Canada Once Again Advising Against All Non-Essential International Travel

[cbr663]

Canada has once again today put out a travel advisory advising against all non-essential international travel.  The avoid all cruise ship travel outside of Canada is also repeated.  

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories

 

 

[trixiee]

*sigh*

I know not what to do.  I was looking so forward to my first solo cruise...

[HappyInVan]

Disappointing, but not unexpected! I wonder how it will affect travel insurance?

 

On the positive side, I think that it reflects the determination of the Canadian governments to fight the spread of omicron. Good for Canadians!

 

Be calm, Be patient, Be Safe!

[sfaaa]

If the omicron situation doesn't get better soon, 2022 Alaska cruise season out of Vancouver will be at grave risk.

[migrose3]

Crap, my January cruise is starting to look less likely. insert sad face here 😞 It is what it is, if it is not recommended to travel then we probably will not be able to have Covid insurance.  Dreaming about my cruise countdown got me through the last 2 years,  I guess it will get me through one more. First world problems

[Bostonjetset]

4 minutes ago, migrose3 said:

Crap, my January cruise is starting to look less likely. insert sad face here 😞 It is what it is, if it is not recommended to travel then we probably will not be able to have Covid insurance.  Dreaming about my cruise countdown got me through the last 2 years,  I guess it will get me through one more. First world problems

I understand this is just an advisory and not an actual ban on travel. So why would you need to cancel?  I’ve heard a lot of Canadians talking about “covid insurance” but doesn’t your normal health insurance cover you for emergencies or is it not applicable outside of Canada?

[visagrunt]

So far as I can see this is not much change.

The travel advisories are back, but there is no attempt to prohibit travel.  There is talk of expanding testing on arrival, but this was on the cards anyway for anyone intending to cruise other than Alaska or Canada/New England (where the US only exemption would still apply).

So long as we are:  1) fully vaccinated; 2) boostered; and 3) building testing into our plans, I suspect that a cautious resumption of travel is still open.

[iancal]

41 minutes ago, Bostonjetset said:

I understand this is just an advisory and not an actual ban on travel. So why would you need to cancel?  I’ve heard a lot of Canadians talking about “covid insurance” but doesn’t your normal health insurance cover you for emergencies or is it not applicable outside of Canada?

No.  Our health insurance does not typically cover us for out of country...or should I say cover us for any realistic amounts.  We ensure that that we have out of country medical coverage and evac when ever we travel.

Edited December 15, 2021 by iancal

[Bostonjetset]

18 minutes ago, iancal said:

No.  Our health insurance does not typically cover us for out of country...or should I say cover us for any realistic amounts.  We ensure that that we have out of country medical coverage and evac when ever we travel.

Ahh that’s more understandable then. My work coverage covers for emergencies worldwide but govt insurance in the US like Medicare does not.  

[Chinook Wind]

CBC reported that because this is now a Level 3 Advisory -- and travel on cruise ships is Level 4 -- you cannot get travel or medical insurance.  If you're already out of country then you're covered because you left before the Advisory was in effect. 😷

[bennybear]

9 minutes ago, Chinook Wind said:

CBC reported that because this is now a Level 3 Advisory -- and travel on cruise ships is Level 4 -- you cannot get travel or medical insurance.  If you're already out of country then you're covered because you left before the Advisory was in effect. 😷

Not necessarily,  ours gives you ten days of coverage to return home.   

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, visagrunt said:

So far as I can see this is not much change.

The travel advisories are back, but there is no attempt to prohibit travel.  There is talk of expanding testing on arrival, but this was on the cards anyway for anyone intending to cruise other than Alaska or Canada/New England (where the US only exemption would still apply).

So long as we are:  1) fully vaccinated; 2) boostered; and 3) building testing into our plans, I suspect that a cautious resumption of travel is still open.

 

The problem is this warning May invalidate your insurance.

Edited December 15, 2021 by bennybear

[Danides]

1 hour ago, bennybear said:

Not necessarily,  ours gives you ten days of coverage to return home.   

And ours (Johnson, Medoc) covers us no matter what the level is, and even if the advisory was issued before the travel. Cancellation is not covered but medical is. 

[visagrunt]

Typically, if you have purchased your insurance before the warning, the warning will not invalidate it--the warning may prevent you from buying new policies, though.

The other point to note is that the warning will not invalidate your entire insurance cover, but rather will restrict coverage for certain risks.  Best to talk to your insurance advisor to get the details of your coverage, since not all policies are the same and not all exclusions are identically worded.

[Florida_gal_50]

26 minutes ago, Danides said:

And ours (Johnson, Medoc) covers us no matter what the level is, and even if the advisory was issued before the travel. Cancellation is not covered but medical is. 

This is who I used for my November 2021 cruise.  I must have asked them 10 times if they were sure they covered cruises.  There is so much generalizing about insurance and what it will and won’t cover it’s hard to know what to think.  That said I wouldn’t want to be traveling anytime in the next month or two and will reassess after that.  It’s just my own feelings and not meant towards anyone else.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Florida_gal_50

[Magicat]

4 hours ago, sfaaa said:

If the omicron situation doesn't get better soon, 2022 Alaska cruise season out of Vancouver will be at grave risk.

Looks like we will be looking at a plan B for our Alaska cruise in May.  You know the Canadian government will over react and cancel cruising for another season.  They know where their vote base is and it is not in Vancouver.

[jeda4137]

4 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

I understand this is just an advisory and not an actual ban on travel. So why would you need to cancel?  I’ve heard a lot of Canadians talking about “covid insurance” but doesn’t your normal health insurance cover you for emergencies or is it not applicable outside of Canada?

Not applicable outside of Canada. Have to purchase Travel Medical insurance unless lucky enough to have some kind of Employer plan 

[philippe O.]

On the blue cross website today "However, while Canadian government travel warnings do not affect your coverage, you are advised to follow the recommendations of health and government authorities."

[DHLuCruise]

1 hour ago, philippe O. said:

On the blue cross website today "However, while Canadian government travel warnings do not affect your coverage, you are advised to follow the recommendations of health and government authorities."

 

This is why we went blue cross for our emergency health insurance.

[Blackduck59]

6 hours ago, sfaaa said:

If the omicron situation doesn't get better soon, 2022 Alaska cruise season out of Vancouver will be at grave risk.

 

Please tell me why this "variant of interest" that has very few deaths attributed to it will close Canadian ports to cruising again??? Proper caution is one thing, knee jerk reactions are something else all together. 

 

 

[Sue from Canada]

3 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Please tell me why this "variant of interest" that has very few deaths attributed to it will close Canadian ports to cruising again??? Proper caution is one thing, knee jerk reactions are something else all together. 

 

 

Omicron is just like a ship passing by.  There will always be a next one.  If Omicron isn't that bad then IMO we just need to build natural immunity to it (yes, I've had 2 Pfizer shots) and wait for the next nasty little virus to head our way.  We can't keep turning life upside down forever.

[GeriatricNurse]

14 hours ago, cbr663 said:

Canada has once again today put out a travel advisory advising against all non-essential international travel.  The avoid all cruise ship travel outside of Canada is also repeated.  

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories

 

 

To clarify, does this advisory mean that if one contracts Covid while travelling internationally, for non-essential travel, and one contracts Covid, then the government is NOT OBLIGATED to repatriate their Canadian Citizens, (unless the Medical Travel Insurance) that one has (hopefully) purchased before their travel(s), INCLUDES Covid Coverage, by which, presumeably, will provide the travel with flight(s) home to Canada?

[cbr663]

2 hours ago, GeriatricNurse said:

To clarify, does this advisory mean that if one contracts Covid while travelling internationally, for non-essential travel, and one contracts Covid, then the government is NOT OBLIGATED to repatriate their Canadian Citizens, (unless the Medical Travel Insurance) that one has (hopefully) purchased before their travel(s), INCLUDES Covid Coverage, by which, presumeably, will provide the travel with flight(s) home to Canada?

That's correct.  The Federal Gov't has stated for some time now that it will not be organizing flights to repatriate Canadians who chose to travel during the pandemic.

 

It was also reported yesterday on several news media that the Canadian Gov't wanted stricter restrictions but the provincial gov'ts pushed back.  Apparently stricter restrictions are being announced this Friday to deter Holiday travel and get togethers.

[cbr663]

8 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Please tell me why this "variant of interest" that has very few deaths attributed to it will close Canadian ports to cruising again??? Proper caution is one thing, knee jerk reactions are something else all together. 

 

 

 

Omicron is classified as a variant of concern, not a variant of interest.  The reaction is due to the high transmissibility of the virus.  It spreads rapidly and easily.  I read today that it is estimated that Omicron is up to 70 times more transmissible than Delta.

 

This is a huge problem on 2 fronts:  fully vaccinated people can spread it to unvaccinated people who may become seriously ill and positive results still require quarantine.  In the case of a hospital setting you no longer looking just a high number of hospitalizations and deaths but the real possibility that a significant number of hospital staff may become infected and not be able to work causing the system to come to a halt.

 

This can also be a significant problem on closed environments like a cruise ship where highly transmissible viruses can spread quite easily.  It increases the chances that many passengers and many crew may be looking at periods of quarantine while on board.  At a certain point cruise ships may not have enough crew to safely service the ship.

[1kaper]

14 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

Ahh that’s more understandable then. My work coverage covers for emergencies worldwide but govt insurance in the US like Medicare does not.  

 

The only thing I would warn about is a lot of travel insurance won't cover travel to places under advisories by the Canadian government - which is the question here.  Would this advisory affect insurance?  And early on I believe there was also an issue with coverage for treatment if you got covid.  Other medical emergencies were covered but not covid. 
My workplace insurance does not have exceptions, but it is more expensive.  But we have people who travel to places that are typically under travel advisories prior to COVID.