AIBU to cancel holiday?

[Nostrings457]

Booked to go to Malta in May - holiday balance is due tomorrow (over 6k). Travelling with young children and 1 aduly is aged 65+

Malta has no coronavirus cases currently but who knows what will happen between now and May. I dont want to pay the balance and then risk trying to claim off insurance if we dont go.

I suppose its more a what would you do than aibu?

(I know the risk is so low, influenza kills more people etc.. but i dont want to end up in quarantine with 3 young kids somewhere either)

Thanks for the input - lots of mixed views, atill cant decide

Also wow to the number of poeple personally offended that were paying 6k. . . There's a big group going to a 4* all inc resort

Have you rung to ask about changing dates, or delaying final balance?

I can't believe how sneery some posters are being about the cost? Does it not occur to you that some people may go to nicer places than you - the competitive reverse snobbery is pathetic.

Think I'd go OP. Tricky though....

China did not lock down/restrict movement of nearly a 7th of the world population for shits and giggles.

Is it not our social and moral duty to help to stop the spread of this virus by restricting our movements too?

Ignore all the ‘I paid £300 for a trip to Malta’ brigade. They have no idea where you are staying, what’s included etc. How ridiculous to comment that way on a holiday they know nothing about.

Kunda it's easy to do your duty if you've not already shelled out money on something and I'd certainly agree you'd have to be a bit of an optimist to have booked any future holidays in the last week.

I'll do my duty when the government takes this seriously and bans foreign travel. Until then I'm not going to lose my money because nobody has quite decided yet how seriously to take this.

I can’t believe the number of people guffawing at the op spending £6k. Perhaps it’s 12 people going. Even if it was just her it’s her money.

Anyway. I’m booked for Madrid at Easter. Unless there is advice not to travel I’m still going.
I would pay it, op, after checking the wording of your travel insurance.

Just looked into cancelling Copenhagen at Easter and we would lose £230 of a £1k break. That’s flights and admin fee. Undecided. It’s a large hotel and although cases there are low you just don’t know who is flying in and one DD has GCSEs this May.

You’ll lose the balance of 6K. We are booked for September, I’ll be waiting for either the Tour Operator or FCO to say we can’t go and get a full refund.

Since you still have the option to cancel then I would cancel just to be safe. Or ask if you can postpone. The stock markets wouldn't be down TRILLIONS of dollars for nothing - this is obviously very serious. We are going to Canaries May half term - already paid in full non refundable so we will be going unless the flights are cancelled/hotel shut. But if I could get my money back or most of it then I would cancel.

Would you go tomorrow?

would you feel comfortable travelling through an airport tomorrow?

If yes then pay it but if travelling right now would make you nervous, then DO NOT PROCEED WITH PAYMENT.

It's not even about the official warnings, it's about your own feelings and anxiety levels about it all. Have a chat with yourself. Good luck.

rookiemere we have already shelled out, we were suppose to be flying in 4 weeks to visit my best friend whom we have not seen for a year.

We will not be going

Bodear You were asking where I got the 20% will need medical help figure from.

It's been commonly quoted. It's on the BBC site here as 15% BBC News - What is coronavirus and what are the symptoms?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51048366

15% of the UKs population of 65million is 9,750,000. But I've also heard 35% of people don't contract the virus. Even so that leaves 6,337,500 people potentially needing some help to recover.

Thats why it's so important for people to avoid catching it for as long as they can - so that the NHS is not overwhelmed by large numbers of people needing help at the same time. We need to try to spread out the rates of infection for as long as we can.

It's sensible to keep calm and carry on but avoid risks as much as possible. So things like sport, holidays, theatre, conferences are all avoidable. Going to work, looking after elderly dependents we should continue normally.

It's highly possible you'd be the one carrying COVID-19 to Malta from the UK and they certainly don't need that

Has the OP tested positive then?

I'm travelling in a months time, long haul 2 flight changes to remote part of S America, and I will have been home prior to this trip. Would I be carrying it to S America then?

If the FCO don't ban travel there, I'm going.

So things like sport, holidays, theatre, conferences are all avoidable. Going to work, looking after elderly dependents we should continue normally

Holidays are not avoidable if you're going to lose all your money! Nor are trips to London and theatre tickets avoidable if you've paid for it. I'm sure the theatre will be most sympathetic and refund my money if I say I don't fancy coming now..... not!

To my mind, you are just as much at risk mixing with the general public at work, in supermarkets whatever, and nothing in my life will be changing until someone from the FCO or HSE tells me otherwise. Obviously I will be extra vigilant with cleanliness.

Amazon has stopped all non essential travel for employees including domestic flights within the US.

Many global multi national companies have also stopped non essential travel for its employees.

DH's employer (US corporate) has literally sent out an email this morning to stop all international travel unless critical. DH has just returned from a 2 day trip to Germany before the explosion of cases in Europe. He was due to fly to the States next month which most likely won't be happening. This would severely curtail his job and the company's growth so the travel ban isn't undertaken lightly. It's going to be an absolute disaster for most people with regard to trade/economy/jobs, etc.

It's not the destination which worries me but the journey to get there - crowded airports amongst thousands of international travellers plus being on any flight for hours. He thinks the ban is OTT despite being an asthmatic!

Imo, it will get significantly worse. We haven't gone away at Feb HT or Easter due to GCSE year for DC1 (which may well be impacted as well) but I'm mentally prepared to forgo our deposits for our summer holiday in Jul/Aug. Altogether, we'll lose £1.5K if we cancel before the balances are due in June but I'd rather do that at the moment.

I'll stop going to the theatre/cinema etc when government or public health body tells me do so, not before. It would be rather odd to curtail all of life's enjoyment whilst still taking your risks by going into work every day.

Husband and I are due to go to Thailand over Easter but have been thinking for a while now that we won't be going, even though we stand to lose a lot of money on 2 international flights and 3 internal flights; all non refundable. Our hotels are all non refundable too. I don't want to be in an airport or aeroplane now. I don't want to be in quarantine over there, or have to wear a mask when out, and I don't want problems coming back into the UK or having to self isolate on return if it's necessary. I'm hoping the FCO advise against travel there, but they haven't yet and Thailand was the first place to have a case outside China. The people that say that it only affects the old or immune compromised obviously don't have elderly parents or relatives or now anyone with health problems that could be compromised. It worries me more about potentially passing it on whilst being asymptomatic than actually getting it and being ill. My thoughts are that the next few weeks will be very interesting indeed, and we just can't predict which way this will go, but IMHO things could get very tricky indeed.

I have three holidays booked to various locations. No intentions of not going

If work is unavoidable and commuting unavoidable then you may as well go on holiday rather than lose a ton of money.

Exactly my thoughts @rookiemere. We all still have to go to work on trains/ tubes etc yet let’s stop doing the actual things we enjoy. Madness.

There is a case in Surrey. Should travel to Surrey be avoided?

Same boat as you OP. Just can't decide. I so badly need a break with the kids but having done some research it is not like regular seasonal flu. I had swine flu and whilst that wasn't that bad my daughter would seriously struggle if she caught this flu and I'd never forgive myself.

Right now I would say don't go and we also are not likely to go. It really sucks but good health is a blessing and not to be taken for granted.

There is a case in my county too, just announced. That doesn't mean I'm going to quarantine myself up in the bedroom and not leave the house for months.

There have been cases in the city where I live. WTF should I do then? never leave my home?. Sorry, I'm living my life as normal. I will practice good hand hygiene and use sensible precautions. But I am not going to stop living my life on the off chance I "might" catch something.