Did i mention how much I despise the airlines?

[Living4Experiences]

Oh, boy, I feel bad for you, but trying to do any traveling for many months to come would be a risky proposition. As far as Expedia, you should steer clear of any third-party booking agencies whether it's on line sites such as Expedia, hotel.com, booking.com, etc., or even travel agencies. When you have lots of moving pieces for dive travel, they are incompetent at coming to your rescue to help with rescheduling. It's better when you're in control of your flight, hotel, diving, and you can make the changes needed by contacting the providers directly.

I was in Cozumel in December 2019, and if anyone has forgotten, the Cozumel reefs and marine park are suffering from stony coral tissue loss disease, and it was very evident when I was there. Most of the marine park was closed, so the diving was limited to a handful of sites. I've been there many times and was shocked at the poor condition of the reef that I was able to dive. It's really ugly and I will not be returning for a long time. It used to be so pristine and colorful and it's such a shame that it is dying off. Hopefully, with a break from the cruise ships and tourists, the reef will recover soon.

 

[BRT]

Correct, but you could book a day earlier or a day later.

 

[ChuckP]

Correct, but you could book a day earlier or a day later.

Travelocity shows no flights from DFW to CZM May 25th thru June 3rd - the same info that was given to a guy speaking on the phone with AA directly this morning.

That is as of this morning and just now when checking Travelocity. There’s little impact as the government has assured us that our shelter in place order continues thru the end of the month, but it does remove the only flight that was coming into Cozumel.

 

[horn34]

Correct, but you could book a day earlier or a day later.

No you can't. Again, just try to book it. You'll get an error.

 

[BRT]

No you can't. Again, just try to book it. You'll get an error.

Sorry, I had switched to Cancun flights. Cancun was not available to fly the 29th but was available the 30th.

 

[Rockit31]

Hi everyone. I just checked this thread for first time in a couple weeks. An update:

I've been on the phone for hours at a time and multiple days with both Expedia and AA. One thing I have learned from all of this, I will not book international vacations with an online site anymore. I will find a travel agent in the future.

I was able to cancel my hotel reservation for Hotel Cozumel long ago. And I have finally been refunded on that portion from Expedia. But my flights were still a go. American was not very "accommodating" about rescheduling the dates, nor giving out a refund.

Last week I called AA again and the policy seems to have changed. I had to go to a special AA refund website and apply for refund. It may take a week to process, and today is day 6 and it is still under review. Even if/when they approve the refund, it will not be money deposited to my card. It goes back to Expedia, at which point I will have to haggle with them to get my refund.

Doesn't look like I will be going to Cozumel anytime soon. I need to find another diving outlet quick lest I forget everything I learned back in January!

 

[ggunn]

Hi everyone. I just checked this thread for first time in a couple weeks. An update:

I've been on the phone for hours at a time and multiple days with both Expedia and AA. One thing I have learned from all of this, I will not book international vacations with an online site anymore. I will find a travel agent in the future.

Why do you need an agent? It's gotten very easy to book flights directly with the airlines - in the Before Times, anyway. I have had some bad experiences myself with cutrate booking services; I don't use them any more. The money saved isn't worth the hassle to me, but YMMV.

 

[kelemvor]

I like Expedia, American Airlines, and Hotel Cozumel... but, as others have said.. not the time to be messing with any travel - especially international. Is the US even allowing travel inbound from Mexico? If you get to Mexico, you might end up having to stay a while.

Your profile says you're from California. Diving in CA has a good reputation, almost as good as diving in Florida. Do some local diving.

I will find a travel agent in the future.

Personally, I agree that there's value in using an agent. I like these guys a lot, and have used them several times. Twice for trips to Hotel Cozumel, although I did have to book airfare separately - which I did once through Expedia and the second time directly with the airline.

I had a trip to Roatan booked for this June, which of course is cancelled. I had placed a deposit that was clearly marked "NON-REFUNDABLE." When the plague happened, they offered to let me use that deposit with them on a future trip as far out as December 2021. Can't beat that with a stick.

Bay Adventures, Inc.
P. O. Box 530745
Miami Shores, FL 33153-0745
Toll-free US/Canada - 888-599-3483
Tel 305-892-4280 Fax 305 397-1754
www.bayadventures.com

This is the company scubaboard uses for their big "invasion" trips most of the time. That's how I found them. I've since used them for trips without scuba-board. They don't offer yuge discounts, but they do offer good service and fair prices. Also, if you ever have to deal with them on a legal matter, you have your credit card company to protect you. Failing that you've got the US court system. While the US courts have a patchy reputation, it's better than international courts by a country mile.

 

[kelemvor]

Why do you need an agent? It's gotten very easy to book flights directly with the airlines - in the Before Times, anyway. I have had some bad experiences myself with cutrate booking services; I don't use them any more. The money saved isn't worth the hassle to me, but YMMV.

I would always use an agent for booking a hotel/resort in another country. Maybe not for the air fare. This gives you lots of protections should things go awry. Livaboard cancells or disappears? You can dispute the charge or sue the travel agent and stand a good chance of getting your money back. If you booked with the international destination directly, you're probably screwed. For airfare, far less critical as you're probably dealing with a US based airline anyway.

 

[ReefHound]

I loved the kelp diving around Catalina though it's cool water diving. The Keys will be re-opening June 1st. South Florida is open now.

I agree with Gordon on just booking directly yourself. If you use a travel agent you still have a middleman which is the source of many of the issues in this case. Expedia is just a form of travel agent. A good travel agent can work on your behalf, but it's still an additional layer of complexity. Will they be taking your call at 11pm from an intermediate airport or at 3am from a hotel? Will they know what is an acceptable substitution for you when they are talking to the hotel?