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International Jaunts 2020
  • Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun

International Jaunts 2020

From the US to Turkey and back ... trips that were realized ... trips that had to be shortened ... trips that were canceled. All during a year that saw the world dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. Leggi altro
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  • International Jaunts 2020

    Crazy for Booking? Perhaps!

    21 maggio 2020, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    I'm sure that's what anyone who reads this footprint will say ... that we are crazy. But the price for a late-November 10-day cruise to the Caribbean on Oceania's Riviera was just too good to pass up ... especially since we managed to snag one of the cabins with an extended veranda.

    The plan — if all falls into place — is to sandwich this cruise between an RV trip from Colorado to Florida and back.

    If we actually get to go on the cruise, we'll be celebrating our 39th anniversary in Gustavia, St Bart's. If not ... well, we'll have some more FCC to apply to the 2022 cruise we've had on the books for a while.    Leggi altro

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  • International Jaunts 2020

    Cancelation of Plans for 2020 ✔︎

    19 giugno 2020, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    It took a while — from 14 March when our 2020 overseas travel plans fell through until 19 June when the last of the refunds for our canceled plans posted to the credit card — but I'm now able to put a checkmark next to the to-do list for this most unpleasant tasker.

    Our 2020 plans included:

    * two cruises — one of which took us from the US to Spain; the other one was eventually canceled by Oceania Cruises.

    * seven flights — two of which took us from Barcelona to İzmir; and three of which took us from İzmir back to Denver; the remaining two flights were eventually canceled by the carriers ... SunExpress and Norwegian Air.

    * one bus ride — which was eventually canceled by the operator .... National Express.

    * sightseeing passes in England and Spain — both of which we canceled once the cruise was no longer possible.

    All of our unused tickets/fares were refunded back to the original form of payment ... in most cases with no hassles. Even the miles for the flights we had to rebook at the airport in Istanbul (because IAH in Houston doesn't have COVID-19 testing facilities) were redeposited and fees refunded ... no questions asked.

    Oceania gave us the option of a full refund for our canceled cruise, or a 125% future cruise credit on the base fare and a refund to the CC for the taxes and fees. We opted for the latter and plan to apply the FCC to a 2022 cruise that's been on the books for a while now.

    SunExpress was the only company that insisted they would only give us a voucher or rebook us for a different flight. So, we initiated a dispute with Chase, which in turn prompted the carrier to refund the full amount back to our credit card.

    They say patience is a virtue. Practicing that virtue paid off for us. By waiting for carriers/operators to cancel sailings and flights, we reduced the hit to our wallet. Our $ loss for all of our canceled plans — $82.66 — was due entirely to exchange rate differences from the time when those plans were made (over a year in some cases) and when the refunds were issued. Unavoidable ... and an amount that we can live with under the circumstances.

    We're itching to travel overseas again, but I don't think it's going to happen any time soon. At least not until fall or winter. In the meantime, we'll continue to make use of our RV to explore our home state.    Leggi altro

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  • International Jaunts 2020

    Riviera Final Pmt ✔︎

    6 agosto 2020, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    A few days ago, we got a notice from O extending our final payment due date for the November Atlantic & Amber Gems cruise to 24 September.

    We decided not to wait until then. I made the payment today. It's a small payment and is risk-free. Under O's COVID-19 Traveler's Assurance Program, we technically have until two days before the cruise to cancel for 100% FCC.

    By making the full payment now, we're thinking we might actually get a 125% FCC instead of just our deposit back should O cancel the cruise before the new final payment date. That would be a good return on our small investment ... and we can apply it to one of the other bookings we already have on the books.    Leggi altro

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  • International Jaunts 2020

    Itinerary Change for Nov Cruise

    7 agosto 2020, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    I’d be lying if I said that the itinerary change came as a surprise. It didn’t. After all, nothing is certain in these pandemic times. But frankly, I wasn’t expecting to get a change so soon after making the final payment on our November Caribbean cruise.

    One of the new-to-us ports — Puerta Plata in the Dominican Republic — has been removed. The reason is given as “… delayed berth construction in Puerta Plata.” The new itinerary moves our last day at sea up to 1 December. And instead of a day at sea cruising the Atlantic on 2 December, we will be stopping in Nassau, the Bahamas. It’s been a few years since we’ve been there, so I’ll need to do some research on things to do. But not until I know the cruise is a definite go.    Leggi altro

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  • International Jaunts 2020

    Another One Bites the Dust

    5 ottobre 2020, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Another cruise bites the dust!

    Not that the news of the suspension of cruises by Oceania through November came as any big surprise. We’ve been waiting for the announcement to be made for a few weeks now.

    When we booked this cruise earlier this year, we knew it was a risky proposition. We knew that the chances of the sailing going ahead as planned was nil. But the low-cost — and O’s Traveler’s Assurance Program — made having a Caribbean getaway on the books worthwhile.

    O is offering a 125% FCC [future cruise credit] or 100% full refund back to the original form of payment. As we did with a previously canceled cruise, we’re going to take the FCC and apply it to a 2022 cruise reservation we’ve had on the books for a while now.

    This cancelation pretty much puts paid to any international travel this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has seemingly won the battle in 2020. 🤞🏻 2021 will be a much better year to travel internationally.

    In the meantime, we’ll continue traveling with the motor home this year to scratch our travel itch.    Leggi altro

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  • International Jaunts 2020

    Oceania Pays Up Again!

    17 novembre 2020, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Our international jaunts "wallet" has once again been made whole — with a 25% bonus — for the cancelation of the cruise we would have embarked on 23 November had Oceania not canceled it back in October.

    The 125% FCC for the cruise fare was posted to our O account on 23 October. I've already transferred it to the 2022 sailing we've had on the books for a while now. What with the vaccine news and all, we're hopeful that cruise will be a go 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

    The taxes and fees for the canceled cruise posted to the original form of payment as cashback today. For some reason, a small portion of that amount was credited back to another credit card ... still good, but I had not used it to pay for this cruise. Doesn't matter, really. We got it all back. That's what counts.

    This footprint officially wraps up our "International Jaunts 2020" FindPenguins trip. Hopefully, 2021 will prove to be a better travel year internationally.    Leggi altro

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    Fine del viaggio
    17 novembre 2020