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if you're rescheduling, when and where?

My tour isn't until the fall, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping all will be under control by then. But for those of you scheduled to travel this spring who have decided to change to a different tour, I'm interested in learning when and where you chose to go, as well as your rationale for doing so.

Also, I could very well be wrong about this (I'm relying on my memory of something I never paid a ton of attention to), but it seems like a number of tours have more availability in the fall than usual. For example, it would be easy to select a Village Italy tour this fall, as there are multiple dates still available. Isn't this tour usually one of the most popular and sold out far in advance? So I'm also wondering if people scheduled on tours in the more distant future have also decided to switch to different tours, and if so why, where, and when.

Posted by
7010 posts

So I'm also wondering if people scheduled on tours in the more distant future have also decided to switch to different tours, and if so why, where, and when.

That's possible, but I think it just as likely that many who anticipated signing up for Fall tours are in the 'wait and see' category before booking and paying a deposit, and therefore haven't signed up yet.

Posted by
32 posts

Yes , we re schedule our Italy tour from March to August . We are going on the same tour, hopping for the best outcome ,did not wanted to get stock in Italy or quarantine in the way back .Good look

Posted by
257 posts

I'm on the Heart of France tour starting in mid-April and then the Best of the Adriatic tour following that. I have no plans to change and will just use normal, common-sense practices of washing hands, using hand sanitizer, etc. These are normal good practices anyway - anytime you get a group of people in a confined space (such as a tour bus) you run the risk of picking something up. I was on a 2 week tour in Bulgaria last year where a stomach virus spread through half of the bus, so there's always some risk. I don't see a reason to change plans or overreact. Just my opinion..... As Rick says, keep on traveling!!!

Posted by
4614 posts

Check out how full the RS Switzerland trips are now.

Posted by
94 posts

We rescheduled our Village Italy tour from April to October. We didn’t want to deal with the stress of traveling this spring. Hoping that the situation will be better by autumn.

Posted by
419 posts

I’m not on a tour but we were planning a month long European Vacation this summer (Bruges, Paris, Switzerland, Italy, Greece). The following summer we’re doing a student tour with my daughter’s high school French Class. Summer after that we were thinking of going back to Hawaii but other daughter wants to visit family.

Fortunately I got “Cancel For Any Reason” travel insurance. I’ll just put that chunk of money back in the bank for whenever we can return to Europe.

On a positive note, now that I’ve gotten over the shock, there are a few changes I might make to my original itinerary.

Posted by
2065 posts

We have two tours for early September to Portugal and then Barcelona and Madrid with RS. I hope they are not canceled.
My heart goes out to anyone who has lost a loved one and to any who becomes ill with this virus.

Posted by
2942 posts

It will be interesting to see if this strain of flu follows the usual patter of tapering off in the spring and then hitting a peak from December to January. We just don't know yet.

I think a summer or fall tour would be the safe bet.

Posted by
80 posts

I'm all booked for a trip to Scotland mid-April and right now I have no plans to cancel ... there's another thread about this topic I think in the Scotland forum and a lovely soul posted "if the government says I can go and the plane is flying there, I'm off!" I'm in the camp that likes the notion of 'life goes on'.. having said that it's a very personal decision and you need to listen to your gut and do your research (and as Rick says, Europe will always be there!)

Cheers :)

Posted by
3961 posts

@Big Mike,
Your comment about the usual pattern of flu simmering in the Spring & resurging in Winter reminds me of the 2009 H1N1 virus. It started out as an epidemic in April 2009, became Pandemic & continued until Aug. 2010. As a healthcare provider for decades I have never seen anything like the current Covid-19. Let's hope for the best.

Ruth. like you our travel to Europe is not until fall. Hard to predict. Circumstances are rapidly evolving.

Posted by
5470 posts

Last November, I signed up for the Portugal trip at the end of September. I figure by Fall one of two things will happen. Either the virus will be under control or I will have gotten the virus.

Posted by
374 posts

We are scheduled for the Southern Italy tour the end of April and then fly to Paris for Paris and the Heart of France in mid May. We are not rescheduling but we are keeping an eye on the situation. We are healthy and not in a high risk category. And we always wash our hands.

Posted by
4 posts

I'm scheduled for the Best of Paris in late April. After the tour I'll be headed to Normandy and London for 2 weeks.

As long as the CDC has no travel advisories I plan to go.

Posted by
6265 posts

We're signed up for the South Italy tour in mid-May. Like jvb, we remain hopeful. I looked at alternate dates, and there are plenty of free spots on the same tour in June. I'd like to keep the same itinerary, even if we have to change dates. We've been looking forward to this particular tour for years. Besides, I've been brushing up my Italian for months, and would hate to have to switch to another language at the last minute. :-)

With the sweeping actions announced by the Italian government this weekend, we're even more hopeful that the situation will improve enough that the tour can go on as scheduled. If so, we'll be on it.

Posted by
55 posts

I'm still planning on going on the Greece tour in September, provided that it happens. After that tour wraps up, I'm going to Kea to do a 5 day cooking/food program with Aglaia Kremezi. At this point, I'm figuring that RS will cancel the tour if they deem it too dangerous to go. Frankly, living in the Puget Sound region (basically ground zero for the virus in the US), I would think that Greece would be more concerned about me going there than I would be about going there, LOL.

Posted by
195 posts

I just signed up for the 8 day tour of Ireland which departs on May 8th. I’m going to take precautions as advised by the CDC, but I’m not going to let this change my travel plans. If I were in the high risk category I would certainly take a different approach.

Posted by
1217 posts

Our Loire to the South of France tour in April has been cancelled. We have to use our airline tickets by October but Sept/October aren't good travel months for us so July or August it is. The availability for tours we want just isn't there. So I think I am going to end up planning the trip and we don't use a tour this time. We can pick the flexibility of dates we need that way and don't lose the money for the plane tickets.

Posted by
399 posts

I have a daughter and granddaughter who have never been to Europe. I am going to keep on eye out for the RS My Way tours and Family tours to see what develops in that area. Maybe 2022?

Posted by
17632 posts

My main plan was Hungary. Since that is EU, and I suspect all EU countries will probably open in the same time frame; I have selected a few non-EU destinations as backups. So much of the world to see, that it's no compromise.