thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 14, 2020 18:19:39 GMT -5
The real question now is...
Should we book Hawaii for the summer? Or is that a losing proposition? What will we know by July?
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Mar 14, 2020 19:08:14 GMT -5
The real question now is... Should we book Hawaii for the summer? Or is that a losing proposition? What will we know by July? If you can book and the prices are good, I would do it. Rebooking fees will likely be waved if there continue to be travel restrictions.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Mar 14, 2020 21:40:58 GMT -5
It's affecting my plans a little bit. My friend is back home and I am taking care of her dog. She's supposed to fly back tomorrow and arrive Monday. I am sending positive vibes that her flight doesn't get cancelled or delayed. I need her to come back. I'm taking care of her dog, my cat, have a 2 hour round trip commute, and work has exploded with customer request for relief. I love dogs but they take a lot of time to care for. I cannot keep doing this for much longer.
I purchased my mom's flight ticket in February. Her trip is in June, but who knows. Things may be better by then, or worse.
I have to purchase my ticket to go back home in December. This virus shouldn't affect my travel plans for December, but for some reason I cannot buy the ticket. I'm in a wait and see mindset.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Mar 15, 2020 10:30:28 GMT -5
From what I am seeing on Twitter today, it was taking 6 or 7 hours to clear Customs last night. Not sure if it's the number of people returning or something to do with the coronavirus. They aren't testing at Customs. Said it was taking 4 to 5 hours to get luggage and another 2 to get through Customs. It happened at more than one airport.
While your friend's flight may be on time, she can't control Customs.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Mar 15, 2020 11:09:29 GMT -5
Glad DD and DGD made it back to US with minimal delay on arrival. The 12 hour flight was bad enough with an 18 month old, at least she didn’t have to add arrival delay.
Hoping she can still travel here from Oregon in 7 days. We realize she may be stuck here for a while, but I would rather her be stuck with me than with her MIL.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Mar 15, 2020 11:29:55 GMT -5
UGH! I just got off the phone with my sister. Her youngest is flying back from FL today, she is not feeling well. Then her second youngest decided she needed to go to FL too so she is taking advantage of the college's closure and online classes (I asked my sister if her daughter really was going to do her online classes in FL.....I'm thinking no). I don’t know why you think it will be a problem-colleges have a lot of on-line offerings. My kids do on-line classes for Winterim and Summer School all the time. I also see parents complain about kids being forced into on-line classes for regular school year classes. My DD had only one on-campus class this semester-they pay extra for on-line credits normally, but she decided it was worth it because she knew her work schedule would change if she got her transfer. She got the transfer, is 2nd from bottom on seniority, and we have airlines nearly shut down. She volunteered for 90 day leave though. Her old boss at Starbucks said she would give her a job, and she could also work for DH. I have been on vacay with DD where she kept up with on-line classes. DD took a final last 4th of July and the cable was out. She was able to use the Verizon Wi-Fi from her phone to take her exam-they are resourceful and tech savy where issues like that would stop many of us in our tracks.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Mar 15, 2020 11:39:50 GMT -5
DD and DGD are on the plane back to US (Oregon first). As I was checking on flight status, it already says Delta flight for tomorrow is cancelled. Now just praying for safe arrival. I know it is challenging for 18 month old on a 12 hour flight. She has her own seat. Tell her to try to get on a different flight/fly standby. DD just got home from working and I asked her if they were at all affected by the international travelers. She said no, but she had seen pictures on an internal board. Her comment was-there is going to be a lot of missed connections.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Mar 15, 2020 11:39:55 GMT -5
UGH! I just got off the phone with my sister. Her youngest is flying back from FL today, she is not feeling well. Then her second youngest decided she needed to go to FL too so she is taking advantage of the college's closure and online classes (I asked my sister if her daughter really was going to do her online classes in FL.....I'm thinking no). I don’t know why you think it will be a problem-colleges have a lot of on-line offerings. My kids do on-line classes for Winterim and Summer School all the time. I also see parents complain about kids being forced into on-line classes for regular school year classes. My DD had only one on-campus class this semester-they pay extra for on-line credits normally, but she decided it was worth it because she knew her work schedule would change if she got her transfer. She got the transfer, is 2nd from bottom on seniority, and we have airlines nearly shut down. She volunteered for 90 day leave though. Her old boss at Starbucks said she would give her a job, and she could also work for DH. I have been on vacay with DD where she kept up with on-line classes. DD took a final last 4th of July and the cable was out. She was able to use the Verizon Wi-Fi from her phone to take her exam-they are resourceful and tech savy where issues like that would stop many of us in our tracks. It is an issue because my niece is going to FL for a week because her college has closed. How much time do you suppose she will spend in her online classes? I’m guessing none. This is also her second trip in the last month....she took off for spring break and went south. The only reason she did was to one up her younger sister (who is working full t8me in a daycare) and is coming back from FL. Not only that, she can’t afford it and she will ask her mom to supplement her. My sister cannot afford this as she is already footing the bill for her surgery deductible. My sister is struggling to pay off 2 deductibles, one niece had gall bladder surgery, the other an appendectomy. Unfortunately different insurance years.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Mar 15, 2020 20:05:42 GMT -5
And we are doing our (not so good) best to minimize the spread of Covid19. As i mentionedbefore I have not mastered the copy/paste function on my Fire, but the article linked below reports that 3800 people disembarked in Miami without any health checks at sll. And this despite the fact that, Similar to the ship that was kept offshore near SF, a passenger on the previous cruise had come down with the virus. we can only hope that this has not the same result of people getting sick or we will soon have a huge new group spreading the joy of cruising across the country. news.yahoo.com/more-3-800-passengers-cruise-203139303.html
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MN-Investor
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Post by MN-Investor on Mar 17, 2020 23:57:40 GMT -5
So what do you do about funerals? A very beloved aunt passed away yesterday. My cousin is planning a small funeral in a week. Three of my sisters will be flying here for the funeral. Two of my siblings, along with me, are within a day's drive. It's a bit less than a 3 hour drive for me. There are no easy answers. For anyone else, I might skip the funeral. But this aunt was my mom's younger sister and our families have been close. I wrote the above three days ago. Yesterday, after the governor told all the restaurants to close their seating areas, my cousin and her family had a discussion with the pastor. The virus situation was just getting too dangerous at this point. They called the funeral off. There will be a tiny prayer service for the immediate family, but that is it for now. Hopefully there will be a time this summer where we can get together to remember my aunt. Until the situation improves, I think this will be how funerals will be handled.
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nittanycheme
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Post by nittanycheme on Mar 18, 2020 2:40:05 GMT -5
I was supposed to go to Baltimore this weekend to celebrate a friends birthday and made reservations months ago for a hotel. We got nonrefundable rooms through hotels.com. I can't get through to anyone, but the hotels.com policy says that they follow their partners policy and the hotel chain says they are refunding nonrefundable if cancelled more than 24 hrs. i just canceled, so hopefully its true. Although either way we weren't going; all the places to go are closed and I don't want room service that bad. My trip to Asheville in April is now cancelled as well. Fortunately car and hotel had free cancellation; and now I have Southwest travel cash. Hopefully I can use it by next February. My DH and I had a romantic getaway planned for May; not sure what to do about that now. Its a couples resort, so except for dining I expect most of the guests already self-quarantine for a different reason. There is a hot tub and a small pool in each of the rooms along with a fireplace.....
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 6, 2020 18:48:52 GMT -5
We finally bit the bullet and started cancelling all of our reservations for Great Britain. We were supposed to go May 10th. We only waited this long because we thought we might reschedule for next fall. But at this point, that even seems problematic. By waiting this long, Delta has made an even better offer. A full credit that can be used until June 30, 2022. Maybe by then we'll feel safe to fly again.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Apr 6, 2020 19:21:04 GMT -5
Yes was hoping to go to Greece with grandson this summer. I’ve taken his 2 older cousins on a trip to Europe and sad we won’t have this experience together
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Apr 6, 2020 21:46:16 GMT -5
The real question now is... Should we book Hawaii for the summer? Or is that a losing proposition? What will we know by July? I'm not going anywhere until there's a vaccine or my bloodwork proves I've already had it. Planes and hotel rooms can be petri dishes.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Apr 6, 2020 22:42:58 GMT -5
Is COVID 19 affecting your travel plans?
Yes. I was thinking of taking a last minute stand-by flight to Cuba at the end of March. I had planned this trip every year, but something always happened. Either needed major car repairs or was moving. I was finally able to go.
But nooooo............!
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 7, 2020 0:46:19 GMT -5
We had paid tickets at the Globe theater. They are asking to just donate my cost (they are a non-profit) instead of a refund. I haven't decided yet.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Apr 7, 2020 1:52:02 GMT -5
On February 26th I said that, unless they shut all airports down, there would be plenty of travelling going on this year. Famous last words...
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Apr 7, 2020 12:36:20 GMT -5
We had paid tickets at the Globe theater. They are asking to just donate my cost (they are a non-profit) instead of a refund. I haven't decided yet. We have season tickets to the local symphony, Seattle ballet and opera. I think thus far we have missed 1 show from each. We just donated all of our costs back to the entity rather than getting money back. However, I think it is going offset what we normally make as a charitable donation.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Apr 7, 2020 12:39:53 GMT -5
I just got off the phone with Fiji Airways. I bought our airline tickets to Fiji through them for later this month. After discussing this with TD, we came to the conclusion that we'd accept a voucher to rebook at another date rather than get reimbursed, as long as we could rebook the same seats at the same rate next year. The CSR I spoke to on the phone today could not guarantee this for me, so I requested the money back and I'll rebook the seats when the schedule opens up. We had to shift the trip to June next year, and the flights for that date have not yet opened up.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 7, 2020 12:42:21 GMT -5
I hope we get to go to the theater by May 26th. Thry already postponed Mean Girls until September, and the next show is Come from Away. Those are the two I want to see the most. I had to sit through 'Summer the musical' - I don't want to miss the good stuff!
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Apr 7, 2020 12:49:04 GMT -5
I hope we get to go to the theater by May 26th. Thry already postponed Mean Girls until September, and the next show is Come from Away. Those are the two I want to see the most. I had to sit through 'Summer the musical' - I don't want to miss the good stuff! Come From Away was good last year. They rescheduled Summer for us to August. Miss Saigon ended the North American tour so we won't get to see that one. It was the one show my in laws wanted out of this season.
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justme
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Post by justme on Apr 7, 2020 12:59:27 GMT -5
We had paid tickets at the Globe theater. They are asking to just donate my cost (they are a non-profit) instead of a refund. I haven't decided yet. We have season tickets to the local symphony, Seattle ballet and opera. I think thus far we have missed 1 show from each. We just donated all of our costs back to the entity rather than getting money back. However, I think it is going offset what we normally make as a charitable donation. Missed two broadway on tour shows. I just had them roll it over for next year's season that I just renewed. There's 2 more than they haven't canceled yet - end of May and mid June. We'll see what happens to those.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2020 13:09:05 GMT -5
I just got off the phone with Fiji Airways. I bought our airline tickets to Fiji through them for later this month. After discussing this with TD, we came to the conclusion that we'd accept a voucher to rebook at another date rather than get reimbursed, as long as we could rebook the same seats at the same rate next year. I'm betting airfares will go down as they try to get more bodies back onto the plane- but I agree that right now, cash back is king.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Apr 7, 2020 13:23:51 GMT -5
I just got off the phone with Fiji Airways. I bought our airline tickets to Fiji through them for later this month. After discussing this with TD, we came to the conclusion that we'd accept a voucher to rebook at another date rather than get reimbursed, as long as we could rebook the same seats at the same rate next year. I'm betting airfares will go down as they try to get more bodies back onto the plane- but I agree that right now, cash back is king. We got REALLY good prices for these fares when I booked, which was the reason why I was planning on just rolling it over. However, the email that I sent to the address that the CSR gave me bounced back. So I went another route, and have not yet heard back. Not a happy camper about this.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 7, 2020 14:37:28 GMT -5
We were supposed to see Come from Away in the West End in London. Another disappointment in cancelling our trip. They have yet to send me info on refunding my tickets.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 11, 2020 11:42:19 GMT -5
We just got a notice from Expedia. They will refund 115% of our hotel money if we just leave it with them as a voucher. We don't need the money right now and eventually will use it, so we are considering taking the offer.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Apr 11, 2020 12:03:52 GMT -5
We just got a notice from Expedia. They will refund 115% of our hotel money if we just leave it with them as a voucher. We don't need the money right now and eventually will use it, so we are considering taking the offer. You are lucky. I booked rooms in BC for my niece’s wedding in early June. Wedding has been canceled and I was informed by Expedia that my room was nonrefundable. I didn’t even get an offer of a voucher, just a flat out ‘nope’. Right now, the game plan is to take a long weekend away.....provided the border opens back up. The wedding was in a fairly big tourist area, and hotel rooms are scarce in the area at that time, which is the reason why I booked them in Jan. We also have reservations in an adjacent area for Aug. Who knows what will happen then? That is for another family event.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 11, 2020 12:14:10 GMT -5
Since we were booking so far out, we only made reservations that could be cancelled. Sometimes paying a little more for the room. It ended up being a smart choice. Also one major reservation was discounted because we were using rewards points. They kept the points, and refunded us the full price, more than we paid.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 11, 2020 20:17:41 GMT -5
So I started researching my refund for theater tickets for Come from Away in London. The site says they are processing them in order and that the West End has 300,000 tickets sold each week. And we may not hear from them until after the date of our play.
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Apr 12, 2020 14:11:40 GMT -5
I was planning on going to a friend's military retirement next week and a birthday getaway for myself in May but neither will be happening now so, yeah, slight changes BUT I can still make the trips later. They'll just be for different reasons.
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