MASTER Cancel Travel b/c of COVID-19 Questions Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe anyone on here is considering ANY non-essential travel. WHY RISK IT????

I can’t believe people are canceling their domestic spring break plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe anyone on here is considering ANY non-essential travel. WHY RISK IT????

I can’t believe people are canceling their domestic spring break plans.

Do you think that China was mistaken in quarantining hot spots?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe anyone on here is considering ANY non-essential travel. WHY RISK IT????

I can’t believe people are canceling their domestic spring break plans.

Do you think that China was mistaken in quarantining hot spots?

NP. I do not think China was mistaken in quarantining hot spots, but I think the "WHY RISK IT???" poster is not being rational. There are many risk inherent in any activity, including vacations. People take road trips (very risky), helicopter tours (risky), go ziplining (risky), take vacations to countries or cities with high-crime rates and/or unstable governments (risky, risky). I'm not sure that going to someplace that is not a hot spot is any more risky than any of that. Would I go to South Korea? No. Japan? Probably not. Europe outside Northern Italy.....not sure, waiting to see. Family wedding to a beach destination...almost certainly will go unless things really spiral out.
OTOH, I am trying to avoid the work related travel that is of the nature of "I'm not sure why we weren't doing this as a conference call to begin with."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe anyone on here is considering ANY non-essential travel. WHY RISK IT????

One simple reason. NON-REFUNDABLE. When airlines, cruise lines, and tour companies start offering refunds, I think a lot more people will be willing to cancel. Its easy to say "just cancel" when its not your money.

[Anonymous]

Here's my take: I'm not flying anywhere abroad or to any islands (ie, Hawaii), because if I need to rent a car and get home, I want to be able to, should something wacky happen with airlines.

I am going to Florida next week. We are not going to theme parks - going to beaches. Air BNB - no hotel, more ability to eat in and control our own cleaning, without people going in and out of our space.

I wouldn't want to be at a crowded resort with communal pools. So that kind of trip feels fine to me; minimizing risks.

You couldn't pay me to get on a cruise ship or go to an island resort right now though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's my take: I'm not flying anywhere abroad or to any islands (ie, Hawaii), because if I need to rent a car and get home, I want to be able to, should something wacky happen with airlines.

I am going to Florida next week. We are not going to theme parks - going to beaches. Air BNB - no hotel, more ability to eat in and control our own cleaning, without people going in and out of our space.

I wouldn't want to be at a crowded resort with communal pools. So that kind of trip feels fine to me; minimizing risks.

You couldn't pay me to get on a cruise ship or go to an island resort right now though.

What if you had to lose $10k+ to not go? That's what a lot of these spring break cruises cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:San Antonio this weekend?

Thoughts on San Antonio? We were planning to visit family this weekend, but got an email that we could change our flights without change fees.

I don't think we'd go out much - maybe just for one dinner. And we go through the airport and get an Uber.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:San Antonio this weekend?

Thoughts on San Antonio? We were planning to visit family this weekend, but got an email that we could change our flights without change fees.

I don't think we'd go out much - maybe just for one dinner. And we go through the airport and get an Uber.

Here is my blanket response. Any trip I could cancel without financial penalty, i would cancel. The tricky part comes when there is money on the line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's my take: I'm not flying anywhere abroad or to any islands (ie, Hawaii), because if I need to rent a car and get home, I want to be able to, should something wacky happen with airlines.

I am going to Florida next week. We are not going to theme parks - going to beaches. Air BNB - no hotel, more ability to eat in and control our own cleaning, without people going in and out of our space.

I wouldn't want to be at a crowded resort with communal pools. So that kind of trip feels fine to me; minimizing risks.

You couldn't pay me to get on a cruise ship or go to an island resort right now though.

What if you had to lose $10k+ to not go? That's what a lot of these spring break cruises cost.

I think resorts should do the right thing (and p.r.-savvy thing) and issue refunds, but honestly, if i felt in danger, my safety/sanity matters more to me than money. Going just to say I went feels pointless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:San Antonio this weekend?

Thoughts on San Antonio? We were planning to visit family this weekend, but got an email that we could change our flights without change fees.

I don't think we'd go out much - maybe just for one dinner. And we go through the airport and get an Uber.

Well, there's this...
https://www.kristv.com/news/national/coronavirus/san-antonio-declares-state-of-disaster-public-health-emergency-amid-coronavirus-concerns?fbclid=IwAR1UMC5lJ_V48v4uafgPA3u5ukBqMuY8ZUI46coVRl9tpdCoe5qjljSxE8I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's my take: I'm not flying anywhere abroad or to any islands (ie, Hawaii), because if I need to rent a car and get home, I want to be able to, should something wacky happen with airlines.

I am going to Florida next week. We are not going to theme parks - going to beaches. Air BNB - no hotel, more ability to eat in and control our own cleaning, without people going in and out of our space.

I wouldn't want to be at a crowded resort with communal pools. So that kind of trip feels fine to me; minimizing risks.

You couldn't pay me to get on a cruise ship or go to an island resort right now though.

What if you had to lose $10k+ to not go? That's what a lot of these spring break cruises cost.

I think resorts should do the right thing (and p.r.-savvy thing) and issue refunds, but honestly, if i felt in danger, my safety/sanity matters more to me than money. Going just to say I went feels pointless.

Perhaps. It doesn't feels so clear cut to me as I actually have significant money on the line. If I am offered a full refund I will certainly cancel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:San Antonio this weekend?

Thoughts on San Antonio? We were planning to visit family this weekend, but got an email that we could change our flights without change fees.

I don't think we'd go out much - maybe just for one dinner. And we go through the airport and get an Uber.

Well, there's this...
https://www.kristv.com/news/national/coronavirus/san-antonio-declares-state-of-disaster-public-health-emergency-amid-coronavirus-concerns?fbclid=IwAR1UMC5lJ_V48v4uafgPA3u5ukBqMuY8ZUI46coVRl9tpdCoe5qjljSxE8I

Yes, I did hear about the one person who was accidentally released...but if we stay away from that mall maybe it's OK?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's my take: I'm not flying anywhere abroad or to any islands (ie, Hawaii), because if I need to rent a car and get home, I want to be able to, should something wacky happen with airlines.

I am going to Florida next week. We are not going to theme parks - going to beaches. Air BNB - no hotel, more ability to eat in and control our own cleaning, without people going in and out of our space.

I wouldn't want to be at a crowded resort with communal pools. So that kind of trip feels fine to me; minimizing risks.

You couldn't pay me to get on a cruise ship or go to an island resort right now though.

What if you had to lose $10k+ to not go? That's what a lot of these spring break cruises cost.

I think resorts should do the right thing (and p.r.-savvy thing) and issue refunds, but honestly, if i felt in danger, my safety/sanity matters more to me than money. Going just to say I went feels pointless.

Perhaps. It doesn't feels so clear cut to me as I actually have significant money on the line. If I am offered a full refund I will certainly cancel.

Us, too, with respect to our international trip to a non-hot spot (yet) European country. I'd obviously prefer to get my money back, but if I could just re-book within a year without insane fees, we would cancel due to potential for travel restrictions/quarantines put in place in the 11 days we're scheduled to be gone. But the $6k I would lose otherwise makes it a very different calculation. We may still not go even if we'll lose our money, depending on what things look like in a few weeks, but it's not a clear cut decision right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe anyone on here is considering ANY non-essential travel. WHY RISK IT????

I can’t believe people are canceling their domestic spring break plans.

Do you think that China was mistaken in quarantining hot spots?

NP. I do not think China was mistaken in quarantining hot spots, but I think the "WHY RISK IT???" poster is not being rational. There are many risk inherent in any activity, including vacations. People take road trips (very risky), helicopter tours (risky), go ziplining (risky), take vacations to countries or cities with high-crime rates and/or unstable governments (risky, risky). I'm not sure that going to someplace that is not a hot spot is any more risky than any of that. Would I go to South Korea? No. Japan? Probably not. Europe outside Northern Italy.....not sure, waiting to see. Family wedding to a beach destination...almost certainly will go unless things really spiral out.
OTOH, I am trying to avoid the work related travel that is of the nature of "I'm not sure why we weren't doing this as a conference call to begin with."

That NYC-based lawyer just gave COVID-19 to his wife, his son, AND a neighbor. Still have no idea where he got it from...

https://nypost.com/2020/03/03/nyc-lawyer-with-coronavirus-in-severe-condition-health-department/

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said an initial review of the 50-year-old man's travels doesn't suggest any travel to China or other countries at the nexus of the outbreak, so authorities are treating it as a case of person-to-person spread.

So yeah, I think being careful about domestic travel is warranted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe anyone on here is considering ANY non-essential travel. WHY RISK IT????

I can’t believe people are canceling their domestic spring break plans.

Do you think that China was mistaken in quarantining hot spots?

NP. I do not think China was mistaken in quarantining hot spots, but I think the "WHY RISK IT???" poster is not being rational. There are many risk inherent in any activity, including vacations. People take road trips (very risky), helicopter tours (risky), go ziplining (risky), take vacations to countries or cities with high-crime rates and/or unstable governments (risky, risky). I'm not sure that going to someplace that is not a hot spot is any more risky than any of that. Would I go to South Korea? No. Japan? Probably not. Europe outside Northern Italy.....not sure, waiting to see. Family wedding to a beach destination...almost certainly will go unless things really spiral out.
OTOH, I am trying to avoid the work related travel that is of the nature of "I'm not sure why we weren't doing this as a conference call to begin with."

That NYC-based lawyer just gave COVID-19 to his wife, his son, AND a neighbor. Still have no idea where he got it from...

https://nypost.com/2020/03/03/nyc-lawyer-with-coronavirus-in-severe-condition-health-department/

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said an initial review of the 50-year-old man's travels doesn't suggest any travel to China or other countries at the nexus of the outbreak, so authorities are treating it as a case of person-to-person spread.

So yeah, I think being careful about domestic travel is warranted.

No one knows where he got it. Could have been at the supermarket, during his commute, at his office.