Turks and Caicos Update

[hammet]

Lol at the timing....

Beaches leaving a message on my answering machine right now.

Was supposed to go again in August . jet blue cancelled the flight. (wasnt going to go anyway).
I called last week and they agreed to allow me to choose a new date... but they jacked all the prices up hugely for 2021.

 

[Redfoot]

Just saw this update-
I check in with this site daily, they do a great job of summarizing and keeping the articles up to date.

They changed the 72 hour requirement to 5 days- not sure how much difference that will make.

It is also a great resource for those planning a trip.

Turks and Caicos Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update | Visit Turks and Caicos Islands

 

[Kyle0692]

Kyle - let us know what happens. I was booked on T&C Aggressor for a trip last month that they ended up cancelling and received a non-transferable voucher good for one year. An actual refund was never on the table (not from Aggressor, the two airlines I booked with or the two dive ops I booked boat diving with before my Aggressor sailing). In fact, the only entity out of the whole bunch that offered a refund was the condo I booked, but I figured with all the other vouchers/credits floating around out there I went with a credit since I'll have to go back to T&C to use all these other credits anyhow..

Will do.

Delta already called us on our flights and said we can cancel up to the day of departure without any issues and will give us a voucher for flights of equal value through September 2022. Hard to beat a voucher like that. A one year voucher for Aggressor? Not sure if even a year out will work. We can all hope. It sucks you couldn’t go, but maybe it’s a blessing their airport in T&C wasn’t open yet for your trip because you got a voucher to at least get a chance at making some good out of your money.

I have a suspicion we are going to get screwed here since we are so close to the trip and the airport will be open for a couple weeks before we go. If Aggressor stiffs us with these BS rules T&C set up I’m not sure if I would ever try to dive with them again?? Lots of money to lose! Good thing I work in the paper industry and all these Covid yayhoo’s are still buying up all the toilet paper for some reason, lol. They keep me employed though so I can’t poke too much fun at them!

Kyle

 

[k4kafka]

The paper industry sounds like a sure bet these days...Sh*t still happens, COVID or not.

 

[O-ring]

Will do.

Delta already called us on our flights and said we can cancel up to the day of departure without any issues and will give us a voucher for flights of equal value through September 2022. Hard to beat a voucher like that. A one year voucher for Aggressor? Not sure if even a year out will work. We can all hope. It sucks you couldn’t go, but maybe it’s a blessing their airport in T&C wasn’t open yet for your trip because you got a voucher to at least get a chance at making some good out of your money.

I have a suspicion we are going to get screwed here since we are so close to the trip and the airport will be open for a couple weeks before we go. If Aggressor stiffs us with these BS rules T&C set up I’m not sure if I would ever try to dive with them again?? Lots of money to lose! Good thing I work in the paper industry and all these Covid yayhoo’s are still buying up all the toilet paper for some reason, lol. They keep me employed though so I can’t poke too much fun at them!

Kyle

Agreed on the time thing. That's why I haven't rebooked for June 2021 yet. I'd hate to have to go through the hassle of rescheduling with Aggressor, two dive ops, the condo and the two airlines only to have to cancel and redo it all if 6/2021 doesn't go either. I was kind of going to take a wait and see approach, but I have a feeling that you may be right and we still end up eating some/all of the costs in the end. Perhaps if the voucher were transferable or good for other destinations you might be able to figure something out, but it is only good for the destination you originally booked and you can't sell it to someone else. I doubt they extend it beyond a year either, but what do I know.

 

[aquabluegreg]

I have some divers scheduled for an Explorer Ventures T&C trip starting August 8 and it looks like we will have to re-schedule. The TCI Assured program is problematic. With CV-19 tests in some states and cities, it is taking 5-7 days to receive the test results. As mentioned, DAN nor DiveAssure will cover CV-19 as a pre-existing condition. I have had no luck in finding other coverage that would pay for CV-19 treatment in T&C. If anyone finds an insurance company that is covering this event, please share that info...! Otherwise, we are waiting for the TCI website update on July 15th.

Stay safe and stay healthy.

 

[Redfoot]

This has a little more information:

The TCI Assured Program is a Pre-Travel Authorization Program - Turks and Caicos Tourism Official Website

It appears the TCI government will have a list of approved insurance vendors to work with. I hope pricing is not astronomical, but given my experiences on the island, it would not surprise me if they are.

"In consideration of testing availability across the country, the Turks and Caicos Islands is now requiring a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from a test taken within five days of travel, rather than the previous requirement of a test to be taken within three days of travel. Children under the age of 10 years old are not required to be tested. Additionally, travelers must have medical / travel insurance that covers medevac (insurance companies providing the prerequisite insurance will also be available on the portal), a completed health screening questionnaire, and certification that they have read and agreed to the privacy policy document. These requirements must be completed and uploaded to the TCI Assured portal, which will be available on the Turk and Caicos Islands Tourist Board website (www.turksandcaicostourism), in advance of their arrival.

 

[shmuggy]

would this work for a liveaboard?

On the Turks and Caicos website it says
under who is exempt from the PCR tesing (g) "a person who disembarks from an aircraft at an airport, in transit to or for purposes of connecting" . Could this be contrued to be OK if you went from the airport directly to the LOB?

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

would this work for a liveaboard?

On the Turks and Caicos website it says
under who is exempt from the PCR tesing (g) "a person who disembarks from an aircraft at an airport, in transit to or for purposes of connecting" . Could this be contrued to be OK if you went from the airport directly to the LOB?

I believe this is for people in transit to another country.

That is how it currently works in Canada. In transit tourists may arrive by plane but must leave Canada ASAP.

This is a requirement since there are some places in the world that you can't get to "from here". You have to go some place else first. Transit via another country is the only way to get that.

 

[Redfoot]

I would think you need the TCI assured registration for any airline ticket showing PLS as your destination.