"free airfare" w/Avalon booking

[lindya]

since our October 2020 Rhine Cruise with Avalon will likely be cancelled, I have a question..Our booking included the "free airfare" which was all arranged by Avalon...we also had the trip insurance through Avalon..does anyone know what will happen with this "free airfare" offer?...Do you think Avalon will just rebook all of the trip including the airfare at the same price to us? I know that those who set up their own flights will need to handle that part separate but since ours was included in the booking , any thoughts on how that will go?

[Daisi]

As far as I know you will be getting the FCC + the bonus for whatever funds you have paid.  Since your trip isn't until October, I am assuming that you have only paid the deposit.  Not sure how the US bookings go, but right now, Avalon has a free "upgrade" - you choose your cabin and they credit you the increase from the base cabin - and for Canada, airfare for a guaranteed price.  We have the guaranteed airfare for our 2021 cruise, and if things go as they say, prices could rise quite a bit, so we could luck out.  We had to put a deposit down for it, but if we did choose to do our own, the deposit goes towards the cost of our cruise.

 

They may do another free airfare promo again later on, depending on how the sales go now.  You may want to look into seeing how things work out without the free air, the upgrade could cover it.  I looked up the costs for the flight Avalon booked for us 2 years ago, and the guaranteed price is lower than what we paid then...and they got us the best deal at that time.  

[rcaruso]

We had a Globus Polish escape with airfare in March which was cancelled by Globus, and they would not honor the desk we got. If we re booked for next year we would end up paying a couple thousand more for airfare. So good luck on Avalon.


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[lindya]

terrific😕...well , I noticed that even though our airfare was "free"  the cruise price was prob higher than the ones that did not include "free" airfare...hopefully it all comes out about the same as the one we have in October 2020...at this point, I hope they do cancel because I don't want to spend this kind of money on a trip that is not as good due to Covid restrictions.

[Daisi]

The other thing you have to consider is if they do go ahead with sailing, will Americans be allowed into Europe.  If you have a TA, you may want them to get asking.  You will have to have the visa waiver (ETIAS) and right now, you wouldn't get one.  Not sure how long they take, but that is something else to think about.

 

So many things to think about...you and Franski are in the same "boat" so to speak, even though she is from Canada and could possibly be allowed to sail.

[gnome12]

You will have to have the visa waiver (ETIAS) and right now, you wouldn't get one.  Not sure how long they take, but that is something else to think about.

I think ETIAS only comes into force in 2021.


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[franski]

8 hours ago, Daisi said:

The other thing you have to consider is if they do go ahead with sailing, will Americans be allowed into Europe.  If you have a TA, you may want them to get asking.  You will have to have the visa waiver (ETIAS) and right now, you wouldn't get one.  Not sure how long they take, but that is something else to think about.

 

So many things to think about...you and Franski are in the same "boat" so to speak, even though she is from Canada and could possibly be allowed to sail.

 

We are watching things closely... At this time, our sailing is down to 38 cabins booked.  So, with less than 50% of the boat potentially occupied, I highly doubt things will go ahead - even if travel opens up.  Of course, I would bet that at least 20 of those cabins (or more) are booked by Americans - so, if Americans are not allowed into Europe, it makes for a pretty sparse sailing.  Hardly cost effective if the staff outnumber the passengers.

 

Fran 

[Daisi]

10 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I think ETIAS only comes into force in 2021.


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You are right... sorry, I have been working with my TA and she was reminding me we needed one.  We (hopefully) sail May 2021.