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As the National Romance Travel Examiner, I can state without a doubt that for a lot of people, the "romance" of Valentine's Day may not be quite what you pictured for yourself on this most romantic day of the year.
I had been seeing myself celebrating this lovely day with my husband on board the Crown Princess, at the 1st Romance Summit. I saw a day of activities, events, meetings and a lot of love all around with people enjoying a unique opportunity to celebrate their love.
But, alas, it was not to be. Delta Airlines made sure my perception of this Valentines Day did not happen. Disappointment in love has many twists and turns. The fickle hand of fate stepped in on Friday. Snow in the Southeast made traveling a challenge. A message was sent out on late Friday afternoon that our flight was delayed by 2 hours. I received the message by both phone and email that the flight would now depart at 11:50 PM. We got to the airport at about 7PM, plenty of time to check in and have a bite to eat before taking the "red-eye" (appropriate for Valentines weekend). As we trundled towards a kiosk, we were informed we needed to get into a "Special Services" line as our flight had been cancelled. The young man we eventually stood in front of said he could do nothing for us. No planes were leaving Seattle for the east coast that night. Well, he was not quite accurate. No Delta planes were leaving. He handed me a ticket that had me flying to Ft Lauderdale on a connection that would eventually take us nearly 12 hours to get to a pier where the Crown Princess would no longer be tied up, having left 2 days before. His degree of uncaring attitude was astounding. I might add that I cntinued to receive email alerts that my flight would be leaving at 11:50PM. Back in my apartment, at 11:41PM, the last alert arrived on my Blackberry - "Your Flight has been canceled". No kidding!
I was not alone in my anguish. Most of the people on my flight seemed to be heading south for a cruise. I do not know if any of them made it. We did not. Crown Princess left Ft. Lauderdale last night, sans my husband and I. I am sure the others are enjoying a marvelous Valentine's Day Romance Summit. But I, quite broken-hearted, am in Seattle.
Princess Cruises and their fabulous staff have been all over the issue for me. They have us taking another "red-eye" tonight, on a different airline, to Charlotte and Grand Cayman. By the time we arrive in Grand Cayman, we will have missed 3 days, the opportunity to see Grand Cayman and the romance of the summit.
Dsappointment in not being able to spend the most romantic day of the year on the "Love Boat" is palpable.
I have an unused Delta ticket in hand. I will use it for some trip in the next year since I will not throw away money already spent. Then I will avoid flying Delta as much as I can. The cavalier attitude of the young man at the Delta ticket desk at SEA-TAC, the "here is a ticket, move on so I can make the next person as miserable as you" attitude, the lack of empathy and the degree of blankness (he did not greet us, say one word to me while blankly staring at his monitor, or ever say anything to us other than the fact that no planes were flying out of Seattle that night), left me feeling that Delta no longer cares (I know, tell me something the travelling public does not already know). I may not be completely fair in that assessment, as I saw other agents taking an inordinate amount of time and looking for alternatives. But the one I got left me cold as ice. I have been a fairly loyal customer for decades with Delta. They can have my frequent flyer number and shred it. The lesson here: It sometimes can take only one person to cause a steady customer to walk away forever.
In the mean time, I will be with my husband on Valentine's Day, it is true, I will repack my suitcases and eliminate 3 days worth of clothing. They will be lighter at least. I will cook a breakfast and wait to get to the airport for a late night flight - and I will, again, get there 5 hours early, prepared for pretty much any disappointment or inconvenience with another airline ordeal - my heart already broken on Valentine's Day. Welcome to 21st century travel.
Oh, by the way, Happy Valentine's Day!
Contact Carlanne via email: romancetravelexaminer(at)gmail(dot)com
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