June Vacation - Any one else worried

[Noah_t]

Nobody is assuming anything man, chill out.

As a physician you should know this. "Relaxing on command is physiologically impossible if “the body is already too acutely stressed to turn it around,” says Wendy Mendes, a professor of emotion at the University of California, San Francisco, and a researcher on stress. While the body responds rapidly to stress, returning to a relaxed state can take 20 to 60 minutes, she says."
When I asked why you were assuming you wouldnt be going I was just kinda egaging in small talk and really not to emotionally invested. But reading the first sentece of your reply really did actually crank it up emotionally. So much so i went on a quick online journey and learned something i already inherently knew but never thought too much about. This was probably my favorite article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-you-should-never-tell-someone-to-relax-1471370408

 

[counselormom]

yes, it is possible that some of the tourist attractions may be partially open (with retrictions/etc.)...but its not a guarantee...the most likely to re-open in some capacity would be pearl harbor as thats more of a military decision, and would be more subject to federal orders. this is more to do with giving residents a few more activities and to test protocols and restrictions (similar to florida's proposed phasing for theme park reopening)

aulani (and any other hotel thats currently closed) can re-open at any time they want. hotels/motels were on the essential business list, so regardless of the visitor quarantine, they could open tomorrow if they wanted to. many hotels/motels never closed at all (tho many did make that choice).

there are still some that choose to come every day...the reasons for doing so can vary greatly from person to person...could be that they were unable to obtain a refund, and without it wouldn't ever be able to come to hawaii again...some may look at the infection rates in hawaii and think its safe (but compare infection numbers to number of ventilators and its a very different story)...others may not believe there is any danger at all...or it could be as simple as "anything is better than being stuck in my house/appt."

I would not anticipate any meaningful changes to the visitor quarantine being made until late may. much of it comes down to whats going to happen as several states try to ease lockdowns...as well as results from the numerous trials for treatments (vaccines are still many many months away from even having meaningful human trial results)...if it gets too close to the fall, and numbers haven't subsided elsewhere...I don't see many states not quickly pivoting back to stricter lockdowns to avoid what many health officials are now warning people about (possible flu and covid outbreaks happening at the same time.)

For me..I wouldn't want to go on the flight at all. Only because what does a family do when 1 tests positive? You now would have to stay in Hawaii 2 weeks in a hotel room..no flight home. Not worth it. The longer this goes on the longer I am finding herd immunity to be the only solution

I’ve thought about this too and I would want to be tested at home before we left. That would be terrible to show up and get a surprise positive thinking you were fine and then having to turn around and go back home or be quarantined for 14 days. Besides if you are tested before you leave you wouldn’t end up passing it along on the trip over. I feel it’s better to test at home and bring the paperwork, then I guess if you showed up without it they could test at the airport. I really don’t understand why they aren’t going this route. Keeps out anyone infected and gets the economy going again.

 

[marshac]

As a physician you should know this. "Relaxing on command is physiologically impossible if “the body is already too acutely stressed to turn it around,” says Wendy Mendes, a professor of emotion at the University of California, San Francisco, and a researcher on stress. While the body responds rapidly to stress, returning to a relaxed state can take 20 to 60 minutes, she says."
When I asked why you were assuming you wouldnt be going I was just kinda egaging in small talk and really not to emotionally invested. But reading the first sentece of your reply really did actually crank it up emotionally. So much so i went on a quick online journey and learned something i already inherently knew but never thought too much about. This was probably my favorite article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-you-should-never-tell-someone-to-relax-1471370408

This is inherently the problem with the internet - so much of what we communicate isn't what we say, but how we say it. Body language, intonation, etc. My emotional state has been a dumpster fire of late because of coronoavirus, so when I read your comment, I read it as a sour-grapes type of statement/attack asking why I would assume it wouldn't happen to me, etc. I apologize if I misconstrued your statement.

 

[jodistrock]

Is it being held at Aulani? I desperately would love for the trip to be cancelled. I doubt any of the experiences (Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head, restaurants, Luaus) will be open due to social distancing rules that will still be in effect. I havent even begun to reserve and plan.

Yes, it is at Aulani. This conference company has one there 2-3 times per year & at the parks each month!
I am afraid that things will not be open, but I have been there & all I need is beach/pool time with a drinky in my hand. My colleagues who are also traveling, will have to decide. We have a back-up plan for one in September if need be.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

the problem with depending on testing (particularly the rapid tests) is not just the availability/cost (even tho there are more now than when the outbreak started...there's still no where near enough to be using thousands just for vacation purposes)....its also the accuracy. tons of test kits have been proven either faulty or highly unreliable, and the rapid test kits seem to be the most likely to provide false positives or false negatives (which is why a rapid test is often followed up by another test.)

the nba has estimated they would need 15,000 tests to finish their season (something that could have potential benefits to hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in terms of stress relief)...while 15,000 tests would provide stress relief for...15,000 (at most) people via a trip to hawaii...the nba won't make the call to purchase and use those tests because there still aren't enough for those that need to know if they have covid or something else due to how bad that would look...it would likely look even worse if hawaii manages to secure thousands of tests just so people can go on a vacation.

even if you test at the airport before leaving for hawaii...the airport would have to test everyone coming into the airport (staff + flight crew as well as passengers)...and thats not just those heading to hawaii...that would be everyone heading anywhere...and you'd still have issues of what happens if someone tests positive...how many people do you turn around?

in theory it would also be possible to designate a single airport in say...california as the only one where flights to hawaii could depart, and only flights to hawaii would depart...this would reduce the number of tests needed significantly for the test before you fly option...but would still have tons of issues.

 

[corgi_monster]

I spoke to Disney yesterday and they are hopeful that they will be open June 1. I cannot believe that they will open if there is still the 14 day quarantine.

I think Aulani will open on June 1 even though the 14 day quarantine will still be in effect. Aulani is one of a half dozen hotels that are VERY popular with locals looking to take a staycation. With spring breaks and summer vacations cancelled, I think locals will be lining up to get a reservation at Aulani.

Is that even legal, to ankle monitor someone that is not a criminal? That is going too far. There are other ways to handle things.

I agree, ankle bracelets are going too far and the state is NOT seriously considering doing that. The most logical thing to do is to keep all visitors in any given hotel on a single floor. You would just need one person standing guard in the hallway to make sure nobody escapes. All vacations rentals have been ordered to close and there are less than 100 hotels operating at the moment.

Edited to clarify: The rumor about the ankle bracelet is NOT to slap one one on every person who comes to Hawaii. It would apply to those who are caught breaking quarantine, arrested, and released back into the public.

 

[jodybird511]

Just proceeded with canceling all airfare, DVC rezzie, car rental, etc. for our June 21-July 1 trip. Sigh...See ya in 2021, Aulani.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

I think Aulani will open on June 1 even though the 14 day quarantine will still be in effect. Aulani is one of a half dozen hotels that are VERY popular with locals looking to take a staycation. With spring breaks and summer vacations cancelled, I think locals will be lining up to get a reservation at Aulani.

You're thinking they will open Aulani on June 1 for everyone or Hawaii residents only?

 

[kyton]

You're thinking they will open Aulani on June 1 for everyone or Hawaii residents only?

If the mandatory quarantine is still in place anyone could potentially visit but mainlanders would spend the first 14 days locked in their hotel room unable to leave.

 

[corgi_monster]

You're thinking they will open Aulani on June 1 for everyone or Hawaii residents only?

Technically, it would be open to to everyone. As @kyton mentioned, anyone who is not from Oahu would be welcomed so long as they stay in their rooms for the first 14 days.

Practically speaking, Aulani would be serving mainly Hawaii residents. I think it's likely the inter-island quarantine requirement will be lifted around that time.

Local sentiment seems to have shifted dramatically in the past few days. While nobody is ready to re-open Hawaii to mass tourism, the current level of restrictions on our privileges doesn't seem justified when we're seeing only one or two new cases of covid-19 per day. Currently, we're still not allowed to invite Grandma over for dinner, to let our kids play on the play equipment at the park, or to sit on the beach and eat a spam musubi.

There is increasing pressure from the masses to reopen at a quicker pace than what we're currently seeing. To their credit, Gov. Ige and Mayor Caldwell have listened and responded to these pressures quickly, i.e. flower shops and fabric shops. Given that trend, I think that most non-tourist dependent businesses will be allowed to reopen by the end of the month.

 

[stagmite]

I think Aulani will open on June 1 even though the 14 day quarantine will still be in effect. Aulani is one of a half dozen hotels that are VERY popular with locals looking to take a staycation. With spring breaks and summer vacations cancelled, I think locals will be lining up to get a reservation at Aulani.

I just want to know who in Hawaii will even have the money to do a staycation at Aulani even if Disney were to give 50% off room rates? I thought I saw that current unemployment is around 37%, and you can expect it to continue to climb the longer this lock down continues.

 

[kyton]

Corgi-Monster, the Hawaiians seem to be doing the right thing which is showing in the lowering of transmission. Fingers crossed like here in Australia and New Zealand, you guys will be able to slowly reopen. Australians were finally allowed to pay visits to other households on the weekend - however only 2 adult visitors with their children - but it was a start (our kids got to see their grandparents which was great and I got to see my two best friends that I haven't seen since February).

 

[corgi_monster]

I just want to know who in Hawaii will even have the money to do a staycation at Aulani even if Disney were to give 50% off room rates? I thought I saw that current unemployment is around 37%, and you can expect it to continue to climb the longer this lock down continues.

I don't want to minimize people's struggles and pretend there aren't families who don't have enough to eat - there are a lot of people who are experiencing extreme hardship right now. But there are also a lot of people who are doing just fine. A family of 4 with 2 adults who have been laid off and qualify for max benefits is bringing home approximately $2,400/week in unemployment. If that were an annual salary (which it is not, of course) that would be comparable to a household income over $120,000/year.

There is massive unemployment for sure, but job losses have overwhelmingly affected the bottom tier of wage earners, i.e. hotel maids, front-line hotel and restaurant workers, tour guides, bellman, retail shop workers, etc. Generally speaking, that group of wage-earners are not the core clientele that Aulani (or any other hotel that charges $700/night) markets to in the first place. The demographic that can afford $700+/night may have seen reduced wages or bonuses but can probably still afford to take a staycation, especially if the hotels offer deep discounts.

People in Hawaii love to travel and don't have a lot of options right now. I think Aulani, Hilton Hawaiian Village, The Grand Wailea, Westin Kaanapali, Hilton Waikaloa, Grand Hyatt on Kauai, Turtle Bay, and other resort-style accommodations will be able to continue operations by marketing to staycationers.

 

[corgi_monster]

Corgi-Monster, the Hawaiians seem to be doing the right thing which is showing in the lowering of transmission. Fingers crossed like here in Australia and New Zealand, you guys will be able to slowly reopen. Australians were finally allowed to pay visits to other households on the weekend - however only 2 adult visitors with their children - but it was a start (our kids got to see their grandparents which was great and I got to see my two best friends that I haven't seen since February).

That's so great! All I really want right now is for my kids to see their Grandma who lives three miles away. Mostly because I'm sick of them and need a babysitter j/k

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

Interesting article I came up on.

"UHERO says the most optimistic models show tourists being welcomed back at the end of July. But Bonham cautions that is the best-case scenario and depends heavily on screening, testing and tracing abilities of the state."

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/...ck-best-case-scenario-is-predicting-end-july/

 

[OKW Lover]

I just want to know who in Hawaii will even have the money to do a staycation at Aulani even if Disney were to give 50% off room rates? I thought I saw that current unemployment is around 37%, and you can expect it to continue to climb the longer this lock down continues.

There is a huge military component of the Hawaii population. They are all still getting paid.

 

[ksromack]

There's actually a class action complaint filed against Hawaiian Airlines for that very reason.

https://www.travelagentcentral.com/...ion-complaint-filed-against-hawaiian-airlines
It's certainly not a good look for them. And I love Hawaiian Air, have flown them every time I went to Hawaii and have a reservation with them to fly in September should everything be open up. Never had a problem with that airline but that is alarming that some passengers were having trouble getting their money refunded instead of travel vouchers that might be worthless to them.

So the only Hawaiian Air round trip flights from San Fransisco to Oahu are flights 11 and 12, I believe. We were scheduled on flights 43 and 44 for the return flight to SFO. I have had no indication that Hawaiian Air was going to put us on the only daily flight leaving/arrivingOahu at all. This past weekend I used their chat feature to try and get a refund for our flights and was strongly encouraged to cancel my flights for vouchers for a future flight. I explained that with our work schedule and the fact that our daughter will be getting married that I wasn't sure we'd be able to use the vouchers in the time alloted (we paid for our airfare on 12/25/19). I was directed to file a claim for a refund. Does anyone have any experience with this and the time frame? I did purchase insurance for this trip, though. I was hoping to avoid filing a claim for that and frankly even forgot I had done that in the first place. I'm guessing that is another direction I can take.

Just proceeded with canceling all airfare, DVC rezzie, car rental, etc. for our June 21-July 1 trip. Sigh...See ya in 2021, Aulani.

Yep, did all of this this past weekend for our May 25-June 1 trip. It would have been our first trip to Hawaii and frankly I want to be able to do and see everything so it looks like we'll try and do a trip sometime in 2021. Our work schedules are sometimes difficult to plan vacations around so we'll see what we can do. Isn't the most disappointing part canceling everything? Flights/hotels/car/tour/luau/dinner reservations?

 

[jodybird511]

Yep, did all of this this past weekend for our May 25-June 1 trip. It would have been our first trip to Hawaii and frankly I want to be able to do and see everything so it looks like we'll try and do a trip sometime in 2021. Our work schedules are sometimes difficult to plan vacations around so we'll see what we can do. Isn't the most disappointing part canceling everything? Flights/hotels/car/tour/luau/dinner reservations?

Absolutely. I've really known for several weeks that the trip wouldn't be happening, but finally officially canceling everything still hurt. Sigh

 

[jodistrock]

So the only Hawaiian Air round trip flights from San Fransisco to Oahu are flights 11 and 12, I believe. We were scheduled on flights 43 and 44 for the return flight to SFO. I have had no indication that Hawaiian Air was going to put us on the only daily flight leaving/arrivingOahu at all. This past weekend I used their chat feature to try and get a refund for our flights and was strongly encouraged to cancel my flights for vouchers for a future flight. I explained that with our work schedule and the fact that our daughter will be getting married that I wasn't sure we'd be able to use the vouchers in the time alloted (we paid for our airfare on 12/25/19). I was directed to file a claim for a refund. Does anyone have any experience with this and the time frame? I did purchase insurance for this trip, though. I was hoping to avoid filing a claim for that and frankly even forgot I had done that in the first place. I'm guessing that is another direction I can take.

I was able to get a refund from them in 2016. We did not have insurance. Their site stated, at the time, that I could not write a letter to them but I did anyways. We had a baby that was due around the time of travel (surprise!) and of course had a MD signature to boot but they gave us the refund. Good Luck!!

 

[gdrj]

I spoke with our conference company & they said that ours June 14-18th is still a go at this point. We are flying AA & they just sent an email that all passengers will need to wear a mask. We still 5-6 weeks before departure

Conferences (large gatherings) will be the one of the last things to be “opened”, Hawaii just opened Phase 1. Island Mayors and Governor dont always seem to be on same page, and some vocal locals want a slow return of tourism, and want to limit the # of arrivals. The Lt. Gov floated the idea last week of requiring someone to have been tested b4 flying to islands (not that is even available). I have an end of June arrival and am definitely concerned.