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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask of it's common to cancel holidays/ weekends away due to illness!?

49 replies

Zara85 · 20/01/2019 15:13

I'm just curious really.. We were meant to have gone away today for a 2 night break for my son's bday. Unfortunately I've come down with an awful tummy bug. Despite the trip being "non transferable", after a call to the destination and some tears from me (oops) they've moved it back a few weeks.
Our kids are still young (3 and 9mo) and we book lots of things, but its really bothered me as dc2 is about to start nursery and I feel like I'm just setting myself up for loads of wasted money!
We have booked our summer holiday and my stupid mind is now convincing me one of us will end up poorly the day before!
So I guess I'm just wondering have you have had to cancel or miss holidays etc due to illness, or do you tend to brave it and still go despite being bad?
One of my friends still went abroad with a tummy bug and said the flight was horrific as she was on the toilet every 5 mins! Not good during take off and landing!

OP posts:

MacarenaFerreiro · 20/01/2019 15:17

3 kids, eldest almost 16. Never had to cancel a holiday or short break because of illness.

FrankieHeckisinTheMiddle · 20/01/2019 15:17

I’ve cancelled maybe 2 camping trips over the years due to illness because no one wants to feel ill in a tent and have to use communal toilets, but go away a lot and haven’t had any problem. You can’t really live your life worrying about stuff like that, get travel insurance and carry on as normal.

ButDoYouAvocado · 20/01/2019 15:20

Personally no but my best friend had to cancel recently after contracting a very serious illness. Her travel insurance paid out.

ApolloandDaphne · 20/01/2019 15:23

My DM cancelled a holiday as she had a heart attack. She was refunded the full cost of the holiday through her insurance. I have never had to cancel a holiday.

AlexaShutUp · 20/01/2019 15:24

I haven't ever had to cancel, but none of us get ill often. I do know several friends/family members who have had to cancel stuff. They have generally been able to claim it back on their insurance.

NettleTea · 20/01/2019 15:24

lots of people have travel insurance with their bank, which includes UK breaks. Id always choose to look into seeing if it were covered, and get proof from, maybe a doctor, because if its a small company its quite unreasonable to expect them to move your dates on a days notice of a cancellation, especially if you are moving nearer the summer - thats a weekend they have to 'give' you that could have been paid for by someone else. You were very fortunate that the company allowed you to do this.

ilovesooty · 20/01/2019 15:25

My friend and her husband were due to fly out to Malta just after me last summer. She was taken ill the day before and taken to A&E. They had to cancel the holiday. I cancelled her hotel 'they didn't charge) but they lost the cost of the flights. The excess made it pointless to claim on the insurance.

ineedaholidaynow · 20/01/2019 15:26

You can get travel insurance for UK breaks as well as foreign holidays, think you have to go away for more than 1 night. Always a good idea.

My DPs had to cancel a weekend break as my DF had a fall the night before they were going. As he had terminal cancer they couldn't get insurance.

We went to Center Parcs when DS was little and he came down with a horrible ear infection the night before. We still went but it was horrendous. He had a raging temperature and was not happy, so I ended up staying in the apartment with him most of the time, whilst DH went out with the ILs who also came with us. If ILs weren't with us I would probably have tried to rearrange, although DS was at that age when he was getting ear infections/bugs quite regularly. Luckily his immune system is much better now.

ChipsAreLife · 20/01/2019 15:28

Yes. Had an awful tummy bug and we were due to drive to Disneyland Paris. We booked through booking.com who were amazing and let us move. We use them a lot so perhaps that helped ... or the fact I said I could go and make everyone else ill at the hotel lol!

CarrotCakeMuffins · 20/01/2019 15:32

Make sure you have travel insurance - an annual policy should cover you for trips in the UK as well as abroad. Then if you do need to cancel, you won't lose out financially.
I thought we might need to cancel a recent holiday as chickenpox was going round, but DS managed to avoid catching it (again).
My parents once had to cancel a big trip when my DM fell and broke a bone on the way to the airport...
So, you never know what is going to happen, but there's no reason not to make plans and go on trips.

MartaHallard · 20/01/2019 15:33

One of my friends still went abroad with a tummy bug and said the flight was horrific as she was on the toilet every 5 mins! Not good during take off and landing!

Pretty horrific for the other people on the flight too, I should think. She really shouldn't have gone.

I once pulled out of a weekend break as I had a streaming cold. I'd have been sharing a room, and didn't think it was fair to inflict it on the other person, as well as not really feeling like travelling and being out and about. There were other people going, so I wasn't letting people down, and I covered my share of the hotel.

But for an expensive trip, travel insurance is a must. You can often get it as part of your household insurance. If you do a lot of trips, you can get a policy that covers you for a whole year.

Birdsgottafly · 20/01/2019 15:34

Unless it's bad diarrhoea, I don't cancel.

I think a change of scenery does you good. Unless you're likely to need a trip to hospital (outside the UK) , you might as well go.

NormHonal · 20/01/2019 15:34

I can't recall ever cancelling, other than maybe a night away camping, because being unwell in a tent isn't fun.

As a child I always got sick on holiday. Before vaccinations, I think I managed to time both measles and mumps to coincide with our week in a caravan on the south coast. My poor DMum!

We did go ahead with a city break with the DCs when I was starting to feel unwell, a few years back. Possibly a mistake, as I was feverish and slept for large chunks of the trip. Did drag my bones out of bed and around the streets a bit, but couldn't put on a brave face for very long, and I sweated through all of my clothes. I looked back at the photos recently and don't remember much of that trip.

But not often, and that is what travel insurance is for!

OddBoots · 20/01/2019 15:36

We have cancelled once as I was in hospital with meningitis, we only go on holiday every 2-3 years though so I am glad we had insurance.

Lollicent · 20/01/2019 15:38

We had to cancel a week in Cornwall as DH had his appendix out a few days before we were due to go.
We claimed on our travel insurance, just needed a letter from the GP.
It was a shame as I was 6 months pregnant and it was supposed to be our last holiday before giving birth.

Jaxhog · 20/01/2019 15:41

That's what holiday insurance is for.

Helix1244 · 20/01/2019 15:43

When mine were little they had d&v a lot. At one point it was about 10 times in 12m!
Dd1 got ill on holiday in uk. While we were there but mum also had to go into hospitsl with pneumonia. Luckily it was a 2w break.
It has made me paranoid and i dont like going places without washing machine and loads of extra sheets/clothes etc. Because if either start being ill they keep going for at least 12h and cant lie down.

My tactic now is hand washing a lot and especially before they eat anything at a soft play etc

wellhonestly · 20/01/2019 15:46

Have had to cancel 2 weekend anniversary domestic trips in a row thanks to DCs with bugs (they weren't due to come with us but we couldn't leave them when they were poorly). Our travel insurance was only for trips abroad but after the 1st experience we booked flexibly, although you do pay more ...

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 20/01/2019 15:51

We've had to cancel UK holidays twice, once because DH had sciatica and couldn't travel and the second time because my DM was dying in hospital. We got the money back for the first one but not the second, not that I really cared.

ForalltheSaints · 20/01/2019 15:54

I had to cancel a trip to France after an eye infection last year. After an issue with a hotel having a flood just before I went, I check cancellation policies carefully and so could cancel and have the train fares refunded by insurance.

Yinv · 20/01/2019 15:56

I’ve has to cancel a family holiday based on one young dc being ill. Insurance paid out in full.

Comeymemo · 20/01/2019 16:01

Had to cancel a trip abroad (Cambodia; but we live in Asia so not long haul) as DS (6) had influenza and D&V. We figured it wasn’t a good idea to take a sick child to a third world country.

That was the right decision as we all got sick over the next few days.
We’re finally going to Cambodia in two weeks. We’ve all had the flu already this year, so should be good to go this time!

trilbydoll · 20/01/2019 16:01

We've cancelled a few weekends camping because I didn't like the look of the weather and the second time DD turned out to have head lice - so glad we didn't go, I'd have had to burn the tent

We flew back from Malta with DD having an ear infection but had no idea at the time, just thought she was being unusually grumpy also went to a wedding and PIL had to have DD all day because she had a raging temperature. I still went tho, didn't cancel!

ILoveMyCaravan · 20/01/2019 16:04

Take out annual travel insurance so you're all covered. It's not as expensive as you might think.

Onwardsagain · 20/01/2019 16:10

We've not had to cancel before but I have left DH at home when he had a stomach bug. My son and I had a grand time together 😂

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