Preparation, not panic

The situation with the recent pandemic is fluid and travellers need as much information as possible before making plans. Here's what you should consider:

Keep current. Go to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's webpage at www.cdc.gov for basic information on symptoms, updates and breaking news.

Check with your airline. Policies, dates and change fees vary widely in the best of times but more so now.

For instance, JetBlue travellers, who are going to Cancun, Mexico, may postpone or rebook without penalty if their travel is through May 15 and the ticket was purchased before April 25.

For an aggregated list of airline policies, call
your airline or visit www.smartertravel.com
Airlines may even extend their “rebook without penalty'' dates, said Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com, an online resource for consumer travel information. So keep checking.

Be prepared for changes in cruise itineraries that include Mexico. Carnival, Holland America and Princess recently altered itineraries that included Mexican ports of call.

Remember that the contract for carriage gives cruise lines great latitude to change an itinerary as the captain deems necessary or conditions warrant.

Don't expect a refund or credit for ports missed, although some lines provide on-board credits as a gesture of goodwill.

Read the fine print in insurance policies. It's almost as boring as reading an airline's contract of carriage but it's never been more imperative.

If you have insurance, you may be covered if you want to cancel — or you may not.

The “cancel-for-any-reason'' policy, often an add-on to trip insurance, is just what it says it is.

If you are afraid to go and have that add-on, you can cancel and obtain a refund — but not all of your money; reimbursement generally ranges from 35-75 per cent.

If you have regular travel insurance, it may not cover travel after April 24.

Just as you can't buy hurricane insurance to protect your home if a hurricane is coming, you can't buy insurance to protect against the flu since it is no longer an unforeseen circumstance, said Chris Harvey, chief executive of Squaremouth.com, a travel-insurance comparison website.

Consider your overall health. The CDC website urges people heading to Mexico from the US who are at high risk of severe illness from influenza — those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, lung or heart diseases and the elderly — to take antiviral medications for the prevention of flu during travel.

Read the CDC's travel health precautions webpage for more information about the antiviral chemoprophylaxis and when its use is recommended.

Log on

Keep these sources close at hand:

• World Health Organisation: www.who.int/en
• The State Department's pandemic flu fact sheet: www.travel.state.gov
• A flu health map: www.healthmap.org/ensf