CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

As a company in operation for 28 years, we at Travel Escapes & CruisEscapes have seen many difficulties in the Travel Business, including the ‘Volcanic Ash’ and the turmoil caused by the ‘Arab Spring’. Both of these events caused utter mayhem and uncertainty with flights and holidays alike. But these passed and to most of us are just distant memories. 

Of course, each event is different and the CoronaVirus brings a new set of challenges. As a licensed and bonded Travel Agent and as a long-standing member of the ITAA we are keeping abreast of the rapidly evolving situation. We continue to follow the relevant Department of Foreign Affairs advice for all destinations we have people travelling to.

Most flights, tours, holidays and cruises are currently operating as planned and in most scenarios where the booking is in place, the organisers of the trips are keeping with their normal booking conditions for amendments and cancellations. There are some exceptions to this and these are primarily being introduced by the cruise lines. However, in general, for new bookings, organisers have created a ‘confidence to book’ set of booking conditions, these will differ from supplier to supplier but generally, it will allow you to amend the booking free of charge and of course should the advice change and advise against travel to the country you are visiting, we will be contacting our clients directly to discuss the options, including an amendment or full refund.

In almost all destinations local authorities may have introduced additional screening measures and travel restrictions at airports and cruise ports. Further restrictions may be in place if you have recently visited Italy, Iran, Singapore, South Korea and China.

If any customers wish to speak to a member of our team regarding Covid 19 (Coronavirus) please call us on 01-2941000: 9 am – 5.30 pm (Monday to Friday), Outside these hours, call 01-2941000 and leave a voicemail message, urgent matters will be dealt with. As you can imagine, we are receiving a high volume of calls and would like to thank you for your patience as we work through them. Additionally, you can call into our offices. Our address is Suite 30, The Hyde Building The Park Carrickmines, Dublin, D18 EY94 or find us on Google Maps here.

It is always important to have proper and adequate travel insurance when travelling so if you are unable to travel to your destination, or are unable to travel for medical reasons you will have peace of mind by choosing the right policy.  Our staff can help you through this maze. In the unlikely event that you need to claim, it is important that you speak to your holiday insurance company in the first instance.

For full information relating to coronavirus please visit the Government websites; for travel updates visit the Department of Foreign Affairs here, and for health information and advice on preventative measures visit the Health Service Executive here. We advise you to keep up to date with Government advice and not non-authenticated sources such as social media which to date have managed to spread unnecessary panic.

To keep up to date with us visit our websites www.travelescapes.ie www.cruisescapes.ie www.santatrips.ie www.cruisefromireland.com