Traveling to Greece During Crisis

What to Know

The State Department alerts U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to Greece of the possibility of disruptions to banking services – including credit-card processing and servicing of ATMs – throughout Greece in light of developments within the local economy.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to carry more than one means of payment (cash, debit cards, credit cards), and make sure to have enough cash on hand to cover emergencies and any unexpected delays.   Greece US Embassy

 Demonstrations & Other Risks

The alert also cautions about being aware of your surroundings at all times.   There might be scheduled and unscheduled political demonstrations as well.  Whenever you are traveling, you should follow this guideline anyway.

It is common knowledge that travelers are being advised to keep extra money with them, which increases the chance of being a target of unsavory individuals or groups looking to take advantage of the situation.    There are various safety methods that you can put in place to keep you and your money safe.

• Divide the funds among members in your group
• Only carry enough with you that you will need that day
• Leave extra money in safe of cruise ship or hotel room
• Use money belts to hide money on your person

Travel Insurance

Hopefully you purchased travel insurance when you booked your cruise or land vacation to Greece.   In our recent blog post, Insurance Awareness Day 2015, we talked about the value of travel insurance protecting against the unexpected.   You might be tempted to cancel your trip, but be aware that unless you purchased a "cancel for any reason" policy, this would most likely NOT be a covered event.   Even so, there are other benefits of the insurance policy which could come into play during your trip, if you were to lose valuables or be injured for example.

Potential Itinerary Changes

As of this writing, cruise lines with upcoming cruises have not altered their plans but we are certain they are keeping a close watch on developments.   The cruise lines number one priority is the safety of ships, passengers, and crew, so should there be any escalation in the wake of the bank closings, plans could be altered.     In similar situations like this, sea days or alternate ports were substituted, often with very little notice.   Be sure that you have provided contact information to your travel professional or cruise line as appropriate.   Should there be cancellations or changes that we become aware of, we'll share that information with you.

Additional Resources

One of the more important ways that U.S. Citizens can keep informed while traveling abroad is by  enrolling in the U.S. Department of State's STEP service.

The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service provided by the U.S. Government to U.S. citizens who are traveling to, or living in, a foreign country.

STEP allows you to enter information about your upcoming trip abroad so that the Department of State can better assist you in an emergency.

Additional travel information can be found on International Travel (static tab on blog) and Travel Tools (on our website). Topics include: Tips for Traveling Abroad, Travel Warnings, Country Specific Information & Travel Alerts 

We encourage all cruise passengers to be familiar with travel alerts, warnings, tips, and country specific requirements before leaving home.  Make sure that you leave your itinerary with someone at home and that you are adequately protected by travel insurance.

Enjoy Your Cruise to Greece

We were fortunate to travel to Greece a few years ago during our 12-night Mediterranean voyage.   For information about the ports we visited see our blog post:  Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles

Safe Travels

We highly suggest that you monitor the situation in Greece before and during your visit there.  We wish you safe travels, and for the wonderful people of Greece, we hope that this current financial situation can be resolved quickly.

Travel Alert: Computer Problem Halts American Airlines Flights

American Airlines grounds flights until 5pm

American Airlines flights across the country are grounded because of computer problems.

 

American asked the Federal Aviation Administration to halt its flights until 5 p.m. EDT. Flights on regional affiliate American Eagle heading to Dallas, Chicago or New York's LaGuardia Airport have been stopped until 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Some passengers are stuck on planes while others can't make reservations.

American Airlines spokesman Kent Powell said that the airline is trying to resolve the issues as quickly as it can.

The company is providing updates on their website and Facebook page. 

UPDATE as of 3:30pm CDT: Our systems have been fully restored, however we expect continued flight delays and cancellations throughout the remainder of the day. We have made several options available to our customers:

If customers must travel today and are already at the airport, they can rebook on another airline by visiting an American Airlines agent or by going to the other airline’s ticket counter with their electronic ticket number.

If customers must travel today and are not yet at the airport, they can rebook through American Airlines reservations or through another carrier and American will honor the fare difference.

If a customer chooses not to travel today, there will be no charge for reservation changes or a full refund will be provided.

It is important to note we see no evidence that today’s technical outage is related to the tragic events in Boston.

We will continue to provide more information throughout the day as we make progress in resolving this issue. We apologize to our customers and our people for this inconvenience.

Qantas Resumes Flights After Court Action

Qantas Airline Grounded 

Entire Fleet

 Disrupting Air Travel 

Across the Globe 

Causing Woes 

For Cruise Passengers

A surprise grounding of all Qantas flights on Saturday caused a nearly 48 hour disruption of service in Australia, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Flights resumed after an Australian court ruled on the bitter labor dispute which prompted the walk-out.

The Australian government called an emergency court hearing on Saturday night to end the work bans for the sake of the national economy.  There had been no advance warning of the labor action.

Qantas is the largest of Australia's four national domestic airlines, and the grounding affected 108 planes in 22 countries. About 70,000 passengers fly Qantas daily, and would-be fliers this weekend were stuck at home, hotels or airports, or even had to suddenly deplane when Qantas suspended operations. More than 60 flights were in the air at the time but continued to their destinations, and Qantas was paying for passengers to book other flights according to the airline.

Cruise Passengers Scrambling

Royal Caribbean, Princess and Holland America all have ships sailing in the region and are evaluating the situation. Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas is scheduled to sail from Perth, Australia, on Monday evening, meaning that many passengers are likely scrambling to make alternate travel arrangements. 

It will be 24 to 48 hours before Qantas returns to normal.  See the following link for Latest information about resumption of scheduled Qantas services.

Top 10 Reason For Trip Insurance

This airline strike is unfortunately another example of an unexpected situation that can cause your vacation plans to go awry. We always highly recommend you purchase travel insurance for these unexpected events. We want you to have a worry free vacation, so the small cost of the insurance should be reason enough for peace of mind. The priceless component is that there is someone you can turn to should an emergency situation occur.

This weekend alone, insurance companies, like Travel Guard, were helping stranded passengers due to Tropical Storm Rina, the snowstorms on the East Coast, and this Qantas strike.   And those are only the ones that made front page news.  The most common excuse I hear for not purchasing insurance is "I don't need it, I plan to go no matter what."   As you can see from these examples, you aren't always in control.  

Puyehue Volcano Erupts in Southern Chile Disrupts Flights

Puyehue Volcano Eruption    AFP PHOTO/CLAUDIO SANTANA

Chile: Volcanic Ash Cloud

Grounds Flights in Australia, 

New Zealand, South America

See Updates Below

A volcanic ash cloud in Chile delayed flights across South America and Australia on Monday, stranding thousands of travelers. On the 4th of June 2011, the Cordón Caulle volcano complex in Chile erupted approximately 50,000ft (15,000m) into the atmosphere. The Buenos Aires Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) began issuing advice to the aviation industry on the location of the ash plume and its expected movement.

Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAAC) - location and movement of clouds of volcanic ash

The volcano has remained active and as of the 9th of June, the ash plume from the original eruption has traveled across the southern Atlantic Oceans and under Africa to stretch into the Indian Ocean. Volcanic ash is affecting the areas of responsibility of three Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres: Buenos Aires, Toulouse and Darwin.

Airline Updates on Ash Cloud Disruptions

Australia's two largest airlines made different decisions on how to deal with ash from a Chilean volcano Tuesday, with Qantas Airways Ltd. continuing to suspend some flights but Virgin Australia Ltd. resuming all services.

Latest information on Qantas flight disruptions due to Chilean Volcano

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR VIRGIN AUSTRALIA GUESTS 

Photos

Photos taken by Chilean Air Force of the Eruption

Photos: Puyehue Volcano Erupts in Southern Chile | Denver Post Media Center — Denver, Colorado, Photos and Video

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates.   Contact your airline / airport for the latest updates for your particular flight schedule.

Update: Wednesday, June 15th - Volcanic Ash Cloud Moving Across New Zealand and continues to disrupt flights

Update: Friday, June 17th - Many flights are returning to normal but there are still some delays, consult the links above for latest status.


Update Saturday, June 18th - Virgin Australia Operations return to normal scheduled services to all destinations from midnight Friday, 17 June 2011

Update Wednesday, June 22nd:  Volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile continues to cause flight disruptions to the Qantas network. The volcanic ash plume has now drifted over New Zealand, resulting in the ongoing suspension of all Pacific Blue services to and from New Zealand.

Update Friday, June 24th:  

Ash Cloud Returns to Argentina

The ash cloud produced by the Chilean Puyehue volcano has again forced the cancellation of a number of flights across Patagonia, said to be due to the shift in wind patterns, and is predicted to reach Buenos Aires Province over the course of the next few hours. Lan Argentina and Aerolíneas Argentinas cancelled flights to Neuquén and Comodoro Rivadavia on Thursday morning, despite announcing that services toward the south were back to normal. Flights to Río Gallegos, Ushuaia and El Calafate have also been cancelled. As of Thursday afternoon, ash cloud activity was observed over the northern part of Patagonia and is expected to reach Buenos Aires Province and central zones of the country over the coming hours due to new wind movement. Currently Aerolíneas Argentinas' inbound and outbound flight services are still suspended at the following airports: Bariloche, Chapelco, Trelew, Viedma, Ushuaia, Río Grande, Comodoro Rivadavia, Esquel, Santa Rosa, San Rafael, Bahía Blanca, and Mar del Plata. 

Updated Tuesday, 28 Jun 2011 at 1:00AM AEST

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA GROUP OF AIRLINES SERVICES RETURNING TO NORMAL