Recent Travel Dilemas

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psychrn

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#268295 10-Mar-2020 17:00

Wife and I have been planning this cruise since last year.

A few weeks ago our cruise to asian destinations was cancelled with full refund. (Celebrity) We then booked another one more to he middle east but ends up in Naples then Rome as our disembarkation so can see where this is going. NCL is the line in question but as yet we havnt been informed of the cancellation. But we know full well our embarkation port of Dubai has stopped cruise ships from entering.

Its funny how the cruise lines play chicken with you when these things happen. Knowing full well they stand to gain when people cancel before they decide to cancel and give a full refund. We have cruise credits coming out of our ears I suspect by the end of this.

The plan now is Aussie on the Ghan and Indian Pacific which we still have to book.

We were booked to fly out next week for the current cruise.

Difficult times for sure

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#2435816 10-Mar-2020 17:00

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wellygary

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#2435823 10-Mar-2020 17:07

There is going to be serious discounting in the cruise industry over the next few years, because for the next couple of months cruising is going to be totally dead.......

On reflection with Norovirus and now COVID-19 those "Love boat" lyrics in the 80s were pretty prophetic....

*The love boat soon will be making another run
The love boat promises something for everyone

psychrn

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#2435827 10-Mar-2020 17:11

Yes so true

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josephhinvest

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#2435896 10-Mar-2020 18:46

A year ago we booked an extended family trip of a lifetime to France (4 weeks) via Singapore. Five weeks away In total leaving end of March. At this stage we don’t know whether we are going or not. Will be a huge financial hit if we don’t go. Very disappointing. Totally gutted.

LookingUp

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#2435908 10-Mar-2020 19:06

josephhinvest: A year ago we booked an extended family trip of a lifetime to France (4 weeks) via Singapore. Five weeks away In total leaving end of March. At this stage we don’t know whether we are going or not. Will be a huge financial hit if we don’t go. Very disappointing. Totally gutted.

Bugger! Got a cycling holiday in France booked and somewhat paid for for 6 weeks centred on July, and in a similar spot. Will probably be a case of whether we can go, in which case we probably will given that the riskiest parts for us will be on the plane to & from and where we eat while there, or whether we're locked out, in which case we hope that travel insurance from last year when we bought our tickets may cover if we're lucky.

1st world problem - if we don't go, I'm going to be stuck with a pile of leave I've been saving but which I'll come under a lot of pressure to use, which I won't be able to use where & when I want to, and I won't be able to easily use a bit later when it might be OK to use in NZ as it'll be the busy season at work.

I really hope things settle quickly and you get your trip to France, and that all goes well, as it really is a special place.

E3xtc

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#2436825 12-Mar-2020 14:07

We have been trying to plan a trip away (first time in over 6 years so was trying to make it memorable - and not in the wrong ways), purely to Fiji in September (fear of flying issues prevent much more distance), but am at the point of wondering whether its madness to sink a bunch of cash (no doubt non refundable and not covered IF it was impacted by COVID-19)...damned if we do, and potentially damned if we don't, given if we don't book we potentially will not get a spot/availability/etc, but if we do the potential to loose a significant amount of cash....sitting in limbo argh

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Scott3

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#2436864 12-Mar-2020 14:36

E3xtc:

We have been trying to plan a trip away (first time in over 6 years so was trying to make it memorable - and not in the wrong ways), purely to Fiji in September (fear of flying issues prevent much more distance), but am at the point of wondering whether its madness to sink a bunch of cash (no doubt non refundable and not covered IF it was impacted by COVID-19)...damned if we do, and potentially damned if we don't, given if we don't book we potentially will not get a spot/availability/etc, but if we do the potential to loose a significant amount of cash....sitting in limbo argh

I think you are in a better spot than the posters above.

September is still a long time away, I would keep your money in your pocket, until at least the middle of winter...

Little need to hurry, I wouldn't worry about stuff getting sold out in this climate. If fiji keeps it's boarder open with us, the odds are that there will be lower prices to offer in the coming months.

josephhinvest

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#2436946 12-Mar-2020 15:18

LookingUp:
josephhinvest: A year ago we booked an extended family trip of a lifetime to France (4 weeks) via Singapore. Five weeks away In total leaving end of March. At this stage we don’t know whether we are going or not. Will be a huge financial hit if we don’t go. Very disappointing. Totally gutted.

Bugger! Got a cycling holiday in France booked and somewhat paid for for 6 weeks centred on July, and in a similar spot. Will probably be a case of whether we can go, in which case we probably will given that the riskiest parts for us will be on the plane to & from and where we eat while there, or whether we're locked out, in which case we hope that travel insurance from last year when we bought our tickets may cover if we're lucky.

1st world problem - if we don't go, I'm going to be stuck with a pile of leave I've been saving but which I'll come under a lot of pressure to use, which I won't be able to use where & when I want to, and I won't be able to easily use a bit later when it might be OK to use in NZ as it'll be the busy season at work.

I really hope things settle quickly and you get your trip to France, and that all goes well, as it really is a special place.

We have pulled the plug today and postponed a year. Hopefully many of the arrangements can be put back a year without too much of a financial hit.

snowfly

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#2436952 12-Mar-2020 15:22

Last year we booked a 4 week family trip for mid June to mid July this year, London (via Hong Kong) > Paris > Finland > Amsterdam (and driving around Netherlands) > home via HK.

Still 3 months away, so at this stage just watching what happens in regards to travel restrictions. (e.g. no point going if every place we go is in lock down, or if no attractions are open, like disneyland, legoland, tours, etc).

Ruphus

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#2436962 12-Mar-2020 15:30

We've had a trip planned for the last 2 years to take the kids to DisneyLand. We're due to fly out to SF at the beginning of April. Family who are traveling with us have their travel insurance through SCTI which is now completely useless for COVID 19.

I have travel insurance with AIG thanks to our credit card (Westpac Platinum) and have been told several times by AIG that we're covered if we get sick. We've told the kids that we might postpone to next year but as we've prepaid for 80% of the trip, we'll have to take the financial hit if we decide not to go unless MFAT declare US or California as 'do not travel'.

eracode

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#2436973 12-Mar-2020 15:35

@josephhinvest Don’t quite follow your comments:

First: “Will be a huge financial hit if we don’t go.”

Then: “Hopefully many of the arrangements can be put back a year without too much of a financial hit.”

Were you covered by travel insurance?

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Ruphus

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#2436980 12-Mar-2020 15:48

eracode:

Were you covered by travel insurance?

Some travel insurance isn't worth squat.

Travel Insurance NZ - TINZ

"All of our policies contain exclusions in relation to known events in the mass media and relating to an epidemic or pandemic. Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy, it is unlikely that any claim (to anywhere in the world) will be covered if it relates to the coronavirus. However, we will assess each claim based on its individual facts and circumstances and policy terms and conditions.

1Cover

"Our policies contain exclusions relating to an epidemic or pandemic and also known events in the mass media.

Therefore, regardless of when you purchased your policy and the destination:

- It is unlikely that any claim will be covered if it relates to the Coronavirus;
- This applies to all countries, including countries where MFAT has not yet issued a Coronavirus (COVID-19) travel-related warning;
- However, we will assess each claim based on its individual facts and circumstances and policy terms and conditions; and
- If you wish to submit a claim, please lodge this online."

SCTI

If you purchased your policy prior to Friday 31 January 2020 at 2.00pm (NZDT) for travel to and/or from any country, including transit, (except mainland China), there is no cover under the:

TravelCare Policy - Section D2 and Section D3

D2: Cancelling or changing your journey before you leave

D3: Changes to your journey once you have left

Handsomedan

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#2436988 12-Mar-2020 15:56

I did a cruise with my family last year for a significant birthday.

Whilst I enjoyed it (we went with Carnival and had a cabin with opening French Doors but no balcony and an obscured view behind a lifeboat/tender), I am not sure I'd do one now unless I had a large(ish) cabin and a balcony.

The idea of being stuck in the cabin that we had between four of us frightens me. I cannot imagine how it must feel to be stuck in an inside cabin.

Which brings be to my point...will anyone book inside cabins now? In the age of quarantines and unplanned extensions to stays on ships, surely the only cabins that will sell now are those with larger footprints and balconies?

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josephhinvest

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#2436995 12-Mar-2020 16:05

eracode:
@josephhinvest Don’t quite follow your comments:

First: “Will be a huge financial hit if we don’t go.”

Then: “Hopefully many of the arrangements can be put back a year without too much of a financial hit.”

Were you covered by travel insurance?

Travel insurance (1-Cover, purchased Sept last year) is not worth the paper it was printed on. Looks like we should be able to reschedule flights for only a couple hundred per person or so hopefully. Disneyland Paris - we should only lose 25% of booking. Other stuff like Le Boat we can reschedule for minimal cost.
Will lose lots of prepaid AirBnBs etc I assume.

mattwnz

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#2436996 12-Mar-2020 16:06

Handsomedan:

I did a cruise with my family last year for a significant birthday.

Whilst I enjoyed it (we went with Carnival and had a cabin with opening French Doors but no balcony and an obscured view behind a lifeboat/tender), I am not sure I'd do one now unless I had a large(ish) cabin and a balcony.

The idea of being stuck in the cabin that we had between four of us frightens me. I cannot imagine how it must feel to be stuck in an inside cabin.

Which brings be to my point...will anyone book inside cabins now? In the age of quarantines and unplanned extensions to stays on ships, surely the only cabins that will sell now are those with larger footprints and balconies?

It is probably a good thing, and will cause them to refit out ships, and install better ventilation etc. Considering many cruise ships are essentially rest-homes on the sea, and this illness discriminates againest older people.

Planes however are also confined spaces, and air travel will recover.

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