Hotel/Flights with all the uncertainty

[LoungingMcCoy]

We booked and paid for our Jan 2021 cruise in February of this year.  I wouldn't be surprised if the cruise gets cancelled and there's a lot of talk about reduced capacity, and who knows how that will play out.

 

As far as flights and hotel goes, I don't want to spend and lose a bunch of money if the cruise gets cancelled.  Especially since airline tickets cost about the same as a cruise.  I also don't want to wait too long and end up not being able to get a hotel or flight.  Maybe that last part won't be an issue if people aren't traveling yet in January, but once again, who knows.

 

Any suggestions for ways to book flights and a hotel without the risk of losing all that money? 

 

If it comes to it, our place to New Orleans is about a 10 hour drive.  I hate driving, and I really don't want to do that, but at least it's an option.  Not being able to get a hotel room would be the bigger issue.

 

Thanks!

[Philob]

Depends on your price point.  Before CV-19 we usually stayed at Hampton Inn, Best Western; both had cancel up to 24-48 hours before check in.  You need to book directly on their respective websites.  Can't help with the air portion, sorry. 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Philob

[Mike981]

I moved our January 2021 to 2022 a few weeks ago. We have no choice but to fly and that played a big part of it, losing money and the our health.

 

I didn't want to sit for months wondering if we would sail. A big part of vacationing for me is the build up before you go and I believe that would have been replaced with worry.

 

Since we made our decision things have only gotten worse, glad we moved it.

[navybankerteacher]

Many hotels will accept reservations without payment - and most which do not will let you cancel without penalty (or with very small penalty) up to a day or so before booked check in.  Flights are a different matter - you usually want to book early to get the best fare, and if you do cancel you might not get any recovery.

 

If you can do the drive in 10 hours that is how you should plan to spend the day before embarkation. When you consider getting to an airport, going through security and check in and getting from other airport to your hotel, you would  likely be spending at least 3-4 hours anyway, so that 10 hours is not that big a deal.

[bigrednole]

With airlines looking at all of their cost cutting and ways to get more money, I would not book unless there was a guarantee of at least a credit and no cost for moving flights. Most hotels offer free cancellation up to 24-hours in advance.

[pris993]

I have re booked a cruise from Feb 2021 to Jan 2022... this is a cruise from my home port, no air, no hotels involved.    The way things are going, I don't see the cruise experience to be a "vacation" experience til, 2022.   I don't want to cruise with a mask or social distancing.

[Aquahound]

7 hours ago, LoungingMcCoy said:

  Not being able to get a hotel room would be the bigger issue.

 

I wouldn't worry about that.  I travel a lot for work and through all this, I never had a problem booking hotels.  I'm a Hilton brands guy, and all my go-to hotels have remained open.  

[clo]

1 hour ago, pris993 said:

I don't want to cruise with a mask

I realized in the last few days that I would wear a mask on a ship. I wear them so much that I'm used to it. We did an "outdoor dining" lunch today. Put on our masks as we got out of the car, removed them when seated with no one anywhere near us. Put them back on before we left. Don't even think about it anymore.

[pris993]

1 hour ago, clo said:

I realized in the last few days that I would wear a mask on a ship. I wear them so much that I'm used to it. We did an "outdoor dining" lunch today. Put on our masks as we got out of the car, removed them when seated with no one anywhere near us. Put them back on before we left. Don't even think about it anymore.

Maybe you are wearing a mask more than I.

 

 I go out daily for about 2-3 hours, only wear a mask when I go inside to shop, otherwise if I am walking outside, I wear mask around my neck only put up if approaching someone.  Yesterday, I went to get a routine xray, technician told me she gets headaches from not getting as much oxygen from wearing a mask all day.  Headache occurs in late afternoon.  That gave me cause to think about even considering a 15 hour non stop flight to Israel when they stop requiring a 14 day quarantine on arrival.  I may wait til mask are no longer required on long flights too.    I don't find wearing a mask a pleasant experience.

[sanger727]

I wouldn’t book the flights until your final payment date at the earliest. We were facing a similar quandary with a trip we wanted to take in February. We haven’t booked anything yet and have realize it’s very unlikely at this point the trip will occur so mentally have given up on it. If you can move your cruise to later in 21 or into 22, That is what o would do personally. Might it sail? Yes, maybe. But cruises are cancelled until October at the earliest and may not get up and running again until shortly before you sail. The stress of flights and being a guinea pig on an early sailing isn’t worth it to me.

[RSLeesburg]

We switched our Celebrity South America Christmas Cruise from Dec 2020 to Dec 2021 a few weeks ago.  I had already booked tickets on AA for the family.  They (AA) allowed me to cancel them on their web site no questions asked and the gave me full credit for all three tickets (almost $7K).  We are in process of relocating from FL to TX, so called and used portion of credit for tickets to Austin and no extra fees to use this.  Has been a very pleasant experience, and even though we had travel insurance, never needed to use it.  
 

As PP mentioned, hotels were easy to book.  We leave on Sat for our second trip to TX, and we had no trouble booking hotels or cars.  

[Toofarfromthesea]

20 hours ago, LoungingMcCoy said:

We booked and paid for our Jan 2021 cruise in February of this year.  I wouldn't be surprised if the cruise gets cancelled and there's a lot of talk about reduced capacity, and who knows how that will play out.

 

As far as flights and hotel goes, I don't want to spend and lose a bunch of money if the cruise gets cancelled.  Especially since airline tickets cost about the same as a cruise.  I also don't want to wait too long and end up not being able to get a hotel or flight.  Maybe that last part won't be an issue if people aren't traveling yet in January, but once again, who knows.

 

Any suggestions for ways to book flights and a hotel without the risk of losing all that money? 

 

If it comes to it, our place to New Orleans is about a 10 hour drive.  I hate driving, and I really don't want to do that, but at least it's an option.  Not being able to get a hotel room would be the bigger issue.

 

Thanks!

 

Hotel is the easy part.  Most have refundable rates for a few bucks more.  Book a refundable rate.  End of problem.

Virtually all of the flights I've been looking at for a November cruise from Miami and a late January all-inclusive in Cancun have free changes.

[George C]

I have canceled several hotels no penalty on any , will cancel another today and book another since we just booked celebrity edge for April. Planes are tricky we always buy insurance for flights and cruises. Still would love to cruise in November but will wait.

[Aquahound]

12 hours ago, pris993 said:

 I may wait til mask are no longer required on long flights too.    I don't find wearing a mask a pleasant experience.

 

I totally agree with you.  I had to wear a mask on 3 flights last week, the longest of which was 3 hours, and it was miserable.  No way would I go on a cruise having to wear a mask.   

[Joebucks]

There is zero reason to book a flight this early. You can book and have quite the decent selection of flights even 1-2 months out. Pricing also fluctuates all over the place. People book early because there are misconceptions that it will sell out and that it's the best price. Neither are generally true. While anything can be cancelled, I wouldn't book much more than 2 months out to minimize issues.

 

Hotels, at least in my experience, have been super accommodating, at least the big chains. IHG refunded me on a non-refundable rate. Hilton let me cancel up until the day before. I wouldn't bank on an exception, but many hotels are offering up-front flexibility.

[ober134]

21 hours ago, pris993 said:

Maybe you are wearing a mask more than I.

 

 I go out daily for about 2-3 hours, only wear a mask when I go inside to shop, otherwise if I am walking outside, I wear mask around my neck only put up if approaching someone.  Yesterday, I went to get a routine xray, technician told me she gets headaches from not getting as much oxygen from wearing a mask all day.  Headache occurs in late afternoon.  That gave me cause to think about even considering a 15 hour non stop flight to Israel when they stop requiring a 14 day quarantine on arrival.  I may wait til mask are no longer required on long flights too.    I don't find wearing a mask a pleasant experience.

I work in a hospital and wear a mask 40+ hrs a week, plus on the rare occasions I stop at a store. I do not get headaches. My coworkers don't complain of headaches. Just my personal experience.

[pris993]

23 minutes ago, ober134 said:

I work in a hospital and wear a mask 40+ hrs a week, plus on the rare occasions I stop at a store. I do not get headaches. My coworkers don't complain of headaches. Just my personal experience.

Thanks for the clarification.  Would guess if I had to wear a mask 40 hrs a week I may get more use to it too.  I mention  to my sister what the xray tech told me.  My sister told me someone she knows who has to wear a mask 40 hrs a week for work and refuses to wear one in other social situations but will social distance because she too has difficulty getting enough oxygen.  So possibly some people do have problems but others don't.  My main issue is my glasses steam up, I find it hard to shop, can't read things thru steamed glasses.  I would hate to be on a non stop 15 hour flight, with steamed up glasses, unable to read or watch tv. We all have issues I guess, can't wait for the vaccine.  

[cruisemom42]

38 minutes ago, ober134 said:

I work in a hospital and wear a mask 40+ hrs a week, plus on the rare occasions I stop at a store. I do not get headaches. My coworkers don't complain of headaches. Just my personal experience.

 

It is variable, but reported, that some health care workers who have to wear N95 masks for long periods develop headaches.

 

I also tend to develop a headache when wearing a mask for periods longer than about an hour. I am beginning to wonder whether I perhaps have some underlying respiratory issue. Alternatively, it could just be the extreme heat and humidity where I live.

 

[pris993]

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

There is zero reason to book a flight this early. You can book and have quite the decent selection of flights even 1-2 months out. Pricing also fluctuates all over the place. People book early because there are misconceptions that it will sell out and that it's the best price. Neither are generally true. While anything can be cancelled, I wouldn't book much more than 2 months out to minimize issues.

 

Hotels, at least in my experience, have been super accommodating, at least the big chains. IHG refunded me on a non-refundable rate. Hilton let me cancel up until the day before. I wouldn't bank on an exception, but many hotels are offering up-front flexibility.

For international travel I have booked up to 6 months out because we like to get premium coach seats, not many of those and I don't want to be in the middle section.  For domestic, I generally book early too since I like seats at the front section.  I watch fares and book when I find a good one.   Now that airlines have cut way back on number of flights, this may be factor too.   So what has worked in the past may not work now.  I also prefer non stops, so fare alone is not the only thing I consider in booking.   In the past non stops sell out early. 

 

Hotels I book as soon as I book air or a cruise.  Generally know where I want to stay and sometimes these hotel sell out.   I also monitor hotel rates, if rates go down I call and get the cheaper rate.  I always book refundable rates so can cancel up to whatever date the hotel indicates and not pay any fare.  

 

Been doing this for years, only got burned once when a fare on Air France went way down, called and got a credit.    Never could use the credit.  

[iancal]

I certainly not book a non refundable air ticket or any that only provided a credit instead of an immediate cash refund.

 

Hotel is no issue.   Simply book something that can be canceled anywhere from 48 hours out.

 

After retirement, pre covid we switched to a much shorter booking window.  That included cruise, air, hotel, whatever.    Post covid we plan to shorten that up even further if only because we feel that those who do survive covid may be in a very weak financial position that leads to failure.

Edited July 16, 2020 by iancal

[Kate P.C]

I agree that hotels are easier to find. Your options are many.

But, when it comes to flying it's nearly impossible to get a refund or not lose your money if you cancel your flights.

[SRF]

Look into fares with small or no change fees, versus refundable.

 

Sort of a Lift and Shift for air fare.

 

 

[sanger727]

On 7/15/2020 at 11:07 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

It is variable, but reported, that some health care workers who have to wear N95 masks for long periods develop headaches.

 

I also tend to develop a headache when wearing a mask for periods longer than about an hour. I am beginning to wonder whether I perhaps have some underlying respiratory issue. Alternatively, it could just be the extreme heat and humidity where I live.

 

 

I"m sure an underlying respiratory issue could be to blame in some people but for the most part I think it depends on what type of mask they are wearing and what activities they are doing. I have N95 and non N95 masks and by far the N95's are much more difficult to breathe through. I have no issues wearing a non-N95 mask for sitting at my desk or walking down a hallway but even with those I get short on breath when walking up/down stairs or doing anything more physical than a leisurely walking pace. 

[ldubs]

11 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

I"m sure an underlying respiratory issue could be to blame in some people but for the most part I think it depends on what type of mask they are wearing and what activities they are doing. I have N95 and non N95 masks and by far the N95's are much more difficult to breathe through. I have no issues wearing a non-N95 mask for sitting at my desk or walking down a hallway but even with those I get short on breath when walking up/down stairs or doing anything more physical than a leisurely walking pace. 

 

I used to wear a hard plastic respirator with replaceable filter cartridges.   It would kind of sneak up on me as the filters got full until I realized I was gasping for breath.   

[chipmaster]

12 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

I"m sure an underlying respiratory issue could be to blame in some people but for the most part I think it depends on what type of mask they are wearing and what activities they are doing. I have N95 and non N95 masks and by far the N95's are much more difficult to breathe through. I have no issues wearing a non-N95 mask for sitting at my desk or walking down a hallway but even with those I get short on breath when walking up/down stairs or doing anything more physical than a leisurely walking pace. 

 

The better the mask the more filtration, better filtration means more resistance, not a surprise that N95 are going to be more resistant.   

 

I know it sounds harsh, kind of like climbing stairs, the first few flight are heard, do it all the time and keep adding stairs and your lungs, heart and legs get stronger.        

 

Doesn't matter what anybodies condition, they should take responsibility for trying or staying healthy.  Of course some because of age or other simply can't do these things, better stay at home than, or accept the risk with a less than best mask/filtration.