Coronavirus - Travel impact

[brett]

On our way to Mexico for seven or eight weeks tomorrow.

I guess mean I will be drinking Dos Equis instead of Corona.

 

[Another Reader]

Regarding the N95 face masks, I picked up a box of 10 at the local hardware store for $20 which was very well stocked. The ones I got are the 3M 8511 model which have good reviews on Amazon. We could even use them should we get more California fires next fire season.

I have those as well, thanks to the 2018 fires up here, so I did not go looking for them. Just reporting the second hand information from the ever-reliable Nextdoor... Looks like they are out of stock at Amazon right now.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

I’m flying from St Louis to DFW Friday to judge the dachshund national earth dog trials and I’m not really worried. Might put a bag over my head. Just kidding.

Might be safer with a plastic bottle on your head so you don't have to inhale at face level. jk too.

 

[blueskyk]

Inexperienced traveler alert....last week I made arrangements for travel to Northern Ireland in June. I didn’t purchase travel insurance offered by the airline carrier at the time. Total outlay for the 10 day trip is about $6 - 7K, which includes a retreat (which provides housing, meals, local transportation, etc), airfare and a little spending money.

Now I’m wondering what sort of travel insurance might be available and whether rates will sky rocket with so much uncertainty and concern...

I don’t want to cancel.

 

[Aerides]

Now I’m wondering what sort of travel insurance might be available and whether rates will sky rocket with so much uncertainty and concern...

Your credit card may be able to offer it (amex does pretty sure). The airline may offer post-purchase insurance as well, I'm sure you can shop around.

If the State Dept cautions against travel at that time, you may also have "coverage", even without insurance. I think, by June, either this is over, or it's way worse in which case the choice to cancel will be made for us!

 

[Pellice]

You are probably more likely to need travel insurance to Northern Ireland for reasons other than the coronavirus. What if a family member gets ill, or you yourself get ill, for any type of illness? Up to what point will the tour arranger allow you to drop the trip without penalty? The airline-purchased coverage would cover only the airline ticket, so if you are post-penalty date, you have to insure for the tour/retreat cost as well. "Regular" travel insurance protects against these situations, and also if you fall sick overseas.

If the coronavirus situation were dire enough that flights to northern Ireland were canceled, you would probably be reimbursed. If the retreat were canceled, likewise. But remember, the airline is responsible only for delivering you from airport to airport.

But, say, the virus is pretty widespread, but NOT serious in northern Ireland, so that everything is still on schedule, but YOU are nervous about flying in the confined space of the aircraft. The only travel insurance that would work in that situation is "cancel for any reason" travel insurance, which is the most expensive kind.

Yes, your credit card (if a high-cost one) MAY provide "regular" travel insurance, but I'd check it pretty carefully for evacuation costs, deductibles, etc. It almost certainly will not provide "cancel for any reason" travel insurance.

There are many companies offering travel insurance that will offer you a quote right on their website without registration - you just provide your state and age, so it's easy to check.

 

[blueskyk]

Thanks, this is helpful. My credit card has a max limit on travel insurance of $1500 (which is most of the airfare) so perhaps I’ll reduce the total amount I’m looking to insure by that amount after combing more thoroughly through the fine print.

Quotes I’ve received so far hovered around $400 for $6K of coverage (prior to the coronavirus buzz) and I’m at the stage where I’m trying to figure out what the words describing the coverage actually mean in real life.

Based on comments so far, I’m realizing the money spent is probably small compared to the comfort in having options IF those options are properly understood.

Thanks again!

 

[Sunset]

Thanks, this is helpful. My credit card has a max limit on travel insurance of $1500 (which is most of the airfare) so perhaps I’ll reduce the total amount I’m looking to insure by that amount after combing more thoroughly through the fine print.

Quotes I’ve received so far hovered around $400 for $6K of coverage (prior to the coronavirus buzz) and I’m at the stage where I’m trying to figure out what the words describing the coverage actually mean in real life.

Based on comments so far, I’m realizing the money spent is probably small compared to the comfort in having options IF those options are properly understood.

Thanks again!

If your CC is a Citi CC, be aware they changed travel coverage on many CC's, basically eliminating them, as of September 29, 2019.

I got fooled by that, so phone your CC if you want to be sure.

 

[pacergal]

RE N95 masks--anyone who plans to use one, please make sure they are fitted correctly, otherwise they are no good. You can google cdc website for correct fitting procedure, along with negative and positive pressure checks.

As a medical professional, I frequently had to wear one. They are hot and uncomfortable, IMHO, and I would not travel if I felt I needed to wear one for protection.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We didn’t get travel insurance because the flights were cheap and I can cancel the hotels with no penalty. I am going to hold off on booking flights between countries in Europe until I see how this goes. I can’t breathe with a mask on.

 

[Another Reader]

RE N95 masks--anyone who plans to use one, please make sure they are fitted correctly, otherwise they are no good. You can google cdc website for correct fitting procedure, along with negative and positive pressure checks.

As a medical professional, I frequently had to wear one. They are hot and uncomfortable, IMHO, and I would not travel if I felt I needed to wear one for protection.

The "one size fits all" 3M masks sold are difficult to adjust for smaller faces. We have used them for smoke with some success, but viruses are a much more serious problem. Does anyone know if they are sold in sizes anywhere?

 

[Lsbcal]

RE N95 masks--anyone who plans to use one, please make sure they are fitted correctly, otherwise they are no good. You can google cdc website for correct fitting procedure, along with negative and positive pressure checks.

As a medical professional, I frequently had to wear one. They are hot and uncomfortable, IMHO, and I would not travel if I felt I needed to wear one for protection.

Good points. Reviews on Amazon for the 3M 8511 masks seem to say they are fairly comfortable. We have to travel to a wedding in late March. So I figure the N95's will have to do.

Here is a link the the CDC site with fitting procedure pictures that you mentioned Pacergal: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-133/pdfs/2010-133.pdf

 

[ransil]

Getting on a plane in 10 minutes ,east coast. See lots of masks in the airport.

 

[tmm99]

Some airlines are waiving a fee for cancelling and rebooking flights to certain cities in China (Air Canada) and some airlines are reducing their fees.

 

[OldConch]

Cruising about the Andaman Sea now. Heading to Northern Thailand soon. Flying out of BKK through HKG, LHR, MIA on 2/16. We're monitoring the situation closely.

 

[fh2000]

Good points. Reviews on Amazon for the 3M 8511 masks seem to say they are fairly comfortable. We have to travel to a wedding in late March. So I figure the N95's will have to do.

Here is a link the the CDC site with fitting procedure pictures that you mentioned Pacergal: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-133/pdfs/2010-133.pdf

Amazon seems to have run out of the supply. Many items show unavailable. Prices are sky high.

Target, Home Depot, Lowe's in our area all sold out for any type of masks.
This is in Los Angeles suburb. Your area might be different.

Yesterday at the post office. I saw a Chinese student mailing a big box. Clerk asked about the content. She said masks, and other protective stuff.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We leave this Saturday for 2 months. Not being one to panic, I'm not too concerned about our departure even though we will change planes in ATL and go through their international terminal. I am a little concerned about our return at the end of March. Yikes what if the US closes its borders and we can't get back into the country. I'm only half kidding.

I checked Walmart yesterday for masks and none were to be had and they can't get any more. Today I plan to check local hardware stores for N 95 masks. I'm not hopeful though.

Yesterday I was at my nail salon and my technician told me to come back tomorrow and she would give me two relatively heavy duty cloth masks like the one she was using and she instructed me on how to use them. Essentially she said we should wear the mask and when traveling also cover them with a paper mask and throw it away, carefully not touching the outside of it, as soon as travel is over. She went into great detail on how to remove the cloth masks by pulling off from one ear and carefully removing it without touching the inside of the mask, with hand sanitizing before and after removal. It sounds pretty ridiculous, but I did listen. Her cloth masks looked like nothing I'd ever seen and come from Vietnam and she texted her brother while I was at her station, to send more masks when her mother returns from Vietnam this weekend.

It does beg the question though, if one uses an N 95 mask, what about the germs that might land on the outside of the mask and potentially contaminate the inside of your home.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

It does beg the question though, if one uses an N 95 mask, what about the germs that might land on the outside of the mask and potentially contaminate the inside of your home.

I've thought about that, since so far all my Amazon orders for masks have been cancelled, so I only have a few I picked up from a local (non-chain) hardware store.

If someone coughs in your face, unless you're wearing goggles too, the mask will make little difference. And as for droplets that land on the outside, unless you're wearing a clean suit, you're going to be bringing home anything that's in the air anyway. Part of the protection is that these viruses often don't survive very well outside the body. Some can go dormant, but if you wash or sanitize your hands after taking off the mask, you shouldn't have to worry about even that. After some time (probably days, maybe less if you put it in direct sunlight), anything on the mask should be inert.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

If it gets to the point that just about everyone is wearing masks, then I think commercial travel will come to a stop. I don't think that it'll happen, but I wouldn't be surprised, either. I have noticed that flights to Alaska during my travel period have dropped almost $300! Time to short some airline stock?

 

[Another Reader]

I'm hearing now from friends that are canceling trips that involve flying. I'm on the fence about my trip next week. Will look at the numbers then.

 

[braumeister]

This is all reminding me of the situation right after 9/11/2001.
We were scheduled for a European trip exactly one month later, and decided to go ahead with it. We figured that everyone everywhere would be doing their utmost to ensure our safety, so it made sense. As it turned out, that was the right decision.

I think we're in a somewhat analogous situation now, so I wouldn't necessarily cancel any planned travel.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

We've made refundable lodging reservations for a trip in about 5 months, but did not pay the (ridiculous) extra amount for a completely flexible plane ticket. We have another 2 weeks or so to buy trip insurance with cancellation for any reason for $224 on our ~$3K airfare, so we'll wait and see what happens between now and then.

 

[EveryLady]

We're scheduled to leave for a 5 week trip to the UK and Iceland in mid-May. Unless this peaks quickly in China with worldwide containment outside China my guess is that trip won't happen. The trip insurance purchased last summer after the first disbursement probably won't help (it's not cancellation for any reason). Now if we went and got sick it would kick in!

Discount UK train tickets go on sale in about a month; the next cancellation deadlines for some lodgings begin mid-March. Things should be clearer by then so at least I don't have a last-minute decision to make now.

Some of the speciality lodgings required large non-refundable deposits; a few others were prepay. Under normal conditions there would be airline redeposit fees for miles. Airlines and hotels may waive fees under the circumstances.

A few years back we had a literal last minute cancellation that was due to a misdiagnosed condition complicated by a flight abort (engine problems over the Atlantic 4 hours out). I finally decided not to to reboard a new flight the next day in the US but to instead go home where I finally got properly diagnosed and "fixed." I never had any possibility of being contagious. Several nonrefundable bookings were thru booking.com (no cancellation or the window closed but not prepaid). Not one of the hotels put thru a charge!

We also have plans for a domestic vacation in August with the final payment due March 1st. Again, things should be much clearer by then. I'd lose the deposits, but that's only $400.

The possible severity of the coronavirus only came to my attention the 2 days ago when I started more trip planning. It took about a day to realize that this is about much more than a trip, so I'm not sweating lost funds.

 

[NW-Bound]

A [-]Carnival[/-] Costa cruiseship is stuck at the Italian port of Civitavecchia. Among 6000 passengers are 750 Chinese nationals, and 2 of the latter are now sick. It is said that the 2 are a couple, and they arrived from China to board the ship on Jan 25. They now have fever and difficulty in breathing.

Oh boy! You don't want to be in lockdown on a cruise ship with sick people. I wonder how long until some people jump ship and swim ashore.

 

[REWahoo]

Oh boy! You don't want to be in lockdown on a cruise ship with sick people. I wonder how long until some people jump ship and swim ashore.