Category News Articles

UAE, India and the Seychelles have closed their ports to cruise ships due to the COVID-19 outbreak.Marco Cristofoli, ceo of Cruises International, told eTNW that due to these closures and the temporary closing of all Italian ports, Crystal Serenity’s Mumbai to Rome sailing and its corresponding Getaway voyages have been cancelled.
“Fully paid guests will receive a 100% refund of the cruise fare paid, port charges, taxes, and fees and as a gesture of goodwill, guests will also receive a Future Cruise Credit of 25% of the cruise fare paid,” he said.
Celebrity Constellation’s sailing has ended early. Marco said guests would receive a 100% cruise refund as compensation for disruption to their travel plans, and guests with shore excursions in Goa, Cochin, Abu Dhabi, or Dubai booked through Celebrity Cruises, would automatically receive a refund to their onboard account.
“Celebrity Cruises will also assist all guests with air travel arrangements for their return home.”
Celebrity Constellation’s March 17 and April 2 sailings have also been cancelled. All guests will receive a full refund to their original method of payment and a 25%  Future Cruise Credit.
Marco appealed to travel agents to avoid panic. “Cruises International together with the brands we represent are here to ensure that you have our full support during this challenging time. If you want to know more about the flexible cancellation clauses that our brands have in place, give the team a call.”
Roland Muller, marketing manager of Development Promotions, told eTNW the changes happened at the last minute, so normal procedures would apply where itineraries were updated. He said most cruise lines had put updated cancellation policies in place, which allowed passengers to cancel their cruise for whatever reason within a short lead time, and then receive a credit for a future cruise.
Ross Volk, md of MSC Cruises, told eTNW the closures had affected MSC’s Bellissima and Lirica cruises. He added that MSC would be contacting guests tomorrow (March 12) to inform them of rebooking or cancellation options.

The Israeli government has announced that all international arrivals into the country will be placed on a 14-day quarantine.

According to global media reports, non-Israeli citizens will be allowed to enter the country until Thursday, March 12. To enter after this date, non-citizens will need to prove that they have a place in the country to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the decision would be in effect for at least two weeks. During that time, the government plans to make decisions to “safeguard the Israeli economy”.

El Al has announced that passengers holding tickets for departures on or before April 30 – regardless of the date the tickets have been purchased – can change or freeze their tickets for departures until or including February 28, 2021 without being charged ‘Change of Reservation’ and ‘reissue handling’ fees.
All Turkish Airlines passengers holding bookings to/from Israel between March 10 and 31, which were ticketed before March 10 can be:
re-booked/re-routed in a different booking class, with no charge, provided that the new destination is in the same IATA region and same cabin, re-issue takes place before/on April 11, 2020 and re-booking/re-issuing is made for flights until/on May 31.
re-booked/re-routed for flights after May 31, with no charge, provided that new flights are within one year from original ticketing date, re-issue takes place before/on April 11, and the same booking class is available. If the same booking class is not available, the difference in fare must collected from the passenger.
Turkish Airlines full refunds will be issued on unused tickets until April 11, and on used tickets for unused coupons until April 11.”
quoted eTNW

The Qatar government has suspended entry into the country for people travelling from 15 countries, to stop the spread of COVID-19.

All passengers in transit are accepted for travel. However, travellers wishing to enter Qatar from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Italy, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand will not be allowed to do so.
Qatar Airways is also placing a temporary hold on stopover services in Doha for connecting passengers. Those with onward connections will not be permitted to leave Hamad International Airport.

Turkish Airlines, Air Mauritius and Delta have announced new flight restrictions caused by the spread of the coronavirus.

Delta announced a suspension of its daily flight from New York (JFK) to Milan from March 2, and the flight from Milan to New York from March 3. Flights to and from Milan will resume from May 1 and May 2, respectively. This is in addition to the suspension of all flights between the US and China.

Travel restrictions in force in Mauritius prohibit any foreign national who has resided in, or who has travelled to and from China, the Republic of Korea, Italy, or Iran within the last 14 days boarding any Air Mauritius flight and entry or transit in the Republic of Mauritius.

Turkish Airlines has suspended all flights to Iran, Iraq, Italy, South Korea and Saudi Arabia until March 10.” eTNW quoted.

The Israeli government has advised its citizens to refrain from unnecessary travel, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Health Ministry has also said any Israeli returning from Italy, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Thailand must be placed under a 14-day home quarantine. With the country on high alert, any non-Israeli resident or citizen who stayed in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Macao, Singapore, South Korea and Japan in the 14 days before arrival in Israel will be denied entry.”, quoted from eTNW

Effective 1 Feb 2020

Contact Visalogix for further updated information and visa prices

“At midday today Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) informed its customers and SAA of their decision to issue an immediate stop-sell on SAA tickets.

This follows Travel Insurance Consultant’s (TIC) announcement yesterday that it had excluded SAA from its Travel Supplier Insolvency benefit.

“Hollard Travel Insurance and Bryte Travel Insurance have confirmed that SAA is excluded from their travel supplier insolvency benefit, effective earlier this month.

Travel Insurance Consultants (TIC) announced on Wednesday it would exclude SAA from its Travel Supplier Insolvency benefit, effective November 28”

Those looking to apply for Madagascar visas should be aware that the Cape Town Consul General office has closed.

Applicants can apply for visas online or can visit the Durban or Pretoria offices.

Or you can make use of Visalogix courier and lodgement or online services to assist you with your out bound travel visas.

South African’s need visas now to enter Tunisia:

From December 1, South African passport holders will require a visa to enter Tunisia. Visas can be obtained from the Embassy of Tunisia in Pretoria.

The embassy is open from Monday to Friday, from 09h30 to 12h00 for submissions, and 12h30 to 14h30 for collection.

Visalogix, can provide the courier and lodgement with additional visa services should you need to visit Tunisia.