At this very moment, I was supposed to be headed toward a very full weekend in NYC. Unfortunately, a medical emergency changed my weekend plans.
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| Arriving at the airport about 10 years ago. |
So what did my NYC plans include?
* one Statue of Liberty visit (I've never been, but that's a story for another day!)
* "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
* four Broadway musicals
- The Outsiders (Tony award winner for Best Musical)
- Cabaret (Tony award winner for Scenic Design - Musical)
- Water for Elephants (Tony nominee)
- The Who's Tommy (Tony nominee)
We most often stay right in Midtown Manhattan at the Edison.
* one play
- Home (a limited run revival)
* four restaurant reservations, including
- Dante (a perennial contender for "World's Best Bar")
- Oscar Wilde (with an Alice in Wonderland theme, perfect place for a Chapeaux!)
- Red Rooster Harlem (famous for Sunday brunch)
* four nights at one hotel: The Edison
* flights to and from NYC
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| Statue of Liberty, as seen from the Staten Island Ferry |
So now what happens to all those reservations? Thankfully I had a couple of days notice to cancel as many as possible. Knowing cancelation policies is important.
As soon as I knew I would not be able to fly, I canceled the flights and the hotel room. Failure to cancel flights would have resulted in the full loss of the cost of the flight; some tickets allow full refunds, but I was able to get partial credits for mine. Failure to cancel hotel rooms would have cost me one full night's charge -- however, at some hotels, guests who fail to show are responsible for the entire charges of the stay.
I did not know the cancelation policy for the Statue of Liberty cruise and entrance, but I checked and was able to get a full refund.
Tickets to Broadway plays and musicals are always final sales. Insurance is available to cover the cost of tickets, and it's typically offered prior to purchase. But what if you - like me - opted out of that insurance? Luckily, I sold a couple of sets of tickets to friends who live in the area, and I posted the rest on StubHub.
Failure to cancel what I could -- even from my phone while lying in a hospital bed -- would have resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars. Instead, by quick thinking, I was able to save that money for a future adventure!
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| Cocktails at Dante in 2021 |
But wait: couldn't you have solved all this just by having travel insurance? Maybe, and I do have an annualized travel insurance policy. However, as with most insurance policies, I prefer not to make a claim unless I have to. Here, I was able to minimize my losses to almost $0 without the stress of waiting for future reimbursement or the hassle of providing my protected health information to a travel insurance company.
Know your cancelation policies ... and do not expect any special treatment if you fail to meet them.
Here's hoping this little tale helps you prepare to handle any unexpected changes to your travel itinerary.
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