We really shouldn’t call the snow storm on March 14 a blizzard in the NYC metro region. It was more of a blizzard prediction that never happened but since a massive blizzard was predicted, we were watching reports and our clients’ flights.
This is a story of 2 different vacations. One was booked by My Vacation Lady’s team. The other was booked online because it was a bargain. This DIY vacation was actually booked by a friend of one of our team members, before she joined our team. We don’t know all the details, but you’ll still see the differences.
Vacation #1- Mom and daughter heading to Jamaica for a mother daughter vacation:
Lisa was taking her college age daughter on a spring break vacation. A short getaway- only 4 nites. They were supposed to leave on Tuesday March 14 and we had been watching the storm forecast since the previous Friday. As soon as the airlines were allowing changes without fees, we let Lisa know and asked if she wanted to try to get out Monday instead of Tuesday. No, Lisa was sure this was going to be a minor snow and she was staying with her Tuesday departure.
By Saturday and Sunday, the storm predictions were getting worse but Lisa was still confident that she was getting out on Tuesday. We had been texting and emailing all weekend. On Monday morning, Lisa asked if we can see about switching the flight to Wednesday.
When United cancelled the flight a bit after 12PM, we were already on the phone with the travel supplier to see if we could switch the flights. Lisa texted and said that she got the notification from United that her flight was cancelled. No problem, we already had the flights switched and we were in the middle of confirming the hotel availability for the one extra night, since they were now going Wed-Sun, instead of Tues-Sat.
Lisa was at work, taking care of her business while all of this went on. About 1:30pm, we called Lisa to let here know that everything was set with her new schedule. Her travel vouchers would be emailed to her and, by the way, the price of the hotel went down and she was getting a $168 refund.
Vacation #2- Mary’s DIY vacation to Punta Cana
Mary is a friend of Rose, My Vacation Lady’s newest team member. Rose told me that her friend Mary had booked a deal on one of the Online Travel Sites and was on the phone for 4 hours with the travel site to try to rearrange her flight to Punta Cana schedule early on Tuesday morning. Rose told me that Mary was at work and spent 4 hours on the phone to get things rearranged. She was going to go out on Wednesday instead but since she hadn’t taken out travel insurance, she was going to lose the money from the lost day at the resort. Oh well, things happen.
Rose called me on Tuesday to let me know that Mary spent another couple of hours on the phone and was able to get a later flight from Washington DC to get to Punta Cana on Tuesday. She wouldn’t lose the money she spent for Tuesday at the resort because she would get to Punta Cana on Tuesday.
Now let’s talk stress, convenience and aggravation. Who had more- Lisa or Mary? We’ll let you decide.
Our strongest suggestions are:
- take travel insurance that will cover you in case of weather related flight cancellations or will allow you to cancel for any reason
- book with a trusted travel agent who will be monitoring your flights and will work behind the scenes to make sure that your vacation is stress free
My Vacation Lady is an award winning travel agency located in New Jersey. We’ve been helping people just like you, plan seamless and stress free vacations. Isn’t it nice to know that you have someone there to watch out for you and your vacation when you can get other things done?
Contact us to help you plan your next vacation or your dream honeymoon!