Complain about a product or service

Grand Circle Travel

347 Congress Street, Boston, MA

Sharon of Portland OR (06/04/08)
GCT accepted my payment and assigned us a cabin for a France cruise. Four days before departure they left a message that due to overbooking, we could not go. No amount of complaining helped. Then by chance someone on another cruise departing 3 weeks later, cancelled, and they gave us that cabin. They also gave us a monetary compensation. Their treatment of us was cold.

Due to our bitter tirades, we eventually got a supervisor instead of their usual cold peons, and she did help us with the new trip. The Boston office of GCT is indifferent to the needs of their customers and cares mainly about profit. Our new air flights were inconveniently timed because they don't care to find flights that are compatible to us if it costs them a little more money. The entire excuse about informing us of overbooking 4 days prior to departure smells more than fishy. They never hinted at any such possibility but claimed that we were informed. They also changed the hotel from an upper level hotel to a Holiday Inn.

Due to the delay in travel, I had to cancel 6 classes, a play, 2 medical appointments, and miss the memorial sevice of a dear friend. My plans for all of June were ruined. The new flights were for difficult departure and arrival times with a ridiculously long layover in NY.

Eleanor of Henderson, NV May 7, 2008

Eleanor of Henderson NV (05/07/08)
On March 28, 2008 I returned from a river cruise with Grand Circle Travel. My purpose for this trip was to visit 2 cities in Germany where my parents were born. I had the phone number of the contact person in Germany who was to show me around after taking a train to the village. When I asked the front desk for the phone city code to reach that individual I was given the wrong city code so was not able to make contact with her and never was able to visit the 2 places that were important to me and the reason for the trip. The front desk on the ship gave me an INCORRECT city code and my contact person emailed me but the front desk didn't give me the emails until 2 days after they arrived so I was not able to meet with her.

There were 160 people on this trip, and each time we left the ship we received a boarding pass to be turned in on the return to the ship. I was told by the front desk that they couldn't find me. This was certainly an unacceptable explanation as the emails could have been slipped under my door immediately upon receipt but they dropped the ball and didn't do this. I wrote a letter to Alan Lewis, the President of Grand Circle Travel and also sent an email to the company. When I didn't receive any reply I sent another letter to him certified and included all the backup information from the first letter.

I felt that since it was through the inefficiency of their staff that Grand Circle should provide me airfare to Germany and 4-5 days hotel so that I could accomplish what I originally took the trip for. They give travelers so many opportunities for lengthy surveys on satisfaction yet when there is an issue they do nothing about it. They continually send me more and more propoganda about future trips, and I have told them that under the circumstances I can neither book another trip through them or encourage others to travel with their company.

Unfortunately, I did not check the Web before I made the reservations because I found more than 142,000 complaints against the company and also learned that the Better Business Bureau refused their membership in 2006. I don't understand why they have travelers fill out surveys relating to the satisfaction of their trip if they do nothing about it and don't even reply when an issue is sent directly to the president of the company.

At this point (5/7/08) nothing has happened. The president didn't even bother to respond to my 2 letters (the last one was a certified letter that I know he received).

Michael of Montgomery, TX April 4, 2008

Michael of Montgomery TX (04/04/08)
In Dec., 2007 I booked a 23-day African Safari with OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) and paid in full. I had trouble booking the trip because their trips were full and I had to take the dates I got because that was the only availability. OAT sent me a confirmation, airline flight schedule, and Visa applications. They even allowed me to book an optional tour on Apr.1, 2008. On Apr. 3, 2008 they contacted me to tell me my trip had been canceled due to low interest, and they could not offer me alternate dates! I was promised a full refund (which I have not yet received) but they have been holding my 10,000 for all this time. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND AGAINST USING OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL or their parent GRAND CIRCLE TRAVEL!

I lost the interest that I could have realized on 10,000 for 4 months plus I now can not re-book a safari for these same dates as it is too late. I have spent money buying clothes and a SLR camera for the trip that they have denied me, even though everything was confirmed to me.

Lisa of Lutz, FL December 15, 2007

Lisa of Lutz FL (12/15/07)
This was my first and last trip with Grand Circle. My grandmother and I went on an 18 day tour through Italy. Our last night was in Venice at the Hotel Continental and I was awakened at 1:30 a.m. from constant scratching and itching to find both of our beds infested with bed bugs. Due to the extremely early flight that GC assigned to us we had a 3:45 a.m. wake-up call which we did not need because we never went back to sleep. The flight back home went through two other cities and then gave us an hour and a half in Atlanta to go through customs, grab some food, and make it to the next gate. I contacted GC as soon as I returned home concerning the bed bugs and all they told me to do was send an e-mail. I received a confirmation that they received my e-mail and that I would get a response back in 2-3 weeks. GIVE ME A BREAK! This is unacceptable! Grand Circle's optional tours all seemed to be based on bringing you to places where you are supposed to buy things. A lot of the tours we could have done on our own and saved about 80 a piece, especially at the Vatican.

David of Putney, VT October 4, 2007

David of Putney VT (10/04/07)
we have traveled with Grand Circle four times and prior to this latest trip...the Rhone River, Nice and Paris, we have always been more than satisfied. This last trip began in Nice where our hotel room was the only one without air conditioning and my wife had to threaten to not board the bus until we had received some satisfaction, we were finally given a voucher for Comfort Inns in Europe. The boat trip on the Rhone was wonderful, but at the Meridien hotel in Paris, I was attacked by bedbugs. the hotel did give us STarwood points but when I contacted Grand Circle I was told that they would give us 150 off our next trip.

I hardly consider that fair compensation for our discomfort. AS a result I wrote their consumer affairs section and was brushed off summarily. One can be certain that we will never use this company again despite the fact that we have been told that as INner Circle members we would be accorded special treatment.

Norene of Glencoe, IL March 20, 2007

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