Aruba Surf Club / Ocean Club right now?

[RookWDW]

Hope it's okay to ask here, there isn't much activity in the dedicated Caribbean forum. With what is going on with Venezuela right now, would you be comfortable going to Aruba? We have a week booked at the Surf Club for early June and have been really looking forward to it. But ... with the unknown tensions and future in the region we are debating canceling and finding a different summer resort to stay at. I know Aruba itself is a safe and great destination, but who knows what escalation or unrest might spur up over the next several months. I could buy the E-Trade system, but I'm more likely to call can see if I can get a placeholder week that I can use for a new OGS, if we were to cancel.

Thoughts?

 

[rickandcindy23]

I would be fine with it.

Politics aside, cruises are not cancelling, no one is cancelling vacations that I have seen.

 

[jwalk03]

Personally I would have zero concerns visiting Aruba right now.

 

[klpenny]

I am going at the end of May. Your concerns are valid as some tourists just got stranded in the Caribbean when the US just executed the extraction operation in Venezuela. Planes on route were also sent back. My take on it though is that these things are unpredictable, as is life, so I am going. If something happens as my date to travel gets closer I will reconsider.

 

[RookWDW]

Thanks for the responses. I wouldn't be too concerned if we got stuck on the island for a few extra days, although I know that creates some stress. My only concern really is safety and unknown civil unrest that may or may not develop. I hate to cancel as Aruba Surf or Ocean club are hard trades to pull.

 

[JIMinNC]

Thanks for the responses. I wouldn't be too concerned if we got stuck on the island for a few extra days, although I know that creates some stress. My only concern really is safety and unknown civil unrest that may or may not develop. I hate to cancel as Aruba Surf or Ocean club are hard trades to pull.

Venezuela has been something of a rogue state for the better part of the last three decades, and despite Aruba’s proximity, that hasn’t impacted Aruba itself. It is a totally separate country after all. It is safe and not generally impacted by the decades of political issues to the south. It is one of the safest destinations in the Caribbean. I don’t see how Venezuelan politics would change that, short of a protracted all out war, which doesn’t seem likely at this point.

Obviously if any future military operations take place that need to utilize Caribbean air space, there could be another temporary disruption, but that would be an inconvenience, not a safety risk. To cancel a June trip now over that possibility would seem unnecessary. If you have concerns about losing value, just make sure you have travel insurance. Most probably though, June will be fine.

 

[billymach4]

Hands down just go. The Venezuela does not have any offense or threats. In actuality with US Navy patrol it is safer now than any prior time.

 

[billymach4]

I am going in May. Not at all concerned.

 

[ljmiii]

Hope it's okay to ask here, there isn't much activity in the dedicated Caribbean forum. With what is going on with Venezuela right now, would you be comfortable going to Aruba?...

FYI, I just read that Travelex denied the claim of someone with a reservation in St Kitts that they couldn't use because of the Caribbean airspace restrictions.

 

[JIMinNC]

FYI, I just read that Travelex denied the claim of someone with a reservation in St Kitts that they couldn't use because of the Caribbean airspace restrictions.

Why? Was it because the air space was shut down for only about a day, so it was considered a temporary delay which would not warrant a full vacation claim vs a 24 hr delay claim? Or was it a policy exclusion for claims resulting from war activities?

 

[dioxide45]

FYI, I just read that Travelex denied the claim of someone with a reservation in St Kitts that they couldn't use because of the Caribbean airspace restrictions.

How could a claim have been reviewed and denied already? This happened on Saturday and all days between then and now are non business days. I suspect someone called in to their customer service and asked about it and were told it wasn't covered. That is different than a denied claim.

 

[RookWDW]

FYI, I just read that Travelex denied the claim of someone with a reservation in St Kitts that they couldn't use because of the Caribbean airspace restrictions.

I saw that on Facebook. My res is an II trade.

 

[Pamplemousse]

I saw that on Facebook. My res is an II trade.

I saw this on Facebook too (MVC owners connection)-OP said travelex told them it was not a qualifying incident.
They say they are having trouble rebooking the flight so will lose the full stay’s worth of points.
Admin turned off comments on post so we can’t ask questions or give advice.

 

[billymach4]

If FB's lips are moving.... Nonsense .. Unmitigated Nonsense

 

[billymach4]

FYI, I just read that Travelex denied the claim of someone with a reservation in St Kitts that they couldn't use because of the Caribbean airspace restrictions.

Is there language in the contract that excludes any military action or terrorism?

 

[Ski-Dad]

Is there language in the contract that excludes any military action or terrorism?

Almost assuredly.

 

[JIMinNC]

Is there language in the contract that excludes any military action or terrorism?

The MVC Travelex contract does exclude war or acts of war. The gray area though would seem to be that the Caribbean islands were not at war themselves. The flight delays were technically caused by air space closure to provide a safe environment for military assets to fly to/from Venezuela, quite a ways from all of the impacted islands except for Aruba and the other ABC islands. That’s a technicality that might be hard to win in an argument, but if it were me, I would at least try that argument.

 

[WorldT]

The MVC Travelex contract does exclude war or acts of war. The gray area though would seem to be that the Caribbean islands were not at war themselves. The flight delays were technically caused by air space closure to provide a safe environment for military assets to fly to/from Venezuela, quite a ways from all of the impacted islands except for Aruba and the other ABC islands. That’s a technicality that might be hard to win in an argument, but if it were me, I would at least try that argument.

The "military assets" were involved in a war at the time of closure. Their movement specifically caused the closure. Thus the closure was caused by a war. Insurance companies are in the business of paying less than the take in. If that is the stand they want to take, you will have a long argument on your hands.

 

[JIMinNC]

The "military assets" were involved in a war at the time of closure. Their movement specifically caused the closure. Thus the closure was caused by a war. Insurance companies are in the business of paying less than the take in. If that is the stand they want to take, you will have a long argument on your hands.

I agree with you. But…if I were the one in the position of having an entire week cancelled because of a 24 hour airspace closure due to the special operation, I would at least try to argue that point. I would likely lose, of course.

 

[rthib]

The "military assets" were involved in a war at the time of closure. Their movement specifically caused the closure. Thus the closure was caused by a war. Insurance companies are in the business of paying less than the take in. If that is the stand they want to take, you will have a long argument on your hands.

Not being political but it was technically described as a law enforcement action to apprehend a criminal. Since that was the official description, I would fight it on that grounds. Was not war or act of war but just a very complicated law enforcement action according to the official statement.
(If that is true or not is a political discussion, but from an insurance standpoint one should be able to use the official government description.)

 

[billymach4]

Not being political but it was technically described as a law enforcement action to apprehend a criminal. Since that was the official description, I would fight it on that grounds. Was not war or act of war but just a very complicated law enforcement action according to the official statement.
(If that is true or not is a political discussion, but from an insurance standpoint one should be able to use the official government description.)

You can certainly try to fight with the insurance company. If they continue to deny. I suspect will be the case... next course of action would be to go the legal fight. Depending on the complexity you may need to hire counsel that may wash out any financial claim from the insurance company. Take into account that I am sure they are getting thousands of claims for last weekends action. So if I were the decision maker at the insurance company I would make the same denial of claim.

I don't agree with the denial of the claim. Just saying it's a business decision to prevent a financial loss.

 

[Luvtoride]

We have friends who were there over New Years. Other than Saturday 1/3 flights being canceled due to the airport shut down (they got flights home the next day) there were no issues at all. Don’t change your plans.


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[Dean]

Here is the wording from my policy for 2026.

We will not pay for any loss under this Policy, arising directly or indirectly out of, or as a result of, or from, or that occur to,

or are as a result of the actions of, the Insured or the Insured's Family Member, or Traveling Companion, or Business

Partner for the following:

i. declared or undeclared war, or any act of war;

Seems pretty absolute to me. I would at least try but I would not put much effort or emotion into the argument. Aruba airport was closed for 1 day.