Attention Vantage Deluxe World Travel customers: The news isn’t good if you’ve got a trip planned with this tour operator. The unfortunate reality is that you might not be going anywhere.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, my consumer advocacy team has been fielding a heavy volume of Vantage Travel complaints. But recently, the number of pleas for help from customers of the troubled tour operator has skyrocketed.
On April 21, things went from bad to worse. That’s when the Vantage Travel website suddenly went offline, and its phone system stopped working. Simultaneously, the administrator of the tour operator’s Facebook page disabled commenting.
But not before angry Vantage Travel customers began sharing disturbing stories of canceled cruises and missing refunds.
Jump to:
Why did the Vantage Travel website go dark for a week?
Many Vantage Travel customers are reporting that the company has canceled previously paid-for cruises, tours, hotels, and airline tickets. American Airlines, United Airlines, and Lufthansa have alerted some surprised would-be passengers that Vantage never paid for their airline tickets.
Vantage Travel says that the reason its site went down, its phone numbers aren’t working, its currently sailing ships aren’t able to dock in various ports, AND the reason it hasn’t been able to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars it has owed to a long list of customers since 2020, is because of a data breach that occurred in April 2023.
To this consumer advocate and reporter, the latest turn of events is ominous. I have reviewed hundreds of Vantage Deluxe World Travel complaints during the past three years. I know how many customers are waiting for substantial refunds — a great deal of these refunds are in the $20,000 – $30,000 range. For those on that list, things are looking grim.
Here are some of their troubling tales. Have a look and decide for yourself what’s happening at Vantage Deluxe World Travel.
Could Vantage Deluxe World Travel right its ship?
As the pandemic restrictions began to significantly lift early last year, Vantage Travel seemed to be righting its ship. Refunds began to slowly but consistently appear.
Last December, over at The Points Guy, I reported on my efforts to get Vantage Travel to finally pay the $7,443 refund it owed Sethu Krishnan. He had been persistently pursuing his cash for over two years. When I received his complaint, I was hopeful that I could bring a quick and successful end to his lengthy battle.
At the time, Vantage Travel had assigned a helpful, friendly, and communicative executive to resolve as many complaints as possible from our advocacy team. The good news came for Krishnan very quickly, and he soon had his long-awaited refund.
As a result of that article, a tsunami of additional complaints about Vantage Travel hit my inbox. As I began to tackle these cases, I had great optimism. It seemed that 2023 could be the year that Vantage returned to its former pre-pandemic status of a trustworthy provider of deluxe travel.
Bad idea: A travel insurance policy administered by Vantage
After Krishnan came Dennis Mould, another traveler who asked for help when his efforts to get Vantage to pay his $10,598 refund had turned futile. His case added a new twist I hadn’t seen previously.
The Moulds had wisely purchased travel insurance for their luxury cruise. They were under the impression that they had protected their journey through Allianz, a well-trusted travel insurance provider.
When Mould’s wife suddenly needed heart surgery, the couple was forced to cancel their Vantage cruise through the Greek islands. The Moulds were relieved when Allianz swiftly approved their $10,598 travel insurance claim.
However, the relief was short-lived when they learned an unfortunate truth about that policy.
Vantage Deluxe World Travel had sold the couple a pricey travel insurance policy in which Vantage itself was the administrator of the “waiver product” part of the policy. That meant that Allianz would review and approve the cancellation claim, but Vantage was responsible for paying it.
Mould soon found himself on that long list of customers waiting for a refund from Vantage.
I reached out to our helpful executive contact at Allianz about the Moulds’ approved travel insurance claim.
Hi Michelle,
I checked with our claims team and they let me know that the cancellation product purchased by Vantage customers is a waiver product. The cancellation portion of the waiver product is offered and administered solely by Vantage. The waiver also includes post-departure benefits such as those for medical emergencies. Those post-departure benefits are offered and administered by us.
While we do adjudicate all claims for Vantage, we do not provide payments for cancellations. Once we approve a customer’s cancellation claim, it is their responsibility to provide the refunds their customers may be entitled to.
Allianz spokesman
The Allianz team reached out to Vantage Travel. They gave the company a reminder about the need to pay the couple’s insurance claim.
Mould got lucky. After this nudge from Allianz, his $10,598 claim suddenly rose to the top of the refund list.
“I don’t know how you did it, but sometime yesterday, I received a bank transfer [from Vantage Travel] for a full cash refund,” Mould told me. “I can’t thank you enough. We’ve been attempting to gain some satisfaction for four months, you did it in seven days.”
Thanks to the Allianz team, Mould can focus on helping his wife recover instead of worrying about fighting with Vantage.
But as I dug through the ever-growing pile of pleas for help from Vantage Travel customers, my previous optimism about the tour operator’s recovery quickly evaporated.
Another travel insurance policy administered by the troubled tour operator
When Shere Delafranier and her husband Leo booked a bucket list Nile River Vantage cruise in 2019, they could hardly wait. For the next several months, the couple looked forward to their dream trip, scheduled for October 2020.
But then Leo began feeling unwell and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Just days before the pandemic would shut down the entire cruise industry, the Delafraniers canceled their much-anticipated Egyptian adventure.
The couple had purchased TripMate insurance through Vantage, and their claim was soon approved. Unfortunately for the Delafraniers, as in Mould’s case, Vantage Travel would be responsible for the payment of the $11,540 insurance claim.
Nearly three years later, Delafranier, now an elderly widow, is still waiting for Vantage to pay the claim.
“My mother needs this money to live on,” Delafranier’s daughter told me. “I don’t understand how Vantage Travel can get away with this.”
Like the previous two cases, I hoped to be able to quickly put an end to this Vantage customer’s wait.
Some bad news for Vantage Travel customers waiting for a refund
But then I received some bad news for all Vantage Travel customers.
The helpful executive who had for several years pushed through many refunds for the customers our advocacy team brought to him was leaving this position at Vantage. After some cordial introductions, it became clear that his replacement was not cut from the same caring cloth.
Since this changing of the guard at the company, none of the Vantage complaints that we’ve received have been resolved. Communication between my team and the Vantage team has ceased. In fact, last month, we received notification that our email addresses weren’t approved to be delivered to this new contact. But not before I sent Delafranier’s troubling case to her.
The new Vantage executive in charge of facilitating refunds assured me that her team was looking into why it hadn’t processed Delafranier’s refund.
And that was the last time I heard from Vantage Deluxe World Travel about any cases.
Multiple follow-up requests for Vantage to pay the widow the $11,540 it owes her have gone unanswered — including one to the founder of Vantage and one to TripMate asking if it could help.
Today Delafranier is still waiting for Vantage to pay that refund – three years after all parties agreed the money is owed to her.
Vantage continues to refuse to give any explanation as to why it still has her money.
May 7, 2023 update: A big refund for one Vantage Travel customer
As often happens after we publish an article about a company’s bad behavior and the court of public opinion begins to weigh in, there’s been a happy development in Delafranier’s case.
Yesterday, she got a pleasant surprise when she opened her mailbox. The long-awaited refund from Vantage Travel — the one she thought she would never see — had arrived. The envelope contained no apology or explanation for the three-year delay, but that made no difference to Delafranier. She’s just relieved to finally be able to put this awful battle behind her.
Hi Michelle,
I wanted to let you know my mom FINALLY got a check in the mail for her refund!!
My mom cried when she opened her mail. She had gotten an email asking her to verify her address but was wary the check wouldn’t show after all the previous empty promises.
I hope all your other refund cases get resolved quickly now. It’s mind boggling how many people they have done this to.
Thank you so much for all your help with this! I truly appreciate it and feel that we would not have gotten her money back if it weren’t for your help!
Chelsea (Delafranier’s daughter)
*Post-bankruptcy update: Delafranier’s refund would turn out to be the last refund that Vantage Deluxe World Travel would ever process before declaring bankruptcy on June 29, 2023.
“Please allow us to see the human side of Vantage Travel once again!”
When Michael Meyer’s wife took a terrible fall earlier this month, the couple knew that meant the end of the plans for their Vantage European river cruise, scheduled for this June. As his wife was recovering, Meyer tried to take care of the cancellation details with Vantage.
“I called and spoke to a Vantage agent and explained that we weren’t looking for a refund,” Meyer explained to me. “We just wanted to reschedule for next year for the same cruise.”
But to Meyer’s surprise, after his phone call with the Vantage agent, he soon received notification that he should file a travel insurance claim with TripMate.
I immediately sent an email to Henry Lewis, the founder of Vantage Deluxe World Travel. I was desperate and I explained that my wife took a terrible fall. My hope was that I could appeal to his sense of human compassion.
As others before Meyer discovered, most emails to Lewis go unanswered at this time. Instead of the compassionate response he expected, Meyer received a summary of his cancellation.
Lufthansa hasn’t received payment for the airfare
Meyer then reached out to TPG for guidance, and his request for help landed on my desk.
Two problems immediately became clear. The trip insurance policy Meyer held was issued in 2019. That $2,198 policy has been discontinued since late 2020, but Vantage applied it to a trip in 2023.
TripMate accepted the claim for review to determine if the couple has coverage protection for the cruise and ground portion of the trip – $14,400. But as we’ve already determined, the pre-departure cancellation waiver product of the claim, if valid and approved, will revert back to Vantage for payment.
Meyer had purchased his nearly $8,000 refundable business class airfare to Europe on Lufthansa directly through Vantage. I hoped that we could at least provide some relief to Meyer and get the refund of the airfare in process.
But when I checked with Lufthansa, I (and Meyer) got a surprise – the tickets for the flights were never issued. The airline was still waiting for payment by Vantage Travel — the airline had nothing to refund.
Meyer was stunned. He had long ago paid Vantage for those Lufthansa tickets.
Can the Fair Credit Billing Act help?
The Fair Credit Billing Act allows credit card using consumers to dispute charges when a merchant has not provided the goods or service as agreed.
If a tour operator charges a traveler $7,362 for business class flights but never pays for tickets, this qualifies for a credit card dispute. I advised Meyer to provide this information to his credit card company ASAP.
He did and there is now an active credit card dispute investigation about this charge. Vantage will have 30 days to respond and explain itself. If that doesn’t happen, Meyer will win the dispute and get his money back.
Something tells me that Vantage will not be fighting this credit card dispute.
Meyer is currently waiting for the determination from TripMate. But if his claim is approved and must be paid by Vantage, he’ll likely be waiting a long time for that refund.
Paying Vantage Travel $66,000 for a cruise and then… tragedy
Maureen Bova’s request for help came in the same wave as the others.
She and her husband had planned a $66,000 bucket list adventure with Vantage Travel set to begin in October 2022. Unfortunately, just before the couple’s journey, Vantage gave them some bad news.
It was a new ship, Ocean Odyssey, and [Vantage explained that] due to Covid and supply chain issues, the first two legs of the cruise were cancelled [by Vantage]. This occurred early October 2022. We were then scheduled to start our trip November 17th.
Maureen B
As the couple readjusted their plans and prepared to begin their trip in mid-November, the unthinkable happened. Bova’s husband was diagnosed with ALS — and it began rapidly progressing. There was no way the couple would be able to proceed with the trip and she alerted Vantage Travel.
Bova and her husband had insured the trip with Allianz via Vantage… so you can probably predict where this is going. Allianz quickly approved the claim and Bova expected to receive her money back. Vantage Travel acknowledged that it owed her the refund and representatives repeatedly thanked her for her patience. But they admitted they had no idea when the payment would be processed.
Over the course of several weeks, Bova pleaded with Vantage to process her refund. Her husband’s unexpected catastrophic illness was expensive and her family needed the $66,000 to pay bills. But her pleas fell on deaf ears as cheerful Vantage representatives continued to remind her of the terrible impact the pandemic had on the cruise industry. According to Vantage agents, the company was “doing the best we can” to process refunds.
When I read through Bova’s paper trail, I hoped that an AI chatbot had written the responses she received to her pleas. Only a heartless human could have responded so coldly to Bova’s emails.
This was especially true after Bova’s husband died in January 2023.
Please! We payed over $66,000 total for this trip. My husband passed away on January 14, 2023. ALS is an expensive disease and I have been trying to get an idea of when we can expect our refund and all I get is [repeated thank yous for my patience]
Maureen B to Vantage Travel
But true to form, the Vantage Travel representatives had emotionless responses — not even condolence for Bova’s devastating loss.
Hello Maureen,
The answer remains the same as when I responded to your email asking for a time line on 1/18/23. There are no new updates.
Warm Regards,
Courtney (Vantage Deluxe World Travel customer service)
Warm regards? There was nothing warm about those regards. In fact, this Vantage Travel agent sounded irritated that Bova had the gall to send an additional email after her husband died.
Now Bova joined that long list of Vantage Travel customers waiting for refunds. Today, her $66,000 remains in the hands of Vantage.
More customers report that their flights have been canceled by Vantage
Last week more Vantage customers reported that their previously confirmed flights have been canceled.
Just days ago, Liz S. sent a troubling summary of her experience. She and her friends have been trying unsuccessfully for years to reschedule a cruise that Vantage canceled in 2020.
Liz says that she asked for a refund at the time of the originally canceled cruise. Vantage pushed back and told her that the trip wasn’t canceled; it was only “postponed.”
That is a Vantage twist of the meaning of the word “cancellation” that I spoke about on ABC News way back in 2021.
Like thousands of other Vantage customers, Liz was faced with no other choice but to rebook… and rebook… and rebook again.
That leads us to the situation in April 2023.
Our latest rescheduled trip was to start on Apr 25, 2023. Vantage had scheduled our flights with United and I had confirmed on the United website the confirmation number and seats earlier.
On Apr. 22, 2023, I went on United’s website to review our flight reservation for some additional information and found out that our flights to Europe had been canceled on April 18, 2023, by Vantage. We immediately tried to contact Vantage. It appears that they have taken down their website and they are not reachable by phone. We have not been notified by Vantage, but it appears that the company has stopped operating.
We also had trip insurance for the trip, but the insurance company informed me yesterday that this situation is not covered.
Now Liz and her friends have been added to the enormous list of Vantage Travel customers who are owed a refund from the troubled tour operator.
Filing a chargeback for a Vantage cruise deposit owed
Then I received a request for help from Jane McGrath.
We canceled a wait-listed trip with Vantage Deluxe World Travel. A few days later, a member of Vantage’s “Yield Management Team” called and verified that we are due a $5,586 refund. But then we received an email from Vantage that said their team had no idea when they would be able to process the refund.
The good news for McGrath was that she paid for that deposit with a credit card. Vantage owed her a refund. It provided that information in writing and it had been over 90 days since it promised that refund. I gave her the same guidance as I offered to Meyer.
McGrath soon had good news for me as well. She had “won” the dispute. Her credit card company had retrieved the $5,586 refund from Vantage Travel.
Hi Michelle,
[The credit card company has permanently] credited our account!!!! Thanks for your suggestion and support.
We would not have been brave enough to do this [credit card dispute] without your suggestion.
Best, Larry & Jane
And the team here at Consumer Rescue couldn’t be happier to hear this bit of good news!
What to do if Vantage Travel canceled your trip and owes you money
So what can you do if you are one of the unfortunate consumers waiting for giant refunds from Vantage Deluxe World Travel? There are a few things depending on how you paid, when you paid, the trip insurance you purchased, the state you live in and what Vantage does next.
Here’s what you need to know about how to get your money back from Vantage Travel.
File a credit card dispute
If you paid Vantage for airfare, hotel or cruise expenses with a credit card, which it has canceled or not paid for, you may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. The Fair Credit Billing Act protects consumers who use a credit card for purchases. If a merchant fails to provide the service or commits outright fraud, your credit card company can reverse the charge and investigate. The merchant has 30 days to respond to the claim. If it doesn’t respond within those 30 days, you will win the dispute and the credit will become permanent. At this point, it is highly unlikely that Vantage will challenge any valid credit card disputes.
Appeal to your state’s insurance board
If you have an approved travel insurance claim that Vantage hasn’t paid, your state’s insurance regulator may be able to move things along. That agency is responsible for making sure insurance providers are paying claims in a timely manner. You can find your state’s insurance regulator here.
Consult with an attorney
As some of the claims against Vantage Travel are in the mid to high five figures, consumers may wish to consult with an attorney to determine the absolute best way to approach this terrible situation. Your state’s bar can recommend an attorney who can guide you. Contact the American Bar Association to find your state’s bar.
Will travel insurance covers insolvency? (June 29 bankruptcy update)
Update: On June 29, 2023, Vantage Travel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced it had a buyer for whatever assets it has left (United Travel Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of Nordic Hamburg and Heritage Expeditions).
If a tour company, cruise line, or airline ceases to operate, and you’ve got a trip planned with it, you’ll want to check your travel insurance policy to see if it covers insolvency. Unfortunately, many Vantage customers purchased their insurance through Vantage, and those policies won’t protect the customer if the company is unable to pay its bills. (See: How buying travel insurance from a tour operator could be a $20,000 mistake.)
If you’ve purchased third-party travel insurance for your trip, check your policy or call your insurer to find out if you’re protected in this way.
Does your state have a Seller of Travel restitution fund?
A limited number of states require Sellers of Travel to pay into a restitution fund that will protect travelers from a company’s insolvency. In order to operate in a state with such laws, the travel provider must register and pay into the fund.
If your state has such a rule, you may be able to recoup some of your money through that fund. Contact your state’s attorney general to find out if this applies to you.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this section noted that Vantage is a registered Seller of Travel in California, where there is a restitution fund. Unfortunately, while that is true, because Vantage is headquartered in Massachusetts, the California Attorney General’s office says that Vantage hasn’t paid into the restitution fund. Out-of-state Sellers of Travel must pay into California’s restitution fund only under certain conditions.
Join the bankruptcy class
The longest and least likely path to get your money back from a bankrupt tour operator is through court. Unfortunately, consumers are always the last “creditors” on the list for repayment during bankruptcy proceedings. But something is better than nothing. So should Vantage Travel file for bankruptcy, you’ll want to make sure you’re on that list.
The bottom line
Unfortunately, the Vantage customers you’ve just read about today represent a tiny fraction of the cases which are sitting in my advocacy folder entitled “Vantage Deluxe World Travel owes these customers lots of $$$.” This folder is growing in size by the day as the future of Vantage is unclear.
Today the Vantage website is live again with limited functions. But its call center remains closed. It has now enabled commenting on its Facebook page on one post. That post has hundreds of comments and shares. There you can read many similar tales from bewildered, formerly loyal Vantage customers.
It’s not hard to guess that this company owes refunds in the high six-figure, probably seven-figure, range. That’s just what it owes its customers. There’s no way of knowing how much the company might owe to other creditors.
Hopefully, Vantage Travel will somehow recover from this latest event — whatever this event actually is — for the sake of all those customers who have been waiting and waiting for their money. But that remains to be seen. (Michelle Couch-Friedman, Consumer Rescue)
*June 2, 2023 update: Vantage Travel canceled my cruise. What can I do?
*June 20 Vantage Deluxe World Travel update: At just after 9 a.m. today, I began receiving messages from Vantage employees who attended a meeting this morning and were informed that the entire team was being laid off. The offices are now closed without any explanation from the company. I will continue to update as I learn more.
*June 29, 2023: Vantage Deluxe World Travel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today and announced a buyer has intentions of buying its assets in those proceedings. In that hearing, the company revealed it actually owes $170 million to secured and unsecured creditors (customers).
Vantage Travel is bankrupt: Here’s what customers need to know
*Aug. 20, 2023: Vantage is sold. Here’s what it means to customers
*Dec. 31, 2023: Consumer Rescue has helped return hundreds of thousands of dollars to Vantage victims this year. Here’s how.
*Before you go: Could a cruise line cancel your entire cruise based on a $112 unpaid ground transfer offered by a third party? NCL says it can. That didn’t seem right to Consumer Rescue!
This is truly a disgusting situation. Until recently, I was unfamiliar with Vantage … and I’m so glad. I hope they are prosecuted for selling bogus travel insurance as well as all the other horrific stuff. This is probably the WORST excuse I’ve ever read: “because of a data breach that occurred in April 2023” … they ceased operations??? How can those people look at themselves in a mirror every morning? However, if anyone can get justice for travellers, it will be you at Consumer Rescue, Michelle! Travellers need to know and be reminded to scrutinize every single word from a travel provider. The ‘olden days’ pre-virus when mutual trust was the norm are gone forever, I’m afraid. I know you’ll keep us updated.
Thanks, J- . Just to clarify, they didn’t cease operations. They canceled upcoming cruises, airfare, hotels and ports of call… And that will inevitably lead to that refund list becoming longer and longer. At the same time all of this happened, their site went offline for a week, and their call center stopped working. :(.
Are you kidding me? Calvin look at themselves? Businesses go bankrupt all the time and many of them do it this way! They’re trying to stay alive anyway they can. If they start paying out all these refunds they’ll just go bankrupt and then no one will get anything
Today I received this email from Vantage:
To Our Valued Guests,
As you may be aware, on April 20 our company discovered a ransomware attack which took down our call center, website, email and other internal systems. Our employees are working around the clock to overcome these challenges to continue serving guests who are en route or preparing for future departures. We apologize for the distress this is causing and thank you for your patience as we work with the experts to resolve these matters and bring you the latest information.
As of 6:30pm ET on Friday, April 28, the Vantage Travel website went back online with limited functionality as we continue to troubleshoot. Our call center is anticipated to be back online no later than Monday, May 1.
While we work to restore our call center, we are actively monitoring messages to our temporary email [email protected], Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Message and replying by message or telephone as quickly as possible. When contacting us, please provide your preferred telephone number, email, and reservation number. Please continue to contact us through these channels and check back here for the latest information.
We are aware of the conflicting news reports about Vantage Travel’s operations and trip cancellations following our initial announcement and know you have questions and concerns. To confirm, trips are underway, and no trips have been disrupted or cancelled specifically due to this incident.
To confirm, we have cancelled four trips to the Netherlands due to the vessel’s readiness and two trips to Egypt. All impacted guests have been notified. With the recent U.S. State Department Sudan Travel Advisory, given the proximity, we are closely monitoring our trips to Egypt until further notice for the safety of our guests.
If you have a trip scheduled, please visit MyPortfolio to confirm your trip status.
Regarding the ransomware attack, law enforcement was notified upon discovery of the incident, and we are working with the Booz Allen Hamilton and Constangy, Brooks, Smith and Prophete firms to investigate the incident, restore our systems and protect guest information.
We appreciate your patience and look forward to serving you.
Henry Lewis
Founder and Chairman
I saw this message was added to their Facebook page Friday night…
Wow, this is just plain mind-blowing!
How a company can operate like this, is beyond belief. The government should get involved and hold someone’s feet to the fire to get these people’s money back!
I’m sure it’s frustrating for you too Michelle… keep fighting the good fight!
I will! 🙂
Despicable is a word that comes to mind.
My Mom was a tour director with Vantage for many years. She’d be rolling over in her grave at how far they’ve fallen.
Also, when will corporations take data security and disaster recovery planning seriously?
I’m one of those people who got the “we didn’t cancel your (2020) cruise, we just postponed it” run-around. Long, ugly story that I won’t go into here, but I finally went on a cruise in 2021 — not the one I had paid for or would have paid that much for — as it was go or never see my money again. Once I was home, I let them know that I would never give them another $ of my money, and I would tell anyone I knew or met about my experience with Vantage.
I understand they have been in business and pleasing customers for many years. Too bad they’re alienating so many people. Over the past week, I’ve been wondering whether one of their disgruntled customers hired a hacker/hitman from overseas to launch the ransomware attack.
Hi kids! Yeah, very confusing. I have a Baltic trip scheduled for the beginning of July, 2023. I was aware of the alleged ransomware attack and understood things were up and running again. The deadline for adding extensions is today, May 6. I tried calling and using the website starting on May 4 and as of this writing, no response. The website won’t let me make any changes. Just a few minutes ago (no joke) I received a brand-new email from Vantage promoting its trips! What to do….
Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer here, Kenneth. Please document your efforts to add your extensions, but if you are successful please do not add any extensions unless you can use a credit card.
Warning to anyone considering travel with Vantage!!!!
A “GoodCompany” Vantage travel gone “Baaad”. Shameless!!
We booked a trip to Portugal for May 5, 2023, paid for it in full in November 2022 (they entice people to pay early and give a discount). On May 3rd got a call from Vantage that the trip is postponed for May 12. On May 10 we checked on the status of the trip on My Portfolio and surprise! the trip is now canceled period. No phone call from Vantage! We had to call!!
They sent us an email with four options: full refund, try for a trip in 2024, any 2023 river cruise ? (Really?? ), and Credit for amount paid plus additional 20%. As I write this, my wife is checking and all trips are ” Sold Out”!!. Translation: Cancelled!!!
What is infuriating, is that they are sending us emails promoting trips!!!!
Lastly, don’t get insurance Allianz provided by Vantage. Refunds are not covered, they work together!! Get insurance separately.
The BBB is basically worthless because companies pay a fee to join their area BBB. Besides the BBB cannot force a company to
pay a refund!! Fact check it!
Hope it helps
As a Vantage many year Cruise Director I can tell you that we were all fired with a sound of silence, they did not even dignify to let anyone know they are outsourcing and we will have no more work.
Many of my colleagues have not been paid for 7+ trips, none of us ever recieved any gratuities our guests left for us on board of ships.
And some of us, like myself were sent to destinations with discrepencies in our tour banks(money we use to pay services for guests such as restaurants, museums etc)
Unfortunately we ended up paying these from our own pockets because we wanted to provide service to our guests and hoped we would get that money back…
We never did,,, so it turnes out we worked onboard of cruises and had to deal with all the problems face to face and guess what? We paid for being there to suffer all these complaints.
This companies behaviour is disgusting.
And they have destroyed so many lives of my colleagues and mine with leaving us jobless and robbed us of our own money.
We will have to pay credit loans back for this.
Sadly we will never get our money back, least get paid for our services and get the gratuities they seized.
I am so sorry for you and your colleagues. The Vantage tour directors were the best of the best. Stealing your tips is just disgusting.
Vantage owes me $6429 since November 12, 2022, when the air portion of my trip (business class) was canceled. I tried everything to get the refund, but it does not look like Vantage is going to process it. The last trips last minute cancellations and air tickets not paid by Vantage while daily sending emails advertising new trips with big discounts when paid in full by e-check make me believe the company is going down, does not plan to provide refunds but is just trying to close some holes it its financial base and prolong the company existence.
Michelle: Is Vantage a licensed insurance company? If not, how does it become the payer of claims approved by Allianz?
Because Part A of the policy (pre-departure cancellations) isn’t called travel insurance… it’s called a “Waiver product.” Part B of the policy is a true travel insurance policy (post-departure claims), and Allianz pays out those claims directly to the traveler. The travel protection that was sold by Vantage to all these customers is a hybrid product that many customers did not understand, I’m afraid. 🙁
My story is familiar as I have traveled with Vantage for many years but everything changed in 2022. I booked 3 consecutive cruises, which was to be my grand hoorah!! However, one-by-one they were canceled and I opted to re-book. I regret that because my re-booked, June 2023 – Lisbon to London – CANCELED! Now I am scheduled for the 2nd one on Aug. 31st (Southern Europe) but ?? The 3rd one is considered a “flexible schedule.” I paid for what I thought was insurance. HA! I guess it’s a waiting game! I pray that they will sell and the company will be honorable and refund those waiting. Clara
We were supposed to go on a trip to Antarctica in late January 2023. In the November prcvious to departure Vantage cancelled a post trip extension. We had purchased insurance through Vantage. My husband had a serious stroke three weeks before departure. I immediately notifed Vantage and filed a claim with Allianz, the insurance company. On Jan 17 I recevied a letter from Vantage saying I was due a refund of $35,487 from Allianz and a refund of $5770 from Vantage from the part they cancelled. I filed a claim with Allianz a claim with Allianz who processed our claim in a few days and notified both Vantage and us that we were due a full refund (minus the insurance cost) of what we paid for the trip. I called Allianz and asked when I could expect the refund and was told Vantage had to refund the money because they had the money (I guess Allianz paid Vantage? If so, why?). They said everything was in the hands of Vantage. I have contacted Vantage severval since via email and phone and they keep saying it is in queue but there are hundreds ahead of me and would give no date. Now that Vantage looks like it is on the verge of collapsing, what options do I have to get my money back?
I worked for this company prior to the pandemic, this is nothing new. It’s just become more prevalent, and exposed. The owner is a tyrant. The stories I have are terrible, the things we were made to do to customers. It’s awful, but I am glad to see that their antics are not going unnoticed as they did previously.
Okay, so I just found out about the bankruptcy. Earlier this year I had to cancel an Antarctica trip due to my mother breaking her hip two weeks before I was supposed to go in January of this year. I wondered why I just couldn’t postponed/reschedule the tour. Vantage rep said it was too close to the departure date so I had to file an Ins claim with Allianz. So I did. Since then I had purchased in full three more trips – not knowing Vantage was in trouble. Another Antarctica tour for Nov, Iceland and Egypt in 2024. I have no hope for going on the Antarctica tour – reading about the ship personal comments, I’m not sure I want to go anyway. I payed out big $$$$ for these tours. I’m pretty sure I won’t get any of it back. Thanks for the column Michelle. Good work…
I’m really sorry to hear that you’re in for three trips :(. I hope your mother is recovered from her broken hip.
My wife and I had a trip scheduled and paid ($10,000) on the River Splendor in April, and Vantage called April 1 — one week before the trip — to cancel it. They stated “problems with riverboat readiness” as others here noted. With some negotiation, we transferred the payments to a Norway trip in Sep 2023… plus an extra $800 charge for the higher Norway trip insurance.
Yesterday we received the notice from the bankruptcy court. Looks like I’ll be another one filing a claim, and checking on credit card remedies.