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

[Mike1967]

You might want to reconsider any travel right now.

All good, the dive op will let me use my deposit (50%) any time within 12 mths from my original date and if my flights are cancelled the airline will credit my full fare to be use in the same time frame.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Maybe May 30? I have to rebook.

ask for a voucher or credit instead. May 30 might be too soon. Just wait and see how things go. It might be 6-12 months...

 

[pclark2]

My trip was scheduled to start this Friday March 27 - April 10. My wife and I were going to fly EVA Air from Chicago to Taipei to Jakarta and then Garuda from Jakarta to Sorong. We had a 10 night stay booked at Sorido Bay Resort on Kri Island. The resort is owned by Papua Diving, who also own Kri Eco Resort. We had a night planned at Swiss-Belhotel in Sorong on the way out and had a full day planned in Taipei for our 23hr layover. We had booked a tour of Taipei through Viator.

EVA Air had originally been difficult since they were keeping their flights pretty much everywhere and still charging people cancellation fees. This finally changed when Taiwan itself put in restrictions, and I just read today they are cancelling flights. I submitted a refund request on March 18th and I expect it to go through without issue.

The Garuda flight and the Taipei hotel were both booked through Orbitz, so they've been good.

Viator has an excellent cancellation policy normally, so they didn't even have to make any changes for this. Full refund.

Swiss-Belhotel was simple to cancel online.

This brings me to the biggest ticket item, the hotel itself. They've been great. Their normally policy would be no refund this close to time, but they understand the need for flexibility. When I spoke to them last week, they were offering a 75% credit to future stays if canceled more than 24 hours in advance. I waited a little since things were changing so fast, and I'm glad I did. I finally canceled yesterday to be sure to give them plenty of heads up, and since Indonesia has more restrictions in place and are making things difficult, and then the locking down of Raja Ampat itself, they are now doing a full 100% credit to future stays. Of all parts, this was the one thing I was most worried about, so I am so thankful they are being understanding with the guests. They've won my respect and loyalty. I never wanted a refund, just a credit to reschedule, so this is perfect for me.

It should be noted that for the companies providing refunds, I have not yet checked credit cards to see if refunds have come through or not yet. I'm sure most companies are a bit overwhelmed so I could see delays.

The only thing I did not try to get a refund/credit on is the Jakarta airport hotel. I had a room for 6 hours planned there between flights just to allow for a shower and nap. The booking confirmation email said no refunds on cancellations, and while that may have changed, the price was only like $32 so not something worth bothering them over.

Sorido Bay's email:

Thank you for your kind message.

The situation has indeed evolved from bad to worse.

For the moment meanwhile there are also travel restrictions being enforced by the Indonesian government which means that currently it is for many countries or coming from those countries forbidden to enter Indonesia and for the tourists/countries who are still allowed to enter it has become very complicated. On top of that we were just informed yesterday by the local government that a total lockdown for Raja Ampat & Sorong will be enforced starting 29 March (currently for the duration of 2 weeks) Therefore we are offering the option to all upcoming bookings to simply cancel the current dates and postpone the booking to a later period (total received payment is kept as credit which will be applied to the new booking for a later period.)

In the meantime I have canceled your booking at Sorido Bay resort from 29 Mar till 8 Apr’20.

My colleague will send you an updated invoice/CN which will show the total payment received as remaining credit amount and which will automatically be applied to your new booking once you have decided about the new dates.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

Wishing you and your loved ones all the best and good health and hoping that this pandemic will be quickly over and life can finally return back to normal./QUOTE]

 

[runsongas]

That's ridiculous, why would it apply to new bookings but not existing ones? We didn't know this was going to happen when we made our initial booking, but any new bookings made now are being made with full awareness of the risks...Makes no sense

to get new bookings so they don't run out of cash and go belly up

 

[Dan]

My trip was scheduled to start this Friday March 27 - April 10. My wife and I were going to fly EVA Air from Chicago to Taipei to Jakarta and then Garuda from Jakarta to Sorong. We had a 10 night stay booked at Sorido Bay Resort on Kri Island. The resort is owned by Papua Diving, who also own Kri Eco Resort. We had a night planned at Swiss-Belhotel in Sorong on the way out and had a full day planned in Taipei for our 23hr layover. We had booked a tour of Taipei through Viator.

EVA Air had originally been difficult since they were keeping their flights pretty much everywhere and still charging people cancellation fees. This finally changed when Taiwan itself put in restrictions, and I just read today they are cancelling flights. I submitted a refund request on March 18th and I expect it to go through without issue.

The Garuda flight and the Taipei hotel were both booked through Orbitz, so they've been good.

Viator has an excellent cancellation policy normally, so they didn't even have to make any changes for this. Full refund.

Swiss-Belhotel was simple to cancel online.

This brings me to the biggest ticket item, the hotel itself. They've been great. Their normally policy would be no refund this close to time, but they understand the need for flexibility. When I spoke to them last week, they were offering a 75% credit to future stays if canceled more than 24 hours in advance. I waited a little since things were changing so fast, and I'm glad I did. I finally canceled yesterday to be sure to give them plenty of heads up, and since Indonesia has more restrictions in place and are making things difficult, and then the locking down of Raja Ampat itself, they are now doing a full 100% credit to future stays. Of all parts, this was the one thing I was most worried about, so I am so thankful they are being understanding with the guests. They've won my respect and loyalty. I never wanted a refund, just a credit to reschedule, so this is perfect for me.

It should be noted that for the companies providing refunds, I have not yet checked credit cards to see if refunds have come through or not yet. I'm sure most companies are a bit overwhelmed so I could see delays.

The only thing I did not try to get a refund/credit on is the Jakarta airport hotel. I had a room for 6 hours planned there between flights just to allow for a shower and nap. The booking confirmation email said no refunds on cancellations, and while that may have changed, the price was only like $32 so not something worth bothering them over.

Sorido Bay's email:

Sounds fair, so far. Keep us posted. Thank you for posting!

 

[Paulina Malina]

Here’s my story. I was supposed to go on a 10 day trip to the Galapagos with the Galapagos Master on May 18th. The Ecuadorian government decided to close the borders until April 5th, but the Galapagos Master decided to cancel all of their trips until July and offer no refund to anyone. They have a handful of 10 day trips per year, meaning that I will now have to wait for years before I can rebook to use the “credit.” I made all of my payments in good faith and the company is now keeping the money that was supposed to cover the boat, gas, food, staff, not to mention their profit. In addition, the price of the trip increases annually, so in order to rebook a few years from now, I will most likely have to pay even more. It is ridiculous for them to hold $8000 of my money for years!!!!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Here’s my story. I was supposed to go on a 10 day trip to the Galapagos with the Galapagos Master on May 18th. The Ecuadorian government decided to close the borders until April 5th, but the Galapagos Master decided to cancel all of their trips until July and offer no refund to anyone. They have a handful of 10 day trips per year, meaning that I will now have to wait for years before I can rebook to use the “credit.” I made all of my payments in good faith and the company is now keeping the money that was supposed to cover the boat, gas, food, staff, not to mention their profit. In addition, the price of the trip increases annually, so in order to rebook a few years from now, I will most likely have to pay even more. It is ridiculous for them to hold $8000 of my money for years!!!!

Is this a 100% credit? Can you e-mail them and instead of asking for a credit with a specific value on it, to give you voucher that allows you to take that exact trip on that exact boat in the exact cabin level given the limited 10 day sailings and vacancy they have each year? (This is what Aggressor did, though, there is a 1 year limit...Who knows what will happen in a year but I guess we get there when we get there.) I received my sailing on a Dive The World discount. They didn't apply the actual value (discounted), but are offering a voucher for the exact sailing/boat/cabin/itinerary so I don't have to pay more to catch it on a Dive The World, if it happens to not coincide with that boat/sailing/itinerary.

It sucks but if it's between them not being able to honor it at all or not honoring it all because they don't want to...This is the lesser of 2 evils. In an ideal situation, a partial refund and a payment plan for you until your new scheduled date would be fair but given this unique situation, unique things have to happen and we all have to give a little. They are willing to reschedule and/or give you a credit..it's something. I am sorry this is happening..it is super frustrating.

 

[pclark2]

To add to what I posted about Sorido Bay Resort, I just read on their Facebook page that they plan to close the hotel during this time (logical) and use the time for renovations they had originally planned for the low season. Seems like a great plan to make use of the down time.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

Is this a 100% credit? Can you e-mail them and instead of asking for a credit with a specific value on it, to give you voucher that allows you to take that exact trip on that exact boat in the exact cabin level given the limited 10 day sailings and vacancy they have each year? (This is what Aggressor did, though, there is a 1 year limit...Who knows what will happen in a year but I guess we get there when we get there.) I received my sailing on a Dive The World discount. They didn't apply the actual value (discounted), but are offering a voucher for the exact sailing/boat/cabin/itinerary so I don't have to pay more to catch it on a Dive The World, if it happens to not coincide with that boat/sailing/itinerary.

It sucks but if it's between them not being able to honor it at all or not honoring it all because they don't want to...This is the lesser of 2 evils. In an ideal situation, a partial refund and a payment plan for you until your new scheduled date would be fair but given this unique situation, unique things have to happen and we all have to give a little. They are willing to reschedule and/or give you a credit..it's something. I am sorry this is happening..it is super frustrating.

totally sucks, im going on the master in late july and received this from my agent unprompted. it's for the master:

Given the continuing uncertainty in the world, we have reviewed our Terms and Conditions. As a result, we have included an important new clause – the Corona Clause. You will see it below. Effectively it covers you if you are prevented from travelling due to Covid-19. We have reissued your booking to reflect this update. All other details of your bookings remain the same as previously. Please discard your previous documentation and use these attachments as your new booking confirmation.


If you cannot travel due to Covid-19, we will honour the monies paid to us and move the booking to a later date. For this to be applicable, one of the following must apply:

1. You have contracted the virus and can provide medical evidence to support this
2. OR Your final destination country prevents you from entering due to their governmental guidelines and restrictions on your country of residence
3. OR Your country of residence prevents you from departing due to their governmental guidelines and restrictions on the embarkation point for the liveaboard

If any of the above do not apply, it is your responsibility to get yourself to the point of embarkation. The ‘Corona Clause’ can be removed at any time.



For more information and our full terms and & Conditions, please go to: https://blueotwo.com/terms-and-conditions






Kind Regards

Worldwide Dive and Sail

Thailand: +66 (0) 76 367 444
United Kingdom: +44 (0) 208 099 2230
United States: +1 866 258 6398
Australia: +61 (0) 283 171 389
[www.wwdas.com]www.wwdas.com

i'm cool with this. i don't expect a refund. it's not their fault ecuador closed the border.

 

[outofofficebrb]

totally sucks, im going on the master in late july and received this from my agent unprompted. it's for the master:

Given the continuing uncertainty in the world, we have reviewed our Terms and Conditions. As a result, we have included an important new clause – the Corona Clause. You will see it below. Effectively it covers you if you are prevented from travelling due to Covid-19. We have reissued your booking to reflect this update. All other details of your bookings remain the same as previously. Please discard your previous documentation and use these attachments as your new booking confirmation.


If you cannot travel due to Covid-19, we will honour the monies paid to us and move the booking to a later date. For this to be applicable, one of the following must apply:

1. You have contracted the virus and can provide medical evidence to support this
2. OR Your final destination country prevents you from entering due to their governmental guidelines and restrictions on your country of residence
3. OR Your country of residence prevents you from departing due to their governmental guidelines and restrictions on the embarkation point for the liveaboard

If any of the above do not apply, it is your responsibility to get yourself to the point of embarkation. The ‘Corona Clause’ can be removed at any time.



For more information and our full terms and & Conditions, please go to: https://blueotwo.com/terms-and-conditions






Kind Regards

Worldwide Dive and Sail

Thailand: +66 (0) 76 367 444
United Kingdom: +44 (0) 208 099 2230
United States: +1 866 258 6398
Australia: +61 (0) 283 171 389
[www.wwdas.com]www.wwdas.com

i'm cool with this. i don't expect a refund. it's not their fault ecuador closed the border.

It sounds like you will have to wait until it’s closer to July to know whether any of those 3 things will apply. Hopefully, not option 1 (stay healthy!) and maybe just hope for option 2 or 3. It sounds like it would be for a complete reschedule with full credit which is nice.

Did you also see sections 10 and beyond in their terms and conditions?


Cancellation by You due to Unavoidable & Extraordinary Circumstances:
You have the right to cancel your confirmed holiday before departure without paying a cancellation charge in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at your holiday destination or its immediate vicinity and significantly affecting the performance of the holiday or significantly affecting the transport arrangements to the destination. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any additional compensation. Please note that your right to cancel in these circumstances will only apply where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to your destination or its immediate vicinity. For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” means warfare, acts of terrorism significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination.

This clause 10 outlines the rights you have if you wish to cancel your booking. Please note that there is no automatic statutory right of cancellation under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (Directive 2011/83/EU).


Cancellation
We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than ninety (90) days before your departure date, except for reasons of Events Beyond our Control or failure by you to pay the final balance. We may cancel your holiday before this date if, e.g., the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of:

1. (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements; or
2. cancelling your booking and having a refund of all monies paid; or
3. if available and where we offer one, accepting an offer of an alternative holiday (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).

You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If we do not hear from you within 7 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again, we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.