Sky Blue Sky Festival

[kidsmoke]

Who on this board has tickets and will be at the Sky Blue Sky festival in January 2022? (Wow that date seems futuristic!)

I'm wondering about trip insurance...I'm too late for the resort's "any excuse" policy which had a very short enrollment time, but wondering, especially given the fluctuating covid situation, if I shouldn't grab some sort of trip insurance. Help! Have some of the rest of you dealt with this? Any advice?

 

Let's talk about this festival! Those of you who managed to attend the inaugural event, please pass along anything helpful to us who are absolute festival newbies! Help us enjoy it to the fullest, and thank you in advance! 

 

 

[Sandy in SFCA]

I didn’t buy trip insurance, but now I’m wondering if I should. I think if the event gets canceled outright we will get our money back so it might not be necessary. And most airlines are still waiving change fees. 

[kidsmoke]

9 minutes ago, Sandy in SFCA said:

I didn’t buy trip insurance, but now I’m wondering if I should. I think if the event gets canceled outright we will get our money back so it might not be necessary. And most airlines are still waiving change fees. 

 

That's good to know that the airlines are doing that. 

[jff]

My wife and I are booked.  We got cancel for any reason insurance, because our dog was diagnosed with lymphoma right after we booked this trip.  Depending on how she's doing at the beginning of January we may decide not to go.  Or depending on what the Covid situation is we may decide not to go.

 

Surely it's possible to buy cancel for any reason insurance through a third party insurer.  And probably for cheaper than SBS offered.  We paid something like $200+ each for the insurance.  For the sake of comparison, my wife has been looking into a solo trip to Spain through Gate 1 Travel, and they offered an insurance add-on to the trip package for $109.

 

Hoping everything goes according to plan.  At this point, the idea that we would get to go to Mexico and see Wilco and a bunch of other great music and have a healthy dog waiting at home for us is a pure fantasy.

[DragAssSnag]

We didn't buy the trip insurance, it looks like should the event be cancelled we will be refunded. We had the conversation yesterday about the possibility of it not happening and it was too much of a bummer.

We attended the first one and it was hands down the best vacation we have ever been on. Things to bring:

• Refillable Water Bottle

• Yeti Style drink cup with lid

• Pool Float
• Your favorite hoodie it gets breezy and cool at night and you feel it after being in the scorching sun all day.

• Portable speaker to jam to while getting ready in your room or for the hammock on your balcony.

• Plenty of small demonization bills to tip your servers

• Set of decent clothes to eat at the nicer restaurants

 

Lets hope this all starts looking better and we are in Mexico in January with WILCO!

 

[theashtraysays]

^ Nice list @DragAssSnag... thanks for that.

 

Donna, we didn't take the trip insurance; just not something I ever do. 

But yes, Dana and I are going.  She's a reluctant attendee for Wilco shows at best, and not a fan of festivals at all.  But when I said "hey honey, would you be interested in going to a beach resort in Mexico this January where people bring you little umbrella drinks all day while I go see Wilco?" there was no hesitation.... so now we're going!!

 

[jff]

3 hours ago, DragAssSnag said:

• Refillable Water Bottle

 

 

What is the drinking water situation like at the resort?  There is a reluctance among US citizens to drink tap water in Mexico.

[DragAssSnag]

I brought a large bottle and filled it with the water from my room each morning. I had heard the water was filtered but brushed my teeth with bottled water and only drank bottled. The ice in the drinks was fine, never felt a sour stomach throughout the week. Also this is not your traditional all-inclusive resort food. There is some really good food and great accessible snacks (fresh guac, wood fired pizzas to order, tacos). The French restaurant is also really really good. 

We are pescatarians and we wanted for nothing!

 

[bböp]

17 hours ago, DragAssSnag said:

• Plenty of small demonization bills to tip your servers

 

Yes, go to the bank before and bring like $100 in dollar bills if you can for tipping. They don't have to be demonic, though!

[DragAssSnag]

lol oh my god, autocorrect 

[kidsmoke]

On 8/10/2021 at 1:41 AM, bböp said:

 

Yes, go to the bank before and bring like $100 in dollar bills if you can for tipping. They don't have to be demonic, though!

 

But they'll still accept the demonic ones, right? Because I already went and got some and had them specially cursed for this.

[Chez]

For reasons forgotten, I chose not to purchase the trip insurance.  I normally do and I'm regretting my decision.  We went in 2020 and had a fantastic time.  Aside from the shows, my favorite thing about the festival was meeting so many knowledgeable music fans.  Wearing t-shirts from bands other than Wilco was a great way to spark some great conversations.  We are really looking forward to V2.0 and hope to meet some other VC'ers.  

[kidsmoke]

On 8/12/2021 at 6:17 AM, Chez said:

For reasons forgotten, I chose not to purchase the trip insurance.  I normally do and I'm regretting my decision.  We went in 2020 and had a fantastic time.  Aside from the shows, my favorite thing about the festival was meeting so many knowledgeable music fans.  Wearing t-shirts from bands other than Wilco was a great way to spark some great conversations.  We are really looking forward to V2.0 and hope to meet some other VC'ers.  

I look forward to meeting up with you and any other VC attendees, Chez! You make this sound amazing enough to  excuse the expense. Thank you for that.😂

[dagwave]

Random (non music) thoughts from dagwave:

 

transpo to resort was kinda long and dry. Prepare accordingly. Might have been bad time of day. Transpo to airport- great

- check in pain free

- don’t fail to be aggressive with room service - delicious and quick

- many walk up options throughout the day and night with easy bites as well as multiple serve yourself mini buffets ( pre COVID) 

- convenient bar locations and quick service. Multiple non- alcohol options too!

- size of resort great- big enough to get a little lost, close enough to any and all events moderate.

- background tunes throughout resort are always primo - it IS the Hard Rock

- solid dining options - probably good to reserve (never did) for the prime time appetites.

- kind, attentive, and friendly staff throughout- like Paul said bring lots of those beezlebub bucks.

- hope to excurt myself this time at least once.

- Clean, bug (biting bug) free experience - some interaction with very large lizard (like) reptiles and monkey (?) sightings. Really. I’m pretty sure.

 

 

 

 

 

[lucifer sam]

I'm in!  This will be my first SBS and I could not be more excited.  I didn't buy insurance because I'll be there if they are able to hold the event.  I hope the world holds together for at least a few more months.  😀

[Chez]

So, is this going to happen?  I'm a bit worried about getting back home after the festival. 

[jff]

21 minutes ago, Chez said:

So, is this going to happen?  I'm a bit worried about getting back home after the festival. 

We’ve decided to back out.  We have insurance but we’re going to wait and see if they cancel or postpone, in which case we can get a refund.

 

Some number of people are definitely going to get Covid at this event.  The idea of getting Covid and then being locked in a hotel room alone at the Residence Inn, or wherever they ship you off to, for two weeks is extremely unappealing, and a little too likely.

[Madcap]

We're still going and planning on masking pretty much everywhere but the beach.  The thought of getting stuck is very worrisome, but I think we'll be alright if we play it extremely safe (although I will no doubt be losing my mind when we take our exit test).  I'm frankly more worried about the bands that are touring right up until the festival having to back out due to Covid than anything.

[Sandoz]

We were unable to purchase the insurance (there was a handful of states that were excluded from the Cloud 9 insurance, including mine). So, I haven't officially canceled yet...literally creating a list of pros-cons over here. Wondering if postponement will happen (hoping, actually). I agree that the likelihood of having a positive antigen test upon departure will be extremely high. The Omicron variant is as contagious as measles. The logistical issues re: being stuck in a Mexico hotel room for 10 additional days are a little overwhelming to consider: Child care at home, missing work for an additional 10 days, and concerns about local medical care access if needed. Also, I know that the current plan is to bus all the positive people to a nearby Residence Inn for isolation. Does the hotel have room for potentially *hundreds* of infected people?  Because it really could be hundreds. Argh. I hate this virus so much.

[jff]

54 minutes ago, Sandoz said:

We were unable to purchase the insurance (there was a handful of states that were excluded from the Cloud 9 insurance, including mine). So, I haven't officially canceled yet...literally creating a list of pros-cons over here. Wondering if postponement will happen (hoping, actually). I agree that the likelihood of having a positive antigen test upon departure will be extremely high. The Omicron variant is as contagious as measles. The logistical issues re: being stuck in a Mexico hotel room for 10 additional days are a little overwhelming to consider: Child care at home, missing work for an additional 10 days, and concerns about local medical care access if needed. Also, I know that the current plan is to bus all the positive people to a nearby Residence Inn for isolation. Does the hotel have room for potentially *hundreds* of infected people?  Because it really could be hundreds. Argh. I hate this virus so much.

There should have been some sort of refund policy for people who were ineligible for insurance.  Can you buy a policy locally?  
 

I’d love to hear about people’s experience using the insurance.  Through my job, I see insurance companies weasel out of payouts all the time, so I’m not confident my policy is worth the paper it’s printed on.  That’s why my preference is for a postponement with a refund option. Or not postponing and just straight up offering refunds, and then reselling the rooms to someone who isn’t worried about covid.

[Sandoz]

@jffI am so skeptical of local travel insurance (from past experience..loophole after loophole), that I didn't bother looking.

 

It's such a huge bummer that Sky Blue Sky is the first Cloud 9 event of the run. It would have been ideal to sit back and see what happens with Panic En La Playa (Jan 22-26), Avett Bros (Jan 22-31), Brandi Carlile (early Feb) before heading down to Mexico. I feel like we are the festival guinea pigs! If ~100s of people test positive on departure (and fill up the resort's isolation capacity), it will certainly affect what happens for the next event(s). Because they'd have to prepare for the potential of another huge cohort of positive tests 5 days later when Panic en la Playa folks have their departure antigen tests collected, then Avetts, etc. etc.  The isolation requirement is 10 days, so there would be some overlap between festival events.  

 

Did you see the news about the Bad Bunny outdoor concert in Puerto Rico? At least 2,000 infected! Granted it was a huge show (40K attendees) but they required vaccination for all attendees + masking required during the show. I don't think SBS requires vaccination to attend -- just a negative test I think. Too late to add it as a requirement. 

[jff]

11 hours ago, Sandoz said:

@jffI am so skeptical of local travel insurance (from past experience..loophole after loophole), that I didn't bother looking.

 

It's such a huge bummer that Sky Blue Sky is the first Cloud 9 event of the run. It would have been ideal to sit back and see what happens with Panic En La Playa (Jan 22-26), Avett Bros (Jan 22-31), Brandi Carlile (early Feb) before heading down to Mexico. I feel like we are the festival guinea pigs! If ~100s of people test positive on departure (and fill up the resort's isolation capacity), it will certainly affect what happens for the next event(s). Because they'd have to prepare for the potential of another huge cohort of positive tests 5 days later when Panic en la Playa folks have their departure antigen tests collected, then Avetts, etc. etc.  The isolation requirement is 10 days, so there would be some overlap between festival events.  

 

Did you see the news about the Bad Bunny outdoor concert in Puerto Rico? At least 2,000 infected! Granted it was a huge show (40K attendees) but they required vaccination for all attendees + masking required during the show. I don't think SBS requires vaccination to attend -- just a negative test I think. Too late to add it as a requirement. 

All of that is a huge concern to me.

 

We have many legitimate,  non-Covid related reasons not to go. I need to call today and confirm that our insurance is the cancel for any reason policy,  and if it is not I need to figure out which of our reasons for cancellation is least likely to be denied by the insurance company.

[kidsmoke]

I'm feeling seriously depressed at the thought that the penalty for 6 days of fun in Mexico may be...could very likely be!...being stuck in a Mexican Residence Inn for 10 days!  With covid, and no particular help if I got quite sick. 

Never mind the original expense, which on my budget was tough in the first place. But if I opt not to go for my own wellbeing, I stand to simply lose about $3000. Nobody is buying up these packages now, with good reason.

With Omicron raging, it's time to pull the plug and postpone to a safer time. I'm really sad about it all. 

[jff]

One of the sad things to me is that we purchased tickets knowing there was some risk, but we opted to exercise an abundance of hope, optimism, and sense of community rather than fear or caution.  I think Wilco espouses that in their music and their ethos.   But now that the game has changed, and our hopes have been dashed by a massively escalated risk and myriad logistical hurdles, the attitude (not necessarily from the band directly, but the general tenor of the event) has become “you knew the risks and should have covered your ass, so shut up and get out of the way so people who aren’t worried can party.”

[Chez]

I'm mad at myself for not purchasing the insurance.  It's one of the only times I haven't purchased trip insurance - money was tight at the time I pulled the trigger on purchasing the package and I (to my chagrin) was penny wise and pound foolish.   I think the only way Cloud 9 cancels the event is if the bands start pulling out. My wife is a teacher and really needs to get home for classes the following week.  At this point, the odds of us attending are pretty slim.  Damn, I was so much looking forward to this festival . . .