Egypt cancelled.....

[smores]

nearly impossible to get refund on airfare.....and now no trip for the holidays...

 

[Bobo912]

nearly impossible to get refund on airfare.....and now no trip for the holidays...

I'm so sorry. Was it cancelled because of the continuing political unrest or was it low booking?

 

[DisneyKevin]

The December departures were canceled due to the political climate in Egypt.

I'm sorry for everyone affected.

 

[familygoboston]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2830634
Here is a post from another thread with another option...it might be a way to salvage those airline tickets?

 

[nordkin]

Have you talked to ABD about the airfare? The last time they cancelled one of our trips they offered to refund our airline tickets. We booked another trip and they paid the change fee for our tickets. We just had to provided documentaion of the fees from the airline.

 

[lizabu]

I wouldn't be going at least until after the election plays out. Theres no telling how things will be in the first few weeks after that. And that other link about no tourist being injured isn't exactly true. A Canadian school teacher found himself in the wrong place and got shot and killed 2 weeks ago. I love Egypt and was just there in July and it was probably the best time in history to visit. No lines for anything at all. Right now there is basically no government and the police are being good guys at the moment but they have been known to be very bad guys in the past. If for some reason the people feel that the election is unfair etc there could be some bumpy times in Egypt. Go to Egypt but do it at a time when its a little safer IMO

 

[dumbo4ever]

Does anyone know if Thomson family adventures is gay friendly? When I see family in a name I worry they will not be accepting Of my partner and our 18 year relationship.

 

[sayhello]

nearly impossible to get refund on airfare.....and now no trip for the holidays...

Are ABD not offering to move you to another trip? When they canceled my Canadian Rockies trip in 2009, they moved me to the Alaska trip, and paid to switch my airfare. And I did not purchase the airfare through them. Have you checked with them? If you have, and they aren't helping, that's REALLY sad.

Sayhello

 

[DisneyKevin]

ABD is offering to assist in moving guests affected by the cancellation of the Egypt Adventures to a different Adventure.

December 2011 Adventure availability is limited due to trips being at 100% capacity, but all of 2012 is available.

They are also offering to assist with airline change fees up to $150 per person.

Should you decide to participate in another Adventure, ABD will refund the full amount paid for the Adventure, but will not assist with flight cancellation penalties.

If you purchased travel insurance either through ABD or on your own, you will be able to make a claim.

If you have not purchased travel insurance, you will need to work directly with the airline.

 

[tufbuf]

When our Egypt trip for August this year was canceled in Feb. earlier, ABD assisted me in waiving the cancellation fees with Delta. I first spoke with a Delta rep and they told me since it wasn't me who was cancelling the trip, to have someone from ABD speak to them regarding the cancelled trip. We booked another ABD and used the previous air reservation for that trip. And since it cost less than the airfare to Egypt, we got vouchers for the difference on a future flight. I decided from then on to book our flights through ABD to make it a bit easier next time.

 

[smores]

unfortunately i booked the airfare my self....delta from chicago to jfk ($316 per person X4 people.....i have to pay $150 per person...got a credit on delta for $166 per person....i usually dont fly delta but i guess i need to find some place to go before july 2012)....then air egypt from jfk to cairo ($4011.13 for 4 people....i got a refund {will take 12 weeks} for $2494.60. the remainder is my loss because it is "taxes", "fees", "fuel surcharge", and "the fee to ask for a refund"....very unlikely i will ever book a flight with air egypt again!

in addition, now we have no plans for the holiday break...this was to be the trip of a life time for me and my two kids after spending the last couple years battling cancer....now no plans....airfare is outrageous because it's last minute and holidays....breaking the news to the kids tonight...

disney offered up a couple other trips but i need to stay on the same date schedule due to work coverage....oh well....happy holidays.....

 

[smores]

by the way.....insurance for airfare was useless

 

[lizabu]

Thats so disappointing. Is there somewhere else you can go? Maybe Dubai or the Dead Sea? Still an exotic locale but safer? It doesn't have to be an ABD vacation does it? There are so many options. If you still have your heart set on Egypt what about the Northern parts like Luxor or Sharm? I would just try to avoid Cairo until we see how things pan out. We went to Cairo not as part of a group and it was great but if there is rioting or protests you may want to be far from that area.

 

[sayhello]

by the way.....insurance for airfare was useless

Why? Did the airline try to weasel out of it for some reason? Did you buy the insurance through the airline or from an independent travel insurance company? I would have thought it would be covered... that really is terrible!

I'm so sorry your trip got canceled. That's really sad. Any chance of totally re-vamping and doing something like Disneyland Paris, or Tokyo Disney or Australia? It will be summer in Australia!

Sayhello

 

[smores]

i bought travel guard insurance....the policy says that if it was terrorism...they would cover or death/injury of someone in travel party or jury duty etc....but because disney cancelled the trip, is not a reason that the insurance will kick in....is what im told.

 

[LSmith]

I am really surprised that abd decided to continue with the Egypt tours this year given the political uprising of 2011.

Egypt has no real government to speak of and has been in great turmoil since last February. It's all over the news every single day. At least here in Canada it is .

It's better to be safe than sorry. Late February when the uprising had already started, many tourists refused to cancel their trips because they would not get back all of their money. Many ended up stranded for long periods of time and found themselves in lots of jams. Then, they demanded that their own governments get involved to get them out of the country.

Travellers need to educate themselves before booking trips to countries with severe political unrest. It is a desperate situation for the Egyptian people and it's not going to end any time soon.

 

[sayhello]

i bought travel guard insurance....the policy says that if it was terrorism...they would cover or death/injury of someone in travel party or jury duty etc....but because disney cancelled the trip, is not a reason that the insurance will kick in....is what im told.

That's scary!! I guess that's another reason to book the airfare for an ABD through ABD... So sorry this happened to you!

I am really surprised that abd decided to continue with the Egypt tours this year given the political uprising of 2011.

Egypt has no real government to speak of and has been in great turmoil since last February. It's all over the news every single day. At least here in Canada it is .

It's better to be safe than sorry. Late February when the uprising had already started, many tourists refused to cancel their trips because they would not get back all of their money. Many ended up stranded for long periods of time and found themselves in lots of jams. Then, they demanded that their own governments get involved to get them out of the country.

Travellers need to educate themselves before booking trips to countries with severe political unrest. It is a desperate situation for the Egyptian people and it's not going to end any time soon.

ABD is not the only tour operator to not cancel their trips. Thomson Family Adventures recently posted an offer for a significant discount on their Egypt trips, basically saying they were still operating their trips because the people they worked with and had a relationship with in Egypt really needed the business. At that time, I guess things weren't as bad as they are today. Don't know what they're doing at this point.

ABD *did* cancel several Egypt trips earlier in the year when the problems first started. I assume they waited until it was certain things would not be OK before canceling these recent ones.

Sayhello

 

[smores]

i completely understand that.....i book the egypt adventure in the about 18 months ago.....before unrest.....i waited til july to buy airfare....and prior to purchasing it i was reassured by disney adventures that the plan was to go ahead....i purchased travel guard insurance....but unfortunately i will be out about $2000. and no travel plans for the holidays....and looks like even if we decide to go to disney world airfare alone will be 700-1000 per person because it's so late and a holiday....i wish disney had cancelled all trip for the year in january...i wont have my kids with me for the holiday again til 2013....i just feel like if disney had cancelled sooner maybe we would have a decent plan for the holidays....very unfortunate.....

 

[LSmith]

That's scary!! I guess that's another reason to book the airfare for an ABD through ABD... So sorry this happened to you!

ABD is not the only tour operator to not cancel their trips. Thomson Family Adventures recently posted an offer for a significant discount on their Egypt trips, basically saying they were still operating their trips because the people they worked with and had a relationship with in Egypt really needed the business. At that time, I guess things weren't as bad as they are today. Don't know what they're doing at this point.

ABD *did* cancel several trips earlier in the year when the problems first started.

Sayhello

Oh, I agree. I was just commenting on abd specifically to the OP's concerns.

ADB is surely not the only tour operator to not cancel their trips. I can only speculate but I wonder if these tour companies will be out huge dollars if they don't book trips by the end of the year, given that they had to put off the trips booked earlier in the year.

There is a huge concern to me that tour operators are trying to weigh heavy on the conscious of the tourists by saying that Egypt needs their business desperately since tourism has dropped significantly. No doubt about it, given the circumstances.

Does that mean tourists should go there right now though? Who will be responsible if something happens to them? The insurance companies? The tourist agencies? The tourist's government? Certainly not Egypt.

 

[LSmith]

i completely understand that.....i book the egypt adventure in the about 18 months ago.....before unrest.....i waited til july to buy airfare....and prior to purchasing it i was reassured by disney adventures that the plan was to go ahead....i purchased travel guard insurance....but unfortunately i will be out about $2000. and no travel plans for the holidays....and looks like even if we decide to go to disney world airfare alone will be 700-1000 per person because it's so late and a holiday....i wish disney had cancelled all trip for the year in january...i wont have my kids with me for the holiday again til 2013....i just feel like if disney had cancelled sooner maybe we would have a decent plan for the holidays....very unfortunate.....

I feel for you. Trust me. I was in Egypt last December just before the #@!$ hit the fan. I still wonder what I would have done if my trip had been booked for a few months later. Hindsight is 20/20 but having been to Egypt I do feel much more informed.

If you want to pm me I am pretty sure that I can direct you to airfare for MUCH cheaper than you quote to anywhere in the US. I pride myself on finding cheap flights and going on cheap but quality vacations!