Do they not have a better cancellation policy on account of the virus?
When I flew last month, masks were recommended but not enforced, so often ignored. However, the person next to me knew you were allowed no mask while eating. She simply took out a bag of chips, placed it on her lap, and snacked for a very very very long time.
Got refunds for two Airbnb reservations and a credit for the third. We’re satisfied with that.
Speaking of Airbnb/home rentals…
Does anyone know if there’s travel insurance that covers backing out of a trip due to circumstances concerning covid?
In the instance I’m seeking, we have a VRBO we’ve rented in about two months. It’s very secluded and we don’t plan to leave the house much other than to go out the back door to the beach. The conditions I’m concerned about are 1) if the state decides people have to quarantine from my state (yes, we’d pretty much be quarantining anyways but it just feels stressful and would detract from my vacation) or 2) infections rise even more and we decide we shouldn’t go. The host already said she’d refund our money if one of us actually contracted covid.
We live on an island. Most of the places we would want to go are a minimum of 4.5 hour plane ride, up to 12+ hour plane ride. Looks like no flights or travel for us for a very long time.
We will see how things are when we go to Waikiki to stay overnight in a hotel while we are termite tenting our home.
@thumper1 and others, Maine has just changed the rules so that you don’t have to quarantine if you come here from NY, CT, or NJ (same as it’s been for NH and VT).
@MaineLonghorn thank you for that info! Guess DH should visit his mom while the going is good. Wonder where he will stay??
@thumper1, yes, he should take advantage of it while he can. Our governor will not hesitate to shut things down more if cases start going up again.
@collage1, I believe all travel insurance policies exclude epidemics. You can ask around, but I don’t think you’ll have any luck.
I’m just hoping we can use the $500+ we spent on travel insurance for our canceled trip if we reschedule next year. We got an email to that effect, so I think it will work.
Just found out we lose $150 each if we cancel our bike trip.
Not a terrible amount. We so want to go, but seems safer to cancel.
@abasket, the trip will likely be fairly small - usually capped and I’m guessing not that many people will be going this year.
We would have to drive from MD to Vermont, and could bring our own food for the trip there.
They said we can change the date to next year with no additional cost. I think I will take that option, because we like this tour company and we really want to do the tour, just not during COVID stress. I’m assuming we can cancel and lose the $300 for up to 90 days before the next planned trip, but will verify before I do that option.
We moved our bike trip to next year.
I hope the company stays in business.
We just didn’t want to take a chance and who knows where we will be in 3 months.
Now we have no travel plans until a short long driving trip for a family wedding in November, if it actually occurs.
Smart move @1214mom.
I am on the fence about booking our next HI trip. I am not afraid to fly, but unless we can get clarity about testing and will know for sure that a TAT of less than 72 hours is possible (more like 36 hr TAT), I am not making any waves.
I’m not booking anything until my lung docs give me the all clear, which will probably be after I’ve gotten doses with a reliable vaccine vs covid-19. I have no idea when that will be but have not booked any travel.
Got a full refund for our European car rentals. AutoEurope is an excellent company by the way, based in Portland, Maine.
I think I’m done canceling everything now.
We made it to nova to move older s in. Very smooth trip so far. We still need to get home lol. It’s a 5 hour trip for us, albeit <30 min on an interstate. There is no way h or I could make that trip without stopping several times. Stopping is just a part of our travel. Not only for bathrooms, but I need to move. As a long distance runner, I worry about blood clots from sitting too much. I don’t mind peeing in the woods, but I also don’t mind public bathrooms. But again, no big truck travel plazas where we are.
We stopped at sheetz gas stations twice. I love sheetz and the bathrooms felt fine. We stopped for lunch at a jersey mike’s and ate outside. Their bathroom was closed, but Moe’s next door was open. It was single stall and they literally had gallons of Purcell hand sanitizer to refill the stations. So for those not wanting to stop at gas stations, I would try small food shops but also grocery stores. I often use those on trips and nobody ever seems to be in there. Target/Walmart tend to be iffier.
Our hotel we got bumped from a clarion to a brand new Hampton across the street. The clarion closed for renovations. There were 7 cars and 1 uhaul in the lot this morning. Our room had a sticker seal we had to break going in that said it was sanitized. What that actually means, who knows. The free breakfast was ultra disappointing. An apple and a bottle of water in a paper bag. Blech. I’d rather eat Cheetos and m&ms.
It is very strange seeing the difference in mask compliance. EVERYONE wears them here, even many people outside. I’m glad this is the case since my kid will hopefully be here for a long time.
^^^ OMG Hampton who is known for these not lavish but worth-it-for-a-family breakfast has to do better than an apple and a bottle of water! That’s only enough nourishment to get me out in the parking lot to the car!!!
Stayed at a Hampton in Wyoming. Got a breakfast burrito, banana, orange cake and yogurt and a miniature bottle of water.
First world problem. In the last 10 years, since going to a 3 day workweek I’ve had the great good fortune of being able to earmark my quarterly bonus specifically for travel. I’ve taken 3 to 4 wonderful trips annually and among other things that this virus quarantining has done, I’m getting twitchy about not having a lovely trip to look forward to in Sept (that would have been my next getaway). My work is somewhat stressful, and having a break every few months is my salve. My office manager does the same. Her job is even more stressful than mine! She went to Las Vegas for a week (yuck!) just to get away. I’m not “that” desperate! I may need to rent a cabin in the local mountains for a few days, just to decompress. I would prefer to go someplace with warm turquoise water to swim and snorkel. Yes, it’s true, I did go to Portland for a week in early June, and by now would have my Sept plans in place and we getting excited for my next adventure. Sept trips are always someplace tropical. I live in So Cal, but our ocean is too cold for me so I don’t enjoy swimming in it. That’s all. Just venting.
CA folks…what are your thoughts about a convention in mid November? Should I make plane reservations…or not?