Cancelled/postponed trips due to COVID - please share your outcomes

[outofofficebrb]

Hi, everyone. Sorry for my quietness. It has been crazy at work and I've still been checking in daily for alerts on the site but I just noticed I wasn't getting alerts to each of your responses to the thread like I normally do. I checked the thread and was surprised to see so many new responses so I've updated the log up to this point of my posting. Sorry about that.

I had a trip booked with Sunset House in GC 4/1-4/8. As things began to escalate I reached out to them the first week of March and shared my fear that either the Caymans or the US were going to shutdown flights or ban international travel. My trip insurance would not cover a ban. I asked if there was any way to shift the trip until later in the year. They got back to me a few days later and told me I could and updated their cancellation policy to allow rescheduling trips up to one year form the original booking date. I moved it to Sept. I hope all will be clear by then. My travel insurance allowed for a no fee change of the policy to cover the rescheduled trip.

Is this from the original booking date (date you paid for the trip/put a deposit down) or the original date you were supposed to check in? Thanks.

Ok I have to ask, why do you keep pointing out that you're a local? What difference should that make?

My guess is that a local would have way more flexibility in rescheduling than someone who is not local who would need to arrange vacation/travel time and flights. If anything, a local would have the ability to be more flexible to a reschedule than someone who lives overseas who may want a reschedule for a more specific time period or set of dates. At least, if I were local, I would offer that flexibility to the travel supplier so that not everyone is trying to get in all at the same time. That should be helpful to Spoilsport.

My trip to PNG has been rebooked for 2022.


I don't know if any of you have ever stayed a Walindi Plantation resort on New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea.

If you have, you would know that they totally support a huge number of people in the community. Max Benjamin built and supports a school in the village as well.

PNG has no help for the people driven out of work. Walindi is struggling to keep these folks supported even thought they have no income and huge expenses.

They have started a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to keep them afloat until this horror passes.

Please consider even a few dollars. It all adds up.

Thanks for reading. And, thanks for any help you can offer!


Staff Relief Fund - Walindi, Papua New Guinea organized by Cheyne Benjamin

Is this the name of the resort you are rescheduling for in PNG for 2022? When were your original travel dates and what restrictions did they have? I'd like to include them in the log for you.

There is something i find quite disturbing in these kind of statements (not only in this specific one): i always assumed that terms & conditions (including cancellation policy) of a contract are the ones in force at the time of the signature of the contracts. That's why i decided to download / screen shot or save the T&Cs to know under what conditions i did a booking.

Yes, this is usually true...Though the particular change referenced seems to be a more generous one and one that benefits the customer (us) better and the fact that they are willing to extend that is awesome and I am sure we are OK with forgoing the original one. In some cases, some ops or agencies didn't have a force majeure or pandemic/epidemic/health situation clause. I suppose unprecedented situation means unprecedented policies and we just go with the flow.

 

[Mithril379]

We were booked for Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan for 3/28 through 4/4, coming from NYC. AKR did a good job keeping booked guests informed as the situation evolved. Ultimately they allowed us to rebook at our fully paid 2020 rate for any time through the end of 2021. This was the offer made to everyone we know, no negotiation required. We rebooked for first week of January. American moved our flights with no fees as well.

 

[kelemvor]

I have an update to the outcome I previously posted. Bay adventures (travel agency) contacted me yesterday. Despite the fact that I called to cancel before the final payment deadline, they had an offer for me. They (or the resort, I'm not sure) offered to apply my $400 deposit to any trip I book to the same destination (Anthony's Key Resort) before December 2021. Sweet!

That was pretty awesome of them, I was okay with losing the deposit as that was the arrangement in the first place (non-refundable). So.. shout out for Bay Adventures and Anthony's Key. They stepped up and helped me (and others who had booked the SB invasion trip).

Now I just need to find a few friends that want to go to Honduras with me once there's a vaccine!

 

[Sunn]

What about completely cancelling and moving to another agency?

just a little problem : cancelling means losing 100% of the price... that's why we rebooked in january

as you said, terms and conditions...

Therefore, will not be eligible the events beyond our control, even in exceptional cases, such as :

(...)
Government notice to stop all travel to the country visited (internal conflict, epidemic...)

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

just a little problem : cancelling means losing 100% of the price... that's why we rebooked in january

Well, yes, then it's perhaps better to stay and get the best out of it.
And perhaps in january we will all have a lot of good stories to share...

 

[jonhall]

An update to a post I had way back in this thread. Just figured things out today after looking more closely at my credit card statements.

Regarding our flight with Delta from Vancouver back home (Sept. 2020):

In Oct. 2019, we purchased 2 tickets at $63.11 apiece ($126.22 total) as we used miles. When we cancelled those flights, we got all of our miles back (no fee) and $44.79 apiece ($89.58 total) for the tickets. I couldn't figure out why we didn't get all of the fee back and was afraid to call and ask why because I thought they might realize they should have charged us a fee to give our miles back.

In looking at my current CC statement I noticed beside the credits, a column that read Canadian Dollars - so I looked at my statement from last Oct. and found the same column and that we were only charged $48.36 US and not $63.11 per ticket. Still shorted $7.14 overall but I'll take it!!

 

[drk5036]

An update to a post I had way back in this thread. Just figured things out today after looking more closely at my credit card statements.

Regarding our flight with Delta from Vancouver back home (Sept. 2020):

In Oct. 2019, we purchased 2 tickets at $63.11 apiece ($126.22 total) as we used miles. When we cancelled those flights, we got all of our miles back (no fee) and $44.79 apiece ($89.58 total) for the tickets. I couldn't figure out why we didn't get all of the fee back and was afraid to call and ask why because I thought they might realize they should have charged us a fee to give our miles back.

In looking at my current CC statement I noticed beside the credits, a column that read Canadian Dollars - so I looked at my statement from last Oct. and found the same column and that we were only charged $48.36 US and not $63.11 per ticket. Still shorted $7.14 overall but I'll take it!!

You probably received back 63.11 CAD per ticket, but since that time the currency rates have changed. I’m getting refunded for my two flights from Bangkok to the Maldives, but the currency took so much of a hit durin that time I’m gonna lose 100 dollars!

 

[Blackcrusader]

My guess is that a local would have way more flexibility in rescheduling than someone who is not local who would need to arrange vacation/travel time and flights. If anything, a local would have the ability to be more flexible to a reschedule than someone who lives overseas who may want a reschedule for a more specific time period or set of dates. At least, if I were local, I would offer that flexibility to the travel supplier so that not everyone is trying to get in all at the same time. That should be helpful to Spoilsport..

I think you are totally incorrect in your assessment. It might be fine if that local lived in Cairns, but most flights are cancelled Australia wide. Cairns you might like to look on a map and see where it is. Even if one was to travel from Brisbane to Cairns by car that is a 2 day one way adventure. After all it's only a thousand mile drive and that is in the same state.

It's like saying all flights in the USA are cancelled but as you are USA local there is no problem for you to get from San Francisco to Vancouver. Let alone there are restrictions on even going out in Australia.

 

[jonhall]

but since that time the currency rates have changed.

Well that makes since. Tough break on your loss.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I think you are totally incorrect in your assessment. It might be fine if that local lived in Cairns, but most flights are cancelled Australia wide. Cairns you might like to look on a map and see where it is. Even if one was to travel from Brisbane to Cairns by car that is a 2 day one way adventure. After all it's only a thousand mile drive and that is in the same state.

It's like saying all flights in the USA are cancelled but as you are USA local there is no problem for you to get from San Francisco to Vancouver. Let alone there are restrictions on even going out in Australia.

No, I am not incorrect. The poster who is having issues with Spoilsport lives in Cairns where Spoilsport departs from and returns to. I believe the poster keeps reiterating they are local because it is so much more convenient for them vs others (a non-local, or someone from out of the country) to hop on a trip on short notice if there is an opening or to be able to be more flexible on timing. I am from San Francisco. I do not say that I am local to New York or Vancouver, on the other side of the country or even out of the country. You are suggesting otherwise with your logic.