who has had problems with gct??who loves them??

[nbevins]

I feel horrible for the individual below who posted about being stranded by GCT.We also have had problem with airfare on the 1 GCT trip..That being said it still was a wonderful trip.

Pls post if you have not had problem or if you have and howmany times//extent of problems.

 

I swore 5 plus years ago after our 1 trip--Never again GCT--but i am considering them again.

 

We have done 40 plus cruises and swore i would never return to HAL(which we did--and it was wonderful) NCL Costa..I think sometimes its just 1 particular cruise that is bad/has problems--and we think that it is always that way

[JerseyGem]

Interesting post- I'm sure we'll see a wide range of comments on this thread!

 

DH & I have only taken one river cruise- Great Rivers of Europe with GCT. We had a wonderful time and are seriously considering GCT again (being retired, price is our biggest concern). Our air travel was not pleasant- but that wasn't GCT's fault (or maybe it was- they were the ones who booked us on Air France through CDG! LOL). However, I don't think any of our "problems" can be blamed on GCT; additionally, their on-site airport rep was very helpful when we realized that we were missing a suitcase.

 

I agree with your comments that one cruise (or company) can just have problems (I guess similar to the highly rated new car that turns out to be a lemon). We are currently having major problems with an online TA (Vacations to Go) concerning a trip we have had to cancel. Just as some people say they will never use GCT again, DH & I will never use VTG again!

 

Re the poster on the earlier thread- I note that that post was his first and only post. I hope this means that he has made it to his ship and is having a great cruise.

[paul929207]

We have been on one trip with GCT - Egypt & the Ancient Nile with a pre trip to Israel and a post trip to Jordan. It was wonderful.

 

We have also been on two trip with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT - a subsidiary of GCT). First was to Peru & the Amazon, last April. The second was Ultimate Africa in July. We loved them both.

 

While in Lima, I caught some intestinal virus or whatever. I will spare you the details. Unfortunately, I got sick at 6pm and we were flying to Iquitos for a 6 day cruise on the upper Amazon at 5:30am the next day. When we got to Iquitos, our group had an all morning tour before heading to the boat. Our program director got a cab and took me directly to the boat. I don't know if I would have survived 4 hours or so on a bus.

[bayridge348]

I recently noticed a reduction in price on one of their trips that I booked and they immediately refunded me the difference. I have spoken with them a number of times concerning my pending trip and they have been exceedingly responsive.

[rogerdawhip]

As indicated on previouse posts I have traveled with GCT 9 times(six river cruises) and am traveling with them again in February. I have had problems (mostly airline related) on a few trips and GCT always helped when they could. On my last river cruise with them, Birtish Air misplaced my luggage for a week. GCT kept in constant contact with British Air and gave me free laundry service for the 7 days.

 

I travel with GCT primarily because of their single supplement policies. They seem to be consistantly cheaper than all other companies.

 

In the past 5-6 years I have read many negative comments concerning GCT on many boards. When things go right, no one says much but let osmething go wrong and all #@$% breaks loose. Many of GCT's problems have been corrected but thier customer service is still lacking.

[CPT Trips]

JerseyGem's other half here.

Just as an FYI for GCT travellers who experience problems of "stranding" All the Program Directors have cell phones and there is also a "ship's" phone number.

Just a suggestion to have at least the ship's number on hand when in transit.

Hoping all went well for the OP on the other thread.

[librarian]

I have only traveled 8 trips with them and have been very happy. Without a representative meeting us in a Miami airport one time we would never have gotten boarding passes to take us to Lima. I have bought insurance both through Grand Circle and through other companies. I have only had to use the insurance twice.

I find them to be good and they almost bend over backwards sometimes. I liked another company owned by the brother- Vantage travel. We traveled on that one twice also. Some tour directors are better than others but that goes with any company.

I think Grand Circle is a right mix for a certain clientele. A friend and myself are doing Grand European cruise in May with an extension. We had met on the 25 day South American trip. My husband does not want to do this long of a trip so by going with her I get to go. Looking forward to it. So far nothing has gone wrong in the planning. Did purchase the companies insurance rather than any others.

I do feel that sometimes Grand Circle has an older clientele- some of who are not capable of really traveling on their own. A couple of times the group was held up by these people. Some on the tour lost patience with them. Now that I know that if I wanted a very active tour I would chose another company or do it on my own. However, we have run into the same problem with other trips when some people take them and they really not not capable of handling the travel. It is just an unfortunate situation.

We have almost run out of places to go with them so will be looking to traveling in the future more on our own.

[Carhut]

I've gone on 4 GCT river boat trips and have #5 scheduled for Aug. to Russia. The only problems we ever encountered was with the airlines being late and missing connections. Happened twice. Once our luggage was "lost" for a while, but was delivered later that evening. Can't blame GCT for these problems. In fact their reps went out of their way trying to help.

On our last trip, one lady arrived in Nice, France without her luggage. The day we left Nice our PD ( program director) had the bus driver take us out of our way to stop at the airport and she went in with the lady. Even though the airport had reported that they couldn't find the lady's luggage, the PD and lady came out with it. Everyone on the bus clapped and cheered. They found it on their own. Now that PD went out of her way, and she made a happy customer.

We've had numerous good experiences with our program directors and other ship's personel. They are what make the trip for us.

I've not encountered any problems with the people in Boston. However, being a "Grand Circle" member, I'm supposedly assigned a "personal travel counseler". Before my last trip I had 4 different ones. I finally asked #4 why they kept changing my "personal travel advisor" and she told me that they have a big turnover in personel. Don't know what that tells me, but do know that maybe sometimes you are talking to someone that is new and just doesn't know what they are talking about. Just my humble opinion.

[JordanF]

I traveled with GCT to Egypt last December with my wife and two sons (ages 15 & 18). We had a great time, and GCT did an excellent job--all at a very fair price. My trip review is posted (way) below in this board.

[lobsterlover]

I also would like to add a good word for GCT after 4 trips with them. The only problem I have had has been with United Airlines, not GCT. We left BWI 4 hrs. late for Prague last year, and of course when we arrived in Frankfurt we had missed our connection to Prague. United was no help to us in Frankfurt, and in fact gave us misinformation. After getting straightened out and finally arriving about 6 hours late in Prague there was a GCT rep. there to meet us and take us to our hotel. We have done Great Rivers of Europe, Eastern Europe to the Black Sea, and China and the Yangtze River, and all have been well organized, fabulous trips which we will remember for years. And yes, most are retired, older people with GCT, but never have we been held back by anyone. One trip a woman walked with 2 canes, and she and her husband would take a cab and meet us at various locations. She was in pain, but always had a smile, and we applauded her for her efforts. I'm sure GCT and every other travel company would be thrilled to have everything go perfect 100% of the time, but that is not realistic. I do hope all turned out well for the poster of the other thread.

 

L.L.

[AZPam]

I've only done one trip with GCT but have another scheduled for next year. Are they perfect? No, but neither am I! Sounds to me that most of the problems people have encountered are more due to the airlines. Big surprise there! Maybe we all need to be a little more proactive and watch the flights they schedule us on and if we feel there won't be enough time to make connections, speak up and get them changed. And as always, everyone really does need to invest in the travel insurance for that little extra protection.

[Carhut]

I sent the complaint thread to GCT and received the following reply from my personal travel counseler:

 

Well thank you for defending us we appreciate it.

As you know we send out surveys to every person that takes one of our trips and we are currently at a 87% overall excellence rating for 2007.

And this is a number that has been increasing year by year...we know that we are not perfect and that is why we spend so much time reviewing these surveys to see what we can do better.

But we are very satisfied that such a large amount of our clients are so happy with us.

There are hundreds of travel websites out there and we would love to be able to respond to every one of them but all we can do is worry about what we can control and that is why these surveys are so important.

Thanks again for your loyalty.

[happy taveler]

Last year I was supposed to fly from Philadelphia to Washington DC then on to Brussels and be taken to the ship in Antwerp for the Romance of the Rhine & Mosel River Cruise with GCT. I had not been feeling well as I was having some stomach problems but after visiting with my doctor decided to go anyway as things would clear up once I was under way. I arrived at the Airport in Philadelphia in at 12:15 to catch a 2:35 flight to Washington DC but after waiting around for an hour. United Airlines cancelled the flight from Philadelphia to Washington DC. We were then told they would take us to Washington by bus and to get out luggage and go down stairs to wait. After another hour we were told to check out luggage again and they would get another plane to fly us to Washington. I called GCT 2 times saying I would not make my connection but they could not help and told me to try to get on another flight if possible but being 4th of July weekend everything was booked up. I arrived at my departing gate in Washington 10 minutes before takeoff but United had given my seat away and said that I was a no show. There were 3 people there from GCT who took me under their wing and one of them stood in line for me for over an hour at the United Desk to get me booked on a flight to Heathrow Airport in London then a flight to Brussels. They were able to get me compensation for being an involuntary bump and I was on my way.

I arrived in Brussels with out my luggage but there was someone there to take me to the ship in Antwerp. This was the first time I ever had to use the change of clothes I always put in my carry on luggage. The next day just as the ship was to leave Antwerp my luggage arrived and a GCT Program Director ran across a big square to get it for me. To shorten the story my stomach problems did not go away and the last day of the trip in Basel They took me to the hospital in an ambulance to get checked out. My Program Director instanced on going with me and stayed with me the whole time while I saw the doctor. She also went to a pharmacy to get the prescriptions that I was given. When we arrived in Lucerne for the post trip my room was not ready so she told the hotel staff to give me her room and she would take mine when it was ready so I could go up and rest. Needless to say I remembered her with a good tip for going out of her way to look after me. In all my years of travel this is the first time so many things have went wrong and none of it was the fault of GCT. I felt everyone on the ship looked after me and went out of their way to comfort me. The trip had a happy ending as I was bumped up to Business Class on the flight home when a Lufthanas gate agent found out I was traveling my myself. I would travel with GCT again.

[jowahe]

I have been on 5 Grand Circle European river cruises and loved them all. The Program Directors (usually 3 per ship) were exceptional -- kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and always available for questions and assistance. The ship layouts were well designed, clean and comfortable. The food was delicious, and plentiful with good variety. Service throughout the ship (cabin, restaurant, front desk, lounge) was always first-rate.

 

On two trips, I selected a balcony cabin since the itinerary passed thru such gorgeous scenery and I wanted to be able to sit on my balcony and enjoy it. On the other trips, I had a standard cabin (which was slightly roomier since the balcony's space was now inside) with a large picture window. There was always outdoor seating available on the top deck to view the passing scenery and watch the interesting routine of going thru the numerous locks. The lounge also had comfortable indoor seating with large windows on three sides if the weather wasn't favorable to sit outdoors.

 

As pleased as I was with those 5 trips, I won't be taking any more with Grand Circle since they raised the price for singles by a whopping 15% for trips in 2008. Why, I don't know. Am I suddenly going to eat 15% more food next year? Is the plane ticket for me going to cost 15% more than for those traveling as couples? I don't think so. I've inquired several times but have not had the courtesy of a reply from GCT. My conclusion is they just want to discourage single passengers from traveling with them. Well, in my case they have succeeded since I won't be going on more of their trips until they return to the reasonable single supplement they used for the past several years.

[Dale]

As pleased as I was with those 5 trips, I won't be taking any more with Grand Circle since they raised the price for singles by a whopping 15% for trips in 2008. Why, I don't know.

My guess would be, strong Euro, weak Dollar.

[jowahe]

Weak dollar should affect all pricing, not just singles. Seems discriminatory to me.

[TIMAS]

We had a very bad experience with GCT last August. We booked a River boat cruise in France. Paris to Nice. The literature stated the boat, The Chardonnay went into service in 2002. Upon boarding the ship, the literature given us said the boat was built in 1956. They did a beautiful job decorating this old tub. The air conditioning unit in our cabin was infected with mold and mildew. We could not use it. The hotel manager got us to fans, but that did not provide much relief in France during August.

The two previous passengers of this cabin registered complaints and they knowingly assigned us to this cabin that was detrimental to our health. There were no other vacant cabins. I spent the nights in the public lounge, my wife stayed in the cabin with the balcony window open and all the river bugs and mesquitos.

When we complained to GCT in Boston upon arriving home, they just appologized and did not offer any satisfactory compensation.

We have been on 34 cruises. Things happen, but this was known by GCT that this 50 year old boat had problems.

[lobsterlover]

Please list the cabin number you were assigned. Did anyone else also have this problem? I was thinking of this cruise for this year, and now I'm hesitant. My previous experiences with GCT were all great, but there is always a first time. Thanks,

 

L.L.

[smeyer418]

We had a very bad experience with GCT last August. We booked a River boat cruise in France. Paris to Nice. The literature stated the boat, The Chardonnay went into service in 2002. Upon boarding the ship, the literature given us said the boat was built in 1956. They did a beautiful job decorating this old tub. The air conditioning unit in our cabin was infected with mold and mildew. We could not use it. The hotel manager got us to fans, but that did not provide much relief in France during August.

The two previous passengers of this cabin registered complaints and they knowingly assigned us to this cabin that was detrimental to our health. There were no other vacant cabins. I spent the nights in the public lounge, my wife stayed in the cabin with the balcony window open and all the river bugs and mesquitos.

When we complained to GCT in Boston upon arriving home, they just appologized and did not offer any satisfactory compensation.

We have been on 34 cruises. Things happen, but this was known by GCT that this 50 year old boat had problems.

 

http://www.gct.com/gcc/general/default.aspx?oid=170399&linklocation=trip_leftnav

 

 

at least one other web site says this was built in 1999.

 

http://www.cruise-in-france.com/boats/boat-ms-chardonnay.php

[TIMAS]

Cabin # 17

[hudvalleycruiser]

Please list the cabin number you were assigned. Did anyone else also have this problem? I was thinking of this cruise for this year, and now I'm hesitant. My previous experiences with GCT were all great, but there is always a first time. Thanks,

 

L.L.

 

My husband and I also did this cruise with GCT on the Chardonnay in the fall of '06 after having done two others with Grand Circle...one on the Adagio and the other on the Aria. On this particular cruise, we loved the people, loved the itinerary, loved the food, and HATED our room (#12 on the lower deck). We traveled the beginning of November assuming that the weather would be cooler in the north and more comfortable as we sailed south toward Nice.

 

As it turned out, November was unseasonable warm, and temps continued to rise as we sailed toward the Med. Although GCT advertises the cabins on the Chardonnay as having individually controlled heating and air conditioning, that's not entirely accurate. Apparently, the HVAC system onboard only functions in one mode throughout the boat. Thus, once the boat's HVAC has been turned over to heat, air conditioning ceases to function which in our case happened on November 1. Our room was stiffling hot both day and night, and we were unable to ventilate it because as soon as the "individually controlled" unit was turned on, only more hot air would pour out of the vents. The hotel director gave us two electric fans to use,but they proved to be of little help. It got so bad that even with both fans on high, we slept every night with the cabin door propped open, as did other pax on the lower deck. As you can imagine, we got to know the other passengers quite well, and they us.

 

As I wrote in my evaluation, I would readily recommend this itinerary to my friends and neighbors so long as they did it on any boat other than the Chardonnay.:(

 

Also, although the Chardonnay entered service with GCT in '99, it was actually built in the 50's, and explains it's antiquated heat/air conditioning system. Wish I had known that before booking.

[Carhut]

My husband and I also did this cruise with GCT on the Chardonnay in the fall of '06 after having done two others with Grand Circle...one on the Adagio and the other on the Aria. On this particular cruise, we loved the people, loved the itinerary, loved the food, and HATED our room (#12 on the lower deck). We traveled the beginning of November assuming that the weather would be cooler in the north and more comfortable as we sailed south toward Nice.

 

As it turned out, November was unseasonable warm, and temps continued to rise as we sailed toward the Med. Although GCT advertises the cabins on the Chardonnay as having individually controlled heating and air conditioning, that's not entirely accurate. Apparently, the HVAC system onboard only functions in one mode throughout the boat. Thus, once the boat's HVAC has been turned over to heat, air conditioning ceases to function which in our case happened on November 1. Our room was stiffling hot both day and night, and we were unable to ventilate it because as soon as the "individually controlled" unit was turned on, only more hot air would pour out of the vents. The hotel director gave us two electric fans to use,but they proved to be of little help. It got so bad that even with both fans on high, we slept every night with the cabin door propped open, as did other pax on the lower deck. As you can imagine, we got to know the other passengers quite well, and they us.

 

As I wrote in my evaluation, I would readily recommend this itinerary to my friends and neighbors so long as they did it on any boat other than the Chardonnay.:(

 

Also, although the Chardonnay entered service with GCT in '99, it was actually built in the 50's, and explains it's antiquated heat/air conditioning system. Wish I had known that before booking.

 

I agree that the itierary is great, the staff was great but the Chardonnay was the pits. We were in room #8 on the lower floor. As soon as you got to the bottom of the steps you could smell the plug-in air fresheners trying to cover up the musty smell, which they didn't do. We went on this trip the end of Aug. and we used the A/C throughout the trip, so didn't have a problem with heat or cold. But I thought the boat was crowded in the lounge and dining room. The other boats that I've been on were the Melody, Adagio and Dubussey. All were very nice boats, but Chardonnay leaves a lot to be desired.

[cupcake7645]

Could you please tell me a little about the OAT trip on the boat to the Amazon? My husband and I are going on that trip in June and would love to hear something about it. Anything you can tell me would be great. Thanks.

Marge

[terpla]

I have traveled with GCT four times and twice they changed our accomodations at the last moment and not for the better. Once was in Greece where we were put on a ship the last moment that was ready to be put out of her misery. We were the last cruise it would take and it had to be at least 40 years old. We were told the morning we were leaving so there was no chance of backing out. The other was on a Canadian tour and they changed our hotel to one without air conditioning. Thank God we didn't need it because our windows did not open since we were on the 1st. floor. I have switched to Vantage since they use better hotels and have more included tours.

[obriendan]

We are great fans of Grand Circle and Overseas Adventure Travel. We have been on eight trips with GCT: Eastern Europe; Italy and the Italian Riveira; Rhone River cruise; Scandinavia and St. Petersburg; Alpine Sampler (Stresa, Interlachen, and Seefeld); Northern Mexico and Copper Canyon; Australia and New Zealand; and Vienna to Amsterdam.) We have another GCT trip scheduled for March to Dubrovinik and the Adriactic Coast to Zagreb. We've also been on one OAT trip: Manchu Picchu and the Galapagos, a real highlight! We have nothing but good things to say about GCT and OAT. Sure there have been glitches here and there, but if you have a good Tour Director, you'll have a great trip. With one exception, they have all been very good to outstanding.