Chris Rickert: SOS: Partial recompense for cruise sunk by Mardi Gras parades

Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

May 27-- May 27--Mardi Gras was no party for Victor Lambrecht and his partner, who thanks in large part to the Big Easy bacchanalia missed their weeklong Caribbean cruise leaving out of the Port of New Orleans.

He hasn't gotten a refund for the March 2 trip, but with a little help from SOS, he'll at least be able to do some free shopping at the big box behemoth that sold it to him.

Lambrecht, of Madison, paid $1,780.28 for the Royal Caribbean cruise sold through Costco Travel, and another approximately $300 for insurance that would refund the cost of the trip if he wasn't able to make it for one of a handful of policy-specified reasons.

Those reasons didn't include what waylaid Lambrecht and Sharon Peterson, though -- traffic backups caused by Mardi Gras parades.

According to Lambrecht's April 15 letter to SOS, he and Peterson were in New Orleans two and a half hours before they had to be aboard the ship for its 4:30 p.m. sailing time.

But traffic was heavy and his GPS was warning of delays, Lambrecht wrote.

"At 1:30 p.m. we were within walking distance of our destination and we came to a complete standstill and we were told by a police officer that cars and pedestrians were not allowed any farther because of an ongoing parade and that our only option was to turn back.

"He told us our best option," Lambrecht continued, "and we followed it. Long story short, we got there, but too late to board the ship."

Lambrecht filed a claim with travel insurer AIG, which in an April 3 letter denied it because neither he nor his traveling partner was sick, injured, dead, subpoenaed, hijacked, quarantined or called into military service or jury duty; he didn't have a seriously injured or sick family member or business partner; bad weather hadn't cancelled the cruise; people needed to operate the cruise hadn't gone on strike; and neither Lambrecht's residence nor destination had been "made uninhabitable or inaccessible by natural disaster, vandalism or burglary."

Costco, for its part, Lambrecht said, was "sympathetic but offered no reimbursement" when he called to tell the company of AIG's denial.

Lambrecht noted that Costco advertised the travel insurance as being able to "offset expenses from travel mishaps," so SOS pointed out to Costco and AIG on May 2 that thousands of revelers blocking the roads seemed to qualify as a mishap.

Two days later, Lambrecht got a call from Costco Travel Membership Services asking him for details and documentation of his case, and about his contact with SOS and what he might consider fair compensation, among other questions, he said.

And less than two weeks after that, he got a call from a "Richard" with Costco Travel who said the company was sending him a Costco gift card for $511.54 by way of apology, he said.

A Costco spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment, but Lambrecht said "Richard" told him Costco was impressed with his perseverance and told him the gift card amount reflected the value of one night of the cruise and fuel costs to and from New Orleans.

"Richard" said they "were 'very impressed with my documentation, organization and effort' and said 'this guy deserves something,'" Lambrecht wrote SOS on May 18.

Lambrecht said he had previously received a refund from Royal Caribbean of $213.28 in port fees and taxes, and that and the $511.54 from Costco "helps make the loss a little more bearable."

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