Travel Changes?

[TXTransplant]

Yes, The only outstanding situation I have is with a company doing a Food tour in Lyon. They sent out an email that the tour was cancelled, with a link to a Google docs form to "apply for a credit", and the caution that they let their support staff go, and will let us know about the credit "after this crisis is over". I'm not hopeful about that, and honestly don't want a credit. I'm thinking about contacting my credit card company to see if they'll do something for me. I had one other tour company that asked that my refund be taken as a non-expiring voucher (Fat Tire Tours). They're medium-sized, and do have tours in multiple countries, including the USA. It was for less than $30, so I took the voucher.

Also, I just called my trip insurance company, as I was waiting until the airfare was refunded, and they are actually going to give me a refund due to the circumstances, rather than transferring it. So, overall, except for the fact that I have no vacation and ABD took forever to cancel, it all went better than expected.

Sayhello

Y'all's stories are reminding me of a tour we booked during our trip to Hawaii in 2018. We wanted to see the sunset on Mauna Kea and booked a tour with a small company called Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. I think these Mauna Kea tours are the only thing they do. The island was already being hit hard that summer by the eruption of Kilauea. Anyway, we get picked up for our tour and drive to the visitors' center where we ate dinner (provided by the company as part of the tour), and then we proceeded up to the summit. By the time we got up there, so many clouds had rolled in that visibility might have been 30 feet. You could barely even see the telescopes. It had started to mist, and after driving around for a bit, a park ranger told our driver they were closing the summit because they were afraid the road was going to start icing over.

On the way back down, our driver said we would be getting a refund minus $25 for each person, and that $25 was to cover dinner and his time/gas that it took to get to the summit (which was completely fine by me...dinner was good and the guide was very entertaining!).

By the time I got home, I had a FULL refund. They didn't keep a single penny. Obviously, they did not have to do this, as the bad weather we experienced was completely out of their control.

Last season was rough for them too, because of all of the protests surrounding the construction of a new telescope. The road to the summit was closed for a while because the protesters were blocking it. And now this season they are shut down for Coronavirus.

I honestly do not know how they are still in business, but I have every intention of going back to the Big Island at some point, and if this company is still operating, I WILL do that Mauna Kea summit sunset tour again!

As a side note, I usually book Airbnb for pre-days for all our trips. I've always had the policy that I only book listings that have the most lenient cancellation policy (I NEVER book the ones with the strict policy). Usually that means my options are limited, but I've still managed to find fantastic places to stay and have never had any issues. The hosts at the house we stayed in on the Big Island were amazing (thankfully, the eruption did not affect that property, but it was close), and I just rebooked our Anchorage Airbnb for July with no problems.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Oh boy. I just received notification from Air Canada that they have significantly changed our October flights (for Egypt ABD). Instead of flying to Madrid (and spending 3 days there touring pre-trip), then on to Cairo, they now have us flying to Munich, with no word on how we would get from Munich to Cairo. I know I could cancel based on this change, but I was hoping that this trip might actually go.

AC846
Departing Toronto, Lester B. Pearson Intl (YYZ) on October 15, 2020 @ 17:30*
-- Departure Terminal 1
Arriving in Munich, Munich International (MUC) on October 16, 2020 @ 07:20*
-- Arrival Terminal 2

Reason: Government travel advisory

 

[laceltris3]

Oh boy. I just received notification from Air Canada that they have significantly changed our October flights (for Egypt ABD). Instead of flying to Madrid (and spending 3 days there touring pre-trip), then on to Cairo, they now have us flying to Munich, with no word on how we would get from Munich to Cairo. I know I could cancel based on this change, but I was hoping that this trip might actually go.

AC846
Departing Toronto, Lester B. Pearson Intl (YYZ) on October 15, 2020 @ 17:30*
-- Departure Terminal 1
Arriving in Munich, Munich International (MUC) on October 16, 2020 @ 07:20*
-- Arrival Terminal 2

Reason: Government travel advisory

I would cancel your airfare based on this and wait. If the trip does go, I am pretty sure you can get flights for cheaper than you paid pre-pandemic. Or use ABD for the replacement flights for ease of cancellation outcomes.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Is there a typical timing for these “boxes” people are referencing? We’re ABD first-timers with a July 4 Norway trip. No box yet. I think I saw someone reference a box for their August trip. Should we have received anything for July 4, or do the timelines vary by trip?

I only ask because I’m convinced we’re not going (even if it’s “on” we’ll likely cancel) and was wondering if not receiving a box was an indicator for a planned cancellation on ABD’s end...long shot, I know, but you’d think they’d plan ahead and stop shipping just like how WDW announced cancellation of MagicBand shipments.

Funny you should mention MagicBands and completely OT, but we had a trip to WDW scheduled for March 17. We go pretty often so I declined our MagicBands and, of course, that trip eventually got cancelled. Wouldn't you know it, a few days before we were supposed to travel and around the time WDW announced their closure, a small box filled with gray MagicBands for our March 17 trip showed up on our doorstep, LOL! It's a very sad reminder of the trip that just wasn't meant to be.

Oh boy. I just received notification from Air Canada that they have significantly changed our October flights (for Egypt ABD). Instead of flying to Madrid (and spending 3 days there touring pre-trip), then on to Cairo, they now have us flying to Munich, with no word on how we would get from Munich to Cairo. I know I could cancel based on this change, but I was hoping that this trip might actually go.

AC846
Departing Toronto, Lester B. Pearson Intl (YYZ) on October 15, 2020 @ 17:30*
-- Departure Terminal 1
Arriving in Munich, Munich International (MUC) on October 16, 2020 @ 07:20*
-- Arrival Terminal 2

Reason: Government travel advisory

Wait - you mean you purchased a connecting flight to Cairo, but they changed it and they are now flying you to Munich?!

 

[Cousin Orville]

I would cancel your airfare based on this and wait. If the trip does go, I am pretty sure you can get flights for cheaper than you paid pre-pandemic. Or use ABD for the replacement flights for ease of cancellation outcomes.

I agree with this strategy. I'd cancel and reschedule through ABD.

 

[lovetotravel]

I agree with this strategy. I'd cancel and reschedule through ABD.

Agree with this also! Book ABD air!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I would cancel your airfare based on this and wait. If the trip does go, I am pretty sure you can get flights for cheaper than you paid pre-pandemic. Or use ABD for the replacement flights for ease of cancellation outcomes.

I booked the flights on Aeroplan points. I just checked dh's account and strangely it shows both flights on the same day (Toronto to Madrid and Toronto to Munich). The flight from Madrid to Cairo is still listed as well. Based on the e-mail from Air Canada it seems like the leg from Toronto to Madrid has been cancelled. I will have to call Aeroplan and figure out a flight from Munich to Cairo. Ds doesn't want to travel until there's a vaccine, so he's hoping that ABD will cancel the trip. I didn't buy insurance for this trip yet, so will wait and see how things play out.

 

[sayhello]

@sayhello, please share your travel insurance company! I'd love to look into it since they are giving you are full refund of premium!! TravelSafe offers a credit from my conversation today, if I didn't have any non-refundable issues.

The insurance company was IMG (International Medical Group iTravelInsured SE). But they do NOT normally give refunds for this. This is a special courtesy due to the circumstances (cancellation by my tour company & airline due to COVID-19). And that was also because I got full refunds AND wasn't going to make any claims.

Sayhello

 

[Eastridge]

Is there a typical timing for these “boxes” people are referencing? We’re ABD first-timers with a July 4 Norway trip. No box yet. I think I saw someone reference a box for their August trip. Should we have received anything for July 4, or do the timelines vary by trip?

Good point. In past years, I recall receiving the boxes about two months prior to the start of the trip.

If people on trips that are scheduled to depart in early to mid June have not yet received boxes, maybe that is a sign that ABD expects to cancel those trips.

 

[disneyholic family]

OMG this!!! ABD is the worst offender but DCL, DVC, and the parks aren't far behind. It floors me when I see people talking about how well Disney is handling things. IMO Disney is lagging far behind others in the industry in basically every respect. They aren't cancelling things until the last possible minute. One of my latest boondoggles is the DVC threads (I am a DVC owner but I don't follow those threads all that regularly). The Disney resorts not cancelling rooms until a couple weeks out is causing a lot of issues for renters/owners. I could go on, but I won't bore you all since I've said it before

i haven't been following DVC either. My daugther's going to cancel her august DVC trip. She used current and borrowed, so from what i understand, the borrowed will go back to the original year (and she'll bank her current year points, as she still has time to do that). If she can't move the borrowed points back, then she'll try to rent them out. She doesn't need them next year since she'll be on our points for the big family trip in 2021.
As for that 2021 DVC trip, I assume my biggest problem is going to be competing with all the pent up demand from this year when i make our reservations.

Have you guys found any OYO travel insurance companies that provide cancel for any reason? Not just in the form of credit, but in actual cash back if cancel for any reason? I'd imagine its expensive but I'm sure a lot of people will be looking into those...

Cancel for any reason might not cover this situation. Not sure how cancel for any reason deals with acts of god. And i would think that going forward, insurance companies will be especially careful about putting something in the contract that reduces their liability.

I booked the flights on Aeroplan points. I just checked dh's account and strangely it shows both flights on the same day (Toronto to Madrid and Toronto to Munich). The flight from Madrid to Cairo is still listed as well. Based on the e-mail from Air Canada it seems like the leg from Toronto to Madrid has been cancelled. I will have to call Aeroplan and figure out a flight from Munich to Cairo. Ds doesn't want to travel until there's a vaccine, so he's hoping that ABD will cancel the trip. I didn't buy insurance for this trip yet, so will wait and see how things play out.

I'm with your Ds. International travel in the age of covid 19 and in the absence of a vaccine seems to be asking for trouble.

.

 

[neurosx1983]

I'm with your Ds. International travel in the age of covid 19 and in the absence of a vaccine seems to be asking for trouble.

I wonder how many of us are going to focus on ABDs domestically for the next year or two? The Wyoming and Montana trips are looking more appealing now! As is the SoCal one/Backstage magic.

Truthfully though, most other countries are much safer right now than where we live in thy NYC metro area. I've been working at the hospitals and things are truly horrific, and this is not even as bad as it is in NYC proper. Hopefully we're hitting the peak this week and next week...

 

[Candycane83]

I booked the flights on Aeroplan points. I just checked dh's account and strangely it shows both flights on the same day (Toronto to Madrid and Toronto to Munich). The flight from Madrid to Cairo is still listed as well. Based on the e-mail from Air Canada it seems like the leg from Toronto to Madrid has been cancelled. I will have to call Aeroplan and figure out a flight from Munich to Cairo. Ds doesn't want to travel until there's a vaccine, so he's hoping that ABD will cancel the trip. I didn't buy insurance for this trip yet, so will wait and see how things play out.

Hmm interesting, I booked with Lufthansa and my flight is from Madrid back to Toronto this July. Haven’t seen anything yet but I’m anxiously waiting. I’m waiting for Spain to announce borders are closed to see if I can get a full refund on my flight and hotels...

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

i haven't been following DVC either. My daugther's going to cancel her august DVC trip. She used current and borrowed, so from what i understand, the borrowed will go back to the original year (and she'll bank her current year points, as she still has time to do that). If she can't move the borrowed points back, then she'll try to rent them out. She doesn't need them next year since she'll be on our points for the big family trip in 2021.
As for that 2021 DVC trip, I assume my biggest problem is going to be competing with all the pent up demand from this year when i make our reservations.

I had a reservation with current and borrowed points at the end of my use year. DVC allowed me to put the borrowed points back, but they are still trying to figure out how to handle people like me who will be losing points in current use year due to resort closing because of April/June use years (mine is June). As far as I know, DVC is still allowing borrowed points to be returned to their original year, but people are speculating that might not be forever.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I wonder how many of us are going to focus on ABDs domestically for the next year or two? The Wyoming and Montana trips are looking more appealing now! As is the SoCal one/Backstage magic.

Truthfully though, most other countries are much safer right now than where we live in thy NYC metro area. I've been working at the hospitals and things are truly horrific, and this is not even as bad as it is in NYC proper. Hopefully we're hitting the peak this week and next week...

I was thinking the same thing this morning. If we end up with a credit or I need to move a deposit from our Rhine Cruise, I will definitely be looking at the domestic ABDs.

We live just 20 miles north of NYC so we must live fairly close to one another. Thank you for the work you are doing.

 

[elat27]

New cancellations were posted on ABD site update. I still can't believe they haven't gotten to the June Italy trips yet. Here are some of the newest cancellations.

• Amsterdam Escape: June 21; July 5, 2020
• Budapest Escape: June 25, 2020
• Paris Escape: June 9 & 18, 2020

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Hmm interesting, I booked with Lufthansa and my flight is from Madrid back to Toronto this July. Haven’t seen anything yet but I’m anxiously waiting. I’m waiting for Spain to announce borders are closed to see if I can get a full refund on my flight and hotels...

I spoke with Aeroplan yesterday (the CSR said business has been very slow and they are announcing major layoffs today). The leg from Toronto to Madrid was indeed cancelled. She kindly booked a flight from Munich to Cairo for us, leaving Munich at 5:30pm. I was offered a flight from Toronto to Lisbon and Lisbon to Madrid on October 16th, but it was on TAP Portugual; I declined for 2 reasons: i) I am not keen on connecting flights and ii) I have read some not-so-nice reviews of business class on TAP Portugual. We have never been to Munich, so while not our top choice of cities to visit, we will make the best of it. This is on the assumption that the ABD Egypt trip leaves in October and that if it does, we feel comfortable getting on a plane to take the trip.

If the ABD Egypt doesn't leave or we decide not to risk travel I will be looking at a 2021 Backstage Magic trip. It has been on my list for a very long time.

 

[SirDuff]

I spoke with Aeroplan yesterday (the CSR said business has been very slow and they are announcing major layoffs today). The leg from Toronto to Madrid was indeed cancelled. She kindly booked a flight from Munich to Cairo for us, leaving Munich at 5:30pm. I was offered a flight from Toronto to Lisbon and Lisbon to Madrid on October 16th, but it was on TAP Portugual; I declined for 2 reasons: i) I am not keen on connecting flights and ii) I have read some not-so-nice reviews of business class on TAP Portugual. We have never been to Munich, so while not our top choice of cities to visit, we will make the best of it. This is on the assumption that the ABD Egypt trip leaves in October and that if it does, we feel comfortable getting on a plane to take the trip.

If the ABD Egypt doesn't leave or we decide not to risk travel I will be looking at a 2021 Backstage Magic trip. It has been on my list for a very long time.

You could also ask to go via Zurich, Frankfurt, or Vienna (all on Star Alliance airlines). I will not that very few of the Europe to Cairo flights are really business class (one of the FRA-CAI flights in LH does have an international business class) but the flights are short so it isn't a big deal. You will have the seat beside you blocked (so, if it is three across, no one is in the middle seat; if it is two across, you get both seats) and improved food, but that's about it.

I'm assuming that you're on Lufthansa not Egypt Air. I've never done Egypt Air so I cannot speak to it. Though I thought the MUC to CAI flight was late night (like 10pm), not 5:30pm, so maybe schedules have changed (I've not traveled there since December - my March and April trips were cancelled).

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

You could also ask to go via Zurich, Frankfurt, or Vienna (all on Star Alliance airlines). I will not that very few of the Europe to Cairo flights are really business class (one of the FRA-CAI flights in LH does have an international business class) but the flights are short so it isn't a big deal. You will have the seat beside you blocked (so, if it is three across, no one is in the middle seat; if it is two across, you get both seats) and improved food, but that's about it.

I'm assuming that you're on Lufthansa not Egypt Air. I've never done Egypt Air so I cannot speak to it. Though I thought the MUC to CAI flight was late night (like 10pm), not 5:30pm, so maybe schedules have changed (I've not traveled there since December - my March and April trips were cancelled).

We have been to Zurich (twice) and Vienna (LOVED the food and coffee menu on Vienna Air); we have flown through Frankfurt but never toured the city. I am okay with a few days in Munich -- I think it would be fun to explore for a few days (still have research to do on what to do / see). I am not certain if this trip will go so didn't really put much thought into the re-routing, though I am disappointed we won't get to tour Madrid.

The flight from Munich to Cairo is on Egypt Air and departs at 3:55pm (just checked the Aeroplan website). It's only 3h55mins, so I'm okay with the layout, as long as we get decent food.

 

[lovetotravel]

Here I was, sitting patiently waiting for my American Airlines refund to appear in my credit card statement after they cancelled a leg of my trip. I called them to cancel the entire ticket 2 weeks ago and they gave me a refund. I called today to check the refund status and they told me that they left is as an "open credit" which was not what I had agreed to. Anyway, they told me I had to submit the ticket for a refund on their website, which I did, and now it is offering me a voucher credit of 20% over what I paid for! As much as I want the credit, it is only good for one year and I already have a Delta credit to deal with, so sadly I am declining this good offer because I just don't know what to do with all these credits I'm collecting. Just wanted to share this story in case you are also waiting for an American refund.

 

[neurosx1983]

I spoke with Aeroplan yesterday (the CSR said business has been very slow and they are announcing major layoffs today). The leg from Toronto to Madrid was indeed cancelled. She kindly booked a flight from Munich to Cairo for us, leaving Munich at 5:30pm. I was offered a flight from Toronto to Lisbon and Lisbon to Madrid on October 16th, but it was on TAP Portugual; I declined for 2 reasons: i) I am not keen on connecting flights and ii) I have read some not-so-nice reviews of business class on TAP Portugual. We have never been to Munich, so while not our top choice of cities to visit, we will make the best of it. This is on the assumption that the ABD Egypt trip leaves in October and that if it does, we feel comfortable getting on a plane to take the trip.

If the ABD Egypt doesn't leave or we decide not to risk travel I will be looking at a 2021 Backstage Magic trip. It has been on my list for a very long time.

Totally agree about backstage magic. Even though we lived in SoCal for years and went to DL a lot, I think the stuff at Imagineering looks fascinating.

Also, re: EgyptAir, we had looked into one of the A&K trips to Egypt last year and I was speaking with their travel department. Apparently they don't sell or offer Egypt Air flights to their customers because of its reputation/quality. I've never flown them but I have colleagues that have taken the straight flight from JFK and they've told me its not that bad...