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Post by dennisn on May 29, 2020 9:18:49 GMT
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Post by kelso on May 30, 2020 18:44:30 GMT
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Post by katet on Jun 23, 2020 8:45:06 GMT
Well, I got all hopeful when it was announced that flights would be operating from 10 July and the Hotel Panorama contacted me to say that TUI has told them to expect guests from that date. Then, yesterday, I was cast down again when I read that TUI and Jet2 are only flying to some larger islands & Skiathos isn't on the list :-( Que sera, sera ... got to just sit tight, I reckon.
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Post by dennisn on Jun 23, 2020 12:12:52 GMT
There’s a lot of information which tells us nothing. Worth remembering that FCO advice is still not to travel unless absolutely necessary, in which event I think I’ve seen it said that insurance won’t be valid?
I think the best course is to seek advice from the multitude of experts on Facebook (!). At least four of them will tell it accurately. At least four of them will tell it inaccurately. The rest will tell it at some level between these two parameters.
I have heard that TUI have cancelled their contracts for this year with (some?) accommodation owners. Those contracts were annual block bookings, with regular monthly payments of a decent proportion of their bill, with balancing payment at the end of the year. Replaced this year simply by payment IF anybody is placed there by TUI, paid against invoice two months after invoice. However, one requirement is only 50% maximum occupancy and another is the owner must have a private doctor on retainer - both conditions which pretty much offer a route to bankruptcy!
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Post by balddave on Jun 23, 2020 12:25:56 GMT
Kate gives excellent advice ‘ sit tight’, lots of fake news floating about. Wait for confirmation/cancellation from airline .
Uk still not on Greece ‘ permitted list’ , until this happens no one is going.
All we can do is be hopeful.
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Post by cariad23 on Jun 23, 2020 18:31:38 GMT
Agree Dennis facebook getting silly ,quite a spat going on today with Basil and south wales poster on TA. The trouble is some people think they own thw island and only they know barmen, accommodation owners. If one more person posts should be going today i'll scream, i should d be in Leros now celebrating our wedding anniversary today, who cares? people only interested in their own holidays. Glad i booked already for next year Dennis, Villa Maria no longer available for any of the dates i was interested in.
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Post by balddave on Jun 23, 2020 19:17:53 GMT
I couldn’t agree more Cariad, schoolyard antics on TA, whilst on FB lots of false information. Most have made sacrifices this year, but god willing we shall be about next year , no point moaning about a missed trip.
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Post by yorkshiremouth on Jun 24, 2020 6:36:09 GMT
My my, they are in a tizz.
Regarding insurance, that’s a non-argument for package holidays and TUI/Jet2 flights.
Yes, your insurance isn’t valid if FCO advise against travel.
But the TCs aren’t flying unless an air bridge opens. And they won’t have one government department negotiate an air bridge with Greece, but then keep the FCO advice as ‘don’t visit’.
If the advice is not to go, there’ll be no air bridge, and no one is going, so insurance is irrelevant.
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Post by dennisn on Jun 24, 2020 9:48:41 GMT
I'm not a TA watcher, so I haven't seen anything. I did go look and presume the tizz is over whatever was contained in the deleted posts, so complete mystery to me (unless it's somewhere I didn't look). I feel very strongly that wherever possible, posts should not be deleted by Admin - in my opinion, if a post is considered offensive it should be commented upon as such by Admin and the poster told simply not to do it again. Repeat offences get another warning, then subsequent repetition gets a ban. I realise this may look unfortunate during the time it takes for Admin to see or be told about the problem and start telling posters off, BUT normally leave the offending posts in place, so that conversations don't get to appear mystifying, incomprehensible and pointless AND demonstrates to people what is unacceptable. I got chucked out of one of the Skiathos Facebook groups for making this point very strongly, disagreeing with Admins, whose response was simply to chuck me out without warning or telling other group members where and why I'd gone - not my idea of how to moderate.
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Post by katet on Jun 27, 2020 11:25:38 GMT
Well, I received the expected email From Tui on Thursday - flight cancelled and they’ll send me a refund voucher soon. I’m not too upset, as I’ve been in touch with my hotel and they won’t have very many guests in July (possibly non now), so even if I rebook with Jet2 I would feel a bit odd being in Koukounaries on my own!
Funny how things work out, though. The very same day my friends rang to ask if I would like to go with them to the Lake District for a week on 17 July! Would I?!!! So, I’ll be spending a relaxing week with them and their two lovely children, staying in a large house just outside Keswick and doing some healthy walks. (We should have all been going together on a cruise in August, which was cancelled some weeks ago, so it’s great that we’ll still get a holiday together.)
I’ve still got hopes for Skiathos this summer, though. I’m waiting to hear back from the Hotel Panorama to see what availability they have for late August. If it works, I’ll book with Jet2 ... I’ve a bit more faith that they will actually get there. We’ve also still got the Jet2 family booking for late September. Am hopeful that I WILL get there!
I know some of you just don’t feel safe travelling this year, but I’ve thought very carefully about it and feel that (for me) the benefits outweigh the risk.
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Post by katet on Aug 9, 2020 18:41:03 GMT
I’m still not 100% sure I’ll make it ... my countdown says 9 days 17 hours 😏, but a lot can happen in this uncertain world in 9 days 17 hours. Anyway, I’ve done my online check in with Jet2 and also done the Greek PLF ... can’t do the UK one until 48 hrs before re-entry. I’m umm-ing & ah-ing about starting to pack. I really like doing it last minute - find it adds to the excitement!
I won’t be too badly done by if it all goes pear-shaped ... took a sneaky trip to Amsterdam with the family last weekend and it was heavenly to get away and just be normal (ish).
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Post by balddave on Aug 10, 2020 7:11:11 GMT
We arrived in Spain yesterday to visit our son and his family, it is apparent that the Spanish,at least local to where we’re staying, adhere to the rules without question.
Airport very quiet at both ends , and a simple process, however surprised at number of arriving brits unaware of the requirements for QR paperwork.
Also a couple of females on flight ( I won’t say ladies) , had their masks removed for most of the flight, this appeared to go unquestioned by cabin crew, fortunately only 41 on the flight so well spaced out.
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Post by yorkshiremouth on Aug 10, 2020 7:17:54 GMT
I’m still not 100% sure I’ll make it ... my countdown says 9 days 17 hours 😏, but a lot can happen in this uncertain world in 9 days 17 hours. Anyway, I’ve done my online check in with Jet2 and also done the Greek PLF ... can’t do the UK one until 48 hrs before re-entry. I’m umm-ing & ah-ing about starting to pack. I really like doing it last minute - find it adds to the excitement! I won’t be too badly done by if it all goes pear-shaped ... took a sneaky trip to Amsterdam with the family last weekend and it was heavenly to get away and just be normal (ish). I check the figures daily, and unless there’s a change and Greece gets a grip (which it will at some point) it’ll be touch and go for us both, though you’re fortunate enough to be going a few days before me, so have more chance.
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Post by yorkshiremouth on Aug 10, 2020 8:01:17 GMT
Here are the latest figures, if you're interested. Here are the latest figures if you're not interested (just don't read them). Seriously, if you're not interested in the stats, just walk on by and don't bother with this post. The UK government has given us a benchmark with Spain and Belgium by quarantining returnees from those countries when their new cases per day hit around 45-50 per million. There are 10.7 million people in Greece, so that's the equivalent of 480-530 new cases per day in raw figures. At its worst, Greece jumped from 27 per day on the 26th to 145 per day on 6th August. The numbers were doubling roughly once every five days. Had that continued we'd have been looking at 290 per day by 11th, and 580 per day by 16th. If the UK government looked on Greece in a similar way to Spain and Belgium, we'd be quarantining by around 14th. Then the rises pretty much stopped, with 6th, 7th & 8th showing very similar figures of 145, 151, 151. HOORAY! (etc.) But then yesterday came in at 200. Now that's still a slowing. The last 5 days has seen a rise from roughly 120 to 200, so that's no longer doubling every 5 days, it's a two-thirds increase. So now we might expect 14th to be 333, and the 19th (when Kate's going) to be 550, so just over Spain & Belgium. But the increase is slowing. And those figures for Belgium & Spain were 7 day averages. Greece's 7 day average will be lower than any raw figure that day, as it's educed by the previous 6 days lower figures. When Kate is due to fly, the 7-day average would be c.380, so just under. Kate, that means you'd be going. Suffice to say, I fly on the 23rd. What's the guessing I'll just miss out. By the way, that may not be the end of it. Some tourists in Spain were flown home early, despite them being happy to stay and quarantine on their return. The reason was that TUI & co. couldn't afford to fly empty planes out to pick them up at the end of their holiday. But all of this isn't a prediction. It's an estimate, based on current trajectory. Greece has put stricter measures in place. They may or may not work. If they slow the increase, that may or may not be enough, and may or may not be in time. In addition, the UK may treat Greece differently. Belgium only really has the mainland (and it's quite small). Spain has islands, but most of its holidays are on the mainland. And whilst the islands weren't doing as badly as the mainland, they were still getting worse, and quite quickly. In comparison, most Greek holidays are on the islands, and the figures there are very low, and not shifting, so the UK might take a different approach. Two other things might make a difference. Firstly, UK holidays are full for the summer. Closing Spain was a big boost for the UK tourist industry, in a way that closing Greece won't be. Secondly, Boris Johnson's dad's villa is in Greece. Just saying... People who don't follow the stats may tune back in now.
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Post by yorkshiremouth on Aug 10, 2020 12:02:03 GMT
I've just finessed the figures a little. It was doubling every 5 days. It's now doubling every 6-7 days. If it's every 6 days, the cut-off point will be around the 20th (so Kate goes...just). If it's every 7 days, the cut-off point is on 22nd. We are due to fly on the 23rd. It really might be that tight! Fortunately, I love the drama. Hopefully, the slowing from doubling every 5 days to every 6 or 7 will continue, if that's down to actions taken by the Greek authorities, in which case we're golden. I have my fingers crossed.
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