Beware Grand Circle/OAT!!!

[PCruzer]

I would like to preface this post by saying that my husband and I have been on Grand Circle river cruises and have enjoyed them very much. It has come to my attention, however, that both GCT and OAT have very poor business policies and even worse customer relations skills. The following is the story that tainted my view of GCT/OAT:

 

My sister was booked with GCT's offshoot company, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). She has done many trips with OAT without incident and has always enjoyed them. She was to travel to Nepal with OAT on May 14th. She had called the company to make sure there were enough people booked on her departure date in order for the tour to run. She was told by an OAT rep that there were more than enough people booked to run the trip. She paid for and received her visas, made her final payment to OAT, and proceeded to buy clothing, etc. for this trip. A couple weeks ago she received a call from OAT telling her that her trip was canceled due to "lack of interest." They did not offer her an alternate date in May. (OAT also canceled the Nepal trip departing on May 7th. Why they didn't combine the 2 departures into one in order to still run the trip, I don't know.) The next date they mentioned was September, and she was not able to go at that time. They told her she would get a full refund to her credit card for the trip cost and that they would refund (only) a portion of the visa costs. These are things that any good tour company should and would do when they cancel a trip, especially so close to departure date. There was no "Good Will" offer made to her. Not even some extra travel credits in her "bank" for a future trip. It was rather, "You're canceled, there's nothing else in May, and don't forget to recommend OAT to all your friends!" I would think that once OAT has received your final payment that they would be committed to running the trip. Not this company. Did you also know that Grand Circle and OAT will cancel your reservation due to their own overbooking? I have wondered how they decide who gets bumped. (Any questions you ask any of the phone reps or supervisors gets you a reply of, "I don't know. I don't have access to that information.") In my opinion, when they overbook and need to cancel someone's trip, the person(s) who paid the least amount for the trip gets the boot. That way GCT/OAT refunds the lesser amount of money. No matter that you may have been the first to book a departure!! GCT/OAT certainly does not seem to care whether they keep their loyal repeat customers or not. If they did, they would not treat them so poorly. They don't seem to understand why canceling a trip so close to departure would be upsetting to the traveler. After all, "We are giving you a full refund." Well, preparation for a trip involves a lot more than just paying your money to the tour company. There is a lot of research that is done, documents to be secured, things to buy, etc., not to mention the great anticipation you have while waiting for your departure date to arrive.

 

As I said previously, my husband and I have gone on GCT European river cruises and enjoyed them immensely. The trips they offer (if you actually get to go on them!), are great. It's too bad that their customer relations are not on the same level. Because of this, I will never book another GCT/OAT trip again. If it happened to my sister, I can happen to me, and it can happen to you, too!

[bphman]

What does this have to do with river cruising?

[lddam]

I can appreciate your sister's disappointment and can only imagine her frustration at the cancellation of her trip, but "bphman" raises a good point. What does this have to do with river cruising? Yes, GCT and OAT are loosely affiliated, and if, in your comments, you substituted "Great Rivers of Europe," for example, for the trip to Nepal, I can see your post to be appropriate for this forum. However, this is not the case and although your comments may have merit for OAT, it is not appropriate, IMO, to apply those same comments to GCT simply through an act of extension. It is not fair to GCT nor to readers who may otherwise have had interest in booking travel with GCT, but now may be reluctant to do so after reading your comments. I've not traveled with OAT, but I have researched and traveled with GCT, and its successful completion of itineraries and rate of customer satisfaction is on a par with any other river cruise company out there. To be sure, nothing is perfect and things go awry, but you paint GCT with a mighty broad brush.

[alexandra cruiser]

because I have been warning GCT travelers to check BBB website,,BEFORE booking,,because of bad ratings,,such as above complaint,,,and they DO OFFER river cruises,,so IS a connection....if you even google OAT,,etc..will get MANY such problems...gives CC ers...a heads up,,,book elsewhere....changed MY mind....thanks .....;)

[PCruzer]

I can appreciate your sister's disappointment and can only imagine her frustration at the cancellation of her trip, but "bphman" raises a good point. What does this have to do with river cruising? Yes, GCT and OAT are loosely affiliated, and if, in your comments, you substituted "Great Rivers of Europe," for example, for the trip to Nepal, I can see your post to be appropriate for this forum. However, this is not the case and although your comments may have merit for OAT, it is not appropriate, IMO, to apply those same comments to GCT simply through an act of extension. It is not fair to GCT nor to readers who may otherwise have had interest in booking travel with GCT, but now may be reluctant to do so after reading your comments. I've not traveled with OAT, but I have researched and traveled with GCT, and its successful completion of itineraries and rate of customer satisfaction is on a par with any other river cruise company out there. To be sure, nothing is perfect and things go awry, but you paint GCT with a mighty broad brush.

Grand Circle Travel is the parent company of OAT. Both companies operate under the same policies. Although my sister's trip was a land tour, OAT does offer river cruises, as does Grand Circle. I would caution people contemplating booking a reservation with either company to check out the BBB and the many online complaint websites. GCT and OAT both have numerous complaints about their policies and how they treat their customers. As I stated in my original post, it is unfortunate that they have such poor customer relations, as their trips are quite good. But, IMO, the mark of a good tour company is not only how great their trips are, but how they treat their customers when things do not go well. Both GCT and OAT get a failing grade in this area. I would never consider booking another trip with either company.

[euro cruiser]

I'm confused. I have no experience with the BBB web site so I could be missing something, but Grand Circle's rating on that site is A+ (see here: http://www.bbb.org/boston/business-reviews/travel-agencies-and-bureaus/grand-circle-corporation-in-boston-ma-3848/).

 

The BBB site gives these reasons for the rating:

 

Reason for Rating

BBB rating is based on 16 factors. Get the details about the factors considered.

Factors that raised the rating for Grand Circle Corporation include:

• Length of time business has been operating.
  
• Complaint volume filed with BBB for business of this size.
  
• Response to 72 complaint(s) filed against business.
  
• Resolution of complaint(s) filed against business.
  
• BBB has sufficient background information on this business.
  

 

Of course there are complaints, all businesses have them, but it appears that the company attempts to address them.

[lddam]

I'm confused. I have no experience with the BBB web site so I could be missing something, but Grand Circle's rating on that site is A+ (see here: http://www.bbb.org/boston/business-reviews/travel-agencies-and-bureaus/grand-circle-corporation-in-boston-ma-3848/).

 

Euro cruiser, thanks for providing the link to the BBB. Let's see now. 72 complaints over the past 3 years out of the thousands of travel experiences provided over that same time period. Hmmm....seems to me that that is an enviable satisfaction rate and one that bespeaks of an "A+" company in which would be travelers can book with confidence. Obviously, PCruzer and alexandra cruiser are representative of the BBB 72 complaints, and since personal experience determines one's perception, their opinions of GCT must be respected. However, when considered relative to the thousands of satisfied GCT customers, their admonishment to be wary of doing business with GCT seems to lack merit when applied to the bigger picture.

[CPT Trips]

It's worth going to the BBB site and looking at the details of the complaint resolution. Every business with thousands of customers is bound to have complaints. It's how they handle complaints that matters.

 

Basically 2/3 of the people were satisfied with the GCT resolution. That's a better proportion of satisfied complaintants than some of the mass market cruise lines.

 

A+ BBB grade is better than some of the mass market guys.

 

BBB evaluated GCT as either resolving the complaint or having made a good faith effort. Some of the mass market lines had complaints the the BBB evaluated as notbeing a good faith effort.

[tonyd285]

While my spouse and I have had some enjoyable cruises with Grand Circle and I have no reason to complain about any of their business practices I would like top comment on the BBB rating. The NY Times recently ran an expose on BBB. It turns out that BBB is a business, not a consumer advocate. Any company that becomes a member of BBB will never get a poor rating - ever. BBB tends to ignore complaints directed at its member firms while it will rate non-members, usually in negative terms. So be very wary of BBB.

[Waswo]

I appreciate the review. We are making inquiries about River Boat Cruises and just got a glossy OAT catalogue--almost certainly as a result of these inquiries, including one to GCT. So I, for one, appreciate the information, Pcruzer, and regret what has happened to your sister's plans.

 

I am also intrigued by what tonyd285 says about the BBB--a revelation to me and one that I am glad to know.

[Waswo]

I appreciate the review. We are making inquiries about River Boat Cruises and just got a glossy OAT catalogue--almost certainly as a result of these inquiries, including one to GCT. So I, for one, appreciate the information, Pcruzer, and regret what has happened to your sister's plans.

 

I am also intrigued by what tonyd285 says about the BBB--a revelation to me and one that I am glad to know.

[rundent]

I wanted to be the one to post what the NYT revealed in it's last 2 Sunday Business section columns. Turns out the BBB will except just about anything as a successful resolution to a problem relating to one of their clients. Go know?

[pacmom]

In the past, maybe 5-6 years ago, GCT/OAT was getting very bad press in Boston. Many people were dissatisfied with cancellations and lack of customer service. From the more recent posts, this problem seems to be gone. What is not gone is the chasm between the 2 brother owners of GCT and Vantage. This is a forum for info and also for venting. The OP may have felt that this was a good place to post because GCT/OAT both do river cruises as well as land tours. Please let us air our thoughts in tolerance. Pat

[Barrheadlass]

We did a two week tour with OAT in January. I'd heard some iffy stuff too and was a little concerned, but we'd gotten an excellent reference from a friend who we trust. Our boat had 49 people...and one couple had taken 27 trips with GCT/OAT!! There was a very large percentage of return customers, many of which had traveled with OAT or GCT many, many times. Anyway, our trip (their trip to Croatia, a cruise of the Adriatic) was absolutely wonderful, we had absolutely no complaints at all. Your mileage may vary.

[onespots]

I would like to preface this post by saying that my husband and I have been on Grand Circle river cruises and have enjoyed them very much. It has come to my attention, however, that both GCT and OAT have very poor business policies and even worse customer relations skills. The following is the story that tainted my view of GCT/OAT:

 

My sister was booked with GCT's offshoot company, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). She has done many trips with OAT without incident and has always enjoyed them. She was to travel to Nepal with OAT on May 14th. She had called the company to make sure there were enough people booked on her departure date in order for the tour to run. She was told by an OAT rep that there were more than enough people booked to run the trip. She paid for and received her visas, made her final payment to OAT, and proceeded to buy clothing, etc. for this trip. A couple weeks ago she received a call from OAT telling her that her trip was canceled due to "lack of interest." They did not offer her an alternate date in May. (OAT also canceled the Nepal trip departing on May 7th. Why they didn't combine the 2 departures into one in order to still run the trip, I don't know.) The next date they mentioned was September, and she was not able to go at that time. They told her she would get a full refund to her credit card for the trip cost and that they would refund (only) a portion of the visa costs. These are things that any good tour company should and would do when they cancel a trip, especially so close to departure date. There was no "Good Will" offer made to her. Not even some extra travel credits in her "bank" for a future trip. It was rather, "You're canceled, there's nothing else in May, and don't forget to recommend OAT to all your friends!" I would think that once OAT has received your final payment that they would be committed to running the trip. Not this company. Did you also know that Grand Circle and OAT will cancel your reservation due to their own overbooking? I have wondered how they decide who gets bumped. (Any questions you ask any of the phone reps or supervisors gets you a reply of, "I don't know. I don't have access to that information.") In my opinion, when they overbook and need to cancel someone's trip, the person(s) who paid the least amount for the trip gets the boot. That way GCT/OAT refunds the lesser amount of money. No matter that you may have been the first to book a departure!! GCT/OAT certainly does not seem to care whether they keep their loyal repeat customers or not. If they did, they would not treat them so poorly. They don't seem to understand why canceling a trip so close to departure would be upsetting to the traveler. After all, "We are giving you a full refund." Well, preparation for a trip involves a lot more than just paying your money to the tour company. There is a lot of research that is done, documents to be secured, things to buy, etc., not to mention the great anticipation you have while waiting for your departure date to arrive.

 

As I said previously, my husband and I have gone on GCT European river cruises and enjoyed them immensely. The trips they offer (if you actually get to go on them!), are great. It's too bad that their customer relations are not on the same level. Because of this, I will never book another GCT/OAT trip again. If it happened to my sister, I can happen to me, and it can happen to you, too!

 

Hi, PCruzer

 

I am sad to hear about your sister's experience GCT/OAT. Our dealings with their staff & airline support has been excellent. My opinion & we all have one, is that this travel group appeals to certain group of travellers. That being said, I think they offer a great program for the buck. Based on price alone it is difficult for others to compete with them & all that is included in their tours. Therfore I have adjusted my expections, but I have not been disappointed.

 

We returned from a GCT trip in October of 2010 St. Petersburg to Moscow, with a pre-excursion trip to Helsinki & Tallinn. Although there were some problems, the tour director & local guides adjusted quickly & made it much nicer for the customers. We enjoyed our trip very much thanks to the extra effort provided by this overseas staff.

 

The Boston Headquarters for you is a different story. I agree GCT/OAT handled your case poorly. Your sister is certainly entitled to more compensation. I would be more than upset over a last minute cancellation by any company & likely it would influence my decisions to use them in the future as well. John

[Redtravel]

When things go right and there aren't problems, everybody loves their cruise. The true test of a good cruise director and cruise line is how they handle problems when they happen. They will happen...and whn they do, I hope the cruise line that you're on is professional.