Yuck. Fire season. We've had a few in NM this yr but nothing extreme so far. We live in the mountains so really sweat it out. Praying monsoons start soon.
A comment about COVID19 vaccine availability- I personally hope a safe and effective vaccine is developed sooner than later, but I'm a realist and offer these observation about early availability. First, remember, testing and approval can often be a drawn-out process with setbacks. Ultimate availability depends on final determination by the FDA and production rates. Hopefully the age demographic of Tauck travelers, especially those with underlying conditions, will put most of us near the top of the list to receive a vaccine.
A number of companies are already promoting their un-proven, un-approved products and their unproven and sometimes outrageous claims about their ability to quickly manufacture sufficient quantities. They all want to be the first to market and I think a lot of what we have seen so far is pure marketing hype, aimed at governments and the public, but not the public as potential consumers, but as voices who they hope will put pressure on governments to quickly approve their product. It is much like drug company TV commercials- the target of these is not you as a consumer, because you can't buy them, but to you as a force that will hopefully strongly urge your doctor to consider and prescribe it for you. And, let's not forget those who want to use it for purely political purposes.
I am really curious why Tauck is suddenly changing their payment schedule from 30 days before departure to 45 days before departure. I have a trip to Bali scheduled for very early September but both Singapore (where the trip starts) and Indonesia are currently subjecting travelers to a two-week quarantine. That obviously won't work. I still have flights but won't be surprised if one or more legs of those flights are canceled in the next month or two. I assume they will announce the status of September trips in early July or so. Very frustrating for all of us.
Hi Smarks! Our flights got cancelled weeks ago and we got a refund but we did not try to find other flights because we are sure the tour will be cancelled. Unfortunately, because our tour is not until Oct 3rd, we will probably hav e to wait a month longer than you.
We got our insurance payout for our interrupted tour with another company this weekend. It was originally deinied, but the company helped us Appeal and after 3 months we have our money back. Best wishes!
If you plan on booking another trip with Tauck to replace a cancellation, you are better off having the trip paid in full. You will get a $500 dollar credit per person versus $250, if Tauck cancels. I’m going to pay off the remainder of my Antarctica trip soon, but I really don’t know if they will give the ‘credit’ more than once.
This is where I disagree with you for us, I’d rather have my cash in my hand rather than $500 which can only be used once and if the tour you add it to is cancelled, it’s gone. We were told that quite clearly.
If my September Bali trip is canceled I would like to book for next year - I checked the web site and most of the Bali trips (for a solo) next year show not available but maybe Tauck is not keeping its reservations system up to date now. I did pay my Oberammergau trip in full for 2022 and received the $500 credit. Like British (hi British!) I would have to give serious thought to how much more money I leave in Tauck's hands given the uncertainty of when we can travel. I had to cancel three trips for May / June - I was fine with the way Tauck handled their two trips but I am still fighting to get a refund from the operator of the third trip (much smaller company and they are trying to claw back money from suppliers they already paid). Got back all of my money for United flights but am fighting with British Airways over a ticket booked with them. I just turned that over to my Visa card company to see if they can resolve.
Hello All - After requesting an email from Tauck to verify the refund for a Tauck-cancelled 2020 summer Canada tour, I received this:
<>
I'm not sure everything went into the Wallet. Shouldn't the insurance and the travel credit go into the Dreamsaver account? Is there somewhere in my online account where I can view my Tauck Travel Wallet and my Dreamsaver account? Or should I contact Tauck and request an email with that info?
Thank you for your email. This email is to confirm that the reservation has been canceled and we have transferred your deposit of $1,800 into a Tauck Travel Wallet including the additional travel credit of $250 per person. Kind regards, Tauck Email Team
smarks50 I know for a fact that at least the October 3, 2021 to Singapore/Bali for solo travelers is sold out as I'm a solo traveler and already booked together with 2 friends also traveling solo. I believe the one before that is also sold out as I could not get it.
So Gladys, you are on the same tour as us. Hasn’t your flight been canceled yet? Our flights on Qatar air got cancelled weeks ago now and we haven’t bothered to rebook. We booked our own flights and have used Qatar air twice in the past six months, best business class ever in our opinion. Qatar were one of the few airlines still flying when world lockdown happened. If it wasn’t for them, we’d still be stuck in Borneo. If the tour goes, we will have to cancel, as we can’t get there. But I think it will be cancelled soon. China looks as if it’s starting The second wave.
I just looked and it is now showing limited availability for the Oct 3rd. This was not the original date we had planned as Tauck cancelled our date which was a September one. Although I want to go in the future , this is one tour I’m not so unhappy about missing this time round because October is in the rainy season and I was worried about that.
British you must booked for 2020 I'm booked for 2021 I have not booked the air to Singapore yet as October is not available will probably wait until September. I'm now waiting to see if they will cancel Scandinavia for this coming September as Denmark and Norway will not open their borders with Sweden which by the way is not a good place to be right now. I Tauck doesn't cancel I probably will.
Comments
gladysorlando984 - They have cancelled all August tours per the latest update, so your tour should be covered in the next update.
Here in Tucson, COVID-19 apparently isn't enough. The picture below is what is going on in the mountains behind our house.
Yuck. Fire season. We've had a few in NM this yr but nothing extreme so far. We live in the mountains so really sweat it out. Praying monsoons start soon.
A comment about COVID19 vaccine availability- I personally hope a safe and effective vaccine is developed sooner than later, but I'm a realist and offer these observation about early availability. First, remember, testing and approval can often be a drawn-out process with setbacks. Ultimate availability depends on final determination by the FDA and production rates. Hopefully the age demographic of Tauck travelers, especially those with underlying conditions, will put most of us near the top of the list to receive a vaccine.
A number of companies are already promoting their un-proven, un-approved products and their unproven and sometimes outrageous claims about their ability to quickly manufacture sufficient quantities. They all want to be the first to market and I think a lot of what we have seen so far is pure marketing hype, aimed at governments and the public, but not the public as potential consumers, but as voices who they hope will put pressure on governments to quickly approve their product. It is much like drug company TV commercials- the target of these is not you as a consumer, because you can't buy them, but to you as a force that will hopefully strongly urge your doctor to consider and prescribe it for you. And, let's not forget those who want to use it for purely political purposes.
The fires are terrible Sam, stay safe.
I am really curious why Tauck is suddenly changing their payment schedule from 30 days before departure to 45 days before departure. I have a trip to Bali scheduled for very early September but both Singapore (where the trip starts) and Indonesia are currently subjecting travelers to a two-week quarantine. That obviously won't work. I still have flights but won't be surprised if one or more legs of those flights are canceled in the next month or two. I assume they will announce the status of September trips in early July or so. Very frustrating for all of us.
Hi Smarks! Our flights got cancelled weeks ago and we got a refund but we did not try to find other flights because we are sure the tour will be cancelled. Unfortunately, because our tour is not until Oct 3rd, we will probably hav e to wait a month longer than you.
We got our insurance payout for our interrupted tour with another company this weekend. It was originally deinied, but the company helped us Appeal and after 3 months we have our money back. Best wishes!
If you plan on booking another trip with Tauck to replace a cancellation, you are better off having the trip paid in full. You will get a $500 dollar credit per person versus $250, if Tauck cancels. I’m going to pay off the remainder of my Antarctica trip soon, but I really don’t know if they will give the ‘credit’ more than once.
This is where I disagree with you for us, I’d rather have my cash in my hand rather than $500 which can only be used once and if the tour you add it to is cancelled, it’s gone. We were told that quite clearly.
If my September Bali trip is canceled I would like to book for next year - I checked the web site and most of the Bali trips (for a solo) next year show not available but maybe Tauck is not keeping its reservations system up to date now. I did pay my Oberammergau trip in full for 2022 and received the $500 credit. Like British (hi British!) I would have to give serious thought to how much more money I leave in Tauck's hands given the uncertainty of when we can travel. I had to cancel three trips for May / June - I was fine with the way Tauck handled their two trips but I am still fighting to get a refund from the operator of the third trip (much smaller company and they are trying to claw back money from suppliers they already paid). Got back all of my money for United flights but am fighting with British Airways over a ticket booked with them. I just turned that over to my Visa card company to see if they can resolve.
Hello All - After requesting an email from Tauck to verify the refund for a Tauck-cancelled 2020 summer Canada tour, I received this:
<>
I'm not sure everything went into the Wallet. Shouldn't the insurance and the travel credit go into the Dreamsaver account? Is there somewhere in my online account where I can view my Tauck Travel Wallet and my Dreamsaver account? Or should I contact Tauck and request an email with that info?
This Tauck quote was "deleted" from above post.
Thank you for your email. This email is to confirm that the reservation has been canceled and we have transferred your deposit of $1,800 into a Tauck Travel Wallet including the additional travel credit of $250 per person. Kind regards, Tauck Email Team
smarks50 I know for a fact that at least the October 3, 2021 to Singapore/Bali for solo travelers is sold out as I'm a solo traveler and already booked together with 2 friends also traveling solo. I believe the one before that is also sold out as I could not get it.
So Gladys, you are on the same tour as us. Hasn’t your flight been canceled yet? Our flights on Qatar air got cancelled weeks ago now and we haven’t bothered to rebook. We booked our own flights and have used Qatar air twice in the past six months, best business class ever in our opinion. Qatar were one of the few airlines still flying when world lockdown happened. If it wasn’t for them, we’d still be stuck in Borneo. If the tour goes, we will have to cancel, as we can’t get there. But I think it will be cancelled soon. China looks as if it’s starting The second wave.
I just looked and it is now showing limited availability for the Oct 3rd. This was not the original date we had planned as Tauck cancelled our date which was a September one. Although I want to go in the future , this is one tour I’m not so unhappy about missing this time round because October is in the rainy season and I was worried about that.
British you must booked for 2020 I'm booked for 2021 I have not booked the air to Singapore yet as October is not available will probably wait until September. I'm now waiting to see if they will cancel Scandinavia for this coming September as Denmark and Norway will not open their borders with Sweden which by the way is not a good place to be right now. I Tauck doesn't cancel I probably will.
Ah. Yes 2020. I’m booked for Scandinavia next July 2021 !
We are star crossed. Same tours different years.