Cruise Withdrawal Posted July 7, 2022 #1 Share Posted July 7, 2022 We booked The Undiscovered Adriatic cruise in February, 2022, on OAT. We travel with them on this ship a few years ago from Athens. We had a great time and the best food. So we did it again. We got our documents about three weeks before the trip. It was a personalized book with a list of the 49 passengers on this 50 passenger ship. Our names were on it. A few days later we got a call saying that the ship was operbooked and they kicked us out. Offered a trip in July, but we already had Canada plans in July. They then offered us the same exact trip for next year for the exact same price and gave us a $6,000 credit that they would refund to us immediately if we chose this option. They were supposed to followup with this in writing. They did not. I called them and they said to check my new invoice. I pulled it up and it was not right. It had the $6,000 credit on the bottom but did not have the pre-day and business class airfare. The agent said that is why they gave us the $6,000 credit. That was NOT the deal. I then did not trust them and asked for a full refund. I do believe for a minute that the ship was overbooked. I think that a VIP at OAT decided that they would like our cabin. After complaining to the Better Business Bureau in Boston, I got my money back. There are a LOT of complaints about them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdee3636 Posted July 9, 2022 #2 Share Posted July 9, 2022 @Cruise Withdrawal This does not inspire confidence, but maybe it's not surprising. As I understand it, OAT is a sister company to Vantage, which has also had a lot of bad publicity for their shady business practices. Personally, I wouldn't touch either company with a ten-foot pole. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyIL Posted December 15, 2022 #3 Share Posted December 15, 2022 (edited) On 7/9/2022 at 9:51 AM, jimdee3636 said: @Cruise Withdrawal This does not inspire confidence, but maybe it's not surprising. As I understand it, OAT is a sister company to Vantage, which has also had a lot of bad publicity for their shady business practices. Personally, I wouldn't touch either company with a ten-foot pole. Jim OAT and Grand Circle are sister companies. OAT/Grand Circle and Vantage are run by brothers - but they are rival companies. (Allen Lewis, the president of OAT/Grand Circle, died in Nov. 2022.) I have taken 6 land tours with OAT and 1 with Grand Circle - and they were excellent. I also have 2 trips booked with them for 2023. However, I was booked on OAT's Turkey's Magical Hideaways for October 2019 - and they called me 6 months prior to say my tour was cancelled for lack of participants. I knew that wasn't true, as my tour date had been full. I speculated that someone wanted my single spot, but I couldn't prove it. I was issued an immediate refund without any problems, and I was able to book a Rick Steves' Best of Turkey tour for similar dates. The main reason I booked with OAT for 2022 was because they had really great prices after post-Covid travel resumed. I did have my August 2022 tour date to the Baltic Capitals cancelled 2 months out due to lack of participants (and I did believe them this time!), but they were able to put us on the same tour departing 1 day earlier. Edited December 15, 2022 by NancyIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyIL Posted December 23, 2022 #4 Share Posted December 23, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 9:22 AM, Rv6flyer said: We have done many land trips with OAT and several cruises with Grand Circle cruise lines . Never a compaint, sorry to hear' about Allen Lewis. Is his wife going to continue? Yes, Harriett Lewis and her 2 adult children are continuing to operate the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAYA Posted April 9, 2023 #5 Share Posted April 9, 2023 I am a past Grand Circle cruiser in 2007 and I had an excellent experience. They used the Celebrity Constellation for a Scandinavia and Russia trip. I am concerned to hear mixed things about OAT, since I am considering using them for my first ever solo trip. I hope the land trip, if I eventually book it, doesn't get cancelled or kick me off because someone wants my slot. Horrible business practice if they do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now