Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Travel plans, abandoned holidays and refund advice

Reno said:
I still find the general aversion to paying with cards in Germany hugely irritating but I've now gotten used to always have enough cash on me. It's getting better though, they've introduced cash back in supermarkets recently and I hope Covid-19 will speed up the process a little. Whenever I tell people how convenient it was to pay with a card at every pub and bar in London, they react with distrust.
Click to expand...

Arrived in Berlin, given a track and trace form to complete on the plane, offered it to the immigration officer who indicated that I should place it in the bin behind his booth, they don’t care about it.

Taxi driver from Tegel happy to have me in the front, he didn’t really care about masks and didn’t take cards. Having a beer and will enjoy some foods soon...
 
Bahnhof Strasse said:
Arrived in Berlin, given a track and trace form to complete on the plane, offered it to the immigration officer who indicated that I should place it in the bin behind his booth, they don’t care about it.

Taxi driver from Tegel happy to have me in the front, he didn’t really care about masks and didn’t take cards. Having a beer and will enjoy some foods soon...
Click to expand...
Welcome to Berlin and have fun ! There are some nice beer gardens in Tiegarten, Schleusenkrug is my favourite.
 
So I booked a return ferry to leave Monday from Dover to Calais. I'm now feeling increasingly anxious about travelling into Europe (everyone else in my family still wants to go). Stupidly (well I didn't realise the implications) I booked through Direct Ferries rather than directly through the ferry company (DFDS). I bought a flexible ticket (I always do) but when I try to change it through the Direct Ferries website it won't allow me to. Direct Ferries have closed their phone lines and have not replied to any of my emails.

I know the worst-case scenario is 14 days isolation on return but a) I don't want to do that and b) it would impact on my return to work - only for 2 INSET days and I think my school would be understanding but I really want to be there - it's important, especially this year.

What I'm not hugely concerned about is the risk of catching CV19 whilst away - we're in a campervan and very much self-contained/outdoors/self-sufficient.

OTOH I really want to go to France so it's all a bit anxiety making.
 
gaijingirl said:
So I booked a return ferry to leave Monday from Dover to Calais. I'm now feeling increasingly anxious about travelling into Europe (everyone else in my family still wants to go). Stupidly (well I didn't realise the implications) I booked through Direct Ferries rather than directly through the ferry company (DFDS). I bought a flexible ticket (I always do) but when I try to change it through the Direct Ferries website it won't allow me to. Direct Ferries have closed their phone lines and have not replied to any of my emails.

I know the worst-case scenario is 14 days isolation on return but a) I don't want to do that and b) it would impact on my return to work - only for 2 INSET days and I think my school would be understanding but I really want to be there - it's important, especially this year.

What I'm not hugely concerned about is the risk of catching CV19 whilst away - we're in a campervan and very much self-contained/outdoors/self-sufficient.

OTOH I really want to go to France so it's all a bit anxiety making.
Click to expand...


Whilst anxious, looking at the data and Spain's infection rate is miles above the UK's, there's talk about quarantine for France and Germany but their rates are much more in line with the UK's or lower, so am assuming that's just scaremongering...

And yeah, book ferries direct with the operator where you can.
 
Bahnhof Strasse said:
Whilst anxious, looking at the data and Spain's infection rate is miles above the UK's, there's talk about quarantine for France and Germany but their rates are much more in line with the UK's or lower, so am assuming that's just scaremongering...

And yeah, book ferries direct with the operator where you can.
Click to expand...

Yes. This is all true but I've been following the daily rates and they're climbing pretty quickly.
 
This seems the appropriate thread to post this

Jet2 tells some holidaymakers in Spain to come home early

Jet2 is contacting some customers on Spain's Balearic and Canary Islands to ask them to end their package holidays early, the BBC has learned. Hundreds of customers have had flights back to the UK cancelled and been asked to return sooner than planned. Jet2 said it cannot keep sending empty planes to pick up passengers on many different dates.
Click to expand...

So the lifting of travel restrictions to help holiday companies will likely hurt them even more when the restrictions are re-introduced.

Another great bit of work from your caring Tory govt...
 
I've just returned from France. You do have to fill in the online form and have it on your phone. They checked 1/10 on the way through at customs @ St Pancras/Eurostar.

I travelled on train all the way and had a great holiday but before and during there were obvious worries.
 
Flew into Geneva on Monday. You fill in a contact form on the plane and hand to the cabin crew but it was all optional, they didn't check who ignored it, and no one in Geneva bothered. Then bus to France with no controls. No track and trace or anything at any French bars, restaurants or tourist stuff.

Just wearing a damn mask all the time. If it wasn't for masks you wouldn't know anything was happening.
 
cybershot said:
EuroPlayas have now given us some options.

1) Carry over to next year. Need to let them know by June 30th.
2) Accept vouchers to redeem on either 2021 or 2022 race, which can be asked for upto December 2020.
3) Full refund minus a 10% ticketing fee. No deadline on the comms.

Since my initial post above the OH has actually changed her stance last week and suggested a refund. We'll discuss it later this evening, as I'm inclined to say accept to carry it over to next years dates as something to look forward to.

As there's clearly people who know more about the travel industry here than me, what's your initial thoughts?

If we were to accept the carry over to next year and EuroPlayas go bust in the next 12 months can I still claim via a section 75 on my credit card?

In terms of the 10% ticketing fee for a full refund, can they do this? It's not like I put down a deposit and am aying monthly then accepting to lose my deposit, I paid the whole thing up front. Obviously £120 in the grand scheme of things is a small amount to lose compared to the whole amount, and I probably wouldn't be arsed to fight it, and the ethical/human side of me is happy for them to have it if helps keep them in business.

Also, I'm guessing option 3 is also similar to what airlines have been doing in terms of offering people to cancel before the actual flight got cancelled and is kind of a sneaky trap in order to delay the refund. They are saying it will take up to 3 months to process option 3.

If I were to chase a full refund, should I actually wait for the event to be fully 100% cancelled by the FIA/F1.
Click to expand...

Well it's been 3 months of complete silence from EuroPlayas after we choose to go for the 90% refund. I've chased them twice since to ask that they at least confirm they received my original communication for option 3, of which nothing.

I have gone back to GroupOn this morning and copied and pasted all the comms and asked them to deal with it and to refund my original payment method within the next 14 days, or I will issueing a section 75 via my credit card issuer if I am not happy with their response, which I think is fair enough considering the patience I've applied after they insisted originally that I continue to pursue the vendor, but 3 months of silence is taking the biscuit.
 
I'm supposed to be travelling to Munich next Thursday.

With the Midlands due to be added tonight to the mounting list of UK areas deemed by Germany to be high risk, I had a wary eye on London, as I have to fly from Heathrow. I'm much less worried about my home region of South West England, as Covid rates remain overall relatively low, despite a spike in my home city and elsewhere.

However, looking at the German Ministry of Health website, FAQ regarding corona testing when travelling to Germany they state that:

"Anyone who enters the Federal Republic of Germany having spent time in a risk area up to 14 days before their arrival is obliged to proceed directly to their own home or another suitable accommodation and self-isolate there for 14 days. This does not apply if the person only travelled through a risk area without spending time there. " (My emphasis)

So, assuming nothing changes drastically in the south west, I should be okay, seeing as I'm just getting on a train from Exeter, changing at Paddington and going to the airport?

That bit I've highlighted is a bit ambiguous. Any insights about this or the compulsory test and quarantine for high riskers in Germany appreciated.
 
[62] said:
I'm supposed to be travelling to Munich next Thursday.

With the Midlands due to be added tonight to the mounting list of UK areas deemed by Germany to be high risk, I had a wary eye on London, as I have to fly from Heathrow. I'm much less worried about my home region of South West England, as Covid rates remain overall relatively low, despite a spike in my home city and elsewhere.

However, looking at the German Ministry of Health website, FAQ regarding corona testing when travelling to Germany they state that:

"Anyone who enters the Federal Republic of Germany having spent time in a risk area up to 14 days before their arrival is obliged to proceed directly to their own home or another suitable accommodation and self-isolate there for 14 days. This does not apply if the person only travelled through a risk area without spending time there. " (My emphasis)

So, assuming nothing changes drastically in the south west, I should be okay, seeing as I'm just getting on a train from Exeter, changing at Paddington and going to the airport?

That bit I've highlighted is a bit ambiguous. Any insights about this or the compulsory test and quarantine for high riskers in Germany appreciated.
Click to expand...


London is not on the German high risk list (yet)and even if it was you can still fly from Heathrow, just so long as you don't stop for lunch in London first, changing trains is fine. Of course the Germans have no way of knowing where in the UK you have been, they are taking it all on trust, we have had some people in France head to Germany and claim they have not been in the Ille-de-France region which has been on the high list for some time now and nothing has happened to them. The morality of cheating the system is another matter, but if you are coming from the Southwest you'll be fine, even if London is added to the high risk list, so long as you don't dawdle at Paddington. Or possibly consider getting the Rail-Air bus from Reading.
 
Bahnhof Strasse said:
London is not on the German high risk list (yet)and even if it was you can still fly from Heathrow, just so long as you don't stop for lunch in London first, changing trains is fine. Of course the Germans have no way of knowing where in the UK you have been, they are taking it all on trust, we have had some people in France head to Germany and claim they have not been in the Ille-de-France region which has been on the high list for some time now and nothing has happened to them. The morality of cheating the system is another matter, but if you are coming from the Southwest you'll be fine, even if London is added to the high risk list, so long as you don't dawdle at Paddington. Or possibly consider getting the Rail-Air bus from Reading.
Click to expand...

That's helpful, cheers.

Yes, as you say, I'm not looking at cheating the system, but was wondering how it would be enforced and had visions of London being added to the list early next week, then us all being herded to test centres and quarantine upon arrival at Munich airport with me pleading that I only passed through there. ("We're not from London!") :D

I've been keeping an eye on the updates from the Robert Koch Institute and our own quarantine list, and I will say something for the latter in that at least with it being a regular Thursday thing, you know where you stand from one week to the next, whereas the former appears to be whenever they decide to add a country or region with very little warning. Probably more effective, but more stress for the prospective traveller.
 
The Munich airport test centre is above the beer garden between the two terminals. So far they have been very relaxed about it and totally taking it on the word of the people arriving. When we arrived in Berlin in July the immigration copper told me to bin the Covid form I had filled out on the flight...
 
Bahnhof Strasse said:
We stumbled across them :(


Loved Berlin though. Now in Nuremberg which is also very lovely :)
Click to expand...

Been there. :)

Pdn9weO.jpg
 
[62] said:
That's helpful, cheers.

Yes, as you say, I'm not looking at cheating the system, but was wondering how it would be enforced and had visions of London being added to the list early next week, then us all being herded to test centres and quarantine upon arrival at Munich airport with me pleading that I only passed through there. ("We're not from London!") :D

I've been keeping an eye on the updates from the Robert Koch Institute and our own quarantine list, and I will say something for the latter in that at least with it being a regular Thursday thing, you know where you stand from one week to the next, whereas the former appears to be whenever they decide to add a country or region with very little warning. Probably more effective, but more stress for the prospective traveller.
Click to expand...

We're just waiting for our plane back from a holiday in Berlin. When we arrived no one asked us where we had been or if we'd been to a high risk area. Just went through the auto passport gates and walked out the terminal as normal. Like Bahnhof Strasse says, they tell you to fill out a form on the plane, but no one asks for it.

Thought things would be a bit different in Germany as they've historically been better at dealing with things, but you wouldn't know tbh!
 
smmudge said:
We're just waiting for our plane back from a holiday in Berlin. When we arrived no one asked us where we had been or if we'd been to a high risk area. Just went through the auto passport gates and walked out the terminal as normal. Like Bahnhof Strasse says, they tell you to fill out a form on the plane, but no one asks for it.

Thought things would be a bit different in Germany as they've historically been better at dealing with things, but you wouldn't know tbh!
Click to expand...

Live from Berlin! Many thanks for that.
 
[62] said:
I'm supposed to be travelling to Munich next Thursday.

With the Midlands due to be added tonight to the mounting list of UK areas deemed by Germany to be high risk, I had a wary eye on London, as I have to fly from Heathrow. I'm much less worried about my home region of South West England, as Covid rates remain overall relatively low, despite a spike in my home city and elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Well, postscript to this, looks like I got my timing right but my complacency about the south west was misplaced. The whole of the UK goes into High Risk as of midnight German time tomorrow:

www.gov.uk

Entry requirements - Germany travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Germany. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
 
[62] said:
Well, postscript to this, looks like I got my timing right but my complacency about the south west was misplaced. The whole of the UK goes into High Risk as of midnight German time tomorrow:

www.gov.uk

Entry requirements - Germany travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Germany. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
Click to expand...


Not a massive surprise, but that leaves just Sweden and Gibraltar, plus parts of Greece that we can go to and return from with no quarantine now...
 
Oh wow we timed that holiday just right!

I seem to remember Germany just do it on a simple cases per 100k, if you go over you go on the list. So easy for areas with lower population, but thought it was unlikely for London and SE as there's lots of people here. I might be wrong though that that's the only criteria.

Actually if you go in to Germany from a high risk area you get a free covid test, and if it's negative you don't have to quarantine. If you're lucky you can get the results in a few hours, but can take up to a couple of days I think.
 
not-bono-ever said:
Might be away around Xmas time time for a long haul - Bahnhof Strasse - are planes allowed to be utterly full or is there spacing required? Cheers
Click to expand...

Planes can be full, there are no restrictions. It does seem that aircraft are a place where you may get the lurgy. Air travel may of course spread it, but you area unlikely to pick it up during a flight.

Where are you considering going? Pretty much all the world is closed if you exclude quarantine when you arrive or return and are looking at at 14 day trip...
 
not-bono-ever said:
antigua initially . s/b straightforwrd covid wise but obvs things change. lets see!
Click to expand...


Currently need a negative test no older than 7 days when you land, there is health screening at the airport which makes entering the country really slow. The immigration people can order you to quarantine in a hotel for 2 weeks, but it seems that nearly everyone is free to go about their business freely once admitted to the country.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Zapp Brannigan
Air Travel to India
Replies
10
Views
333
Peter Norf
Peter Norf
Spymaster
Malta - Best travel write-up ever?
Replies
27
Views
708
krtek a houby
krtek a houby
Numbers
Claiming on travel insurance if holiday cut short due to death.
Replies
4
Views
379
Rebelda
Rebelda
Sweet FA
Advice on shipping boxes from Spain to UK needed...
Replies
14
Views
495
shakespearegirl
S
N
Weird rubbish things you've encountered while travelling
Replies
6
Views
298
Dr. Furface
Dr. Furface
Back
Top Bottom