Would you cancel this holiday?

[tiredmama25]

My husband and I are going around in circles with this. I just wanted some outside opinions.

We have a holiday booked for 3rd June to Portugal. This was booked almost a year ago, pre quarantine etc and absolutely no idea that this would ever even be an issue.

We have so far paid two deposits of £400 each, so currently the company has £800 of our money. The final balance (£3000) is due beginning of March.

Now currently we have no option to cancel/rebook or anything without incurring fees or losing our deposit entirely. People who book now or have booked in the last few months are better off than we are as there's all sorts of free amendments/Covid cover etc but we seem to be excluded from all this. All they can say is that they expect holidays from May onwards to be going ahead - not interested in discussing anything past this.

Now, I don't even really want to go anymore I'm not bothered about the holiday - if we had a crystal ball then obviously we never would have booked. But I don't really want to lose £800.

My husband is adamant that we should just pay the balance because then if it ends up getting cancelled due to travel being restricted we will be entitled to a full refund. However I just can't shake the feeling of us paying all the money and then getting caught up in some kind of drama/small print loophole and ending up out of pocket by a lot more than £800. Of course there's also the risk of getting Covid and being unable to go!

So many people are like "oh it's June it's a while yet I'm sure it will be fine" but I really can't see that happening. It's just so frustrating not having a definitive answer - which I know is expected with the way things are at the moment.

So yeah, would you cancel and lose £800 for good or would you be inclined to pay the balance and then see how it plays out?

Thanks.

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

I’m in the minority but I’d pay for it on a credit card

[Mammaaof]

@gottakeeponmovin pushing it back isn't an option for me or @tiredmama25

[ChessieFL]

We have a similar issue but we’ve already changed our dates once! Booked November 2019 to go in August 2020. We were due to pay the balance in May 2020 but just before we had to pay we were given the option to change the dates. We moved it to August this year but no idea if we will be able to go! We don’t have to pay the full balance until May though so we’ve still got a few months and hopefully things will be a bit clearer by then.

[Crazycatlady83]

@M0rT

The Spanish Leader has said they don't expect to welcome tourists till next September and Portugal has just held a presidential election.
So I would wait a few more weeks because if it becomes Portuguese policy not to allow international tourism you would be entitled to a refund.

This has been rebutted by the Tourism Minister who said they expect to welcome travellers back in Spring to early Summer. The PM was misquoted in the MSM in any event.

[wishywashywoowoo70]

First choice/TUI won't fly to anywhere you have to isolate or if there's no travel Corridor at the time. I'd ask them for an extension to pay the balance. When you have to pay it all then pay it. If they aren't flying you'll get your money back. We were meant to go in November and the refund came through in a few days.

[tiredmama25]

Thanks everyone so far.

It's helpful to hear everyone's opinions and advice.

[Daisypaisy2]

I have a holiday booked with TUI/First choice OP. Way before the pandemic and I’m due to fly in May. Because of the lockdown TUI genuinely don’t know how things will pan out yet.

I think TUI will refund you if flights cannot go ahead.

[tiredmama25]

@Daisypaisy2

I have a holiday booked with TUI/First choice OP. Way before the pandemic and I’m due to fly in May. Because of the lockdown TUI genuinely don’t know how things will pan out yet.

I think TUI will refund you if flights cannot go ahead.

Hi,

So have you paid your full balance yet?

[Mammaaof]

@Daisypaisy2 my worry is flights will go ahead and then will have to fork out for tests 2 ways! Plus what if we test positive in Spain!? Stuck in a hotel with 2 children one who's absolutely nuts and trying to re book flights 😢😢

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

End of March is ages away. We’ll know a lot more about lockdowns, vaccinations and travel by then.

You won’t be any worse off by leaving things as they are for now. I’d wait and make a more informed decision nearer the time.

[Daisypaisy2]

@Mammaaof this is my worry too! I’m flying with just DS who’s only 6. So far TUI do not know how we would get hold of a PCR test in your holiday destination. As it stands TURKEY are not letting people in from the UK.

TUI hopefully will know more after Borris’s update.

[AuditAngel]

We have flights to Spain at the end of July, rolled forward from last July. There are 5 of us, if we need Covid tests, which i have seen estimated to cost £150 then I won’t pay £1,500 for those and will push my flights another year.

I have just booked a week in Devon in case Spain is off (cancel for no cost) , and I have concerns about the week I have booked in Cornwall in May half term

[FraggleShingleBellRock]

Have you paid any of the £800 on your credit card?

If you are happy to go then pay the balance on your credit card. If you can't go, they go bust, refuse a refund, or the country won't let people in, claim the money back from your credit card provider.

Or just call them/email and see if you can get an amendment to a as new date or a voucher etc. We had five holidays last year that were cancelled. We are due to go to Italy in may after it was rescheduled from last may and is not looking hopefully but if I can go, I'm going.

[Daisypaisy2]

@tiredmama25 yes my full balance is paid already.

[thenightsky]

My husband is adamant that we should just pay the balance because then if it ends up getting cancelled due to travel being restricted we will be entitled to a full refund

I've just seen you are booked with First Choice. You'll be fine in that case. They've had to move our holiday twice now and we've not lost a penny. Indeed they gave us 20% extra credit for moving it rather than cancelling. We were like you this time last year, thinking about cutting our losses, but decided to pay the balance. So glad we did as it gave us the option or rebooking a different holiday, changing the dates, or having a full refund. People who opted out without paying in full lost their deposits.

They were great with us, plenty of emails letting us know what was happening, plus they rang us the 2nd time they had to cancel.

[thenightsky]

Oh... and we've paid the lot on credit card. We always do.

[Mammaaof]

@Daisypaisy2 also the airport I'm flying from (Cardiff) have no testing in the airport like the other bigger airports do! So 3 days before the holiday we would have to drive about 1.5 hours with to actually get tests and we won't know results for 48hrs later which would be when we are in the airport hotel 😢😢😢😢

[neonjumper]

We are still chasing a £1300 from last year ... we had insurance cover and paid on credit card .

I would not wanting to be chasing an additional £3k .

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

@neonjumper

We are still chasing a £1300 from last year ... we had insurance cover and paid on credit card .

I would not wanting to be chasing an additional £3k .

Which company are you chasing out of interest? Can’t you do a charge back on your credit card

[Mammaaof]

@neonjumper who did you book with if you don't mind me asking?

[RosieLemonade]

We had to make this decision with our holiday. Ours was March though and the resort is closed till April so in the end we would have lost the holiday either way. Just had to swallow (painfully) the money for the flights.

[Daisypaisy2]

It’s a nightmare. I just can’t imagine TUI being able to allow flights the main issue being the PCR test. That’s the actual swob that needs sending away... how an earth would we manage to locate some where to do it and how would we get the results. Like a poster said it could come back positive too.

I think TUI know themselves it looks bleak but they won’t say yet.

I booked Mexico last year last minute and TUI were fab a refund in under a week. So I do have faith from that point of view.

[Mammaaof]

@Daisypaisy2 exactly I'd be lucky to find my way to a supermarket without getting lost in Spain never mind trying to find somewhere to bloody test!
I really think that they should just offer people a voucher or a refund if they booked their holiday before all these new rules. I originally booked my holiday October 2019 before covid even was a thing 😢

[womanity]

The gov is all but telling us we won’t be going abroad this summer. I’d believe them.

In the same position last summer we opted to take the hit on our deposit rather than risk being out of pocket for the full amount.

[Thewiseoneincognito]

@womanity

The gov is all but telling us we won’t be going abroad this summer. I’d believe them.

In the same position last summer we opted to take the hit on our deposit rather than risk being out of pocket for the full amount.

Agreed. Anyone booking holidays now for this year is borderline foolish.