wasted," Ma says. "It was really unfortunate."

Chris Ma and her family on a day trip during their Caribbean cruise. Fourteen of them were set to fly home to Canada on WestJet. (Chris Ma)

Many Canadians have had their travel plans disrupted because both WestJet and Air Canada have cancelled flights and suspended service to Puerto Rico due to damage caused by Hurricane Maria in September.

Other airlines such as American, Delta, United, Southwest and JetBlue are still flying to the island.

WestJet says it provided "ample notification" about its flight cancellations by posting an advisory on its website on Oct. 8, and sending out notices.

However, several WestJet travellers who spoke with CBC News say they got the news very late, leaving them scrambling to find new flights.

'Can't do anything about it'

Maand her family had flown to San Juan on American Airlines on Oct. 28 to catch their cruise. They didn't learn about about the cancellation of their return WestJet flight until a week later when they couldn't find a WestJet booth at the airport and Ma called the airline.

"They just said that they're sorry, it's unfortunate, but they can't do anything about it," she recalls.

Next, Ma called EC Travel, which had booked the family's tickets and assured them before departure that the trip was still a go. She says the Toronto agency was just as shocked as she was, and advised her the fastest way home would be to book with another airline at the airport.

During the family's journey home from San Juan, they had a 13-hour stopover