Heading to Florida In Spite of Irma

I’m Florida Bound after all. I really thought my trip would be cancelled not just postponed. I had this nightmare vision of lounging at the pool while  all around me work went on to repair the hurricane damage. I’m feeling guilty before I even get there! But several things came into play in my decision. The first thing is an all day tour to swim with Manatees.

The Manatees are still at Crystal Springs

I called the tour first. A very pleasant young woman assured me that the damage wasn’t that bad. They were still running the tours. She promised I would have a great time. She said around Central Florida it was just like a bad rainstorm. The winds weren’t that bad and the biggest gusts were only about 70 mph. She said getting the tourist dollar back into the state was really important too. She was very convincing. Besides I really want to see these gentle giants up close and personal.

Next Call, the Marketing Department of my Resort

My trip was a promotional trip. I had tried to cancel it before but would have incurred huge fees to do so. I was pleasantly surprised when the marketing rep immediately agreed to reschedule. The only problem, he didn’t have anyone to do my “update” (aka sales pitch). Finally he suggested I call another department to see if I could use my points to get a resort. That call went very well. So many people were canceling that they had tons of rooms available. Once more I heard how getting the tourists back was a real necessity. He set me up with another 4 day block. I called back the marketing department and they canceled that trip and agreed to refund my $150.00!

Delta, can you help me?

I held my breath as I called Delta Airlines but I shouldn’t have worried. I got a former “Tauntonite”. We compared notes on the changes in Southeastern MA and Logan vs T.F. Green before we tackled the reason for my call. I had a non-refundable ticket that I needed to change. To my pleasant surprise she immediately offered me a new itinerary that worked perfectly with my new dates. Even better she gave me the hurricane waiver so there were no charges or penalties for making the change.

All the little details

Now that the big things were done all of the little details began to fall into place from rental car to pet sitter.

 

To have all of this work out this easily must mean I am meant to take this trip. Can’t wait to see the Manatees!