Is it safe to book a US holiday in October?
Flights at least. Plan is going to LA for a week, then Hawaii for a week. £330 return direct flights from Heathrow at the mo.
Too much of a risk?
It's a £330 gamble to state the obvious. I'm not up on international flight prices but that does look very very cheap. Like any gamble, if you can afford to lose the stake, then fine, go ahead, could pay dividends. If £330 is a lot of money for you then just dont.
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If the tickets are changeable at no fee then yes go ahead, if not then I'd not risk it as the situation could well still be sketchy by then.
Just had my flights to USA for later this month cancelled.
I'm going to sit on them until it's safe to fly, I think October could be OK but who knows?
It's a gamble.
Cheers,
Neil.
My insurance only covers events related to Coronavirus for travel booked before 18 March, so unless the airline has a really comprehensive cancellation policy I'll not be booking anything until the country of destination has lifted all restrictions and travel insurance has kicked back in.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
I wouldn't plan nor expect to go anywhere this year.
My thoughts exactlyOriginally Posted by bwest76
Thanks guys! A lot to think about - especially the Travel insurance aspect. :)
I'll also check what the KLM/Virgin cancellation policy is.
Same here. We've cancelled our cruise in early July as I really can't see any chance of that happening.
We were also considering also going to Florida for Christmas, but again won't be booking anything for a good few months yet. We'll just have to wait and see.
So clever my foot fell off.
A colleague called me this morning to say that the NZ flights she was going to book to go in December at £1,200 a while back are now £700 and should she book them?
I said if you do pay on a credit card. Before that though check if they can be cancelled as they are through Cathay Pacific and last year we cancelled ours with them and only lost around 10%. Before that check your travel insurance as I’m fairly sure you won’t be covered for Covid 19 on any news bookings as it’s now a ‘known’ factor.
She was quite disappointed in my response as ‘you normally encourage everyone to take holidays’! Very true, I’m just trying to be cautious in these times.
For travel insurance to be valid, I suppose the UK and US Governments must give the official 'all clear' from a COVID-19 perspective?
Aren't some experts predicting a second wave of covid-19 cases in Oct / Nov 2020. On that basis I probably wouldn't risk it unless there was a no quibble cancellation policy.
I'm due to be going to the states at the beginning of June. The flights haven't been cancelled yet but I can't see that taking place!
Personally I’d be very loathe to book anything until travel insurance will cover the disease.
A nice cheap airfare could easily be dwarfed by a privately funded stay in hospital, getting stranded, or having to bolt back home under your own steam etc.
Very good point, and cancels out my gamble post.
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If anyone knows the answer to this, can they let every medical expert and government in the world know!
Personally, I wouldn't bother booking anything right now, but there seem to be some great deals about and many are offering money back guarantees or zero deposits.
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
People have to have hope and dream.
I have booked a ferry to Spain in September way before this happened,I do not expect to go anywhere in fact I would rather stay closer to home anything can happen still.
I’m going to book a holiday to Mexico for October in the next few weeks
Our cruise in May is cancelled, and two holidays later in the year as well. We're not thinking about anything until next year at the earliest.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I fully understand the attraction of a cruise, but I would wait to be as sure as can be* that the virus will not have a new surge, as cruise liners have proven themselves to be a rather dangerous place to be in such a case.
* that probably mean waiting for a vaccine to be available, or possibly having had it myself (subject to scientific evidence that I am then immune).
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Safest place to fly now is ironically probably Wuhan
Got a fortnight in Florida booked for the end of May ,and a week in Majorca in October .Not confident about either of them to be honest .
Cruise?
Anyone even considering a cruise in these times is wacko! Until at least two years go by with no reports of shipboard sickness outbreaks, I wouldn't give it a second thought.
I wouldn’t book anything now, I think they’ll still be great deals once the restrictions get lifted.
Personally I will travel for both business and pleasure as soon as lock downs are lifted and travel isn’t advised against. I’m hoping late summer but I may be wrong.
I would rather wear a Man united scarf in the Leeds end at Elland road that be trapped on a boat at this time.
I’ve averaged a trip to the States once a month for a good number of years now (mainly for work) and I won’t be going again until all of this is over. There is no place on Earth more expensive to get ill!!!
I’m guessing October
I had tickets to go to Mallorca in October, but the airline just cancelled the flights this week. I think it's due to them not being able to forecast at all at the moment, they just cancel most everything.
I also had summer holiday trip in June to Northern Italy, obviously not going to happen.
I've also had to cancel at least 10 work trips with different airlines - a lot of work, actually. I'm not booking any trips until things get more clear.
Instead I've rented a sailing boat for a longer period locally, that should be fine.
You could well be right. Not only that, until this pandemic really has fully passed, I wouldn't be surprised if many countries could at a moment's notice turn ships away and not let them in to port if there is any concern, or there has been a local flare up, etc etc.
You could end up sailing round and round with lots of shore excursions cancelled, in a massive virus incubator.
So clever my foot fell off.
Travel advice on watchdog tonight.
and some of the low life scams.
Well I was on a cruise recently - March 7th to 21st around the Caribbean. Booked for my 50th birthday. On the 13th the Captain announced that all the islands had gone into lockdown and weren’t allowing ships to dock so we sailed back to the U.K. (should have been a flight). All bar the shout it was 10 days to get back. I’ve cruised maybe 30 times and never done a trans atlantic and never would. I wasn’t looking forward to it. . . . .
The Captain gave every passenger £300 to spend onboard and we were offered a total refund or 125% future cruise credit. I have to say P&O were exceptional. We were so looked after and the crossing was smooth. It was quite surreal though being stuck at sea for days on end seeing the world change before us on the news and feeling quite powerless to do anything. I wanted to be at home to check on my business and implement plans. The upside was I spent quality time with my 3 children (one had come from Australia and the other France) and my mum and dad who are in their 70’s and in poor health.
We got back safe and sound and have been isolating ever since. Yes I’ll go on another cruise. There’s bad PR at the moment because of this virus and what happened on some cruise ships. Things also happen at all inclusive holidays and big hotels. Cities like Vegas, NY and London maybe too.
That was a great result.
We did a transatlantic cruise in November and loved it but paid top dollar so you came out of it well
We have my daughters wedding booked in Mexico so keeping our fingers crossed it will be fine. To cancel will be a headache as we have a party booked for friends and relatives a week after we get back. The whole thing is costing a small fortune, and guess who’s paying
If my grand mother was still alive I think she would recommend "R-Gate" only for this year :)
We were planning a big family three week trip to Florida late September/October...
You need to weigh up the risks for yourself but unfortunately I can’t see us going anywhere near the US now until we’ve all had it and it’s proven you can’t get it again or there’s a vaccine.
After watching Tiger King (Netflix) is it ever safe
I think holidays and non essential foreign travel as we all know it are finished for the foreseeable future. How long for I dont know, but I would be surprised if we get a holiday abroad in 2020.
Happy to be wrong about this but...…..
Just popped this off Jet2 site
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will resume its flight and holidays programme on 17 June, meaning all services and holidays are now cancelled up to 16 June.
The decision will be kept under constant review, in line with government guidance.
Well fingers crossed then but I think the key to that lies in the last line of the statement.
I think booking any travel this year is a gamble.
Personally, even after the lockdown ends, the virus is still out there and there's currently no cure, so the prospect of mass travel fills me with dread.
I doubt very much if Jet2 (or any other similar company) will be running flights & holidays from 17th June.
By giving a date, they're hoping to hold funds within the company by deferring departure dates (& offering customers a free amendment & a £100 discount on their booking), rather than pay out refunds at this time to customers.
I'm a regular Jet2 customer & have a holiday booked that was supposed to depart on the 17th of April. I was advised on the 23rd of March that it was cancelled & I was not to contact them as they would contact me re 'next steps'. That was confirmed on the 27th of March. There's been no contact since. Their website is hardly informative & I've read more information in a tabloid newspaper than on their web-pages.
I understand they're trying to keep the company afloat, but customer service hasn't been great. Still, roll on 0900 tomorrow when they will get both barrels...
______
Jim.
And the owners do not give a crap about you anyway:
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...navirus-crisis
Only a very small percentage of the world's population have had this virus so far - restrictions (of some kind) will need to go on for years (not months) to control the load on hospitals. Only a vaccine will shorten this process & that's not looking likely anytime soon.
In my opinion, planning holidays or foreign travel this year is not a sensible (or viable) option.
We were looking at some great deals in October but even that looks like a remote possibility now with everything going on in the world. We have had refunds / voucher on our May and July trips.
If you are over 50 and have yet to have caught, and recovered from, Covid 19 your insurance premiums should be filling you with dread too. In many cases I see them running to significantly more than the cost of the trip itself and many insurers refusing cover altogether.
Last edited by raysablade; 10th April 2020 at 15:38.
50? Not 70?
What if you were 50 3 weeks ago? Asking for a friend :-)
My wife and daughter should have been in Disney Florida over Easter. Naturally it was cancelled by TUI who have agreed a full refund to be paid within four weeks.
We were all due to go to Dominican Republic in July and will be looking to carry our small deposit over so we can book something next year providing a vaccine becomes available.
Also due to go to Norfolk in a cottage for August Bank Holiday, we will speak to the owner nearer the time and also look to carry this over into 2021.
We are not looking to go anywhere at all this year and will not book anything until we can be reasonably sure we will be safe.
My understanding is that any holiday booked now will not be covered for cancellation or cover health insurance due to this pandemic.
If a vaccine becomes available and you're keen to go abroad, please remember that they may not have an NHS there and those who did not catch it initially may still be vulnerable.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
We have a cruiser on the Norfolk Broads two or three times a year and our next one is booked for late June (fishing season) hoping we can go but if not we have another booked for the end of September so things could be improved by then for everyone hopefully.
Honestly anything just now seems very optimistic.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
That’s pretty much as I see it too, I wouldn’t even consider foreign travel until the situation looks favourable and that’s likely to be 18 months- 2 years in my opinion.
I think folks are struggling to grasp the new reality, the world is a totally different place and it’ll take some getting used to. Trying to plan holidays is futile, maybe it gives people something to look forward to and take comfort from, but it’s like burying your head in the sand. Until there’s a vaccine for Covid -19 I can’t see how the typical foreign holiday we all took for granted can be viable, and the cost of insurance (especially for the over 50s) is going to be high until the risk is virtually zero.
I was discussing this with my wife just yesterday. Personally I can’t see the luxury cruise industry recovering from this for years - I’ve lost count of the Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships in the last few years, with the Coronavirus outbreak I wouldn’t ever consider a cruise with my family now. Trapped in a confined space with hundreds of others, unable to escape a deadly disease? Sorry, not in a million years
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I really don’t understand the obsession with holidays and foreign travel especially at times like this. Let me put this into context:- we have a disabled son who makes travel virtually impossible, he is 17 this week and in 15 years we as a family have not been able to travel for an overseas holiday. At first we found this quite difficult - when my wife and I first met we travelled a lot, in fact my first job took me all over the world from the age of 18. But guess what, it’s really not something we particularly miss, I live in a very pretty rural area with a big garden and lots of leisure facilities, and if you simply can’t do something you soon adapt. I suggest people need a bit of a re-think. As a result of all this my carbon footprint is tiny, and I haven’t provided a vector for a deadly disease to enter the country. I’m being deliberately facetious there, I know I’ve been forced into my situation by circumstances, but if we don’t want our great grandchildren growing up on a Bladerunner movie set the world needs to change I’m afraid
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