2023 Covid Policy from RS

But then on his zoomcast tonight Rick Steves stated that masks will be required on their tour buses, tour members required to be vaccinated and boosted and that if required to leave the tour, tour members will be refunded those days missed. I guess he missed the email sent out today?

The other interesting statement tonight and one that seems to get a lot of attention here was that oversized luggage is not permitted or allowed on their tours and buses, only the carryon size and one daypack.

Margie: I also watched the zoom program tonight and I admit it was confusing. But I’m trusting the very clearly worded email that I received just this morning. I also noted the suitcase size requirement. Per my experience on a RS tour this past September, that strict size requirement is not enforced. What IS enforced is that you must carry your own bags, even up long flights of stairs if necessary. Since I’m a small person traveling solo, I did limit myself to a small bag that I could manage. However There’s plenty of room on those buses for for bigger bags and multiple bags per person. No one on my tour had an unreasonable amount of baggage but plenty had more than the one carry-on size suitcase.

Oh, I’m sure the email is right but it would be more credible if everyone was putting out the same message.

Not about COVID, but about luggage…. Went on the Best of Eastern Europe 15 days last fall… several trip members did not read the luggage requirements and brought footlocker size luggage - large enough to cover the entire one side of a bus’ storage area. And also had multiple bags of shopping accumulated over the trip.

The bus driver used up valuable time loading and unloading their stuff while the carryon people waited.

I’m also going with what the email says. When asked by a guide, or if I feel it’s necessary, I will wear a mask. I managed to survive two tours last summer with all the required (at the time) protocols so I am happy to see some of them lifted!

Hey all, the email is correct. Apologies for the confusion. We'll address that internally.

Re bags, if you show up with a larger bag or an extra bag, we're not going to deny your bag's passage on the tour. The issue is not space. The issue is about your ability to haul your own bags. It's up to you to be able to get them from the bus to the hotel. Sometimes that's easy dropoff at the front door and there's an elevator. Other times you have to arrive in Venice, walk a hundred yards to the vaporetto (boat) and load them on, then offload and walk several hundred yards over cobblestones, go up and down stairs on the bridges, then go up a few flights of stairs at the hotel. Such is what it takes to see a (beautiful) place like Venice. Obviously, I'm indicating two extremes, and you can usually (not always) leave a bag on the bus. In fact, we commonly recommend for Venice that you just pack your essentials (2 days clothes, meds, etc) into your day bag and only take that into Venice. That works well for most. As some do, if you want to do some shopping on your trip to the point that you'd bring another bag home, bring a tote bag that you can put that stuff into and leave it on the bus for the tour.

Anyway, the main point is that if you stick to our recommendation that you bring one carry on and a day bag, you'll be able to manage perfectly well and have a successful trip. I've seen people bring more, and it is often a struggle, even for the spry 30-year-olds on my tours.

We were very disappointed in the email regarding Covid. We did a trip to Italy in May 2022 and felt the precautions were what got us home without Covid. Cases are rising and many travelers are older.

Regarding luggage, we have done a couple of RS tours and I was not thrilled about the one carry on rule. But they have convinced me of its merits! You get sick of the same old clothes but getting around is SO much easier!

eds: I think that RS's policy perfectly reflects how people and governments all over the world are responding to this endemic phase of Covid, which is that each person should assess his/her personal risks and act accordingly without the need for mandates. "Acting accordingly" could be anything from not traveling at all, traveling but not as part of a group, wearing masks all the time, sometimes, or never. I for one took a RS Tour last year and came home Covid-free even though I NEVER wore a mask except on the RS bus. I didn't wear a mask in museums, restaurants, theaters, on crowded transit cars or on the airplane or at the airport prior to and after my trip. Your mileage may vary! I wish you happy and healthy travels in 2023!

Luggage. I agree the issue is being able to manage it a distance by yourself!

Heart of Italy is a tour where one is wise to take this into account. There is no overnight storage on the bus. I’m guessing we walked about 1/2 mile from our first hotel to the spot where the bus could pick us up. Next, it is a pretty good haul down to the hotel in Volterra (and subsequently up on the way back). We had to help several of our more senior members here. Our guide received our undying appreciation by arranging for luggage transport from the train station to the hotel in Cinque Terre. We still had to manage it on and off the train. The hotel in Florence was probably about 1/3 of a mile from where we were dropped off. It was then 69 stairs up to my room (I counted). The small lift wasn’t going to handle the entire group. I sent the bags up the lift with someone else and then raced up to get them at the other end.

How much you bring with you matters, not because of some strict rule, but how you can manage your bags when you need to do so.

Interesting comment from Rick about the carry on suitcase “rule”. We took our first RS tour in 2003, and at that time it was stated that we had to just have a carry on suitcase. They even gave us a RS bag when we signed up for the tour. My husband chose the unstructured backpack one, and I selected the two-wheel suitcase. We brought those home and wondered how we could pack so little - LOL! Thanks, Rick! We’ve never checked a bag for our European trips since 2003.

Jessicaf227… On our trip in May 2022 in our group of 18, we had 2 test positive the first day and 4 I was aware of the last few days. Keeping the group as a whole healthy benefits all. We were in close quarters often and at meals it was, of course, impossible to mask. You were lucky. I do realize most are ignoring the pandemic (it is not endemic yet). I had just hoped RS would continue to prioritize precautions.

Eds and Jessica, re: masks. The choice is now ours and so is the responsibility. Last September on the South of France tour, 9 people were positive for Covid plus 5 companions left the tour with them. 10 of us survived to enjoyed the full tour. Only a few of us wore masks whenever we were out of our hotel rooms away from the tour group, and tested regularly.

I flew home 6 days later from Venice. I got a nasty atypical bout of Covid 10 days after getting home, so not related to the tour or flight. Where and from whom I have no idea. Symptoms were not respiratory but muscular to the point I could hardly move and heart palpitations.

Regardless of what others do, I will be wearing a mask
on this year’s tour plus independent travel. No different than being home. Plus I will update my booster shot.

The RS 2023 Covid policy suggests packing some At Home Covid - 19 tests. Does anyone have experience with TSA screening and boxed tests in carry-on luggage? Are you required to place the tube of reagent fluid in your 1-quart toiletries zip-lock bag?

Redeemer you don’t have to put the reagent in your liquid bag. I took multiple flights in Europe this fall and had eight in my carryon bag.

@ Reederman, I agree with Diane regarding the reagent. I traveled in October 2021 to/from France, April 2022 to France/from AMS, September 2022 to Italy (thru France)/from Italy and had multiple Covid kits each time in my carryon. At no time was I questioned by either US security or security in France, Netherlands or Italy. This is not an issue.

Prior policy provided a full refund for the unused portion of RS trip cost after leaving tour due to Covid. New policy would appear to offer about half that amount. Last summer we were forced to leave a tour after four days due to Covid, and were not allowed to join a follow-on tour. Four other tour members also contracted Covid, and we concluded that we were exposed to it while on tour. We received full refunds for unused portions of both trips, which we greatly appreciate. It is unclear to us, however, how the newly announced policy would affect us under the same conditions. We sent a query to RS several weeks ago but have yet to receive a response.

I don’t see any confusion. In 2022 you got a full prorated refund of your tour cost if you were removed from a tour due to a positive Covid test. In 2023 that refund has been reduced to $200 per day. Per Community Guidelines, I will not state my opinion of this policy, but the impact should be clear to all. The pledge form signed by tour members when they reserved a tour is somewhat vague, but it was drafted months ago before the latest policies were announced. I assume the more recent policies clarify the pledge.

OP Here. For me, the blast e-mail I got from RS (pasted above) when I started this thread and again just a week or so ago, gives me all the information I need to look forward to the two tours I have scheduled this year. No testing and masks optional. Yay! As the RS Webmaster posted in another thread, RS is not in the business of throwing people off tours. If I felt really sick on a tour, I probably wouldn’t want to continue with it and that would be a decision I’d make. And that my friends is why I always purchase travel insurance! Covid is endemic and no one should expect RS or any other business to make any accommodations for it that they wouldn’t make for other endemic diseases like colds, flu or food-poisoning or a sprained ankle for that matter. Illness and injuries can happen on a vacation. Purchase travel insurance and look at anything that a tour operator provides as extra goodwill.

@Tom, Respectfully, what are you hoping to accomplish here? If you want clarification from RS Tours then you need to contact them directly and speak to them directly.

No one here, including yourself, is qualified to state what their policy is. The OP graciously shared an email she received. That pretty much sums up the facts available here.

“ I’m unfamiliar with a “blast email”, having never received one from RS Tours.”

Yet, it’s been shared as a copy/paste twice on this forum (Jessica & my post that I finally gave up & deleted) for the benefit of those who weren’t signed up for a tour…. and now being argued again by you.

Please accept my humble apologies for my wrongheaded thinking and my disruption of the harmonious work of The People’s Travel Forum.

Re: bags

So I typically just bring a Rick Steves backpack and a day bag. Problem is, I have zero room for souvenirs, so I usually end up going home with nothing... just a few magnets or other small items. I've tried shipping home before and it's too much of a hassle.

My plan for my tour this year was to check a suitcase with bubble wrap or packing paper to use to ship home souvenirs and any liquids I can't bring in my carry on. The suitcase is carry on size and I have no issues carrying my own luggage around.

I missed out on some great souvenirs on my France tour this past fall and it really bummed me out. Unfortunately there are some things you can't just buy online.