked for accuracy and republished on Feb. 2, 2023.)

Empty gate area after missed flight connection, missed connecting flight, sitting at the gate alone.

What happens if you miss your flight connection (and it’s your fault)?

What’s the correct thing to do if you miss your flight connection? The answer depends on why you failed to board your connecting flight. But it’s a question that Alla Machavariane is asking.

She has an unusual tale to tell. Alla says she and her husband missed their flight connection in Chicago while sitting at the gate in full view of the aircraft and crew members.

The duo is unsure why they never heard any announcements or noticed all the passengers around them boarding the plane. But they believe Spirit Airlines is somehow responsible for their missed flight connection and want the airline to reimburse them $2,200. That’s the cost of the new tickets they were forced to buy to get home.

But what caused the couple to miss their flight connection? 

That is the $2,200 question.

car rental might not have unlimited miles, car rental mistakes

Warning: Your rental car may not come with unlimited miles

Richard Wallerstein and his wife made an expensive car rental mistake when they assumed their reservation included unlimited miles. It didn’t. Unfortunately, they discovered the zero mileage allotment on their rented SUV only after they completed a 1,150-mile road trip.

If you’re like the Wallersteins, you may be unaware that not every rental car comes with unlimited miles. Their tale is a reminder that when making your own reservations, it’s important to pay careful attention to all details. The information this couple needed was in plain sight — if only they had looked — before they took their lengthy road trip.

Canada has air passenger protection regulations to know about.

This is how Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations apply to you

Did you know that you can receive monetary compensation if your flight is delayed or canceled in Canada? The skies have recently become friendlier when flying to, from, or within Canada. The reason? The Air Passenger Protection Regulations. 

These regulations apply to all airlines operating into, out of, and through Canada, holding them accountable for flight disruptions. They are designed to soften the financial and mental hardship felt by passengers. The Air Passenger Protection Regulations are similar to the EU261 in the European Union. Here’s what you need to know.

cruise ship sailing, Do Not Sail list, NCL

Surprise! Your favorite cruise line put you on the Do Not Sail list. Now what?

Could your favorite cruise line put you on its Do Not Sail list and not tell you why?

Christie Cook says it happened to her. Soon after her family’s Alaskan cruise aboard NCL’s Bliss, the cruise line informed her that she had earned a spot on its Do Not Sail list. But she says no one will explain why she’s banned from cruising on NCL — and its affiliated lines.

Christie wants our advocacy team to ask NCL to remove the ban and allow her to cruise again.

This cautionary tale illustrates what can happen if you run afoul of a megacorporation. All major cruise lines can and do reject passengers they believe to be problematic. Unfortunately, if you land on your favorite cruise line’s Do Not Sail list, the only remedy may be to find a new favorite.

A Lufthansa aircraft on a runway, Lufthansa flight delay causing problems

After a Lufthansa flight delay, I canceled the trip. Where’s my $5,459 refund?

How did an extensive flight delay cause a Lufthansa passenger to lose $5,459? 

That’s what Sruthi Samraj wants to know after her bizarre experience with Lufthansa. She recently boarded a last-minute flight planning to make a connection in Frankfurt to Bangalore to attend her grandmother’s funeral. But after an extensive delay, during which the passengers deplaned, it was clear Sruthi would miss her connecting Lufthansa flight.

So she canceled the trip and went home. 

But the disappointment of missing her grandmother’s funeral was soon exacerbated by the airline’s response to her refund request. Lufthansa intended to keep her entire $5,459, calling her a no-show on the delayed flight.