Dear Travel Troubleshooter: I actually have a trouble with Viator, a website that sells tours. I booked four of its tours in Naples, Italy, this year. Unfortunately, I needed to cancel the excursions due to the fact I evolved bronchitis and a center ear contamination in each ear. My medical doctor said I couldn’t journey.

I emailed Viator to cancel my journeys. Three of the 4 excursions offered an instantaneous refund. However, my excursion of the Sea Grottoes of the Amalfi Coast, for which I paid $775, did now not respond.

After several efforts to touch the excursion operator, it declined to refund the excursion, pronouncing that it was six calendar days before my ride and consequently will offer handiest a 50 percent refund. I’ve studied the phrases, and I accept as true with I am entitled to a complete refund. Can you assist me

Answer: If you cancel 24 hours before your tour — which you did — you have to get your cash back. If you log into your Viator account and click on on “Manage Bookings,” you’ll see the phrases and conditions. They kingdom which you’ll receive “a one hundred percent refund for cancellations made as a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the begin date of the enjoy.”

But there’s extra. If you overview Viator’s phrases and situations, you’ll additionally see that the 24-hour rule is a “wellknown” policy, but that in the long run, your excursion operator’s coverage prevails (www.Viator.Com/phrases-and-situations#bills). Viator didn’t operate this excursion, but it has a few control over how you’re charged (and, if essential, refunded).

“Cancellation regulations range from the standard and also you need to test the provider’s cancellation policy contained within the applicable product list at the time of your reserving, that’s the policy with a purpose to practice to and govern the phrases of your cancellation and any refunds,” it notes.

In other words, Viator’s coverage applies — besides whilst it doesn’t.

A observe the Sea Grottoes of the Amalfi Coast excursion suggests a five-day window for cancellations. Somehow, your tour operator had misinterpreted its personal coverage. That’s not as uncommon as you would possibly think. It’s fairly not unusual for airline personnel to misread their very own fabulously complex fare guidelines. Repeated appeals to the tour operator won’t assist you — except, as Viator’s terms and situations are aware, Viator nonetheless has your money.

You can discover Viator’s executive contacts on my client-advocacy website online: Viator is owned through TripAdvisor, so www.Elliott.Org/organisation-contacts/tripadvisor. A quick, well-mannered email to considered one of them would possibly have helped.

I contacted Viator to your behalf. It reviewed your contract and decided that you were, certainly, within the window to cancel.

We’re addressing this error to make certain it doesn’t manifest once more,” a TripAdvisor spokeswoman told me. “The giant majority of our merchandise is moving to a 24-hour popular cancellation policy if you want to give tourists the flexibility to cancel up to a day earlier than the begin of their tour for a complete refund. This new coverage will supply travelers more flexibility which will ebook with self-assurance.”

I turned into extraordinarily nervous previous to taking a 14-day land excursion/cruise to Alaska because I am restricted to a wheelchair. Though I can stand, I do now not walk at all. When visiting in a wheelchair, there’s usually a glitch with something that is meant to be ADA compliant and is not.

Our ride commenced in Anchorage, after which took us to Copper Center, Fairbanks, Denali National Park, Mt. McKinley and Talkeetna. After the land excursion, we boarded the cruise ship in Whittier and traveled southbound thru the Inland Passage to Vancouver, with port docking in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.

Overall, the trip was extremely good from an accessibility perspective, although there had been some hiccups that we encountered alongside the way. I brought them to the cruise line’s interest and will share them with you.

The following is a summary of hints and guidelines I am making from my personal enjoyment in case you are considering a trip:

Never expect that when someone tells you a room, delivery, transfer, and many others. Meets ADA standards that it is. There is a wide variance in interpretation and assumptions whilst one says it’s miles “ADA compliant.” You must make a listing of unique questions that require specific answers from a tour agent who truly is informed about your unique, required inns.

When I started out making plans my ride, I worked with the cruise line directly. I spoke with retailers who definitely cruised at the delivery we had been taking, who may want to supply me info approximately wheelchair-friendliness on the delivery and help me pick a room. I additionally spoke with their access department approximately accessibility resorts concerning on-land lodge rooms, and matters such as trip/motor coach/railroad lifts. These folks have been extraordinarily helpful. I failed to want to work thru an independent journey business enterprise as I have learned from experience that particular things don’t constantly get replied well, or get “misplaced in translation” whilst dealing via a third-party.

I booked my journey almost a 12 months earlier, in order that I could get exactly what I wanted. For example, I desired a room on a deck that contained a buffet, a grill, and out of doors swimming pools/seating/movies to get rid of elevator usage. It additionally saved us $1400 by using getting an interior room–the out of doors open deck became just outside our door so we did not need a room balcony.

Originally posted 2018-10-12 08:57:18.