Cancel cruise for 90 year old?

[seaside64]

i have booked to go on a German river cruise with my 90 year old mum on 16th April 2020. We are worried about the Coronavirus and are thinking we should cancel. We will lose £1,700. i am worrying whether the doctor would write a letter so we might get a full refund?
anyone else in this position ?
thanks

Leave it for now I would say, but be ready to pull out.

I'm really sorry, but I doubt you'll get a refund, even if your doctor writes a letter. I think I'd be inclined to cancel, given your mum's age, but you may end up losing the money.

If I were you, I'd wait a bit, just in case the FCO advice changes, as your insurance would cover it then. You have nothing to lose after all.

By April, things are likely to be pretty bad here in any case, so wait and see how things pan out?

Travel insurance will only pay out if the foreign office advise against travel to that area.
A doctor's letter will be useless in this case. Your GP doesn't know more about coronavirus risks in Germany than anyone else. Yes, it wouldn't be good for your mum to get it, but until the foreign office says the part of Germany where you are travelling is high risk, you won't get money back. If the foreign office say its high risk, you won't need a doctor's letter anyway.

Does your Mum have any health conditions that could ‘flare up’ and would her doctor be very understanding and write her a letter to say travel would be unwise.

I have to say I wouldnt go anywhere with a 90 yr old at the moment. Especially not a cruise where you are all in close quarters and eating food prepared en masse. It would be a shame to loose all the money though so worth a try to save it.

She's 90 which is a great age, she needs to enjoy her life and not avoid things out of fear. I'd go.

German population approx 83 million
Currently less than 50 reported cases

Similar figures in UK

I would keep an eye on the Government travel recommendations

I would imagine it's business as usual

I would wait and see atm - 79 cases in Germany but doubt risk is much different to the UK and German healthcare is excellent. Would have thought it's fine atm but things are moving fast.

Would doubt insurance would pay out even with a letter, mine doesn't - check terms and conditions but saw doctors have been told not to write letters somewhere. It maybe different if there's a specific risk but my insurance excludes cancellations linked to medical conditions. So unless FCO advises against all travel which is very rare no money back. Also depends how she feels, would she worry or not that bothered. I personally would still go to Europe but I am not 90.

Just go. At 90 in all honesty she won't have many more opportunities.

I'd go, too. Pretty ridiculous to try to get a doctor to write a letter when she's not ill and why should they give a refund, anyhow? People are panicking and being ridiculous.

I took my mother to the Caribbean for her 90th birthday last year onboard celebrity cruises. She had a wonderful time, go & enjoy it! my mother said if she had died onboard she would have died happy seeing what she had seen.

Exactly what @winniethekid said

Just go unless there is govt or local advice to say that area in danger

Six weeks is a very long time in terms of the spread of the virus. By mid-April either it will have been contained, or, more likely, it will have spread everywhere. I wouldn’t do anything yet.

I was going to say go and enjoy, but seeing all those people being quarantined on cruise ships makes me think I'd bail if it were me and my Nan.

Could you see if you can change the booking and go next.year instead?they might be sympathetic if you do it now.

Go. Hardly anyone has it. Thousands of cruise ships out everyday and we have heard about 1 or 2 stopped.
She’s 90, she’s lived through worse…

I read 80 and though no - cancel. But 90? None of my family get past 75! If they want to go - go.

I'd love to live to be 90 x

Don’t think I’d fancy a huge cruise ship at the moment but I would certainly go on a river cruise in Germany. Seize the day is my post cancer motto - you might not have the chance to have such a holiday with your mother again coronavirus or not. It’s fantastic that she is still travelling.

We Used to live in Germany and near a town which features heavily in the Viking River Cruise adverts

One thing to remember is that the boats are Really small. Nowhere near the size of the Caribbean or round the world ships. So this would help reduce the risk.

However seeing the tour parties disembark I would say the average age is knocking 80! Lots of Zimmer frames. So it would have a high risk population.

On the plus side German hospitals are wonderful. My MIL has just spent a month in hospital and the care was second to none.
Social care and geriatric care is very well funded. It is standard for old people to go to a convalescent home after a hospitalisation. She did this and they focused on rebuilding her strength (she even had to go swimming!) before sending her home. So to be honest If she gets sick there are worse places to be.

As you are prob going to lose your money anyway - unless the Gov issues a travel warning I would decide what to do at the last minute based on how things are then.

Plus you could opt to stay on the boat and avoid the excursions. To be honest quite a few of the less mobile customers seem to do that anyway. Plus view from a boat is always lovely. As most of the trips are through vineyard areas.