.

[DollyM]

My 9/25 Greece adventure was cancelled yesterday so they've moved into the second half of September. I took a gamble and paid in full at the end of last week so I could get a refund and not have to worry about when I could use the credit. If the trip wasn't cancelled I'd have had until 14 days before departure to cancel and still get a credit.

 

[OKW Lover]

My 9/25 Greece adventure was cancelled yesterday so they've moved into the second half of September.

Interesting. Perhaps the EU restricting entry for those coming from the US triggered that cancelation.

I've got an 9/21 Southwest Splendors (or whatever its called now) ABD booked. Will watch for updates on that.

ETA: Checked on the ABD website and their latest update (7/1) still says 9/15.

 

[sayhello]

My 9/25 Greece adventure was cancelled yesterday so they've moved into the second half of September. I took a gamble and paid in full at the end of last week so I could get a refund and not have to worry about when I could use the credit. If the trip wasn't cancelled I'd have had until 14 days before departure to cancel and still get a credit.

Did they say why it was cancelled? Because I know some trips have been cancelled recently because so many people have cancelled off the trip, there aren't enough people anymore to run the trip.

Tobi

 

[DollyM]

Did they say why it was cancelled? Because I know some trips have been cancelled recently because so many people have cancelled off the trip, there aren't enough people anymore to run the trip.

Tobi

I didn’t ask but I looked at a few other adventures today and their September dates have also been removed from the website. There were 13 people left on mine when I called them late last week. My PIF date was Saturday.

 

[lovetotravel]

I have given up and cancelled my final ABD reservation this year! I'm going to focus on my late 2021 trip. I'd like to be able to travel as we have done in the past with no masks, restrictions, and quarantine.

 

[Grifdog22]

I didn’t ask but I looked at a few other adventures today and their September dates have also been removed from the website. There were 13 people left on mine when I called them late last week. My PIF date was Saturday.

Egypt still has two (instead of three) September dates. The 9/15 date was removed when they announced the additional cuts, but 9/22 and 9/29 are still listed and accepting signups. That puts our October 20th departure as 5th in line. The waiting game is killing me.

 

[lpm23]

I am pretty sure that trips beyond Sept 15th that have been cancelled are due to low numbers and not a wholesale cancellation. There were also October trips that got cancelled today for low numbers.

I can't see any ex-US trips going in late september but the US based ones seem a little more likely

 

[Spencer Wright]

I am pretty sure that trips beyond Sept 15th that have been cancelled are due to low numbers and not a wholesale cancellation. There were also October trips that got cancelled today for low numbers.

I can't see any ex-US trips going in late september but the US based ones seem a little more likely

do u generally how low numbers have to be, and how soon in advance they generally cancel for low numbers?

 

[OKW Lover]

How do you know how many people are signed up for a particular trip? Can you just call ABD and ask?

 

[sayhello]

How do you know how many people are signed up for a particular trip? Can you just call ABD and ask?

Yes, you can. They can also tell you how many are Adults, and how many are kids, and the age spread of the kids.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

do u generally how low numbers have to be, and how soon in advance they generally cancel for low numbers?

Nobody knows for sure, but it's generally pretty low. I've seen reports of trips going with as few as 10 people, but that one only had 1 Adventure Guide. I've been on Adults Only trips with 12 and 14 people, and 2 Adventure Guides each. My one that got cancelled due to low numbers only had 3 people.

Sayhello

 

[ohmyminnie]

I am scheduled on the October 6 Egypt trip and am really afraid to go. My PIF is next week. Because I already have my flights (purchased through ABD) I am going to go ahead and pay, but really hope they cancel. There is just too much uncertainty right now for me to be comfortable traveling. Our flight connects through Frankfurt, and I wonder if the travel ban is still in effect if that will be a problem.

 

[lovetotravel]

I am scheduled on the October 6 Egypt trip and am really afraid to go. My PIF is next week. Because I already have my flights (purchased through ABD) I am going to go ahead and pay, but really hope they cancel. There is just too much uncertainty right now for me to be comfortable traveling. Our flight connects through Frankfurt, and I wonder if the travel ban is still in effect if that will be a problem.

I've had 3 ABD trips cancelled this summer. Every time my PIF was due, I paid it hoping for a cancel with full refund. Back in February, I cancelled an OYO trip for March. Back then I felt hopeful that my late summer trips with ABD would go, but 5 months later, nothing has changed and is much worse. I can't imagine that things will dramatically improve by October 6 and even if we had a vaccine, there's no way that can be distributed by October. Just look at what the colleges are doing, they are prepared to go remote for the entire year. I also heard that if you look at the airlines and see how far they are allowing a free cancellation, that's probably when they think it will be safe to travel. But as you can see, they keep moving that up. Delta will let you cancel up until end of Sep and your trip is close to that date. Can you still put your trip on a placeholder if you are not really wanting to take this risk and have ABD hold your money?

 

[ohmyminnie]

We booked Lufthansa via ABD air department back in January. We did business class, so we have a lot of money tied up in flights and don't want a credit since Lufthansa isn't an airline I would normally fly from my hometown.

 

[Grifdog22]

There is an interesting posting by AMA waterways, an ABD vendor/partner on its river cruises on Friday July 10 at 4 pm PST regarding a new additional "cancel for any reason" benefit they are offering for a small additional fee, they call "Travel with Peace of Mind" which you can purchase up to 24 hours before trip departure.

Travel with Peace of Mind
APPLICABLE FOR FUTURE SAILINGS (COMMENCING SEPTEMBER 1, 2020)

In light of the recent global events and uncertainties around travel, we wish to offer our guests additional flexibility and peace of mind so they may continue to safeguard the wonderful plans they have made for their much-anticipated river cruise with AmaWaterways. As a result, we will offer for a limited time, special provisions which allow guests with new or existing reservations to purchase AmaWaterways Travel Waiver Plus*. AmaWaterways Travel Waiver Plus provides cancellation for any reason, up to 24 hours prior to the start of their AmaWaterways booked services (cruise, pre-cruise land extensions, air etc.)

Should guests decide to cancel their cruise for any reason, they will have the following options based on date of cancellation:

Cancellation received up to 7 days prior to start of AmaWaterways services:
Future Cruise Credit** covering cancellation penalties, and the balance will be refunded based on our standard cancellation policy for services purchased through AmaWaterways.
Cancellation received between 6 days to 24 hours prior to start of AmaWaterways services:
Future Cruise Credit** issued for 100% of AmaWaterways services to be used towards any sailings within 24 months of cancellation date
For all new or existing reservations for Europe, Asia and Egypt (deposited or paid in full), Travel Waiver Plus may be purchased up to 48 hours prior to the start of AmaWaterways purchased services. For Africa Safaris & Wildlife Cruises, Travel Waiver Plus must be purchased within 90 days prior to sailing and once full payment has been received.

Travel Waiver Plus price:

$80 per person – for those who purchase AmaWaterways Cruise Protection Plan*
$175 per person – if purchased without AmaWaterways Cruise Protection Plan* or if you have purchased travel protection independently

To purchase AmaWaterways Travel Waiver Plus, contact your Travel Advisor or AmaWaterways at 1.800.626.0126.

 

[neurosx1983]

We booked Lufthansa via ABD air department back in January. We did business class, so we have a lot of money tied up in flights and don't want a credit since Lufthansa isn't an airline I would normally fly from my hometown.

You were smart to book air with ABD. That’s been one of my take home lessons from this whole crisis...if I had done that for our England France trip my air with BA would have been fully refunded but now I’m sitting on a big ‘credit’ which i will never use (and lose)

 

[sayhello]

There is an interesting posting by AMA waterways, an ABD vendor/partner on its river cruises on Friday July 10 at 4 pm PST regarding a new additional "cancel for any reason" benefit they are offering for a small additional fee, they call "Travel with Peace of Mind" which you can purchase up to 24 hours before trip departure.

Travel with Peace of Mind
APPLICABLE FOR FUTURE SAILINGS (COMMENCING SEPTEMBER 1, 2020)

In light of the recent global events and uncertainties around travel, we wish to offer our guests additional flexibility and peace of mind so they may continue to safeguard the wonderful plans they have made for their much-anticipated river cruise with AmaWaterways. As a result, we will offer for a limited time, special provisions which allow guests with new or existing reservations to purchase AmaWaterways Travel Waiver Plus*. AmaWaterways Travel Waiver Plus provides cancellation for any reason, up to 24 hours prior to the start of their AmaWaterways booked services (cruise, pre-cruise land extensions, air etc.)

Should guests decide to cancel their cruise for any reason, they will have the following options based on date of cancellation:

Cancellation received up to 7 days prior to start of AmaWaterways services:
Future Cruise Credit** covering cancellation penalties, and the balance will be refunded based on our standard cancellation policy for services purchased through AmaWaterways.
Cancellation received between 6 days to 24 hours prior to start of AmaWaterways services:
Future Cruise Credit** issued for 100% of AmaWaterways services to be used towards any sailings within 24 months of cancellation date
For all new or existing reservations for Europe, Asia and Egypt (deposited or paid in full), Travel Waiver Plus may be purchased up to 48 hours prior to the start of AmaWaterways purchased services. For Africa Safaris & Wildlife Cruises, Travel Waiver Plus must be purchased within 90 days prior to sailing and once full payment has been received.

Travel Waiver Plus price:

$80 per person – for those who purchase AmaWaterways Cruise Protection Plan*
$175 per person – if purchased without AmaWaterways Cruise Protection Plan* or if you have purchased travel protection independently

To purchase AmaWaterways Travel Waiver Plus, contact your Travel Advisor or AmaWaterways at 1.800.626.0126.

They've actually had that offer up since before our Rhone cruise was cancelled. I kind of wished that ABD would learn from that.

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

They've actually had that offer up since before our Rhone cruise was cancelled. I kind of wished that ABD would learn from that.

Sayhello

I definitely wish they would offer it to those of us with booked river cruises... it would make me feel much better about our May departure. As it stands, we will likely choose to put it in holding.

 

[Grifdog22]

AMA waterways, the river cruise provider for ABD, at noon today EST just cancelled their own trips from Sept 1-15, now matching the ABD dates.

 

[anita46]

ABD hasn't yet cancelled our mid September Rhone cruise....