Country not allowing Americans-need advice

I would contact Delta and find out what your options are. Will they honor the credits on different flights if you need to re-schedule? Is there a deadline for making that change? How many times can you re-book?

Then verify the cancellation conditions for each of your hotels and your car rental. Most car rental allow cancellation up to 24 hours prior to pick up. But if your hotel cancellation window is months prior to check in, I would consider booking at a different hotel with cancellation options much closer to check in.

Once you get all of that sorted out, whatever deadline comes first will be the deciding factor. For example, if you have until 12/31/21 to make changes to the flight, if Norway is not taking US travelers on 12/30, I would re-book the flight. Maybe to somewhere that is taking US travelers.

Thank you Travel4Fun. That's all good advice. I still am hoping someone can post an insurance company that would allow me to cancel in June if the country is not taking Americans or if the USA/CDC says not to travel there in June. By the way...I love the Oregon Coast!! If I end up having to cancel this trip and stay in the USA I might return to the Oregon Coast. Great people and breathtaking scenery/beaches.

I agree, confirm with Delta first, but most airlines are allowing re-booking due to Covid restrictions, at least currently. IMO travel insurance is a waste of money and you can easily make your trip more flexible by booking a car and hotels that you can cancel usually up to a week or a few days before the reservation with no penalty. 7 months is a long time and restrictions are likely to change (Sweden just re-opened to Americans), and with more vaccinations, hopefully Covid will start slowing way down next spring/summer. Best of luck with your trip planning! We are trying to hit Sweden/Norway next year also, so hopefully things will get better soon.

If you cancel, assuming you didn't purchase Basic Economy, Delta will give you credit. From the Delta website:

We know that there may be times where you need to cancel your trip and rebook at a later date. Please note that tickets not changed or canceled prior to departure will have no remaining value. The good news is that you will not be charged a fee for canceling your ticket and your ticket will become an eCredit that you can use at any time before your ticket expires* (typically one year from the date of purchase).

I have looked at numerous travel insurance options, and I do not see any that will cover cancellation for covid-related closures. Given that Norway is currently closed to American travelers, it would not be an “unanticipated event”. And given that covid numbers are rising in countries nearby (like Germany), I doubt Norway will be opening up anytime soon.

You could cover it by buying a “cancel for any reason” policy, but those are quite expensive.

A more prudent course would be to talk to Delta and ask about changing your travel plans. You could still fly to Amsterdam, and visit countries other than Norway. Cancel your car and hotel reservations in Norway while they are still refundable. If they do happen to open up before your trip, you could travel overland to get there, and make last-minute reservations.

You could always travel to Sweden and look at Norway from a distance across the border :-)

Joking aside, don't be too optimistic. Norway has had among the most strict entry rules during the pandemic. They have relaxed the rules a bit, so vaccinated Europeans can now enter. And there was an election recently, and the new government might have a different policy on border closures. But still, I'd suggest you try and replan your trip.

I doubt you could buy insurance. At this point it would be like trying to buy fire insurance for your home because you a saw an arsonist break in and sprinkle gas on the carpet.

The better option, as already mentioned, is to contact Delta and determine what your options are and when you can exercise them.

Thank you all for the great advice. I think I will change my travel plans and see if Delta can accommodate. Some legs of my journey are Basic Economy and some are Main Cabin. As far as I know, I can cancel the rental car and hotel without penalty.

Glad I did not buy travel insurance for this trip although I think I did buy it for the rental car and hope it is refundable.

Visiting Norway overland from Amsterdam would require quite a journey !!!

Visiting Norway overland from Amsterdam would require quite a
journey!!!

Not that hard to do to be honest, there are overnight trains and ferries on the route. And starting next year there will be an overnight ferry direct from the Netherlands to Norway. https://hollandnorwaylines.com

Delta offers flights on a refundable basis, but there is a surcharge that can run from $100-$400 pp.

The Delta COVID19 refundable policy expires for flights taking place after Jan 1, 2022.

Last i checked, a ferry was not “overland” 😉