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Cruising toward Disaster
■ uan and Kari Isaacson s
dream honeymoon was
destroyed by a bad booking
By Lisa Toth
Oregon Daily Emerald
Instead of holding hands in para
dise on their honeymoon, Dan and
Kari Isaacson’s dream vacation was
destroyed the day after they ex
changed their wedding vows. The
couple booked their vacation plans
over the Internet — but placing too
much faith in an online travel agency
led to a disastrous result.
Dan Isaacson— now a 21-year-old
sophomore political science and
business major—met his future wife
Kari Isaacson six years ago when she
moved into the apartment behind his
family’s house in Grants Pass.
Although they knew each other as
neighbors, Dan Isaacson, then 15
years old, and Kari Isaacson, then 19,
strengthened their bond by working
together at a steak and pasta restau
rant. He was the head busser and she
was a hostess, and during the sum
mers they would coordinate wed
dings together.
One night, about three years ago,
the couple shut down the restaurant
early and had dinner together. A
chocolate cake was brought out, and
on top of the candle was a ring.
“She started to eat the cake; she did
n’t see the ring,” he said. “And then
she went ballistic.”
With more than 200 weddings un
der his belt as a banquet coordinator,
Dan Isaacson worked with Kari Isaac
son for more than a year planning
their own ceremony on a $13,000
budget.
They picked the location; a coun
try bed-and-breakfast house in Sisters,
in Eastern Oregon. And on July 15,
2000, surrounded by family and
friends, they were married.
The next day, they left for their hon
eymoon, which would turn out to be
an experience they would never forget.
Cruise of a lifetime
The idea for the couple’s honey
moon destination was sparked from
a similar trip Dan Isaacson took with
his five-member graduating high
school class: A seven-day cruise on
Photo Illustration by Rus Welter Emerald
the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to
San Diego and Ensenada.
So when it came time to plan their
honeymoon, Dan Isaacson knew that
a cruise would save them from hav
ing to drive or fly far and would let
them dine in four-star style every
night.
The Carnival Cruise Line trip was
to start in Los Angeles and continue
onto the Mexican Riviera, visiting
such places as Puerto Vallarta, Mazat
lan and Cabo San Lucas. The couple
booked their trip through a company
they found in a budget-wedding book,
South Beach Cruises and Cruise
Shopping.com.
After going online, they talked to a
sales service agent, who booked them
to leave July 16 for their honeymoon.
Dreams destroyed
That morning, they woke up at 5
a.m., drove to Portland and flew south
on a 9 a.m. flight. They arrived in Los
Angeles at 1 p.m. to find that Horizon
Airlines had lost Kari Isaacson’s lug
gage: The airlines had boarded all the
passengers without all the luggage.
After hours of waiting, Kari Isaac
son’s luggage arrived at 3:15 p.m. But
panic had set in because their ship was
scheduled to leave in 45 minutes. They
hopped on the last charter service bus,
which dropped them off at the dock.
“They had cattle lines set up,” Dan
Isaacson said, recalling the scene.
“There were 300 people waiting in
line and four ticket agents taking peo
ple four at a time.”
They waited for another two hours
in line, videotaping the adventure as it*
went along. When they reached the
front of the line, the ticketing agent*
asked to see their driver’s licenses and,
birth certificates.
“He paused and got this really
weird look on his face,” Dan Isaacson
said. “I thought they overbooked or
lost our reservation. ”
Then the problem hit: Dan Isaacson
was 20 years old and Kari Isaacson
was 23. And just four days before they
purchased their tickets, Carnival
Cruise Line had revised its policy to
say no one under the age of 25 was al
lowed on the ship. An earlier policy
allowed married couples on board as
an exception to the rule.
But the travel agent did not tell the
Isaacsons about the policies, nor did it
tell its employees, Dan Isaacson said.
The sales agent who booked the
Isaacsons’ trip sold them the vacation
so quickly she forgot to ask their ages,
Dan Isaacson said. As a result, the
agent — in the process of receiving
her $500 commission for the sale —
wrote down their ages as 35, he said.
“She guessed wrong,” he said.
When he called South Beach Cruis
Turn to Cruise, page 14
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