Is Coronavirus affecting your travel plans?

[ronandannette]

My daughter is booked for Prague next week for her Spring Break.....No word yet on weather United will waive the cancellation fee. Kids coming back from the Italian study abroad are being quarantined, so one her friends if quarantined would set her back an entire semester. Feel bad for them as even now flights to FLA are 800$

Our local school boards announced on Friday that all over-seas senior-trips, generally taken during Spring Break or Easter Break, have been cancelled. This is perhaps an (over) abundance of caution and is doubtlessly extremely disappointing for the students. According to the news there will be meetings held with parents all over the city tomorrow to discuss the financial implications - whether or not the arrangements were insured is unknown and whether the school boards will compensate for non-refundable expenses is yet to be seen.

Well you could look at it another way, it isn't just about you (general you) getting it.
Non-essential travel could cause it to spread faster. You may be bringing it to WDW, and in turn spreading it across the US and to other countries.
I am not advocating locking ourselves away, but people's decision to not travel doesn't mean they are living in fear of getting sick. Maybe some are just concerned that they'd be a part of spreading it.

This is an interesting tie-in to some information I heard yesterday. Apparently the WHO is has determined that for some unknown reason, children do not seem to be effected by Covid 19 - not one single report of a serious case in a child world-wide. That does not mean they can't be asymptomatic carriers though, and that could be a big deal if it were to start spreading from a place like WDW. Here's an article from a reputable Australian news agency:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03...get-coronavirus-children-appear-safe/12013842

 

[lifesavacation]

We will be going to WDW regardless. No point in living your life in fear. We also live in a large city, so I fail to see how it'd be more dangerous at WDW than where we are if Covid 19 does become more prevalent in the US in the coming months.

I was talking to my sister today and she asked if we are cancelling our trip to Hawaii. Given that we live in WA with probably dozens of cases and 30 minutes from the Oregon case, Hawaii probably has less risk than our local area. We also have 2 large volleyball tournaments in the next 3 weeks with thousands of people we’ll be standing shoulder to shoulder with. Maybe if we were retired we could isolate ourselves for a year, but it’s not possible with work and life obligations.

 

[Colleen27]

I think that when some people talk about possibly not being able to go forth with travel plans, it's not necessarily due to fear of becoming ill.

For instance, my DH has mentioned that the owner of the business DH works for has voiced concerns because they are a small manufacturing company and they import the major components of the items they manufacture from China. The longer China is in this situation, the better chance it will affect the workings of this small company, and because they are a small company, what affects them is more likely to then trickle down and affect their employees. If for any reason they start to have trouble getting the supplies they need and they have to shut-down production, we're not going to still opt to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to go to WDW, kwim? We'll be spending as little as possible until DH is working again. Which is exactly what we would if DH were to stop working for any reason at all. So if we have to cancel our plans, it could very well be due to the economic side effects of the virus, rather than anyone being ill or being afraid of becoming ill.

That's the aspect of it most likely to hit us too. DH works in the auto industry, for a mid-level parts supplier. Some of the component parts they use come from China. So far production hasn't been impacted, but if quarantine measures hit the areas where their suppliers are located, slowdowns or shutdowns are possible. DH is in facilities so he wouldn't be immediately impacted - there's always more work to do during shutdown that can't be performed when the lines are operating than they have time and staff to do it, so he'd probably work at least a week or two past the point when production staff was sent home, but any extended closure would hit him too. And we are making exercising some (minor, at this point) financial caution against that possibility - not cancelling any plans that we were looking forward to, but thinking twice about whether we really want take-out or would be better served eating at home and leaving that $50 in the bank. If it gets worse, it could end up impacting our summer plans even though those plans aren't for places I'd be inclined to avoid due to fear of transmission (lots of hiking and outdoors, not many crowds).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think that when some people talk about possibly not being able to go forth with travel plans, it's not necessarily due to fear of becoming ill.

For instance, my DH has mentioned that the owner of the business DH works for has voiced concerns because they are a small manufacturing company and they import the major components of the items they manufacture from China. The longer China is in this situation, the better chance it will affect the workings of this small company, and because they are a small company, what affects them is more likely to then trickle down and affect their employees. If for any reason they start to have trouble getting the supplies they need and they have to shut-down production, we're not going to still opt to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to go to WDW, kwim? We'll be spending as little as possible until DH is working again. Which is exactly what we would if DH were to stop working for any reason at all. So if we have to cancel our plans, it could very well be due to the economic side effects of the virus, rather than anyone being ill or being afraid of becoming ill.

My husband's company works with a lot of companies who gets a lot of their supplies from China. My husband works on power plants but his company does many other construction projects globally and is a large company. They are already getting letters from suppliers on some the power plants being built who get their supplies from China that they will be late on delivering the supplies as the factories for steel and whatnot shut down. This in turn will delay the power plants though how long of a delay depends on how big the situation gets in China. Not meant to be political but some of the power plants aren't being affected yet because the steel tariffs caused the suppliers to seek out materials from other countries like India.

We still have an April Vegas trip and we're driving home now from a CO ski weekend trip but I wouldn't put down someone who opts to cancel. IF things get bad like really bad it's possible layoffs could occur at my husband's company if the projects start to dry up or get delayed too long due to lack of materials. The Recession caused a tiny bit of layoffs but they were able to bounce back fairly quickly. I hope if something like that occurs they would bounce back quickly enough. The thing with his company is projects are bid out years in advance so with the Recession effects weren't felt for a while so if something similar happened it may not be for a while. I don't anticipate it being that bad but nor do I think to shrug off the effects either.

 

[allison443]

Our family has a trip to Ireland scheduled for late May. We have not cancelled, but I did purchase “cancel for any reason” trip insurance specifically because of concerns about the virus. We will make a decision depending on developments. From what I read, purchase of those policies is way up!

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

I have a trip planned for late April. Not planning to cancel at this point. DH and I are about 50 and healthy. Most of the deaths have been in elderly people, especially men. I always wash my hands a LOT. Right now I am not concerned. I actually hope some people cancel so I have a better chance of getting on the popular rides. Is that bad?! I am curious though, as to what WDW will do if the virus spreads. They closed Hong Kong Disneyland. If they close WDW, will we get our $$ back?

 

[ronandannette]

I was talking to my sister today and she asked if we are cancelling our trip to Hawaii. Given that we live in WA with probably dozens of cases and 30 minutes from the Oregon case, Hawaii probably has less risk than our local area. We also have 2 large volleyball tournaments in the next 3 weeks with thousands of people we’ll be standing shoulder to shoulder with. Maybe if we were retired we could isolate ourselves for a year, but it’s not possible with work and life obligations.

I actually think Hawaii may be uniquely vulnerable. I know that since it is a US state, it's easy not to realize that it's closer to Asia than it is to the American mainland. It is a MAJOR destination for tourists from Japan, S. Korea and more recently, the Chinese as more of them are able to travel. Flights arrive directly from Asian cities and it would be very easy for the virus to spread around an individual island if it was introduced since practically all visitors go to the same touristy spots and those spots provide much of the local employment.

 

[DisLiss]

Our family has a trip to Ireland scheduled for late May. We have not cancelled, but I did purchase “cancel for any reason” trip insurance specifically because of concerns about the virus.

That's something I always buy for any bigger trip. I just never like to count my chickens before they hatch when it comes to trips costing thousands of dollars. Even when I talk to people about our trips, I'll say we have a "tentative plans to go to...." We're at an age now where we are unfortunately attending more funerals every year. We've dealt with parents having medical issues. Plus, when it comes to WDW, we tend to plan trips during hurricane season. So I like to always have the ability to back out of any trip if necessary.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I still have a ticket to Italy on March 12th and I am 50/50 on going. My husband is already there, we speak the language, have relatives we visit and it is my happy place.

I am not afraid of catching the virus at all, but I am monitoring if they require self quarantine at home for 14 days or what. I have an idea we are going to find this has already spread and is in many communities already, so maybe so of the travel fears will subside.

The Florida Governor & Attorney General held a press conference today. They're asking anyone returning from high-risk regions, such as China, Iran, northern Italy and South Korea to self-isolate for 14 days (their words).

 

[soccerdad72]

My wife is scheduled to go on a business trip to India in a couple weeks. Her firm in discussion as to whether or not they should cancel the trip and do the training that she is supposed to be leading remotely. Sounds like she'll find out the decision in a couple days.

 

[Rockette_Scientist]

I work in consulting, and one of my clients is a Japanese firm. I was supposed to head over there this month (March 2020), but with things going a bit crazy over there it's been postponed. Outside of work, I've kind of written off cruise ship travel mostly because of the amount of ships I've seen on the news that have been turned away from ports. I don't really want a vacation ruined because of that.

 

[carriebc]

I have a trip planned for late April. Not planning to cancel at this point. DH and I are about 50 and healthy. Most of the deaths have been in elderly people, especially men. I always wash my hands a LOT. Right now I am not concerned. I actually hope some people cancel so I have a better chance of getting on the popular rides. Is that bad?! I am curious though, as to what WDW will do if the virus spreads. They closed Hong Kong Disneyland. If they close WDW, will we get our $$ back?

I am hoping they come out with some deals so we can go back and actually enjoy the parks more. It’s gotten too crowded! We’re in our 40s and will take the risk, lol!! Plus it takes about a week to develop complications from it, if you are going to, so good chance you’ll be home by then and able to see your own doctor, etc. That’s the worst case, right!

 

[JimMIA]

We haven't changed any plans yet, but we have a summer trip to Alaska by way of Seattle and Victoria BC. Not a cruise -- taking a ferry to Victoria and back to Seattle, fly to Juneau, later fly to Anchorage and then fly home to Miami from Anchorage.

Seattle's death count is now 6. Most of them seem to be from the same nursing home, but the news reports are so messed up it's hard to tell for sure.

We'll obviously be watching closely, along with everyone else on the planet!

 

[Kestryl]

I’m trying to figure out our hypothetical Ireland/Scotland trip this summer. We’ve booked nothing yet, but we’ve been looking at July. I wanted to get travel insurance because you never know when a family member will die, but I’m trying to roll coronavirus protections in. It’s not me I’m worried about, it’s the outside factors. Like, if the airline cancels my flight (like all the airlines canceling JFK to Milan) because of coronavirus concerns, will the insurance cover that? It seems like no...

ETA: If anyone has insurance recommendations, let me know!

 

[pryncess527]

We haven't changed any plans yet, but we have a summer trip to Alaska by way of Seattle and Victoria BC. Not a cruise -- taking a ferry to Victoria and back to Seattle, fly to Juneau, later fly to Anchorage and then fly home to Miami from Anchorage.

Seattle's death count is now 6. Most of them seem to be from the same nursing home, but the news reports are so messed up it's hard to tell for sure.

We'll obviously be watching closely, along with everyone else on the planet!

Victoria is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited - I hope the virus doesn’t force alteration to your plans & that you have a great trip

 

[laughinplace199]

We haven't changed plans. Heading to Dublin in 2 weeks to visit DD20 who is studying over there for the semester.

 

[allison443]

I’m trying to figure out our hypothetical Ireland/Scotland trip this summer. We’ve booked nothing yet, but we’ve been looking at July. I wanted to get travel insurance because you never know when a family member will die, but I’m trying to roll coronavirus protections in. It’s not me I’m worried about, it’s the outside factors. Like, if the airline cancels my flight (like all the airlines canceling JFK to Milan) because of coronavirus concerns, will the insurance cover that? It seems like no...

ETA: If anyone has insurance recommendations, let me know!

In early February I booked a trip to Ireland for the end of May. I bought a trip insurance policy that includes “cancel for any reason”. From what I read that is the only policy which would cover cancellation for coronavirus related reasons since coronavirus is already a “known issue”. I used squaremouth.com to get quotes and purchase the policy. There was a lot of helpful information on the site. There was a time limit to purchase the policy after I booked the trip. “Cancel for any reason” coverage is more expensive but I am relieved that I have it. We are still planning to go but who knows what the situation will be!

 

[tcufrog]

My DH is at an international oil and gas conference this week. I am super nervous because a lot of the attendees are coming from the Middle East.

 

[fla4fun]

I am going on vacation to visit family in two weeks, and I don’t feel that trip will be any more dangerous or risky than staying home and going about normal business. I don’t have a Disney trip planned until May, so plenty of time to wait and see. I have a couple weeks worth of food in, which I would be doing soon for hurricane prep anyway. I feel I am prepared for the worst, but I am hoping for the best. I hope the Disney parks here don’t have to close, and I hope people are able to keep their travel plans. I know how much I look forward to the stress release of my trips.

 

[robinb]

My DD is supposed to travel to Mexico with her boyfriend's family in 2 weeks for Spring Break. I am worried that she may have difficulties returning to the US at the end of their vacation. The president said a couple of days ago that he's considering closing the southern border and who knows if Mexico will join the many counties where people are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. Either one would be terrible and the end of her college semester. I have no say in all this. His parents are playing it by ear. FWIW, I m not worried about her getting sick, just being able to return to school as planned.