Coronavirus - Travel impacts II

[explanade]

We are trapped in Varenna.
If you were picking a place for an extended stay, you would pick Lago Como.
Our AirBnB hosts are great. They refer to the lockdown as the Zona Rossa. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with them at an excellent restaurant—Osteria Quattro Pass.
It is weird. Restaurants can only be open until 1800. Because it appears that you cannot catch the virus at 1759, but you can at 1801.

Varenna is great. Hope the ferry and train don't stop running.

 

[luckydude]

Same with any of the 40,000 automobile drivers/riders per year in the USA. They die, and they knew they might.
So are you going to drive today ?

With all due respect, driving is required activity in the daily lives of the vast majority of people. We know the risks involved but we don't really have a choice.

Going on a cruise, on the other hand, is entirely optional. People do it for fun and leisure. In other words, they have a choice on whether to go or not.

Lucky Dude

 

[51notout]

Just got off the phone with Delta. Full refund for flights to and from Australia leaving next Sunday. Also, full refund for return flights to UK in June. These were a mix of cash and miles flights and upgrades.

There was a brief mention of fees for the return from Aus flights (which I had booked as one way) but when I mentioned that it was related to a cruise I had cancelled the fee was waived.

I was planning to cancel but waited for Delta to offer fee waivers for changes, which they did over the weekend (at least that’s when I noticed).

On Friday I cancelled 5 cruises with Celebrity....B2B2B (barrier reef, South Pacific islands, New Zealand) as well as as Baltic & Norway in the summer. Received future cruise credit for the imminent 3 cruises which I am fine with. Full deposit refund for the summer cruises as they are more than 3 months away.

The b2b2b cruises were to be our retirement gift to ourselves as we retired on Friday. We could not be happier that we cancelled all of that travel right now.

Monday morning and no work.

 

[braumeister]

I have to say Delta has been great about it. Refunding nonrefundable airfares is a big part of it.
They now have a website that talks about what they're doing.

 

[camfused]

^^^^ I would try to get a full refund instead of a credit for the cancelled cruises. Many companies may go under because of all of this, and a credit will be worthless.

 

[LRDave]

It looks like Delta is waiving all change fees for tickets purchased March 1-31. (?)

Will others follow suit, I wonder?

 

[IMATERP]

We have a cruise out of Baltimore on 03/27/2020. Three weeks ago the ship was full. Now there are 32 empty cabins.

10 years ago wifey and I took a Celebrity Cruise out of Charleston. It had returned on 3 different occasions with folks having Norovirus. The CDC made RCL thoroughly clean the ship and replace mattresses. RCL gave refunds to anyone who wanted to cancel. On the day of departure we had learned that 1000 people had cancelled and there were only 800 passengers on the ship. It was a great sailing and no one got sick.

I’m considering rolling the dice and taking the upcoming cruise. The opposite of fear is faith. Faith is something that I have.

 

[ivinsfan]

We have a cruise out of Baltimore on 03/27/2020. Three weeks ago the ship was full. Now there are 32 empty cabins.

10 years ago wifey and I took a Celebrity Cruise out of Charleston. It had returned on 3 different occasions with folks having Norovirus. The CDC made RCL thoroughly clean the ship and replace mattresses. RCL gave refunds to anyone who wanted to cancel. On the day of departure we had learned that 1000 people had cancelled and there were only 800 passengers on the ship. It was a great sailing and no one got sick.

I’m considering rolling the dice and taking the upcoming cruise. The opposite of fear is faith. Faith is something that I have.

Faith in what? Did you read the US government said they will no longer repatriate citizens on quarantined cruise ships? The government actually mentioned cruises as the one thing you should not do. I suspect that cruise won't happen anyway.

 

[harllee]

Anyone getting on a cruise ship now is in my opinion taking a very foolish risk. I think that all cruises departing from the U.S. should be cancelled until the risk subsides. There is something about cruise ships (close quarters, air circulation or something) that makes cruise ships breeding grounds for this virus.

 

[luckydude]

Anyone getting on a cruise ship now is in my opinion taking a very foolish risk. I think that all cruises departing from the U.S. should be cancelled until the risk subsides. There is something about cruise ships (close quarters, air circulation or something) that makes cruise ships breeding grounds for this virus.

+1 especially since cruises are now offering refunds, so the question of money shouldn't come into play.

Aside from the risks of getting stuck on the ship and being quarantined at this point, if stranded passengers are then evacuated and have to be placed someplace to be tested and quarantined, these folks would then be potentially imperiling others (e.g. military bases where they would be held or their own communities), not to mention incurring large expenses of evacuation, testing, quarantining and possibly treatment that others (the government and by extension the taxpayers) would have to bear.

Lucky Dude

 

[Chuckanut]

Monday morning and no work.

The above is the +1 thing that will improve your health and build your resistance to the virus and many other maladies.

 

[Trooper]

It would really suck to go to a country for holiday and end up stuck in the hotel for 2 weeks.

That's our biggest fear. Whatever invincibility we we may feel (real or imagined) to the virus, there are many impacts outside of our control.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

Our 40+ single daughter just finished a two year contract job in London and is living with us while she looks for the next job in Chicago. She owns a condo in the city that's rented until August, then she plans to move back into it.

Unfortunately, she used the first two months of unemployment to travel everywhere. She's been to Switzerland, Germany, London again and other places that I forget, gets home from NY today. Lots of airplane rides, of course. She's checked most of the boxes to get covid19 except Wuhan, Italy, and a Princess cruise.
She wants to fly out to Las Vegas soon to see her grandmother for a last time, granny probably won't last more than a month or two.

DW and I are in our mid-70's, no underlying conditions except geezerhood.

Trying to figure out what to do with/for the daughter.
Do we ground her (she's using my airline passes) and make her stay here?
Kick her out of the house and make her stay in a hotel for 2 weeks?
Something else?

Things sure went downhill in a hurry...

 

[gwraigty]

Our 40+ single daughter just finished a two year contract job in London and is living with us while she looks for the next job in Chicago. She owns a condo in the city that's rented until August, then she plans to move back into it.

Unfortunately, she used the first two months of unemployment to travel everywhere. She's been to Switzerland, Germany, London again and other places that I forget, gets home from NY today. Lots of airplane rides, of course. She's checked most of the boxes to get covid19 except Wuhan, Italy, and a Princess cruise.
She wants to fly out to Las Vegas soon to see her grandmother for a last time, granny probably won't last more than a month or two.

DW and I are in our mid-70's, no underlying conditions except geezerhood.

Trying to figure out what to do with/for the daughter.
Do we ground her (she's using my airline passes) and make her stay here?
Kick her out of the house and make her stay in a hotel for 2 weeks?
Something else?

Things sure went downhill in a hurry...

Sorry to be so blunt, but with that travel history, Granny may not last even that long if your daughter goes to see her. As for yourselves, I don't know. But really, I think it should be 100% up to you and DW. If you felt you needed to make her stay away from you for 2 weeks, she should understand.

 

[Sunset]

Sorry to be so blunt, but with that travel history, Granny may not last even that long if your daughter goes to see her. As for yourselves, I don't know. But really, I think it should be 100% up to you and DW. If you felt you needed to make her stay away from you for 2 weeks, she should understand.

+1
It is hard emotionally, and if she stays away, but goes to bars, dances, she may get infected doing that during the 2 weeks she avoids you. It can also happen while she is with you.

She has been flying free on your goodwill, which is an amazing opportunity, but perhaps this is the cost, a 2 week isolation ?

Is she mature enough to visit Granny and stay (no hugs) away 10 feet with a mask on at ALL times ??
Other view is Granny is nearly a gonner, so a visit won't hasten things along and would be very nice if Granny has all her marbles.

 

[audreyh1]

Sorry to be so blunt, but with that travel history, Granny may not last even that long if your daughter goes to see her. As for yourselves, I don't know. But really, I think it should be 100% up to you and DW. If you felt you needed to make her stay away from you for 2 weeks, she should understand.

Granny may want the visit if she’s not long for this world anyway. The problem is exposing all the folks around granny. You really don’t want to do that.

 

[MBAustin]

The 2-week Holy Land pilgrimage I was scheduled to start on Wednesday was cancelled late Friday afternoon. Actually postponed for a year (was set up to be over spring break). Waiting on full details about cancellation fees for some parts of the trip but it looks like they will be minimal. The tour companies and airlines obviously are bending over backwards, but the economic losses are definitely going to be significant.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Dave, glad you are fine but I am sure it sucks to be stuck somewhere. Are your host’s charging you for the time you are stuck there?

 

[PawPrint53]

I have to say Delta has been great about it. Refunding nonrefundable airfares is a big part of it.
They now have a website that talks about what they're doing.

Sadly for us, we bought our Delta tickets on November 30 for travel to France in April. Delta doesnt seem to be refunding or crediting for tickets purchased at that time. Hoping that changes soon.

 

[audreyh1]

The 2-week Holy Land pilgrimage I was scheduled to start on Wednesday was cancelled late Friday afternoon. Actually postponed for a year (was set up to be over spring break). Waiting on full details about cancellation fees for some parts of the trip but it looks like they will be minimal. The tour companies and airlines obviously are bending over backwards, but the economic losses are definitely going to be significant.

I am glad for you. There are Americans in travel groups stuck over there now.

 

[Fermion]

Having never been on a cruise before, I have to ask those who have:

Is the cruise industry over? Was it a Love Boat fad that will now decline or will you risk a cruise again when/if a vaccine for this becomes available?

 

[51notout]

Sadly for us, we bought our Delta tickets on November 30 for travel to France in April. Delta doesnt seem to be refunding or crediting for tickets purchased at that time. Hoping that changes soon.

I bought all my tickets last year in May or June.

— One way to Aus in March - refunded

— One way from Aus to USA in April - refunded

— Return to UK in June - refunded

I would call them if you want to cancel and see what they say.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Sadly for us, we bought our Delta tickets on November 30 for travel to France in April. Delta doesnt seem to be refunding or crediting for tickets purchased at that time. Hoping that changes soon.

I'm in the same boat...or on the same plane? We bought British Airways tickets in early January for a trip to the UK in July. I don't want to call them yet, though, because I'm hoping in a month or two the transmission will die down. If it doesn't get better (not that I'm hoping for this), maybe they will cancel our flights and we won't have to fight for a refund.

 

[nwsteve]

Sadly for us, we bought our Delta tickets on November 30 for travel to France in April. Delta doesnt seem to be refunding or crediting for tickets purchased at that time. Hoping that changes soon.

Likewise. We bought our Delta First Class tickets last November for a flight to San Juan, PR to board a Viking, which we cancelled thanks in part to their great cancellation policy.
Delta, on the other hand, enforced 200/person change fee and issued a voucher that claimed to be good for a year. But, Delta starts count on date of purchase, so ours expire Nov 20, 2020.

 

[davebarnes]

Dave, glad you are fine but I am sure it sucks to be stuck somewhere. Are your host’s charging you for the time you are stuck there?

We are stuck in Varenna. We could take a train to Milano, but there is no point.
Our AirBnB host has not mentioned charging us, but I do feel we should pay something. Giorgio has been great.
Our current concern is that the restaurants appear to be closing for the next 3 weeks.
British Airways has cancelled all flights from LIN and MXP.