Passengers still face COVID-19 trip cancellations or postponements.

As we move into a post-pandemic world, most travel agents will tell you, we’re still having people cancel or postpone trips due to COVID-19.

Thankfully, for the most part, the disease is not as deadly as it used to be. Travel agents I’ve met had clients report being sick for a week or two. But recently, none, fortunately, have been hospitalized. And there are people who’ve told me they had COVID and traveled anyway. (A reminder for the immuno-compromised: be careful out there.)

But as worries of dying from COVID are fading for many, so too are the generous waivers airlines and cruise companies instituted.

Airline and cruise ticket rebookings are more strict.

United and Delta have kept extending their ticket validity from late 2019. But December 31, 2023, appears to be a hard stop. And depending on the ticket, travel must start by December 2023.

Pre-pandemic United Airlines tickets had to be reissued within a year of original purchase, and travel could go up to 11 months later. The new rules are much stricter. Take this example of a ticket bought in October 2023 for a Christmas trip this year. If canceled, new travel must commence by the original ticket date. Perhaps this is not a problem for regular travelers. But for those who only travel on the airline over the holidays, the ticket can no longer be put off until Christmas 2024.

Cruise lines also used to be incredibly generous.

I had one family in 2021 where one of a party of seven went to a party two weeks before a cruise and got COVID. The cruise line allowed their entire family to move the credit for the following year. Now, as Silversea Cruise Line reminded cruises in a recent email, as of October 1, 2023, COVID is like any other illness. If you have insurance, great; if not, cancellations result in full penalties.

My experience also shows that hotels are less inclined to waive cancellation penalties.

Any vacation taken next year will not have the COVID-19 protections post-pandemic.

As mentioned above, most of us in the industry have old rule stories. Clients always hate losing the money they’ve paid or traveling when sick. Since COVID varies so much in virulence from person to person, it’s easy to imagine that an increasing number of people with mild cases will travel anyway. Protecting others has become a type of honor system. I met one woman (not a client) who told me she tested positive in Europe and decided to fly home, masked, as quickly as possible. Her justification: She didn’t feel sick away from home. (So, again — if you’re immunocompromised, be careful out there.)

As for COVID-19, as awful and deadly as the worst of the pandemic was, the public is desensitized. We hope the worst of COVID is in the rearview mirror. And we hope the travel industry continues to be as generous as possible. We understand that rules will change and become more strict. But, we hope the flexible changes and cancellations available to COVID patients are maintained.

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