Covid19 and liveaboard cancellations?

[bshort4]

I know many of us book our live aboard trips many months in the future if not earlier. With the Covid19 virus now a pandemic there are so many restrictions around the world that it may be impossible for many of us to go on our trips. Flight cancellations, country entry restrictions or quarantine once you arrive---all these things are stressing many of us out--I know it is me as I have a live aboard in late May in the Philippines which just locked down Manila for thirty days and maybe longer. Yes I could save some money by canceling now which is still a strain on a retired persons budget and the flight itself is non-refundable unless the airline cancels it which may happen before this is over. But the one source I've heard nothing from is the two big live aboard whole sellers--not a peep. It seems they would be saying something on their websites about the virus or possible cancellations because of it---nothing that I can see from any other sources yet either except Blue O Two which says it will let you cancel a reservation during this time without a penalty--good on them. Guess I'll need to bite the bullet and see how this plays out and hope for the best---stay safe and well everyone!

 

[O-ring]

Subscribed. In the same boat and have only a few days to decide to take the 60% refund or roll the dice on my LOB in June.

 

[Kirgan]

I called Aggressor about my upcoming trip. They said all trips are still happening and they are sticking with their current refund/cancellation policies. So unlike many other industries, including many airlines and cruise ships that are closing down for 30-60 days and/or allowing you to reschedule your trips without penalty, the Aggressor is more interested in keeping your money than doing the right thing during a world wide health emergency.

Unless the Aggressor changes their policy in light of this emergency, that tells me all I need to know about them. I wonder if there are any other liveaboard companies that are behaving better during this world wide health threat. If anyone knows of any that are, please post here. I think we should all owe them more of our loyalty going forward if they step up.

 

[d^2b]

Yes, I have a late April T&C Aggressor trip booked, so curious what's going to happen with that. It's too far away to know if I'll be able to get there (and back to Canada). And of course it's inside the 90 day no refund window. I guess I'll have plenty of time to be mad/sad later, so still hoping for the best.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Aggressor runs like a corporate machine , does not surprise me at all .

 

[rongoodman]

I emailed them asking for guidance on their policies and got the same reply. Still nothing posted on the web site. I expect that to change fairly quickly, though, at the rate things are progressing here and elsewhere.

 

[bshort4]

I did hear from Liveaboard.com in response to my email to them about getting a full refund on my trip to Tubbataha. They said the refund policy is set by the boats and not them (which I knew) but they would contact All Star Liveaboards (out of Florida) the owner of the Stella Maris and ask them if they'll grant me a full refund because of the special circumstances surrounding Covid19 and especially the quarantine of Manila for 30 days or maybe even longer. Will cross my fingers and hope for the best but won't hold my breath.

 

[O-ring]

Anybody hear anything from Aggressor yet? I've got about 5 days to make the 60% refund window or take my chances that things get back to normal (ok, normal enough for me to go) by June.

 

[Scared Silly]

I would be very surprised if any live-a-board cancels a cruise because while people are going to be in close contact it is not a large group of people, ebbing and flowing about the community (once on the boat it is basically a 7 day period of group isolation). But on the other hand live-a-board does bring a group of people together from all over, incubate them for 7 days, then disperse them. And unfortunately, travel insurance plans are not likely to cover costs planned travel to areas of the world affected by coronavirus that are canceled. So a it is pretty much a no win situation especially because one needs to travel in a big tube.

 

[d^2b]

I would be very surprised if any live-a-board cancels a cruise.

I guess at least in the immediate future many people will be unable to actually reach the live-a-board departure point. Roatan is closed to incoming traffic, Phillippines has very strict internal travel restrictions, and I expect more closures over the next week. How this affects people getting their money back I don't know. It feels a bit like a game of chicken: if the boat cancels then they are (I guess) obligated to refund. If not, they might feel like they can / must stick to the letter of the cancellation policy.

And none of this really makes things more clear for those of use with trips a bit further out; the imposed closures often do not have a defined end date, so in principle could be revoked at any time (yes, I agree that's not super likely).