Egypt 2011 ***IMPORTANT UPDATE 2/4/11 Post # 190***

[wdwsos]

Well, you know, I agreed with this until Kevin pointed out to me that if the price of the ticket goes down significantly, if you booked it yourself, you can contact the airline and get a credit for the difference in price (assuming it's greater than the change fee amount). According to him, that's not an option if you purchase through ABD.

So both options have pluses and minuses.

Sayhello

Hmmm.. not sure about this year, but I had this happen to one of my clients and AbD adjusted the air and he received a $600.00 credit on his charge card. I also changed a flight for my son and was able to call the airline directly, even though AbD booked it. Things may be different now -- this was two and three years ago.

Dotti

 

[Forever a Princess]

Actually, with ABD, you do have this option. ABD works differently than DCL. They don't do bulk purchase of airfare. The way it works is, you can call ABD, tell them exactly what flight you want and when, the exact ticket, and if they can pull it up on their side, they will book exactly what you want. It's not like DCL, where you get whatever they decide to give you. If you *want*, you can have ABD do the whole itinerary for you, and take whatever price they offer you, but you absolutely don't have to. They are acting more like a Travel Agent in this case.

The advantage is, if ABD cancels your tour, they'll either change your tickets at no charge, or refund the money. Of course, this policy seems to be if they cancel it due to lack of people. We're not sure yet what the policy is if they cancel due to safety. Guess we'll be finding out.

(The other side to this is, if you book the airfare yourself, and ABD cancels due to lack of people, they'll still rebook your ticket, but it's not necessarily "transparent" to you.)

Sayhello

This is what we did when we went to South Africa. I called ABD and they booked the exact flight that we wanted. We also got the frequent flyer miles through Delta.

 

[lizavance]

Did anyone use DVC points for the trip? Are you having trouble with points due to expire and rebooking?

 

[Mrpill]

Yes, we were scheduled for June 21 in Egypt and got Airline tickets on line from frequent flyer miles (3) and had to buy one outright. ABD said they would pay change fees. So after being on the phone for 3 hours with Delta we finally got the tickets switched to another adventure! The new flights were cheaper, of course, since going to Cairo is very expensive for miles and dollars. Delta did give us credit and ABD says they will pay the $250 change fee per ticket....good deal and we are now headed for the DCL with ABD add on to the Mediterranian June 18th. Can't wait and thanks to everyone with the suggestions!!!!

 

[SnackyStacky]

The advantage is, if ABD cancels your tour, they'll either change your tickets at no charge, or refund the money. Of course, this policy seems to be if they cancel it due to lack of people. We're not sure yet what the policy is if they cancel due to safety. Guess we'll be finding out.

I have a guest who was supposed to travel on the Egypt adventure, and unfortunately, refund of the purchase price is not an option. I asked about this and what they told me was that the air would be cancelled, and the purchase price, less cancellation fees, would remain as a credit with the airline.

The airline was Continental - and I'm not sure if it varies based on airline or price of the airfare - but that's been my experience with this so far.

 

[sayhello]

I have a guest who was supposed to travel on the Egypt adventure, and unfortunately, refund of the purchase price is not an option. I asked about this and what they told me was that the air would be cancelled, and the purchase price, less cancellation fees, would remain as a credit with the airline.

The airline was Continental - and I'm not sure if it varies based on airline or price of the airfare - but that's been my experience with this so far.

Thanks, Dan. So it does look like they are handling the cancellation due to safety differently than they do cancellations due to lack of people.

Sayhello

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

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[roomthreeseventeen]

With today's developments, maybe all the Egypt trips are back on.

 

[sayhello]

Is this valid on all the Egypt dates or just the ones for this year? Thank you.

I think this only would apply to the ones they've cancelled (through August 2011). But it wouldn't hurt to call ABD I ask them. You never know, they might do it for any Egypt date.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

With today's developments, maybe all the Egypt trips are back on.

That's a nice thought. It's definitely a great development. But I wouldn't count my chickens yet!

Sayhello

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

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[LSmith]

I can't imagine that Egypt will be in a stable position for tourists visiting for quite some time.

 

[tufbuf]

Is this valid on all the Egypt dates or just the ones for this year? Thank you.

I believe you can cancel any of the Egypt trips without penalty as long as it is cancelled by the 28th of this month.

 

[BasilofBakerstreet]

It's a long distance call form UK - I wanted to be sure before I called them

There is the option to send them an email. Click on the contact us link at the very bottom of the screen.

 

[Bobo912]

It's a long distance call form UK - I wanted to be sure before I called them.

I used the contact us link a couple of months ago to ask a question and ABD called me the same day. I was asking a booking question, rather than a cancellation question, but I hope they provide the same level of service to everyone. They may be busier now though, since they have cancellations and rebookings to deal with.

 

[Danibelle]

I can't imagine that Egypt will be in a stable position for tourists visiting for quite some time.

Hopefully, things will stabilize but I am not holding my breath.

 

[sayhello]

It's a long distance call form UK - I wanted to be sure before I called them.

I just called ABD for you (sorry, I didn't notice you were in the UK!) and this is the answer I got:

For Egypt Trips that have not been actually canceled, they have been handling them the same as the trips that have been canceled, i.e., not charging any sort of penalty or change fees to move to another adventure. However, if your trip has not been canceled, and you did not book your airfare through ABD, then you are responsible for re-booking the airfare & any change fees for that. Also, if you want to actually cancel the whole thing (ie, not change to another trip) then it's being handled on a case-by-case basis (but most are getting full refunds). Again, that would not include your airfare if you did not book that through ABD.

I hope this answers your questions. The representative I talked to urged you to call them, and let them work with you.

Sayhello

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

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[Grifdog22]

I think what we have seen in Egypt, in a remarkably short time through essentially nonviolent means, with a dramatic changeover, is amazing. My respect for the people has grown by leaps and bounds. I would now be VERY interested in visiting Egypt, especially in the way that Disney tries to introduce and share the local culture and color.

This was previously not on our interest list - but now is a must do. I think those who are going this fall are in for a great trip - and I wish I was one of you. I'm already going to South Africa in late April, or I would be mighty tempted to sign up now.

This is almost like an opportunity to visit Germany shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall. Not just an amazing country - but a historic time to be there.

 

[Evildisneysiamese]

We are booked for the Dec. 20 trip. Given what we have witnessed the past few days there is now a wonderful new dimension to this trip that goes beyond just ancient ruins and pyramids. We are very much hoping that things stay together enough to go and don't mind the uncertainty that we will have to endure in the coming months.