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Fiascos and Fixes
Consumer Rescue’s tagline is Fiascos and Fixes, and that’s because we receive tons of requests for help solving mishaps that travelers have encountered during a vacation. These tales are the most dramatic of the bunch and contain tips and guidance so that you can avoid a similar vacation fiasco.
Searching for the best hotel for your vacation can be challenging, with so many different properties and booking options. Choosing the wrong hotel or booking site can take your trip from one of excitement to a real disappointment. And if it’s a nonrefundable room, you’ll have to pay for that disappointment.
Let’s keep that from happening.
In the past month, pleas for help from distressed customers, vendors and even employees of Vantage Deluxe World Travel have flooded my inbox at an alarming rate. That’s the Boston-based company that announced bad guys had hit it with ransomware at the end of April. At that time, the tour operator’s website went offline, as did its call center – for an entire week.
Since then, it’s been all downhill for the customers of the once well-respected and beloved operator of luxury tours. Today Vantage Travel appears to be in a state of suspended animation. It has officially canceled all its cruises and land tours through June 10.
Although Vantage Travel has not publicly announced that it will continue to cancel more cruises, it is inevitable. In fact, a Vantage Travel employee sent me an internal memo yesterday that announces that it will cancel all tours through Aug. 28.
The once-lively vessels of Vantage Travel are turning into immobile ghost ships without passengers or crews.
Vacationing in the Maldives was a dream come true for Marilyn and Terry Thomas. That is until they got hit with a $2,452 roaming charge nightmare from Spectrum, their cell phone service provider.
The couple says they were soundly asleep as Terry’s phone racked up this shocking roaming charge after the hotel’s internet went down.
Now, as the due date for this giant bill is rapidly approaching, they’re asking Consumer Rescue for help. The couple finds it hard to believe an idle phone could accrue $2,452 in roaming charges over several hours.
But Spectrum says that phone did incur those roaming charges, and it expects the Thomases to pay the bill.
Can we rescue these consumers from their roaming charge nightmare? Let’s find out.
Did Norwegian Cruise Line really cancel a couple’s Alaskan cruise after first confirming a cabin upgrade to celebrate their anniversary? The answer to that question is “Yes.” Here’s their terrible tale.
The pair was all set for the trip of a lifetime to celebrate this milestone anniversary.
But Norwegian Cruise Line soon had a truly awful surprise of its own for Al’s wife – and for him too.
Not only would the couple not be cruising to Alaska in an upgraded cabin, they wouldn’t be on the ship at all. According to Norwegian Cruise Line, it had canceled the Parents’ $3,737 fully-paid anniversary trip due to “nonpayment.”
Now the distraught and confused couple is asking Consumer Rescue for help. They’re rejecting the outrageous $319 refund that Norwegian Cruise Line says is all it owes the Parents. The pair hope our advocacy team can convince NCL that it made a mistake when it canceled their cruise for nonpayment.
And if we can do that, they expect NCL to reinstate their Alaskan cruise and upgraded cabin (and don’t forget that cake!).
Can we do it? Let’s find out.
It goes without saying that travelers should not get in the TSA PreCheck line unless they’ve been approved for the program. Or does it?
When Marriott takes over The Stamford Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, employees discover and throw away some seemingly abandoned luggage. (Surprise! It wasn’t.)
Two weeks later, the owner of those bags turns up at the Marriott looking for her now discarded belongings. Emily G. says the previous management assured her she could safely store her luggage at the hotel while traveling – and never mentioned that the property was about to switch hands.
Now Emily is asking Consumer Rescue for assistance. She values the contents of the suitcases Marriott tossed in the garbage at $5,000 and hopes we can get it.
But does Marriott owe her anything for the bags it trashed, and what should you do if you need to store your luggage abroad? That’s what we’re exploring today.
If you suffer a sudden medical emergency during a cruise, could the ship leave you behind in a foreign country? Much to his dismay, NCL passenger Andrew Goldstein found out that the answer is ‘yes.’
When an Airbnb host directs Andrea Walker to use the service elevator in the building where she is renting an apartment, she’s slightly suspicious. However, when she opens the door to the unit, she knows she definitely won’t be staying. The Airbnb host apologizes for the state of the filthy vacation rental and quickly agrees to a refund.
So why does the host later tell Airbnb that Walker spent the whole weekend at the property?
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 customers began sharing disturbing stories.
By all accounts, Sabrina Cousins’ trip to Puerto Vallarta was amazing. She had such a wonderful time that she ended her stay by purchasing an expensive Palladium Travel Club membership. But back home, Cousins quickly came down with a terrible case of post-vacation regret. And she wants us to help pull her out of the travel club mess into which she and her husband find themselves.
But is that possible?
Cousins is just one of a long string of consumers who contact our advocacy team in a panic after returning from vacation with an unplanned timeshare or travel club contract in hand. She discovered, just like the others before her, that these agreements are easy to sign, but breaking them isn’t.
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© 2024 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman
