COVID-19 Response
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being heavily felt not only in the travel industry and across the world, but also within our communities and in our own homes. To date, many of our upcoming UW Alumni Group Tours have already been postponed or cancelled by our tour operators.
We recognize this has been a confusing and frustrating time, with facts and new information changing by the day. Having your travel plans change (or worrying whether you need to make changes to your plans) is difficult and brings forth a real mix of emotions: both disappointment for what would have been an incredible experience (under normal circumstances), and relief, alleviating any unease about traveling any time soon.
As we all take this one step at a time, please know that your safety in traveling with your fellow Huskies and friends remains our number one priority. We continue to work with our tour operators to keep abreast of the changes they are making to each of our UW group tours and any associated relaxations of their cancellation policies. We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this unprecedented time together.
Please note that in deference to Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation, the UW Alumni Tours team is working remotely. Most of our vendors are doing the same in accordance with their local regulations. We are here to answer your questions as best we can, and we thank you for your patience and understanding if communication, with either our office or theirs, is delayed.
Thank you for your ongoing support of UW Alumni Tours. We look forward to the day where we can celebrate overcoming this crisis and once again experience this incredible world.
Wishing you the best of health in the days to come.
Existing 2020 Reservations
Travelers with reservations on upcoming trips will be notified by the tour operator via email on any status updates. This could mean multiple communications over time, as new information can trigger policy changes as quickly as one day to the next. Since our tour operators operate a large number of departures in addition to the UW group departures, they are prioritizing their focus on tours and cruises by chronological order of departure date. This may mean that final decisions about your specific trip may take longer than normal to be confirmed. We humbly ask for your patience on behalf of our tour operators during these times.
In the event of a postponed or canceled trip, operators will provide you with options for next steps. We respect that the decision about what to choose is a personal one.
Your best resource for questions about your current reservation is with the tour operator. Their contact info can be found below.
Tour Operator Contact Info
AHI Travel – 877-223-9274
Gohagan & Co – 800-922-3088
Go Next – 1-888-918-8954
Odysseys Unlimited – 1-888-370-6765
Orbridge – 866-639-0079
Enhanced Safety Protocols
When travel resumes, it’s going to look different, and it will be incredibly important that travelers and tour operators work together to keep each other safe. Recognizing that traveler safety is top priority, our Tour Operators are hard at work developing enhanced safety protocols.
See the links below to learn more (note these sites are updated as new information becomes available):
Extended Cancellation Windows
In light of the impact of the pandemic, it has been encouraging to see many of our tour operators and their suppliers relaxing their cancellation policies and/or final payment due dates for trips in 2020. Since each tour operator functions differently, we recommend referring to the most recent email from your trip’s tour operator for details about your specific trip. It may be some time before decisions are made regarding trips departing later in the year. In the meantime, please reach out to the tour operator directly for questions.
Applying Travel Credits/Vouchers
In most instances of a trip postponement/cancellation due to COVID-19, our tour operators will offer a trip credit/voucher to be redeemed at a later date. We’d like to thank you in advance for considering taking advantage of the vouchers, and we would love to have you join us on one of our future UW group departure dates. Please note that vouchers must be redeemed with the same tour operator used in your original booking. For a full listing of our 2020-2021 trips, visit our upcoming tours web page. Should we not have a trip that strikes your fancy, please know the tour operator will have an even larger selection of trips to choose from. While we’ll miss your company on one of our group trips, we know you’ll have a great time on any of the other options available to you.
Travel Insurance Questions
If you purchased travel insurance and are thinking of canceling your trip, or if you have been offered a future trip credit, be sure to contact your travel insurance provider as soon as possible to take care of any changes that may need to be made. For policies with USI, a customer service team is available, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. (Eastern Time). Please call (800) 937-1387 or email for assistance. Due to the high call and email volumes, please expect longer wait times. If the phone line is busy, please consider submitting your questions via email. Their COVID-19 FAQ page is also a helpful resource.
What UW is Doing & How You Can Help
We are fortunate to be a part of a University that is at the forefront of tackling the COVID-19 crisis. The UW’s Together We Will resource is a great reference for those looking for immediate ways to stay informed, support our community and give back to the places we call home.
We all know that staying connected has never been more important, which is why UWAA developed Stronger Together, an online resource for digital content designed to encourage conversations, engage learners and bring the world a little bit closer. Feel free to take a moment to explore its offerings.
Official COVID-19 Resources
