Start with the Bad News
The beginning of the week was not a worthy one for those of us waiting for some good news related to cruising, or travel in general. Over the course of a few days all of the major cruise lines announced they would extend their suspensions until the end of April. We had booked a British Isles cruise for May 2021 back in December 2019. With regret we will be cancelling that cruise, for so many reasons. At our age we will not be eligible for a vaccine by that time, we do not want to be the guinea pigs on the new clean sailing efforts and the United Kingdom is still struggling with the virus, including a new variant.
Now Some Good News
But, ever optimistic, we have another cruise booked for August. By then the vaccine should be more widespread, cruise lines will have tested and adapted their protocols, and other countries will hopefully be as well on the road to beating this pandemic as we will be in Canada.
To show just how optimistic I am about our future plans I booked pre- and post-cruise hotels through Expedia, taking advantage of the free cancellation, book now pay later options on both. This allowed us to get a great price and confirm our stays well in advance.
We also booked our post cruise transportation / day excursion from the disembarkation port to our hotel. The site confirmed the protocols in place and satisfied any concerns I may have about social distancing and masking even into the future. Knowing that there would not be as many seats was another impetus for us to book now. We were required to pay in advance but confirmed that there is a 100% refund if cancelled more than 7 days before the date booked. Since we will know well before that if we are even cruising that seemed like a reasonable move, other than some of our funds will be tied up for a time. However, as I told Ken, it was a small price to pay for the sheer joy just that baby step towards travel normalcy gave me.
Some Even Better News
On a roll I then called my travel agent to ask about how the Air Canada credit will work for when I book the flight. Our current credit must be used by March 2022. If we get to travel later this summer that is not an issue but being cautious I just wanted to know where we stood.
To my surprise I was informed that Air Canada will now issue a voucher for the full amount. The voucher, unlike the credit, does not expire. It is also transferrable to another party if needed. Lastly we are not required to use the full amount on our next flight, like we are with the credit, or forfeit the balance. We can carry the voucher forward until the total amount is used up. This option was far better for us. We were chafing at having to take Air Canada if it wasn’t the best price or option, and even more so hated the thought of forfeiting a balance.
Our agent completed the form and submitted the request while I was on the phone with them. The form is also available on the Air Canada website at https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/fly/customer-support/cancellation-options.html#/current-booking. It takes about 4 – 8 weeks to process due to the backlog.
More Good News
Travel Insurance providers are constantly changing their policies and procedures as we move forward with the pandemic. Please be sure to check the wordings of your policy or ask your agent to clarify so that you are sure of your options.
We received notice from our provider about some of their new provisions, all of which seem to be positive enhancements.
- If you are required to get a COVID-19 test done to fly back to Canada, the test itself is not covered, but if you test positive you may be covered for medical and other expenses related to COVID-19 subject to the terms and conditions of your policy.
- You may also be able to access an automatic extension of your insurance policy along with the Emergency Medical plan. The period will vary depending on the reason you need to extend your trip.
- If you have previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 you are still eligible to purchase travel insurance as long as your diagnosis was more than 30 days before departure and / or you are not showing symptoms on or within 14 days prior to departure.
- If your plan excludes travel in the USA they will still allow flight stopovers or layovers in the USA for up to 48 hours or transit through the USA by vehicle for up to 5 days at any one time.
I am still not packing my suitcase, but I have checked to make sure it was were I last remember storing it. In these dark days that is more than enough.