Coming Home During a Pandemic: An Update and Hotel Quarantine

Last week, we left off with my first post about coming home during a pandemic. I had hoped to leave it at that until I came home and was able to share my experience about Canada’s mandatory hotel quarantine. Well, there’s been some new developments.

Cancelled Flights

To get home I had booked with KLM, one of my absolutely favourite airlines. My route was Edinburgh – Amsterdam – Vancouver. Not only was it the quickest route home but it got me right into Vancouver with minimal layovers. I had mentioned last week that there was a travel ban in place on passengers arriving in the Netherlands from the UK. This meant all flights between the two countries were cancelled. This ban was set to lift on February 22nd, if not extended. Well, Tuesday, February 16 I got an email saying my flight from Edinburgh to Amsterdam was cancelled. The email stated it was due to an adjustment in flight schedules and my flight was suspended.

I am still unsure as to if this has anything to do with an extension on the travel ban as I keep finding mixed information online. Either way though, my flight from Amsterdam to Vancouver was still scheduled but I was left with no way to get to Amsterdam. KLM was quick in providing me with the resources to be able to request a refund for my flights without needing to call in as well. As of early Thursday morning the refund for my extra bags has already been approved. KLM has been incredibly efficient and helpful throughout this whole process.

Finding New Flights

With my refund being processed, I knew it was time to start looking for a new option home. Part of why I love KLM and their partner company Delta is that they really provide the best value for money. Where other airlines have started introducing tiered economy flight options they have stayed away from that. They continue to provide amazing service and all the basic comforts that you would expect to be included in an international flight. I’m talking like getting to have a seat that reclines, or a checked baggage allowance without paying extra. Usually when comparing flight prices, I think I’ve found a good deal only to realize that they have a tiered economy system and adding these basic comforts onto your international flight will often, at least, double the price of your ticket. Also, when I flew home at Christmas, I flew with Delta from Amsterdam to Minneapolis and they gave me a welcome Bellini after takeoff. I’m still impressed by this.

So other than KLM offering the shortest and most direct route home, I knew that flying with them I wouldn’t be incurring any extra costs for minimal things. My search for new flights turned up pretty much two options. Edinburgh – London – Toronto – Vancouver or Edinburgh – London – Dallas – Vancouver. With current travel restrictions and the incoming hotel quarantine in Canada each option presented it’s own set of questions and uncertainties.

Flying Into Toronto

Toronto offers, in theory, the shortest route to Vancouver. I had intended to keep my date of departure March 1st as originally planned. This is after the start of the new hotel quarantine. There was little detail available about how this new quarantine will work and a lot of the information has been misinterpreted and mixed up by various media outlets. Just even look at the reporting on the price after the announcement was initially made, Justin Trudeau specifically said “at least 2000$.” Some outlets reported this, others said it would be 2000$, while others said up to 2000$. But the government website has been consistently reporting that more information will come.

Our main questions with flying into Toronto were: as this is my first port of entry will I need to carry out my hotel quarantine here, or will I be allowed to make my connecting flight an hour after I arrive in Toronto? If I do have to quarantine at a hotel in Toronto will I be expected to finish my 14 day quarantine there? Or, will I be allowed to board a flight to Vancouver, three days later, while I am still technically in quarantine? If I am, how am I meant to go about booking this? I didn’t want to have to book a separate domestic flight because all Canadians know those can be just as expensive as an international flight.

Next Stop Dallas?

The second option via Dallas would mean the first point of entry in Canada would be Vancouver. This takes away a lot of the uncertainty surrounding quarantine if I fly in via another Canadian city; but, it opens a whole new set of questions. When I went to check entry requirements for the US, I couldn’t find anything that directly pertained to if you have a layover in the States. Entry requirements stated though that you would not be allowed entry into the US if you had spent any amount of time in the UK in the last 14 days unless they are a US citizen. Things get a little fuzzy here because it’s a 22 hour overnight layover. Although I’d be leaving the next day, I would still be technically asking for entry into the country I think. So, would I be turned around and sent back to London? My next question relates to the required PCR test for entry into Canada. Everything says your test should be taken at a maximum of 72 hours prior to your departure for Canada. I was unsure as to if they would count it as 72 hours prior to leaving Edinburgh and starting my journey. Or, especially with such a long layover, 72 hours prior to my flight that would land in Canada. There have been many news stories about Canadians returning with expired or wrong COVID tests and I just want to avoid any extra hassle as much as possible.

Changing The Date

Very briefly we considered changing the date of my flight. If I fly out on the 20th then I don’t need to worry about being stuck in Toronto or being sent back to London. When I looked on Google flights prices were advertised as being as low as 395£ (700CAD). After actually selecting that flight though, booking option show something much different. Prices for a flight with Air Canada on the 20th start at just over 1300£ (2305CAD). And it’s only flights on the 20th and 21st that get expensive. There’s a demand for flights on these days and airlines know this, so prices have been increased to well over the average historic cost of flights. What’s even weirder is that tickets for Air Canada’s economy class were actually more expensive then their premium economy class. Keep in mind, economy is bare bones like you don’t even get one checked bag for free and premium economy includes two checked bags.

The Verdict

I contacted the Canadian Consulate in London to see if they were able to answer any questions or provide any insight. When I heard back from them the next morning they pretty much stated all the same information that was available on the government’s website. The only advice they were able to provide was that they don’t recommend travelling via a third country if possible. With flying via Texas being so risky the decision came down to do I travel home early and pay an extra 1600$ for a flight or fly into Toronto on March 1st as planned and hope that I can find more information to answer my questions.

Well, as I was browsing the Air Canada website trying to find information about baggage allowances I managed to find a page that answered all my questions. According to Air Canada, all I had to do was call them and rebook my flight from Toronto to Vancouver for three days later. As long as my COVID test comes back negative I will be able to fly to Vancouver and finish my quarantine there. Seeing the number of domestic flights versus international flights with COVID exposure definitely makes me a little more nervous about having to take a domestic flight. Ultimately though, it is my best option for getting home.

Hotel Quarantine

Time of writing February 18, 2021 17:15 BST, 12:15 EST

The Canadian government has said the list of approved hotels would be posted on Thursday, February 18 and you would be able to book them as well. Leading up to the release of the list though, I found an article from CTV Montreal where they spoke to the manager of one of the approved hotels. In the article the manager was able to provide a bit of an outline about what we can expect at the quarantine hotels. One of the things that stuck out to me the most though was the fact that he said they’d be watching closely on the security cameras to make sure that no one leaves their room. Also, the only reason someone will be allowed time outside is if they smoke. This is a bit of a surprise to me as I was under the impression that hotels needed to provide guests with outside access once per day. Also, the thought of staying in the same room for three days straight without fresh air and the chance to properly stretch my legs sounds dreadful. Until the list is uploaded and we receive information right from the government it is all just speculation.

Update February 18, 2021 23:14 BST, 18:14 EST

Well, the government had said that the list would be posted today but I am doubtful at this point. Fingers crossed I will wake up tomorrow morning and the list will be posted. We are all experiencing growing frustrations with this. Right from the first week this was announced with Canada’s transport minister, Omar Alghabra, telling Canadians that the restrictions could go in place as soon as that Thursday. That was like five days after the initial announcement. Feels like a lot of promoting fear and panic. We just want to come home and we keep getting told conflicting information. Anyways, I will update this post again when I am finally able to book my quarantine hotel.

Update February 19, 2021 16:45 BST, 11:45 EST

So I woke up this morning and the hotel list had been posted! Well, a portion of it at least. According to the website the list in incomplete and will be finished in the coming days. Currently for anyone flying into Vancouver they have one hotel option. Frustratingly, all bookings need to be made over the phone as well. I tried calling the toll free number and it immediately hung up. Googled it and learned that when calling a 1(800) number from the UK you need to add 00 in front. So I try it again. Then I get a voice message from my service provider saying I need to add international minutes on my plan. Okay, fine. So I do that and call again. Finally get through the selection menu and the call centre is closed. So I went about my day and decided I’d call again in the afternoon.

So here we are. They are recommending that you only stay on the line if you are arriving in Canada in the next 48 hours. Honestly though, leaving this to two days before I leave would be insane. It’s 17:04 now and I’ve been on hold for just over 30 minutes. I only have 100 international minutes on my phone plan and at this point I’m hoping it will be enough. There’s like no hold music either. Like maybe a couple minutes here and there, but, it’s just awkward phone silence until a women’s voice comes on to yell at you about how your call is important. I will update here again once I have more news.

Update February 19, 2021 17:38 BST, 12:38 EST

After an hour on hold I’ve decided to hang up and try again later. I only have so many minutes that I can waste on my phone plan. From what I’ve read on twitter no one has really had too much luck anyways. People are reporting waiting three hours before getting to speak to someone. Others are being hung up on and can’t even get through. I will try again tomorrow morning.

Update February 25, 2021 15:05 BST, 10:05 EST

Finally, almost a week after the launch of the hotel booking line and less than four days before I leave, I have my hotel booked. A few days ago a collect call number for people outside of North America was added to the website. However, one day after being on hold for about 30 minutes my call dropped and my service provider texted me to tell me I was out of international minutes. Luckily, I have great support team back home and my mom stepped in to help. She spent most of yesterday on hold, even having her call disconnected just after the three hour mark on her first attempt. All though news outlets are beginning to report lower average wait times of around two hours, a lot of other in bound Canadians are still spending all day on hold and having calls dropped. The lines are reportedly being blocked up with people calling to book and inquire about quarantine hotels for future holidays as far forward as April.

The Alt hotel at Toronto was my first choice of hotel. Mostly because unlike the four other Marriott hotels and one Holiday Inn, Alt has a page on their website about how they are a government approved accommodation. On the page I was able to find a starting price for single and double occupancy, an explanation about what is included in the price, and their room service menu so I know what food in offered. I really, really appreciated that just by adding this simple page they took a lot of the guess work and uncertainty out of booking. I ended up having to be booked into a larger room with two beds since all the single rooms have been booked. This ended up making my hotel stay a little more expensive than the starting price. Apparently though, none of the other hotels were much better in terms of price or occupancy. So, the final cost for my quarantine hotel? 1336.20$. So far it has come in under the 2000$ price tag the government speculated but I’m still cautious. Online it states that this pays for hotel, infection prevention and control, food, security, and transportation. I’m a little unsure if the cost of the two PCR tests I need to take is included in this price or not. But, I’m just glad to finally have this done.

In Conclusion

To stay up to date with this post, and all my other posts you can find me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I’ve always felt it is important to have all stories and experiences shared. I had reached out to multiple Canadian news outlets in regards to sharing my story and what it’s like for Canadians who have been abroad since before the pandemic began. Unsurprisingly, none of them got back to me and still continue to only push stories about Canadian snowbirds who left this winter and are now trying to find loopholes in the restrictions. It would mean the world to me if you shared this post and helped spread my story and those of other Canadian expats and international students.