CDunninTX

I remember this weather event. It affected us up here in Dallas as well. Sorry you missed your cruise.

I fear that will be their response...  "Your airline did not cease operations for 24 consecutive hours" (even though all flight were sold out).  
I rarely fly in the day of a cruise.  I couldn't make it work this time.  In the future I just won't book a cruise if my schedule doesn't allow me to fly in the day before.  

I've said this before but thank you for blogging this for us.  This is a real eye opener.  I would have assumed that if my flight is cancelled, I could get the rest of the trip refunded.  We do fly in the night before but not 24 hours before as taking another full day off of work/school gets to be hard.  Between the Boeing Max problems and weather delays so many flights have been  canceled recently that I wonder if this a way for the insurance to not pay out.  I think it would be rare to have your flight cancelled and then the airline can book you immediately.  My experience is that the airline (SW) can get you to your destination 2 days later if you are lucky since most of their flights are full.
It makes me wonder what we would do if we had to deal with canceled flights.  The Max 8 planes were grounded 2 days before our spring break cruise so I was thinking through all the possibilities in case that happened. Rent a SUV and drive one way?  It would be a long miserable 16+ hour drive but we could do it.  Purchase on another airline?  Its spring break so many flights are flying full.  I wonder if I'd have been covered.  Time to break out the fine print and see what my policy says.

Pulled it out last night!!!

Today, April 7, 2019 as I write this I *should* be sipping a beverage having boarded Liberty of the Seas in Galveston, TX.  Mother Nature had other plans.
Instead of a cruise live blog, I thought I'd do something different.  An "OMG I missed my cruise and need to file an insurance claim" live blog.  If interested, follow along with me on this journey as I file my first ever insurance claim for missing a cruise, live as it unfolds.
Today's Itinerary:
4am Depart home on way to airport 6:15am Board aircraft 6:16am Score awesome 1st row seat on Southwest Airlines with ample legroom  6:20am Begin watching 2nd half of free movie I half watched on last flight a week ago 6:50am PA announcement of one hour air traffic control delay into Houston 7:10am Finish watching 2nd half of free movie I half watched on last flight a week ago 7:35am PA announcement that all morning flights into Houston are cancelled and please deplane 7:45am Discovery that there is no possible way to reach Houston today in time to make the cruise 7:54am Phone call to insurance company 9:22am Back home to ponder life I always advocate flying in the day before a cruise and getting a hotel.  I've cruised out of Galveston a couple times before and that has always been my approach.  In fact that is my default approach for all cruises that I take.  In this case family commitments meant that wasn't an option this time and with a relatively short direct flight arriving into Houston's Hobby airport at 10am on boarding day I thought I'd take the chance.  What could go wrong?
It's a beautiful sunny day here at home today.  Weather?  What weather?
I have an annual insurance plan with Allianz.  Like any insurance policy it has coverage for various events based on "covered reasons" with different coverage limits for each type of event.  My initial phone call confirmed this should be a covered event with a coverage limit of $2,000.00 for "Trip Cancellation".  That isn't a whole lot compared to the cost of a cruise but as a frequent solo cruiser it's enough to cover the whole cost or at least take a sting out of my losses for most cruises I tend to take.  
I've never filed to a travel insurance claim before.  This is a first for me.  

Just got off Allure of the Seas on Sunday.  Didn't notice any issues from the propulsion issue.  We made an unscheduled stop in Grand  Cayman for a medical emergency it did not effect our arrival time in Cozumel at all.

Yes
Yes, I believe so
Yup, just no-show. You could cancel your reservation as a courtesy to other guests to open up a spot.
Book a new cruise!

Concur with Twangster.  Bring your snorkel gear if you can fit them in your luggage, and you can snorkel off the beach (by the floating mat rental).  There are plenty of fish at the man-made reefs.
Post cruise blues are helped by, you guessed it, posting your experience on the various fora shown here.

??

I just booked the beverage package for Allure in October, just over $61.00 CAD. Quite pleased with that.
 

That is great!

We just purchased the surf and stream package for football.  LOL, he doesn't want to take any chances

I have made the horrible wife decision and decided on a cruise during football season.  Does Sabor Tequila Bar have TV's that will show Monday/Thursday night football?  I am the definition of Football Widow, both college and NFL, but after 25 years of marriage, I don't care, more free time for me ?
 

I just cancelled my original purchase and repurchased. Saved $150.

Full story here.

Yup, that's exactly how it worked on Symphony last month. The shot of Kraken was $8.99 + 18% = $10.61

Nice...think I just figured out which drink to break in the Drink Package with ? ... should ordering about 48 hours from now!! 

They're technically supposed to charge for the floater shot, the package only officially covers single-shot drinks, but in my experience they rarely do.  Be nice to your bartenders! ?

Definitely a great first drink of the cruise, enjoy your cruise!

We are signed up to go to the Prohibition event on the Allure in September 22nd. There is a group of 10 of us going. Very excited. I hope it's all it's promoted to be.

Thank you for the link.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/cruise-room-upgrade

Never tried, but Royal Up is outsourced.  The same company that has operated NCL's bidding system for a while now operates Royal UP.   Perhaps they avoid responding on purpose since they aren't Royal.  

Thanks. I would have advised them of that if they hadn't already gone to Guest Services. I sort of wish they tried to have a conversation with the attendant first, but they are learning, and overall I am proud of how they're handling things. I think it's the first time, they didn't see an attendant not long after entering their rooms. They entered a few minutes after 1 pm on Sunday and didn't see her all that day. I can't think of a time I hadn't seen my attendant relatively soon after getting in a room.

Two different directions:
1. Give the room a attendant a $50 tip and see if service improves (This is a joke)
2. Ask to speak directly with the Hotel Director/Officer
I don't think MEI can help at this point.