The waitlist does move!

How fun for you both! I know you will have a great time.

I’m still so hopeful that my bro and his wife will be able to join us on our Oct 1st trip to Greece! We r booked and they are on the wait list, fingers crossed but of course, not wishing ill on any fellow travellers!

I suspect there will be a lot of waitlists opening up. I'm sure many people are having second thoughts on tours or have decided to go it on their own and avoid group travel.

Threadwear's thoughts are interesting. Done correctly, my opinion is that group travel is at least as safe, if not safer, than individual travel during these times.

I was on wait lists for both the RS tours I took, and that was pre-pandemic. It's always worth adding your name if it's a tour your want. Enjoy!

Another poster said yesterday that one tour had been cancelled as there were only 7 participants. Sorry, but group touring will never be as safe as travelling as an individual. I rent cars and stay in cottages/apartments - sitting on a bus and staying in hotels with crowds will never be as safe.

I hope your tour goes ahead.

I suspect there will be a lot of waitlists opening up. I'm sure many people are having second thoughts on tours or have decided to go it on their own and avoid group travel.

We're one of them, decided to cancel our RS trip to Italy in May. Will rebook next year, hopefully.

We are booked for a tour later this year, and my sisters (and spouses) were both booked as well. It was to be a fun family event!

They have now decided the case numbers are too high now and have all cancelled. So this tour we are on, which will not begin for many months, has had at least four openings recently. 😁 (not mentioning the tour specifically)

We, husband and myself, are still going so long as the tour is not cancelled. As it has a waitlist, I am hopeful!

My son and I were on the My Way Alpine Europe waitlist for months. We are now thrilled to be on the July departure tour… but also nervous. Testing positive right before, or at the end of the tour, sounds intimidating in terms of lost airfare, tour time, and/or finding quarantine accommodations. I’ve read “cancel for any reason airfare” is prudent, but I am worried how much extra that might cost. (SeaTac to Salzburg and Geneva to SeaTac). We are vaccinated and boosted, but we know lots of people with breakthrough cases. I’m sure everyone is pulling their hair out trying to figure out what to do….

We had a tour cancelled these last two years but it’s on for this year, we also put ourselves on a wait list for another tour earlier thinking that as we aren’t getting any younger we might as well go while we can still do all the active hiking around, we have been so careful to keep healthy, that of course we have really weighed the risks, having all our vaccinations and our booster shot for Covid plus still masking hopefully will keep us safe, we have been informed that only fully vaccinated travellers and guides will participate and masks as well, while that’s not as grand as our usual carefree tour, we look at it as a good compromise. Let’s hope and pray we all can travel safe, the RS travelling companions have always been thoughtful of each other and I think that will be a big plus

Cynthia, how fun! You will have a wonderful time! I don’t hesitate to recommend RS tours because they maximize your travel experiences. They also share so many interesting pieces of history & culture.

I actually just cancelled a solo spot on the Best of the Adriatic - some lucky person will get it. Instead, my husband & I are going to do it together late Spring in 2023.

Jean,
My son and I took the Rick Steve’s Best of the Adriatic tour, and it was superb. Our Rick Steve’s guide and fellow passengers were great, and it was almost on par (w/ regards to pure adventure) with the Mongolia, and Indian Himalayas tours that we took with another company. Lots of learning, and amazing & beautiful discoveries.

I’m trying to figure out how expensive “changeable for any reason” airline tickets are. I think it’s been almost 4 weeks since I booked my tour, so I don’t think I can get the “Travel Interruption” insurance any more. I’m still hoping we can go on this summer’s My Way Alpine Europe tour…

Carla, many credit cards carry a "trip interruption" coverage. Check yours out. I am quite confident that you could still purchase trip interruption for your trip if you desired as well.

The key thing to remember here is that you want to read the "fine print" of any policy that you plan to use. Knowing what coverage you actually have is half the battle when it comes to travel insurance.

The type of insurance you would need for the prospect of testing positive at the last moment before you start on your trip and dealing with flights is Trip Cancellation insurance and the acceptable reason you would want to make sure is included in your coverage would be "required by a physician or government agent to quarantine."

Trip Interruption comes into play when you have started your trip and are no longer able to complete it for a covered reason. Here again you want to know what is covered and not covered. My insurance would reimburse me for the flight home I didn't take due to trip interruption, but not the additional costs of a last minute flight when I rescheduled.

Carla:

I was able to buy fully refundable/changeable airfare from Delta for $200 extra per person (main cabin fare flying April/May 2022). I thought that was well worth it in these uncertain times. I bought these tickets back in May - prices could be different now. We changed our trip plans and our return flight - we actually got a refund because the new fare leaving from Milan was less expensive than Rome - ticket is still refundable just in case things change again...

Denise and Carol,
Thanks for the feedback and ideas. What a headache!

I’m working with a travel agent right now. I told them I wanted changeable airfare, per Rick Steve’s strong suggestion. Below is my quote for SeaTac to Salzburg - Geneva to SeaTac July 2022. Also, the agent said that their travel agency could sell me insurance, “on average every $2000 coverage is about $250”.

Total airfare for below is $1,660.07 per person right now, including all taxes, fees and our agency fee of $100.00.Lufthansa does have the best schedule into Salzburg and out of Geneva. The other two airlines I checked are KLM and Delta but they do not have good schedules into Salzburg. This is non-refundable - however you are allowed to have advance seat assignments.

Also, the agent said that their travel agency could sell me insurance, “on average every $2000 coverage is about $250”.

That quote sounds high. Take a look at https://www.squaremouth.com/ or other online trip insurance sites.

Agree that travel insurance quote seems high - my 80 year old in-laws pay less than that - including COVID-19 coverage. Check Allianz.