Travel
Stranded 3 Extra Days in Budapest by Hurricane Dorian
What we learned due to inadequate planning and mistakes
With Hurricane Dorian approaching, the Orlando Airport shut down and Lufthansa canceled our Tuesday flight back from Budapest. They were to contact us to reschedule but didn’t by the end of our Danube Viking cruise. With one day to go and the first leg still scheduled, we had to do something.
First, we asked the Viking representative in Budapest to reschedule for us. They booked a flight from Budapest to Frankfurt to Los Angeles to Orlando — 28 hours landing on Wednesday. The hurricane slowed and hit Florida on Wednesday. We would have been stranded in Los Angeles.
Fortunately, I called Lufthansa directly on Monday and changed it back to the original flight schedule for Friday — Budapest to Frankfurt to Orlando — 15 hours. Great, but we had only post-cruise hotel reservations through Monday night. They could extend it just one night due to conventions.
Viking could not help us outside of their regular post-cruise schedule. We were on our own. So, using my elite status in their loyalty program, Marriott reserved a far superior suite for Wednesday and Thursday.
What I Learned on this trip
Take the initiative yourself 1. Waiting - risk. Our flight to Frankfurt was still scheduled for Tuesday. If we had waited for Lufthansa to contact us, we would have been stranded in the Frankfurt, Germany airport.
2. Let others handle it - risk. They will make assumptions about your wishes or do whatever is convenient for them. They assumed that we wanted to return ASAP. My goal was to reduce the risk of a layover. Wednesday would have put us into the middle of the hurricane.
3. Handle things yourself. I knew that the hurricane might stall, as it did. The original model put it over Orlando 5 days earlier than it actually arrived. Lufthansa gave me a choice to return on Thursday or Friday. I chose Friday, in case the airport was damaged and still closed on Thursday.
The post-cruise room was ok, but the Marriott room was a beautiful corner suite overlooking the Danube. The light show from the parade of riverboats provided a spectacular view from our room at night. I highly recommend that hotel if you ever go to Budapest.
In any event, don’t wait too long to act. We would have had that much better room at the Marriott on Tuesday if I had acted one day sooner.
Other lessons
- Passwords. We took our smaller travel laptop with email and Facebook set up, or so I thought. My wife’s Facebook connection worked, but mine didn’t and I couldn’t remember my passwords. Neither email worked. - As a computer professional, I should have known to have a list of ID’s and password hints with me. I will have them next time.
- Drivers License. We usually don’t take them with us on trips out of the country. We don’t need then for an ID, just passports. Never again. If we had returned to, let us say Atlanta, we could not have rented a car.
- Medications. We added one extra day of meds just to be safe. Next trip, we will add enough for 5 or 6 additional days.
- First-aid kit. For 20 years, I traveled with Benadryl in my bag. A few years ago, the allergy tests and shots worked and I stopped carrying it. Then, I had an allergic reaction to something. - It took three cruise stops to find a pharmacy that had it, but not under that brand name. Fortunately, my wife knew the chemical name so that the pharmacist could find it. Next time, the kit will contain Benadryl, Tylenol, band-aids, and tums. Your kit may be different.
- Backup credit cards. We use one card for all expenses during a trip whenever possible, but take backups in case there is any problem whatsoever with the primary one. Always notify the credit card company when traveling outside of the country. In this case, I called the company to let them know that we would be returning later than expected.
Conclusion Always plan for the unexpected, even when traveling within the country. Your car might break down, the flight may be delayed, or you could have a medical emergency. Things are much more stressful when you are not prepared.
Once a plan is in place, you can enjoy your trip and not worry unless something actually happens, which is rare. We have had such problems with flights only three times in 18 years. Once you get home, check to see if you are entitled to any refunds from the airline or travel insurance.
One good thing, I watched portion size at meals this year and gained less than two pounds, unlike last year when I gained ten. It took eight months to lose that weight with my normal diet.
Overall, the cruise was exactly what we expected - wonderful. That is the subject of another article:
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