What To Do When Things Go Wrong When Traveling

TMP 96 - When Things Go Wrong
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Jenn: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Travel Mug podcast. This is Jenn. I do have glasses on today if you're watching the YouTube, but it's still me. I am joined, as always, by my amazing partner in podcasting. Meggan, how's your week? Meggan, are you wishing you're headed down south yet?

Meggan: Well, uh, week was good. It was busy. Lovely. as far as headed down south, surprisingly, No. Um, I mean, January's almost over.

Jenn: Mm-Hmm.

Meggan: Not sure what happened to January. It by very fast for me, so I feel like we're on a good like roll towards spring, so no, actually I know that might surprise you, but not yet.

Maybe ask me again, sort of mid-March. We'll see.

Jenn: Yes, that's fair. Right now we're recording this. It comes out, um, almost two weeks after recording this because I'm going to Florida, so I'll I'll be, warm when this comes out. Hopefully, although it's been

Meggan: Enjoy for both of us.

Jenn: I will, alright, so this week, hopefully I won't need this episode. This week we're talking about what to do when things go wrong on vacation.

So we'll be the first to admit that we have been pretty lucky knocking on all of the wood that we have not experienced most of these ourselves. But it is just good to know what to do when things go wrong. So we're gonna take you through a few common scenarios and then kind of tell you what to do if they happen to you.

So the first one is pretty common, so cancel or delay of your flight. It's common, but it's complicated. So let's talk about it. It depends a lot on the cause of the cancellation or delay, if it's weather related, or another situation outside of the airline's control. Then according to the A PPR, the Air Passenger Protection Rights in Canada, the airline must rebook you on its next available flight or on the flight of an airline with which it has a commercial agreement. The flight must depart within 48 hours of your original departure time. If the airline cannot rebook you within 48 hours, the airline must, at your choice, provide you with a refund or make alternate travel arrangements free of charge. Of course, don't

Meggan: As they should be.

Jenn: If the flight is delayed due to something within the airline's control or something that is required for safety, then the airline has to rebook you. Um, and the new flight must take a reasonable route. Out of the same airport. They can't send you to 15 different airports to your destination, and it must depart within nine hours of your original departure time. And if they can't get you on of one of their flights within nine hours, they're required to book you on any airline.

Good to know. if these flights don't meet your needs, if they're, if you were supposed to fly out and be at a concert that evening and they're not gonna be able to get you out to get there in time or something like that, we'd never recommend flying in on the day of a concert. But, you know, you know, if these flights don't meet your needs, you are entitled to a refund.

And if you are no longer at your original airport, say you flew Halifax, Toronto, and you got to Toronto and your flight to New York was delayed. You are entitled to a refund and then they have to fly you back free of charge and refund you your entire ticket price. So they can't just leave you stranded, which is good.

Meggan: No. No, and I think people should go back and listen to that part again. 'cause I think that's the most important part that people don't understand is like, how do I get a refund? When am I entitled? So this is a really important section. This is good information.

Jenn: Yes. So when it comes to compensation for inconveniences situation, they have to be situations within the airline's control. And the amount that you receive is dependent on how long the delay was and if the airline is a small or large carrier. So there's some distinction there, but you could get. $400 to a thousand dollars per passenger for a large carrier and $125 to $500 for a small carrier airline.

So for things like meal vouchers and hotels, the situation must be within the airlines control. Or within their control and required for safety. you must have been informed of the delay or cancellation less than 12 hours before the departure time on the original ticket. And you must have had to have waited at the airport for two hours or more after the departure time on your original ticket.

So that's when you can kind of start demanding compensation for things like meals. Um, the tricky part, of course is the airlines don't always like to tell you the reason for the delay,

Meggan: They don't wanna pay you.

Jenn: no, of course they don't. I mean, they're a business. We get it, but also give me my money. So save any communication you get from the airline texts, emails, any of that. If you can record any communication from the airline staff of them, like telling you what's going on, do that as well. It just covers your butt. and like I said, all this is very tricky. Depending on the situation and the small or large carrier, the A PPR website is the best place to get more details.

This is kind of like a broad overview and then if you're having an issue, that's where I would go to kind of figure out what's actually next for you.

Meggan: Yeah, I think that's really good advice. And I think too, we should remember as well as Canadian or American or, or wherever you're flying to, if you're in Europe and this happens to you, you are still, eligible for compensation coming home from Europe. Have the gold standard there in terms of compensation as well.

So it's not just leaving from your home country, it's also coming home from your destination as well. So something to keep in mind, we had friends who were stuck on the tarmac. They got a really great compensation. It was, uh, in the Romanian airport, and there was even a service that they found online as well that would help them with everything and take a small fee.

So you don't even have to worry about doing all the, um. Sending in the receipts or sending in the information yourself. There's actually services out there that can help you if you don't mind paying a small fee as well. So just something to keep in mind.

Jenn: Neat.

Meggan: So besides airline issues, there's also of course could be potential issues with car rentals. Jenn, I know you've had some experience yourself, so let's cover some things in terms of car rentals. So there are a few scenarios that could happen and there are things you can do to prevent common errors before they even happen.

First and foremost, when you're booking your car rental abroad for travel, ensure that you book it in the name of the primary driver. Is very important. if you put yourself and you're not going to drive at all too bad for you, you are now the primary driver. secondly, if you have a credit card that will cover the insurance, and please do your research on this, really make sure that you're covered with your credit card. Also, ensure you use that same credit card to reserve and pay for the entire rental, or this could mean you are not covered through that credit card.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: That's a really big piece of it as well. Also, book your flights first if your travel involves flying to a location, then renting a car as you want to ensure you can get there first before you reserve or partially pay for your rental in advance.

That would suck if your flights don't match what you've already booked for your car.

Some people get excited and do like things out of order, but flights should always be first.

Jenn: Mm-Hmm. I also just wanna note too, because we're flying into Orlando and of course there's like a, B and C terminals and all of the car rentals are not in all of the terminals, so to avoid switching terminals to go get your car rental, I made sure, hopefully I made sure. We'll, we'll find out that the car rental that we're renting from is in the same that we fly into.

Meggan: Excellent. Do report back on

Jenn: I will.

Meggan: All right, excellent. Now, if you arrive and there is an issue with your booking, this will need to literally be worked out locally. I cannot help you with that here from this podcast. So our suggestion is to check with them before departure to ensure that they have what you have in terms of your reservation details, you can never be too safe. Now if you arrive and they're having technical issues at the car rental agency, which our very own Jenn is experienced, sadly there isn't much you can do, but wait and try to be patient and understanding as possible, even though that could be your one day you have that car. I mean, it's honestly just crap luck at that

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Now before driving out of the parking lot, take pictures and or video of the condition of your car, including scanning the parking lot in your video to include the actual car rental agency so that the video for certain was taken there. Everyone knows it, so that if they try to say you damaged the car. You have record of what it looked like before you drove it off the lot. This is very key. Most agencies aren't trying to gouge you, but you don't know which ones could. If you take their full insurance, this won't be much of a concern for you or for them because it's fully covered anyway. So if you take their insurance, you're good to go.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Now, while out on the road, if you have an issue with the car. Heaven forbid, have the agency number ready to be prepared with this information. Generally, they give you a booklet information that you can put in the dash while you're driving. If you scratch the car yet, you took full insurance from the agency. You're, you're not, you know, you're not gonna have any issues with that. If you break down, they would've hopefully, provided you with this information when you rented the car for say, 24 7 service. But if they don't, ask for it, say, what if something happens on the road, what do we do now? If you damage the car and didn't take their insurance, contact your own insurance right away. Get advice from them. Then the agency so that you can be properly guided on what to do, but always go to your own insurance first.

Jenn: That's good to know.

Meggan: Yes. Those are my little tips. Hopefully you don't need

Jenn: hopefully I don't need them. It's funny, we, we've rented, we're renting from Avis for this trip coming up and they've emailed me every week for the last three weeks reminder of your reservation reminder. And the first time I got it, I was like, oh my God, did I book for the wrong dates? But no, they were just reminding me a month in advance.

Meggan: Oh, bless their little prepared hurts.

Jenn: Okay. Alright. Another super common problem back at the airport is lost luggage.

Meggan: That damn airport.

Jenn: Oh, the airport. So if you get to your destination home or destination, and your bag is not there on that carousel, when you arrive, you gotta go report it right away. Go up to the kiosk, whatever the person, report that your bag is not there.

They should give you a case number. You need that number, so do not walk away without it. Also, keep your boarding pass. This is really important as well. You'll need all of that information. So they have to refund you your baggage fee if your luggage is not there. And then you'll be able to purchase within reason what you need. And we talked about this on the episode with, Gabor Lukacs, uh, a while ago now, but scrolling back and listen to that.

Meggan: Yeah, it was 2023

Jenn: Yeah, not too, too long. they are liable for up to, $2,300 Canadian dollars approximately on itineraries within Canada and international, including to the US and US $3,800 on , domestic itineraries within the us. So if you're American and it's domestic. Now, if your bag is back to you within 21 days. It is considered delayed. Uh, you then have another 21 days to complain to the airline in writing to get compensation for the bag for the things that you bought to replace.

After 21 days, your bag is considered lost and you should replace all of the contents and the suitcase itself, or bag itself, and then you will have to complain to the airline in writing and again, send in all of your supporting documents. So. You gotta have

Meggan: gonna make it as hard as possible.

Jenn: obviously they are, and this is where it can be really helpful to take a photo of everything that you've packed in your suitcase.

And I know it seems like an unnecessary step, but it's something simple that you can do to protect yourself and, and you know, this does happen. It's happened a lot.

Meggan: Yeah.

Jenn: And so it's just one little thing that you can do. And like I said, Gabor Lukacs has step-by-step instructions on his website, air passenger rights.com, including sample letters that you can use to get compensation.

So, it, it's really trying to make it, he's trying to make it as simple as possible, uh, so that we can all get what we deserve from the airlines. So, yeah, I really appreciate that. Hopefully I don't have to use it, but. It's there.

Meggan: Again, it's good to know just in case, because I have a feeling we're not gonna get through our entire travel lives, scot-free of these issues. So, and we may need to know this.

Jenn: We might, yeah.

Meggan: So next up, let's talk more broader transportation. So it can be scary to try and figure out how to get around a new place, especially if you don't know the language.

But even if you do, it can be intimidating. And there are some scams out there to be careful of. So at the airport, if you intend to take a taxi, ensure you're going with a registered cab. just for our listeners, we're gonna have a travel tip Tuesday that dives even deeper into this. But there are many airports throughout the world that have unsanctioned taxi drivers charging above cost without meters to get you to your destination. So do your research in advance. Join a travel tips group for your destination on social media. And if you say yes to a taxi driver and you seem to have to walk a long ways from the terminal to get to their car from the airport, it is most likely a scam. And if it's safe to do so. Let them know you've changed your mind and just head back to the terminal and get in the old line with everybody else. Now, if you are using a bus service to get around, ask the driver when you get on or other passengers getting on the bus, if this is the bus where it's going. Is this where I want to be going?

If you really want to be sure. If you're adventurous, just get on the bus, who cares? But if, if you are like moi

Jenn: Mm-Hmm.

Meggan: I would want to know. Now, if you're on a city bus trying to sightsee and you realize you are on the wrong bus, either be adventurous, like I just mentioned and see where it takes you, or again, if it's safe to do so, get off at the next stop.

Get your bearings rather than go further in the wrong direction. But again, please try to make sure it's as safe as possible.

you could also ask your hotel or Airbnb host for advice on public transportation and the best way to get around if you haven't looked beforehand, which we always advise that you should. And more than ever, you have to be careful of scams and if something doesn't feel right, Don't agree or let yourself be hassled into agreeing to take what they're offering. A firm "no" usually is enough in most situations and if you ever feel unsafe, ensure that you know the emergency number of the country that you're in, such as 9 1 1 in Canada as example, just in case you need it, and hopefully again, you do not.

Jenn: Hopefully you don't. Yeah.

Meggan: I feel like doomsdayers here.

Jenn: We are in so much trouble.

Next up under things we hope never happens to you or us is if you get sick on vacation and no one wants to be sick while we're traveling, but it does happen. And if it's, you know, a normal virus-y thing, you know, rest, drink plenty of fluids, blah, blah, blah. All that normal stuff. You might wanna pack some meds from home like ibuprofen, Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Gravol, all those things.

We always, you know, pack your Immodium pals, like just, just do it. Right. If you do get sick, you know, you don't wanna have to go out in search of medication. And also some medication might not be available in every country, or it might have a different name and like, who wants to try to figure that out when you're like, I need Immodium right now.

Meggan: Like literally now.

Jenn: Literally now, if it is something more serious, hopefully you have travel insurance first and foremost. if you do, and it's not a completely life-threatening situation, try to contact your travel insurance company first to see if there's like a certain hospital or clinic that you have to go to in order to be covered.

You don't wanna just go and then find out later that it's not gonna cover you. And again, if it's not a life-threatening situation, check to see if there's an advice line that you can call to talk to a nurse. in the uk 1 1 1 in Canada, we have 8 1 1. In Australia, it's a little bit harder to remember.

It's 1 3 0 0 6 0 6 0 2 4 rolls off the tongue.

Meggan: That seems a smidge complicated, but I digress.

Jenn: fine. I couldn't find a number for the us. I did some Googling, so, um, I, I assume it's because their healthcare is much different than ours in Canada, the UK and Australia. But, if there is something and you're an American listener, uh, let us know. Let let everybody know. you can also visit a pharmacy and ask a pharmacist for advice. I think that that is very underutilized out there in the world. So like we said, same as the, uh, taxi or the public transportation situation. You should know the emergency number of the place that you're visiting. Hopefully you don't need it, but just in case, you know, I hope you never have to call. But yeah,

Meggan: You never know.

Jenn: you never know.

Meggan: You don't. You don't. Alright, great. So you've traveled to or home from, and another possible scenario could be jet lag. So this is bound to probably happen when you're traveling to time zones, usually three plus hours ahead or behind, your own. And it can be rough. Your internal clock is set to where you live and now you're messing with your circadian rhythm. So what to do. So the advice is always to try and stay up, especially if you're coming, let's say from North America to Europe, try to stay up until at least early evening, to regulate yourself on your first day. Especially, uh, in that scenario. Now, if you're traveling from Europe to North America or even the east coast of Canada to the west coast, where your time zone will go back. I really do find it takes longer to regulate yourself to a usual bedtime before having to come home anyway. However, you try as hard as possible to not concentrate on the fact that you are so far behind your regular zone. Like don't live in that mindset of like, oh my goodness, it's eight o'clock here, but it's, you know, 12:00 AM at home.

You can't keep thinking that way, you'll get stuck in it. Drink a caffeinated beverage, you know, to try to stay in awake as long as possible to regulate to your new normal bedtime. And of course, no matter which direction you're going, staying hydrated is always key. Now to fight jet lag when you're arriving home, there are a number of things that are recommended to help get yourself back on your usual schedule.

So well timed light, exposure, melatonin, exercise, regular meals, and again staying hydrated, try to resist naps and caffeine. So you're trying to actually be ready to go to bed at your regular time. So don't drink the coffee to try to stay up at that point, let the coffee go.

Jenn: Right.

Meggan: I'm, I'm very opposite of all this. Now, what I have found works for us. I don't know if Peter just goes along with me, to like, shut me up. I don't really know and everyone is different, but when we arrive in Europe after usually flying overnight, we stay up for as long as we can. Of course, often though, just until we check into our accommodations, so 2, 3, 4 pm we then shower and literally fall into bed. We usually rest for a few hours and then we get back up and go out again until it's later in the evening. So. And then of course we're still tired, like I'm not fully rested.

So when we come back to the room in the evening, we just go to bed again and I have no issues falling asleep at that point. And then we wake up at a normal time in the morning. Somehow this usually works for us really well, but again, have their own, their own scenarios that work for them, but that's actually what works for us.

Jenn: Yeah, it's similar. I am, I cannot nap, I cannot do it, and so I can't have a nap and then go out again. So we did this, basically what you just said, the last time we flew to Europe, Ryan had a nap. I just like, you know, laid on the bed and scrolled. I rested my body, but not really. I could not nap, but that's very similar to how we usually, um, deal with that situation as well.

Meggan: Cool.

Jenn: Alright, next. If you lose your passport, don't wanna do that, but it, it could happen. Alright, uh, gonna go through a couple of scenarios for, depending on where you live, but they're all basically the same. So if you're Canadian and you lose your passport while you're traveling outside of Canada, or I guess inside of Canada too, uh, you need to report it as lost or stolen or damaged as soon as you know, basically. and you need to do it to the Canadian government by phone, which

Meggan: Like, are we calling Justin? How? Like what are we doing?

Jenn: please call Justin. Uh, yeah, he'll take the call. you will then essentially have to apply for a new passport and you, if you're outside of Canada, you're gonna have to go to a Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate office as well.

And there is of course a replacement fee along with the passport application fee. Our American Pal, it's a slightly easier, because you can report it either online or by phone. I know, right? Right. And then you will have to also contact your nearest embassy or consulate office to replace it. I looked at, other countries, including Australia and the uk. All the steps are essentially the same. So I assume that no matter where you live, this is gonna be the steps. Report it missing to your government, pay them a lot of money to get a new passport basically. once you report it as lost, it is no longer usable. If, if you find it 10 minutes later and call them back, they're gonna be like, no.

So,

Meggan: Ooh.

Jenn: report it right away, but like, really look through your stuff before you report It.

Meggan: Even the thing I'm about to talk about to end this podcast, I would rather, everything else happened to me that we've talked about in this entire episode than losing my passport. That sounds terrible. It makes me like I'm anxious right now it's not happening to me.

Jenn: Have you seen, there's like a Instagram or TikTok video. It's like, go to the airport, check and make sure I have my passport. Do this, do I have my passport? Do I have my, I just wanna glue it to my hand.

Meggan: I know. I like glue it right to my chest and be my past. My passport is here. Oh folks, I hope this doesn't happen to you. Oh, anyway. Oh, imagine reporting it and then be like, crap, here is. That's worse.

Jenn: that is worse. Like, that's literally worse. Like finding it right after you report it is a hundred percent worse.

Meggan: right. Oh.

Jenn: Alright, Meggan, what's, what's our last situation?

Meggan: Well, we have one more scenario to talk about and this is another way you could lose your passport. But anyway, um, so the last thing we wanna talk about is unfortunately, if it really is no laughing matter if this happens to you, but if you happen to get robbed while on vacation, and my goodness, let's hope you never need this information. Um, okay. I'd rather lose my password than get robbed. Let's, let's be honest, this is the one scenario I would rather not but anyway, um, but in the event that you do, some tips would be to immediately report it to the police. Be aware of what, again, that country's emergency number is, such as 9 1 1 in North America.

And if you do file a police report, make sure you get a copy of the police report. This could, be helpful with insurance. Um, and following up on the case. Please don't pursue the robber. Just let it, let it go, and get to a safe place to regroup as soon as you can. Your life isn't worth your items or your cash. contact your insurance if necessary and canceled debit and credit cards if those have been stolen. If you have a banking app and they didn't take your phone, that allows you to go in and actually lock your cards. Do this first and then call your bank. Most banks will freeze everything once you report your stuff stolen and issue you an emergency card and funds. So really rely on your bank, lean into that, um, and if your passport is stolen in the process, luckily Jenn just reviewed what to do in that situation, which is report it to your government. Contact your embassy. You're gonna have to get a new one. So we really hope that scenario, of course, doesn't occur to you along with all the other ones, but the Doomsdays or the doomsdayers of the Travel Mug Podcast are gonna close this out.

We're so sorry for this episode. It sounds so sad, but we really, you know, of course want to provide helpful information. And that is it for this week, and we hope that none of this happens to any of you. We always feel that more information is best. So knowing what to do if something does happen can go a long way to help you feel better.

And of course, take action if you need to. thank you as always for listening. You can find us on social media at Travel Mug Podcast or on our website travel mug podcast.com. If you like what we're doing here, you can donate to the show through buy us a coffee. The link is in the show notes. It helps us with our expenses here at the show to keep this going. And if you would prefer to leave us a review. I know it's a tough economy out there. Um, you can do so at Apple Podcasts or Spotify or share the show with a friend. We'd love to have a broader audience. So until next time. Bye.