GCT has cancelled all their March/April River cruises

[rogerdawhip]

GCT and OAT have cancelled all their trips, water and land, for March and April will full refunds. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by rogerdawhip

[WonderMan3]

They've been hit hard by this. Have let go over 60 employees in their Boston office this week plus numerous employees in their offices around the world.

[wilbar46]

Under these dire circumstances, what are the odds GCT will remain solvent?

[ATG]

This is a major concern of mine.  We booked our first GC river cruise for next September.  To get the early payment discount we have paid the entire trip, including airfare through GC.  I did not get any insurance since we are young (relatively) and don’t have family obligations.  I took a calculated risk that we would not need to cancel after the 3 months before date.  We have separate medical insurance.  Now I need to decide if they will be viable if we need to cancel in early June.  I really want to take the cruise.  
I can’t find any information regarding their financial status.

[CPT Trips]

If you aren’t familiar with what to do, and want a quick idea of the process and cost of cancellation, visit https://www.gct.com/faq-home/cancellations

 

GCT is privately held, so it may be difficult to get financials. I don’t have any insight into their financial health. I take WonderMan’s comments with a grain of salt as he provided no way to verify his statement.

[WonderMan3]

On 3/18/2020 at 7:32 PM, CPT Trips said:

If you aren’t familiar with what to do, and want a quick idea of the process and cost of cancellation, visit https://www.gct.com/faq-home/cancellations

 

GCT is privately held, so it may be difficult to get financials. I don’t have any insight into their financial health. I take WonderMan’s comments with a grain of salt as he provided no way to verify his statement.

 

I used to work there for many years and have both family and friends who still work there and have been telling me what's going on there. But feel free to think what you'd like.

Edited March 20, 2020 by WonderMan3

[CPT Trips]

Thank you for your added information. That adds a bit to the credibility of the report. 

[WonderMan3]

13 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Thank you for your added information. That adds a bit to the credibility of the report. 

 

I am saying nothing about their solvency though. I cannot speak to financial information of that sort and would not presume to make projections like that. This will be a tough go for any company in the travel industry.

[CPT Trips]

Well, a lot of us still want to travel whether on the water or land tours like GCT/OAT operates.

[rogerdawhip]

Grand Circle has changed their policy regarding refunds.  Travelers are getting emails saying cancelled trips are being rescheduled with no refunds. 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, rogerdawhip said:

Grand Circle has changed their policy regarding refunds.  Travelers are getting emails saying cancelled trips are being rescheduled with no refunds. 

Everyone is trying to conserve cash.

[SunnySail17]

Sadly, Grand Circle has not only changed its policy to No Refunds, it is reneging on the refunds it had previously promised; those were to given at the beginning of May. For us, rescheduling is not an option. I guess calling our lawyer is all we can do.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, SunnySail17 said:

Sadly, Grand Circle has not only changed its policy to No Refunds, it is reneging on the refunds it had previously promised; those were to given at the beginning of May. For us, rescheduling is not an option. I guess calling our lawyer is all we can do.

 

Well, that will pump some money into the economy [the lawyer's pockets, anyway].  But with the entire travel industry doing this, it is extremely unlikely that anyone is going to get relief through the legal system.

[FuelScience]

I guess that this affects me. I cancelled my April cruise on February 21 due to side effects of the chemotherapy I'm receiving. I received an email the same day saying that the allowed refund would be credited to my card within 7-10 days. It's almost 2 months later, and no credit has been issued. I have travel insurance, and may need to refile to receive the entire amount from the insurance rather than Grand Circle.

 

Calls to Grand Circle seem to result in being put on hold for what seems like an eternity. Anyone having better luck with the phone? 

 

FuelScience

[FuelScience]

My bad. I rechecked and GCT did in fact issue me a refund. I was looking at the wrong credit card.

 

[WonderMan3]

Story from local Boston news station about travelers who had to seek help from the station to get their money back from Grand Circle after their River cruise was cancelled.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcboston.com/investigations/consumer/nbc-boston-responds/nbc10-boston-responds-recovers-thousands-for-viewers-european-river-cruise-cancellation/2131215/%3famp

[ATG]

I cancelled our September river cruise on March 31.  Was sent an email stating I would receive a refund in the manner in which I paid.

 

Called May 1 to see when I would receive refund.  Told to expect 90 days.

 

Called today.  Seems they changed the policy and no cash refunds, just future travel credits.  I really don’t want that and asked for my money back (less cancellation fee).  Agent on phone told me that she would ask for an exception.  She promised to let me know by next Monday.

 

Can they legally change what I considered a contract (to their advantage) like that?  Grand Circle was highly recommended to us.  I am very disappointed in their behavior.

 

If we cannot get our money back I’m not sure what we will do.  I have NEVER contacted a lawyer, but this may be the first.

[Daisi]

1 hour ago, ATG said:

I cancelled our September river cruise on March 31.  Was sent an email stating I would receive a refund in the manner in which I paid.

 

Called May 1 to see when I would receive refund.  Told to expect 90 days.

 

Called today.  Seems they changed the policy and no cash refunds, just future travel credits.  I really don’t want that and asked for my money back (less cancellation fee).  Agent on phone told me that she would ask for an exception.  She promised to let me know by next Monday.

 

Can they legally change what I considered a contract (to their advantage) like that?  Grand Circle was highly recommended to us.  I am very disappointed in their behavior.

 

If we cannot get our money back I’m not sure what we will do.  I have NEVER contacted a lawyer, but this may be the first.

 

Some people are having luck getting chargebacks on their credit card.  If you don't have a TA to go to bat for you, you could try that way first.

 

Good luck.

[ATG]

I finally got a refund.  I had to contact the Boston BBB (the company is in Boston).  They contacted Grand Circle and soon after I received my refund.  The BBB seems to be a good option for issues like this.  The whole situation has taught me one thing- never pay earlier than necessary.