RoadtoNowhere73

4 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

Oh this is far from settled.

The NMB has set more dates for another round of negotiations between AA and APFA (the union that represents AA's flight attendants).  According to a memo that was reviewed by an online site called Live and lets fly the APFA does not expect any thing new to come out of the next round of these newly scheduled NMB negotiations and intends to once again request a release to strike after those negotiations which by the way are scheduled to take place over a 3 day period December 12th through the 14th. According to the union American Airlines has not submitted any type of real proposal that comes close to addressing the APFA's concerns. If AA shows up with the same proposal that they've shown up with at other NMB negotiations the APFA will once again request a release to strike.   

That still doesn't mean the NMB will grant their request and even if their request was granted there still would be quite a few steps before they could legally strike assuming Congress would let them strike but this is NOT settled at all.  And again although I work for a different airline I think we are all keeping an eye on AA's negotiations because how AA goes is probably how the airline I work for will go and probably what Delta would do even though Delta FA's are not union at this time.   I can tell you this the two sides (AA and APFA) are still very, very, very far apart on a wide range of issues. 

https://liveandletsfly.com/american-airlines-flight-attendants-strike/

“CONCLUSION

Instead of striking, American Airlines and the APFA will sit down next month and talk once again. The union has promised another strike request if progress is not made during the meeting, but the NMB does not appear ready right now to green-light a strike.

The way these things usually work out is that the two sides will remain far apart, a strike is eventually authorized, the airline gives in a little bit, the union gives in more, and a deal is struck. That will happen here, eventually, but the pageantry of negotiations and outrage will continue.”

well, here’s to hoping. 

Hi Patty,

Agreed. I've canceled my reserved rides. I anticipated a premium for the convenience of pre-order arrangements but was off the mark by quite a bit.

https://apnews.com/article/american-airlines-flight-attendants-negotiations-4775d0c71efc000df8bdd1c5ba68b8b3

I guess that settles it.

Our family is so excited about our upcoming OOTS cruise. I've pre-arranged two Uber rides so far, and each is literally double what I expected:

Day 1: Home to local Airport = $52.89, and Miami Int'l to our South Beach Hotel night before our cruise = $61.66

Day 2: South Beach to RC cruise terminal = $XX

Day 9: RC cruise terminal to Miami hotel = $XX

Day 10: Miami hotel to Miami Int'l = $XX, and local airport to Home = $50 give/take

This all adds up rather quickly! If any frequent RC Miami port travelers have any tips or recommendations, please share. 

18 minutes ago, Doug_Texas said:

.. on AA.  It is amazing how often they reassign seats and it greatly annoys me.  Sometimes the departure time changes by 15 minutes and my seats get reassigned..  

..Once a reseller like Air2Sea books you use your airline booking reference number to stay on top of your flights.

this is exactly what happened to me. and from now on, I'll do just that!

41 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

when I book Air2Sea with Delta, I can select seats, and I always check with my Delta app to make sure I have those seats. I also make it point to check once a week (at least) on my Air2Sea reservations (using my Delta app) to make sure those seats have not disappeared or moved. This can, and has happened many times. Often it's when Delta changes a schedule or flight number and that can prompt my selected seats to disappear and then I have to re-select.

Thanks L2C2002. This helps. I do recall the original flight departure/arrival times changed with AA (by <30 min), where all other details remained the same, but I was not aware this prompted a seat assignment reset. Now I do. I'll stay on top of these airline details much more closely and diligently going forward. 

Our December Oasis of the Seas cruise will be our family's first experience with RC, but our 4th cruise. We booked in August 2023 and took advantage of the Air2Sea reservation system at the same, arranging for roundtrip flights to/from our home city to the departing RC port in Miami.

Here is my issue: At the time of online reservation via the website, I distinctly remember selecting seat assignments for my family, so we could sit together. I kept a folder of all email receipts (paid in full) confirming air travel details, but I never until today (over 3 mos later) thought to check for the one aspect of the flight rez that was missing: those seat assignments. 

So this morning I downloaded the AA app, entered my flight number, and low and behold not only were my seat assignments absent, but the number of available seats on my scheduled flight was significantly diminished as you might expect 3 months later. The AA app prompted me to select seats in order to continue viewing my already paid-for trip/could not proceed in app without it. I ended up selecting upcharge seats, purely for the desire to maintain my family being able to sit together on the outbound flight on the one row still available. For the return flight, there were still two rows at the back of the plane available and no upcharge. It seems these seat assignments are now confirmed, albeit this time properly with AA.

I called A2S to ask what happened to my previously selected seat assignments. They forwarded me my flight rez receipts, again with no seat assignments confirmed, as a response. The agent then also suggested AA may cancel flights/make changes/have a practice of not honoring seat assignments unless paid for explicitly. I was a bit taken aback.

I next called AA, to ask if I could cancel my upcharge seats, and they said no as these are non-refundable. The agent next suggested I should have always confirmed with the airline from day 1 what my seat assignments were, and that they have no record of my ever securing seat assignments previously, and won't comment on how or what A2S (or any 3rd party for that matter) may have promised, as they didn't make it themselves.

So, it seems this is my fault. Fair enough. Lesson learned, seat assignments arranged through A2S aren't definitive, and I should just book my own flights through the airline directly (AA or otherwise) when cruising. It's just a shame that I participated in a process and assumed it was already taken care of. It wasn't. Not the end of the world to be sure, and I'm glad my family can still sit together on a long flight that's supposed to be a fun trip together (albeit now at an additional cost), but I can't help but feel I found a gap in the reservation process in my opinion. 

I see OOTS on CruiseCompass hasn't had an update since 10/07/23. If anyone has a heads up on what theme parties might be occurring on this cruise please paste a link, we'd like to pack out suitcases accordingly  

We signed up for the Blue Hole River Tubing excursion on our upcoming excursion, but arent finding many reviews. Can others who've done this weigh in on the bus ride? I understand it is 90 minutes each way. Was this in any way unsafe?

19 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Margaritaville Hotel day pass. Short walk from the pier and a day well spent. 

will look into it! Thanks

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Note that the Bahamas suspended the ferry service, so all cruise lines have pulled it.

Hi Smokey, perhaps a rhetorical question: I wonder then, what other arrangements they've made for pending BL reservations between now and then. My rez remains active in my RC excursion queue (granted it's still a month away)

We're booked for Blue Lagoon when we stop in Nassau in December. Obviously, this tragic incident and comments by forum members on this thread about the questionable expertise of the ferry staff and that RC has pulled this excursion for Jan have me seriously reconsidering. Bummer. Hopefully, this forum has recent posts suggesting worthwhile Nassau excursion alternatives that inspire more confidence regarding safety.

Thanks all for the informed responses. I work in a hospital system with 13 different unions, and I thought I had a pretty good handle on collective bargaining (in healthcare, anyway), but it seems flight attendants (and this railway act) are nuances I'm not familiar with.

I truly appreciate all the advice. I feel better.

This will be our family's first RC cruise, we're all super excited. Praying for good weather and looking forward to meeting good people.

10 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

As you mention, there's no set date on this, so there's not much anyone can do in the mean time. I understand that can be frustrating, but RC isn't going to switch your flights for something that is purely hypothetical. I know it doesn't sound good, but you really just need to wait at this point. Research alternative flights so that, if it does happen, you can immediately call and ask to be put on specific flights. Definitely don't wait until "a day or two before" unless that's when it happens...be prepared, and call the moment it happens (if it happens). 

Thanks Zacharius. I visited the union page and a strike has almost unanimous support from its dues members, so it seems it will happen, it's just a question of when they decide to do it. I like your idea of researching alternative flight options now so I can call ETT and pull that lever in a timely fashion. Here's to hoping it doesn't happen.

Hello all, new to the forum.

My family is booked for the Oasis of the Seas for a Christmas cruise out of Miami next month. We also booked our flight plans through RC, from California to Miami (direct).

My concern is this: I understand the union of flight attendants for American Airlines has agreed to strike, but the question is when. Some speculate the most leverage they will have will be right before the holidays. This makes me very nervous, as our flight (through RC) is with AA, and the possibility of missing our expensive cruise (which I paid for in full) because of a flight attendant strike is making me crazy.

I called RC and they said their Emergency Travel Team will attempt alternate flight arrangements for us if this happens, if there is anything available with other airlines but not to call them until a day or two before our cruise. Worst case they will fly us to Jamaica so we can join the cruise ship from there, missing the first 2 days of our cruise (not to mention the 1 night in Miami I already reserved and paid for the day before the cruise). This is unacceptable. And I cannot afford to make another set of roundtrip plane tix for my entire family as a plan B. 

And yes, I'm an idiot because I did not opt for insurance, and even though my cruise is about 40 days away I can't add it at this point either. My heart is sunk.