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Peter Answers Your Emails: Round 18 — May 2020

It’s time for round 18! If you don’t see the answer to your travel question in one of the rounds, email peter@petergreenberg.com.


EMAIL:  Anne Gheorghiu

Hello Peter,

I hope you are well.

I booked a vacation with United Vacation for my husband and I to Dominican Republic for March 24-April 2nd.

Since we are both over 65 and also receiving a notice from my work regarding traveling outside the country, (I had to stay 14 days on quarantine on my return, with no pay) on March 13th a called United Vacation to see what options I have in order not to travel at scheduled time. I was told that cancellation is my only option because they have not received any new cancellation policy due to corona virus.

United Airlines already had a new cancellation policy at that day but according to United Vacation they don’t follow their rules and I was charged $600 cancellation fee.

United Vacation did come with a cancellation policy 24 hours later after my cancellation.

I filed a complaint with Aftervacation.com, received an answer on 3/20/20 that they will look on my case and will contact me latter.

I never heard from them since although I tried to contact them via email and made several phone calls.

Over the phone I was told that is United Airline who is holding the $600, hard to believe since they already had a new cancellation policy due to corona virus at the day of my cancellation.

I hope you can help or advise how I can recoup my $600 that I was charged.

I can provide more info if needed.

Thank you very much for your help,

Anne Gheorghiu

Peter Says: Anne, thanks for your email. Send me all the details (dates, confirmation numbers, the names and job titles of the people with whom you spoke) and I will try to help.


EMAIL: Tim Ware

I am reservations for a RCCL cruise next November. Non- refundable tickets with $900 deposit with remainder due in June.  I have little confidence that cruising will be safe by then. Regardless, our tickets can be credited to future cruise but not refunded. Issue is that they requiring Drs medical release form prior to boarding and I am not sure I can get that release.  My desire to get a refund and maybe cruise in a year or two. Do I have any way to accomplish that?

Thanks

Tim

Peter Says: Tim, thanks for your email. please send me all the details of your reservation (confirmation numbers, ship name, dates) and the names and titles of anyone with whom you have spoken, and I will try to help.


EMAIL: Nancy Tobin

Hello Peter. I’m sure you’ve addressed this but I haven’t heard your opinion regarding celebrity CruiseLine holding onto our $500 deposit. We were 3 couples traveling together. First we were told we would get a full refund but we’ve been fighting for the deposit for 3 weeks and more. 2 of us had the insurance.

I went on their fb page and voiced my opinion and received an IM From someone who asked for my res. number and phone number and they were to contact me haha but have had no contact.

Are we entitled to our deposit under the virus circumstances?

Thank you

Nancy Tobin

Peter Says: Nancy, please let me know the name and title of the person who. contacted you from Celebrity. Also send me the details of your cruise (ship name, reservation number) and I will try to help.


EMAIL: Denise Peters

Peter,

My husband and I are scheduled for a Viking River cruise (on the Rhine River) for July 9th. They have cancelled their cruises through June 30 but have not yet announced their plans for July. We do not want to travel during July, but if we cancel we will loose a lot of money. When would they be required to announce their travel plans for July?

Denise Peters

Peter Says: Denise, they should announce their schedule imminently. If you don’t get a notice by the end of this week, please let. me know.


EMAIL: Elizabeth Araujo

I had several trips cancelled because Corona Virus 19.  United and

Delta were prompt in giing vauchers and crediting taxes.  However not

so with One Travel.

One Travel, charges $35 fee for the voucher work, When booking there

is a charge, that is not returnable, ok, but what about  the taxes?  I

paid $64 tax for a  ticket to Bolivia.  They say taxes are not to be

credited.  But Delta and United did do credit it.   What do they do

with that money paid on taxes?

Elizabeth Araujo

Peter Says: One Travel is wrong. You can’t be taxed on something you didn’t receive. Please send me the details of your trip, reservations numbers et. al, and the contact person you’ve been dealing with at One Travel.


EMAIL: Rose Abiuso Rosa

Hello Mr. Greenberg,

I enjoy and appreciate all the help you have been giving your loyal followers with all of our travel difficulties during this time.  In your “round 16” group of emails, you answered one of questions regarding Trafalgar and not being able to get refunds. You thought they had started to give refunds but, I still have not been able to get my refund for my trip to the Pacific Northwest , scheduled to leave 6/26/2020.  When reading many, many comments on their Facebook page, there are many of us very unhappy with their policy and desiring refunds.  Is there anything we can do?

Thank you in advance.

Rose Abiuso Rosa

Peter Says: Rose, please send me all the details of your trip and reservation/confirmation numbers and anyone at Trafalgar (name and title) with whom you’ve been speaking, and I will get into this and try to help.


EMAIL: Arleen

Our flights were canceled (round trip Paris-TLV and Milan-TLV) in June but we received an email saying that we could use our tickets for future flights.  That is unacceptable.  Best course of action?  Dispute with credit card?  Put in claim with travel insurance (Cancel For Any Reason Policy)?  Appreciate any help.

Thank you.

Peter Says: Arleen, I need a little more information. Airline, flight number, reservation confirmation number. But I must caution you, that since. neither of these flights originated or terminated in the U.S. you are not protected under the U.S. Department of Transportation refund rules. You may be protected under the European Union rules, however.


EMAIL: Barb Pinder

Our flight to France for early July was just cancelled. Will it be difficult to get our money back or should we just accept an e-ticket for future travel?

Seven family members were going but 2 of the airfares were done using points from Chase Bank.

Thank you in advance,

Barb Pinder

Hi Peter,

This is really a post script to yesterday’s email regarding our Delta flights to France.

Today I received an update that both the outgoing and return flights have been cancelled, but rescheduled. The return flight is actually 2 days later!

Can we get our money back without a problem? We’re not going this year.

Thank you again,

Barb Pinder

Peter Says: Barb, if the airline cancels your flight first, you’re entitled to the full refund. if they reschedule your flights, that of course means they have CANCELLED your flights and your rights to a full refund are preserved.


EMAIL: Chip Almarode

Good morning Peter.

I came across your web site this morning while searching for information on Viking cruises.

Do you know of any inside information if Viking is going to follow the example of the other large cruise companies in cancelling River Cruises in Europe for the month of July.

With air flight restrictions on quarantining passengers on in coming flights to Europe as well as the US, Viking has not extended their cancellation past June 30.

Our trip is scheduled to leave from the US on June 30 for a 15 day trip down the Rhine River for the first two weeks of July.

Masking from the day we leave until we return sounds like a risk to me. Viking is holding out for some reason, no feedback from those in charge.

Do you have any insight?

Thanks for any thoughts or information you can provide.

Chip

Peter Says: It is my understanding that all cruise lines based in the U.S. have canceled their cruises through September.


EMAIL: Nancy DeMuro

Hi Peter

Love your directness and sharing of all things travel.

Throughout Covid-19 pandemic you’ve said repeatedly wait for the airline to cancel your flight. I’ve been waiting for American to cancel a flight from ORD to LGA on 6/11, but they made a change by 1 hour (so not exceeding 60 minutes and kept the same flight number). It’s May 25th and I’m just wondering if there’s an expectation they could cancel or what my options are at this point.

The other is United. I used miles for a return flight (LGA to ORD) on June 20th and they also have not canceled that flight… same flight number exists and I’m wondering if there are any options there.

I welcome your advice!

Thanks, in advance.

Nancy DeMuro

Peter Says: Hi Nancy, if an airline reschedules your flight, that means they have canceled your original flight and your rights to a full refund are preserved. The same applies when/if United cancels your June 20th flight.


EMAIL: Janice Meyerovitz

I booked a 10 day stay at the Lucerne Hotel from 7/12-22/20 in mid February and it was a non-refundable rate through Hotels.com. I paid the full amount up front to Hotels.com of $2609.49 We had a graduation and a wedding to attend and both have been cancelled and neither the hotel nor Hotels.com will refund our money. My husband and I are both immunodeficient and our Dr doesn’t want us traveling to NYC.  I have written letters to both entities and they are asking me to wait until 10 days before the reservation before they will do anything. They seem to be playing for time before giving any resolution, if any. Can you make any suggestions as to how we can get our money back?

Janice Meyerovitz

Peter Says: Janice, thanks for this email. Please send me all the details (confirmation, numbers, and anyone at hotels.com or the hotel itself with whom you have spoken) and I will try to help.


EMAIL: Marianne Loughman

I was to fly on Emirates on March 14 from Chicago to Dubai and return from Rome on April 11, 2020.

Before things reached this level I knew I would not be able to go because of this virus. I have a letter from my pulmonologist stating because of my lung condition I should not travel. Called and told agent would have to cancel because of health and the virus. She said she would cancel and I should fill out request for refund. She did help me fill out the form online. I have not heard from them and have spent hours on hold and then been disconnected.  Line busy more holding. Have stopped trying to call at this time.

Hotel in Rome has refused refund…twice..booked through All-accor but the refund request made through hotel and then asked All-accor to try again a refusal. They offered a reschedule till 12/20. With possible increase in cost. I will most likely not be traveling this year and certainly not Rome. This hotel was at the end of a cruise.

Cruise NCL Jade is giving credit till 12/31/2022 and my heart hope’s I will be alive and ships will be sailing.

Tour in Rome refunded all, but, says go to the front of the line at the Vatican won’t be refunded, which I don’t get because everything is and was being shut down. Maybe it’s the tour company making some $$, requested cancel over a month before tour.

Well, I guess I  may have given pretty much all the details. lol  My finger just kept going.

Any help or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I am in self quarantine and of course worried about not contracting this virus which I would most likely not survive. I have signed up (I think) for you newsletter and look forward to reading what you write. Sorry this is so long. Looking forward to hearing from you.  (please forgive spelling or typos)

 

Peter Says: Hi Marianne, sorry to be getting back to you so late. As you can imagine, I’ve been inundated with listener/viewer mail and your situation is, sadly, not an isolated one. Can you update me on your problem? Has anyone changed their refund policies in the last few weeks? Let me know and I will try and help.


EMAIL: Joe & Sandy Beaver

Thank you, Peter, for helping so many with your advice of handling traveling issues during these troubling times.

I have several questions, as well:

  1. We booked a European river cruise through Gate 1 Travel for June 6 – 21, 2020.   Gate 1 has “suspended all trips through June 30”  and offered vouchers for future travel, but also offered a refund “for all services” as an option, which we plan to take.   The refund is for the amount of money that we paid for the trip, including our non-refundable deposit of $600.00.   However, we did pay for trip insurance ($438.00 for 2 people).  Under the Gate 1 “cancel your reservation option” it is stated “payments are refundable after applying airline-assessed fees and non-refundable Trip Protection Plan”.    We aren’t sure whether this statement applies to the airline protection plan (made our own air reservation) or our trip protection plan (river cruise) that we purchased through Gate 1. Should we contact the trip insurance company as well for a refund since Gate 1 postponed/cancelled the trip.
  1.   We purchased the airline ticket separately through Expedia.   The flight was on Air Canada from LGA to Brussels and on Brussels Airlines from Budapest to JFK.    We bought trip insurance offered when we made the reservation through Expedia.   We also selected our seats for both of these flights at an additional cost.   Since our river cruise was postponed, these flights are unnecessary now.    Where do we begin to ask for a refund for the airfare portion of our trip…….through the trip insurance company (Travel Guard), Expedia, or the airlines (Air Canada & Brussels Airlines)…..since it was Gate 1 who cancelled our trip because of the coronavirus.  Also, should we expect a refund of the money that we paid in order to select our seats to allow us to sit together?

Thank you, again, for your help and advice,

Joe & Sandy Beaver

Peter Says: Joe and Sandy, thanks for your email. And I apologize for my late response. For your first question, most folks are not getting refunds for their insurance, although if you paid with a credit card it seems you have a case to dispute that charge with your credit card company, since you contracted for a service you did not receive. As for question number two, there is a long standing U.S. Department of Transportation rule that says if the airline cancels the flight then you’re entitled to a full refund back to your original form of payment. And this applies to all airlines — domestic or foreign — that fly to or within the U.S. However, Canadian airlines are arguing that only Canadian rules apply here — that they are only required to offer credit or vouchers, and not a refund, and for the moment, Canadian courts have upheld that. It’s really up to the U.S. Department of Transportation to enforce that rule, and this may take quite some time. In the meantime, your best possible recourse here may be to dispute the charge on your credit card.


EMAIL: Janet Malone
Peter,
Thank you for taking my question and I have enjoyed your show and website and all your updates
and travel information.
We booked and paid for a United flight roundtrip from Houston IAH to Paris back in September 2019. Non-refundable Business class  tickets for my and husband and I. Of course, since the Covid 19 issue, I have been waiting until United cancels the flight.
On checking United online today, I find that there is now a Red Warning Sign on our booking noting “Your departure and arrival times, aircraft, and flight number have changed. Contact your operating carrier for details or issues with your flight.
No mention from United that they eliminated or no longer have the Chicago to Paris flight segment or have cancelled it, just the obvious change in the return. I thought this was quite sneaky, they never notified us of the outbound cancellation of getting to Paris, they just have eliminated it from the itinerary and are awaiting me to call and cancel.
What is your suggestion at this point? It appears to be a game of chicken now and tricky
terminology.
Thank you in advance and let me know if you need further information or have questions.
Sincerely,
Janet Malone

 

Peter Says: If an airline rebooks you on another flight, then they have in fact CANCELLED your original flight, and then your rights are preserved to get a full refund under U.S. DOT rules.

EMAIL: Linda Dal Fratello
Peter Greenberg:

 

I have been listening to your programs recently and all the help.
You have been saying for those of us with air reservations in next few weeks to hold on and not cancel to wait for airline to cancel.
Our cruise was just cancelled for NCL leaving 5/11/2020.

 

However, my American Airlines flights haven’t cancelled yet; they just keep getting changed. Our tickets are non refundable tickets.Tickets were booked in Jan. for May flights. The flights have both going and returning been changed so far 3 times; times, flight numbers and number of stops.

 

We were to leave 5/10/2020 for MIA from ORD and return out of JFK to ORD; then changed to JFK/CLT/ORD.

 

I don’t even have ticket numbers on the latest change on the MIA/ORD flight because no email was sent. If I am understanding correctly, because American Airlines hasn’t cancelled the flights then there would be no refund.

 

How long do you suggest we wait to cancel our flights, since we aren’t vacationing due to quarantine?Or should we wait until end of April and see what the airline does?

 

Thanks for all your expertise.

 

Linda Dal Fratello/Elizabeth Matthews

 

Peter Says: Linda, thanks for your email and my late response. Did you resolve the American issue yet? Let me know and I’ll get into it.

EMAIL: Ramiro Valdez
Good Afternoon
My question is regarding a round trip ticket to Toronto on Air Canada that shows non-refundable fare. Due to the Coronavirus, the airline has cancelled the flights to and from Canada and they are offering a future credit for the full amount paid and they are waiving the exchange fees.
I have been following you and you have said that a refund is possible. Have you or anyone you know had a refund from the airlines so far?
I need to know because I even remember that during 9/11 the same situation aroused and no airline was giving refunds…
Please let me know… I need to have some proof that a refund can happen so I can ask the airline for a refund.
Your assistance is appreciated
Ramiro Valdez

 

Peter Says: Ramiro, Air Canada SHOULD be refunding your money, but the airline is claiming that Canadian rules prevail when it is abundantly clear that U.S. department of transportation rules govern this, since Air Canada flies to the U.S. The U.S. DOT has not yet taken any enforcement action, and the case is also being argued in the Canadian courts. And, sadly, I don’t expect a speedy resolution here. Stay tuned!


EMAIL:  Lou and Margot Rivera
Dear Peter,
I’ve watched your website many times and have to say that your latest podcasts on travel vis a vis coronavirus are excellent. Very informative with essential and useful information. Our trips to Italy (Sicily) and a river cruise (Budapest to Passau) were canceled. We have received a full refund and voucher for our deposit and travel insurance (good for two years).
Please keep up the good work and we will stay tuned.
Lou and Margot Rivera����
Tinto Falls, NJ

 

Peter Says: Lou and Margot, thanks so much for your kind words. And much appreciated. Let’s hope we can turn the world right-side up soon! Cheers!

EMAIL: Gordon Thorne, Gig Harbor, WA
Hi Peter–
Gordon Thorne here, a former colleague of yours from the SATW Western Chapter. You may recall we did some business together way back in the 1980s when I was the PR Director for a couple of cruise lines that no longer exists.
I listened with great interest to your travel report today about how the coronavirus has so greatly negatively impacted travel and the millions of people who depend upon travel. You also mentioned the situation with Canadian Airlines, and that is my reason for writing. We have been forced to cancel our May 6 Via Rail trip from Toronto across Canada to Vancouver, B.C., and cancelling and getting the refund from Via Rail was easy, as was getting the refund from the Toronto Airbnb condo.
BUT — dealing with Westjet for the oneway flight from Vancouver, B.C. to Toronto on May 4, on flight #WS702,  has been terrible. In short, they refuse to refund any of our $421, and instead, just want to give us a two year period when we can use that amount of money for another flight. At the end of the two years, if we don’t use it, we lose it.  What’s worse, he said that their cancellation policy would cost each of us something in the neighborhood of about $120 each, which is deducted right off the top from the total amount we would have two years to use!
At my age go 81 and my wife, age 77, and now just diagnosed with a case of COPD, it is doubtful we would be going on another flight with them. And certainly not with this kind of draconian lack of refund policy! Also, at least for now, we can not even travel from the Puget ‘Sound area to Vancouver, B.C. as the border is closed to non-essential travel. So it’s a moot point, as we could not even get to Vancouver to take the flight. I pointed all of that out to the Westjet person, and he said he was sorry but rules were rules, and they won’t budge.
What, if anything, do you think we can do? Any suggestions you have will be very helpful, and very appreciated by us! I know how swamped you must be by so many people who have variations of our situation, but I want to thank you for what you do to help all of  those of us traveling.
Regards,
Gordon Thorne
Gig Harbor, WA

 

Peter Says: Gordon, great to hear from you…and sorry for not responding earlier. The problem here is that Canadian airlines are claiming that Canadian rules apply on intra-Canadian flights and they are only required to offer a voucher or future credit, not a refund. It’s terrible, but right now the Canadian courts have ruled in the Canadian airlines’ favor. In the meantime, hope you’re doing well, and that we can get the world turned right-side up soon! 

EMAIL: Jane Stutt
Peter Greenberg and Staff,
Thank you for keeping me updated with travel changes and for helping me with the following needs.
1.  United Airline refused to give me a refund and only agreed to holding my money for one year from date purchased with ability to reschedule for free.  Was this ticket refundable?  I requested a refund but they denied it.
Please advise me with options for a refund.
Thank You!
Jane Stutt

 

Peter Says: Jane it all depends on whether United canceled the flight first, or if you did. If the airline canceled it first, then you are absolutely entitled to a full refund.

EMAIL: Toby Sachen

 

Hello Peter,
I have another update regarding the Denver to Vancouver roundtrip air we purchased last fall for an Alaska cruise, some on Air Canada’s site and some on Priceline. (Original email below if you need to refresh your memory.)

 

1. Air Canada has extended the date to use credit to 4/30/21. In most cases, that would be fine, but that still doesn’t help me use the credit to get to an Alaskan cruise next summer (Our June, 2020 cruise was cancelled).

 

2. We cancelled the tickets we purchased from Air Canada directly on their website and Air Canada gave us 2 years to use the credit. They were for three separate bookings. All of the confirmation emails stated INVOLUNTARY CANCELLATION due to COVID-19.  That was very helpful and we thank Air Canada.

 

3. Priceline credit, however, would good only through April 30, 2021 which is currently standard per the AC website. I have spent HOURS on the phone with Priceline since Air Canada will not speak to me about tickets purchased elsewhere. I spoke with several Priceline supervisors and got as far as a manager named Travis (would not give his last name, but he said he’s the only Travis). He called Air Canada while I was on hold and was told that they could not apply the same policy of INVOLUNTARY CANCELLATION to my flights purchased on Priceline even though the reservations for four Vancouver to Denver tickets are on the SAME EXACT FLIGHT – 8108- as my daughter’s.

 

4. I am attaching two of our AC cancellation confirmations so you can see their explanation of INVOLUNTARY FLIGHT CANCELLATION.
5. I would hope my outbound flights may also be subject to involuntary cancellation. The flight number does not match any of the flights that were booked and cancelled on Air Canada, so that is probably a longshot.

 

I am still hoping Air Canada continues to push back the date even more so we can use their credit. Or, I hope AC can see clearly that that at least my July 5 Vancouver to Denver flights should be under the same COVID-19 policy.

 

I would appreciate any help you might be able to provide here. Please let me know if you have more questions.

 

Thank you,
Toby Sachen

 

Peter Says: Toby, thanks so much for your email. Can you update me on whether or not those dates have been pushed back? And then I can advise on your next course of action. 

EMAIL: Jason Sorrell

 

Mr. Greenberg, my name is Jason Sorrell and I am a teacher. My wife and I run a trip for the seniors at my school to Europe and with this disaster that is happening around us we have tried to cancel our trip that we booked through CONTIKI. We were constantly told we would receive full refunds if we delay canceling to wait and see what will happen with this virus.
Well, as it happens, CONTIKI is refusing to refund us the $49,700 we have paid them on behalf of the 47 travelers we were taking to Europe. We cancelled the trip three weeks ago, but the rep at CONTIKI talked us out of doing this and told us to wait, so we did this on his advice. We decided to cancel last Wednesday (3/25/20) but never received any communication back from the company until today.  Our rep told us that CONTIKI has created a new policy that supersedes their old refund policy due to the nature of this epidemic. They refuse to refund the money, but will only offer a future credit to travelers. Our travelers do not want this. They want a refund as promised.
Some of our travelers have recently lost their jobs, they need their money back to survive and CONTIKI will not refund the money during this time when everyone is hurting.
This seems highly illegal and unethical. We have not signed their “new policy” which just went into affect Monday (03/30/20).  We are absolutely gutted about this. I have emails from CONTIKI stating we will receive refunds with the extended deadlines they gave us.
PLESE HELP US!! Is this even legal? Can a company write a new policy that supersedes an old policy?
Yours hopefully,
Jason Sorrell

 

Peter Says: Jason, my understanding is that Contiki, which is owned by the Travel Corporation is now issuing refunds (they’ve changed their policy) So please let me know what happens.

EMAIL: Sharon Hahn

 

Hello Peter.  I pray you are staying safe.  My husband and I planned our 30th wedding anniversary to Spain and France, departing May 25 and returning June 5.  We purchased travel insurance but it does not cover pandemics.  We have been successful getting refunds from a few of our purchases.  We have not cancelled our flights per your instructions.  We received an email today from Norwegian Air stating “We’ll be back in the skies soon!”  We were scheduled to depart out of O’Hare via Aer Lingus to Madrid stopping in Dublin.  We are afraid to reschedule this trip for two reasons:  (1) COVID19 might return in the fall and (2) the airlines that we booked with might not survive the fallout from COVID19.  We were praying we could reschedule for May 2021.
Also, one of our stays through Airbnb states we need a screenshot of official government site explaining restrictions that prevent travel from our location to our destination.  Is there such documentation?
Please share your thoughts on how to handle.  Thank you.
Stay safe,
Sharon Hahn

 

Peter Says: Sharon, apologies for my late response. Can you update me on your situation? Norwegian certainly has canceled your flight, and you deserve a full refund. And Airbnb position is ridiculous. Right now, 100% of the countries in the world have travel restrictions or quarantines in place. And 72% of the countries are closed entirely. You do not need to prove this to Airbnb. Everyone knows it! So, contact them again (and copy me).

 

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