Change of plans? (coronavirus)

[chiaro di Luna]

Well, my plans changed after all. Spent 2 weeks in Ft. Lauderdale hotels instead of on a cruiseship through Panama Canal. No penalty to cancel day before embarkation and a nice compensation offer in return. Am now self quarantine at home for 2 weeks at request of Canadian government.

 

[SMJ]

For people who think that children are immune to this virus: They may well not show symptoms, BUT THEY STILL CAN BE CARRIERS, and pass it on to vulnerable people such as grandparents.
Do not assume that people of any age, who show no symptoms, are not carriers.
We ALL need to self-isolate as much as possible, right now; particularly those people who live in countries with less than optimal medical care.
Rant over.
Thank you.

 

[NoSpin]

Well our trip to Cape Town for a week and then a one week safari in Kruger is out. South Africa banned US citizens, among others, until April 16th. We would have been arriving on April 18th so it was still possible, but there is a possibility the ban could be extended. The point is moot now as BA cancelled their flight from LHR to CPT. The flights to and from Boston were still flying.

I made the reservation through AA. I called them and it was only a 4 minute hold. Since BA cancelled the flight I received a full refund ($4016 each for business class). Another couple we were traveling with made their reservation through BA. He was on hold for 47 minutes, got an agent, and then the line dropped, ouch. There is one other couple, but they haven't called for their refund yet.

The other couples are looking to reschedule for September. I'm a little concerned that may be too soon. I really hate going through all the reservations and then cancellations crap.

The next planned trip is a 2 week car trip to Mont Tremblant, Canada in July. So far at least US citizens are allowed in!

 

[Andrew]

Mont Tremblant, Canada in July. So far at least US citizens are allowed in!

No, that changed today, but I don't know what the rule will be in July.

 

[SMJ]

Sorry, No Spin: you can't travel to Canada for now, we closed the Border yesterday.
Do visit next year though, all being well!

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Another cancellation today for me. Air Canada's aeroplan program offered free cancellation with miles reinstated up until March 31st. Although, my trip to Madrid was for October I cancelled my flights without penalty.
Still have to deal with Tap & Iberia flights for this trip.

 

[NoSpin]

The next planned trip is a 2 week car trip to Mont Tremblant, Canada in July. So far at least US citizens are allowed in!

NOT!

Sorry, No Spin: you can't travel to Canada for now, we closed the Border yesterday.
Do visit next year though, all being well!

Any chance you know a little used road where we can sneak in.

 

[Steve R.]

If so, let me know as well. We have an airbnb apartment rented in Montreal for the month of May.

 

[joe]

Any chance you know a little used road where we can sneak in.

Here's a tongue-in-cheek answer if you're so inclined..... :

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=mURgzLiy0DA&feature=emb_logo

 

[chiaro di Luna]

I will have to cancel my TAP & Iberia one way flights within Europe for Oct.2020. I purchased lowest fares, no extra insurance. Have Infinite Visa with some insurance coverage.
From what I can tell both airlines are offering Vouchers which would expire before I could use them in May 2021. Am I correct?
Am I best to wait until Oct. 2020 to try and make changes to these flights or is there a better option?

 

[SMJ]

...and we say "Root" , not "Rowt".....
But all the rest is true in that video!

 

[artnbarb]

I had a bit of good news today - Hamilton in London canceled. They said they're contacting people by date of performance, so it might be a while, but I hope a refund is possible.

 

[Andrew]

I will have to cancel my TAP & Iberia one way flights within Europe for Oct.2020. I purchased lowest fares, no extra insurance. Have Infinite Visa with some insurance coverage.
From what I can tell both airlines are offering Vouchers which would expire before I could use them in May 2021. Am I correct?
Am I best to wait until Oct. 2020 to try and make changes to these flights or is there a better option?

See if the airlines cancel the flights or have a significant schedule change. I'm not sure what country or EU rules would apply, but you could be entitled to a refund at that point.

 

[Allen]

Regarding compensation after cancellation of a May flight, I just had a confusing situation that took several phone calls with SAS to resolve. After finding my flights on SAS’ ‘cancelled’ list that is updated daily, I followed steps on their website to apply for refund for cancelled flights, which abruptly extinguished all online and app evidence of my reservation. When I finally got through to a customer service rep in Sweden (who was taking guidance from a supervisor) I was informed that I was not eligible for compensation of any kind because they claimed it had been my decision to cancel??! Fortunately I remembered I had screen shots of their cancelled list (I almost always automatically/mindlessly take memorial photos of financial matters in process until refund is completed) so the third rep I spoke to looked at them and very straightforwardly and graciously reinstated my tickets (including the prepaid extra legroom seats) until they ‘officially’ (?) cancel the flights sometime in the future when I will be offered rebooking and refund options. The were both very courteous on the phone, but neither rep could explain why my flights had gotten on the list if in fact they had not yet really been canceled, but obviously everything and everyone is dealing with great flux right now. So acting very quickly to apply for refund did not serve me well, and, given the current level of chaos caused by necessary and frequently changing accommodations to the impact of Covid-19, I think it would have been more prudent of me to handle everything by phone from the get go.

 

[chiaro di Luna]

Allen says:"So acting very quickly to apply for refund did not serve me well, and, given the current level of chaos caused by necessary and frequently changing accommodations to the impact of Covid-19, I think it would have been more prudent of me to handle everything by phone from the get go."


If my Infinite Visa Insurance can't help me with TAP/IBERIA refunds, it might be best for me to wait until closer to the flight date to change my tickets.

 

[Pati]

It has been very interesting reading this post from the beginning and seeing how rapidly everything changed around March 10/11. I’m in southern Florida and my husband and I have been self isolating for a little over 2 weeks. Luckily we have a large garden and a pool(because the temperature is climbing). All non essential businesses are closed. Schools are closed. People are walking their dogs, and waving to each other in neighborhoods, but that’s about the level of activity for those of us self isolating. I take Clorox wipes with me to the grocery store and wipe down everything, because I’m in the age group that is most vulnerable.
I just very reluctantly canceled my Sept. 15 trip to Florence. I apologized to the host, and he immediately said he understood and asked me to call airbnb directly. I did and they assured me that my deposit would be returned to my credit card within 10 days. It was a substantial chunk of money because I had booked for a month and a half. I still feel sad about it.

 

[Christian]

Unfortunately, I cancelled out trip to Italy which was scheduled for early-June. We were sad but given the circumstances, it's silly to even thing we'll be able (or allowed) to travel in a near future.
We had a great apartment booked in Florence and were able to cancel it easily with no penalty (Airbnb). The second part of our trip was supposed to be in Naples, where a fabulous apartment was waiting for us. It was an arrangement made with Luca, from Summer in Italy. You see, I won a prize in last year's SlowEurope contest! Luca was wonderful right from the start and offered me a voucher, which we will be more than happy to use whenever we can.

This is a very difficult period for most people, and especially the tourism industry. It's comforting to see that there are still some very, very decent people in this world! If you read this, thank you again, Luca!

 

[artnbarb]

A friend who works for American Airlines says there are no flights to Rome until Oct 25th!

 

[SuzanneF]

I feel everyone's pain! I also emailed Le Mas Perreal (Kevin) several days ago that we would not be staying with them at the end of May. This was also a prize in the Slow Europe Contest and I am so disappointed. I have not yet heard back from him, I hope they are OK.

We also had another trip scheduled to Spain/Portugal in November, looking less and less likely that we'll be able to take that trip.

Tom and I were talking about this the other evening and we did decide when we are able to start travelling again, our first trip will be back to the Piemonte to see our many friends and family we have been so worried about. We have been keeping in touch via email and facebook, but that is no substitute for seeing each other in person.

Take care, everyone!

 

[Helen789]

We cancelled our trip to Canada in August. We are happy that our visa is valid for one year (we applied for evisa using https://evisa.express) . Of course, we planned this trip, but decided not to go abroad at least till the end of this year. I do hope, the situation will change and we all will be able to travel without fear of being infected.