"Gift of Time" dropped from current reservation
Hello,
Before I begin, I'm aware that Tauck is being flooded with calls at the present and that this is not the fault of anyone who is willing to pick up a phone at Tauck. I'm just to figure out an issue, hopefully before our trip begins on Sunday, June 26.
I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. We originally booked our upcoming trip in 2019. Like many others, the summer of 2022 we actually get to go! We are (finally!) doing the Bridges Blue Danube Adventure departing Budapest on June 29. When we originally booked in 2019, we booked the "Gift of Time" for 1 night pre-trip and then paid for a second night as well. I noticed this weekend that our upcoming pre-trip 2 night stay at the Kempinski in Budapest no longer listed a "Gift of Time" night, but we are being charged us for both nights.
I called Tauck on Saturday, 6/18, and was initially told I didn't book a "Gift of Time." I had paperwork from 2020 stating that we definitely did and we continued on with the cancellations/changes that happened and that "Gift of Time" should have followed the reservation each time it was moved by Tauck. I called Tauck back today, and was told that there was an "exception request" to management to give me the "Gift of Time" night. I explained it was not an exception - just something that was always part of our reservation. I'm supposed to receive a call back, but it sounds like it could be after our trip is completed. I was told that my credit card would be credited back...I said that I didn't want it put into a Tauck wallet, and she said that wouldn't happen. Anyway it seems like this should be easy, but I realize they are busy.
Thanks for "listening" if you've read this far. If you're going on a trip that changed numerous times, make sure you're actually receiving the "Gift of Time" if that was what you had booked.
Comments
A few months ago, I rebooked a cancelled trip and they added the trip insurance, which I never take. It took about 2 weeks for that to be credited back to my card. Tauck has their hands full these days.
Thanks, BKMD, for sharing your experience. It will help me to be patient.
Yes, it will eventually get better , but they are having a lot on their hands.....
We paid for two extra nights after our January tour, we had the gift of time for the start of the tour. This was not a tour that ws canceled. The hotel insisted we had only paid for one night, took several weeks to sort out with the hotel and Tauck so I guess this happens
With our Wallet, depending on who we talked to, some agents said we had nothing in it, others found a big amount of cash we almost lost and we really had not documented it well enough to challenge it. We have been customers a long time and had not experience this before. Yes, Tauck are sometimes wrong! I guess they have a lot of inexperienced agents these days.
Jenny I have 3 trips this year all re-booked and the Gift of Time was there for all of them, that must have been a mistake on their part probably newer employees now that they are getting extremely busy.
glaydsorlando984 - thank you for your reassurance! I have a letter from Tauck dated June 2022 offering a Gift of Time if I book for a 2023 excursion, so I know it's still being offered.
Good reminder to us all to actually read those statements they send. The GoT for our next tour costs $413 but the reimbursement on the statement is $423. No idea why they are giving us an extra $10. Never had that happen.
I am trying to book an extra night (on my own dime) as well as the GoT for a night in Jerusalem next March, but my TA was told today that Tauck still doesn't have the contract with the hotel. Seems pretty late to me!
Tauck should still guarantee you the Gift of Time this much in advance even though they don’t know the hotels at this point . I have booked hotel rooms on my dime too, several times but I make my reservation independent from the Tauck reservation. When I can, I use my hotel points and that is the reason Tauck will not attach my separate hotel reservation and I understand that of course. I also inform the hotel either by a phone call or an e-mail that I will be joining a Tauck tour the next day. When I do that, I hopefully don’t have to change rooms. It has always worked out well.
I sometimes book additional nights independently, but for one night it didn't seem worth it. I've had to pay extra to upgrade to the same room that Tauck has booked for me for the tour, but it has been worth it to me to avoid the hassle of checking out and checking in again. I'd rather spend the time exploring.
I’ve booked independently for extra night a couple times, but decided the savings if any was not worth it. Compared to the cost of the trip it is just ‘fairy dust’. Once we leave for the airport, it is what it is. I don’t think about it anymore.
We really appreciate the GoT. It's very nice to have a day to adjust to the different time zone. Of course, I know we pay for that GoT in the cost of the tour, but I expect that Tauck gets a group rate which is less expensive than what we'd pay on our own.
If they didn't offer that, we'd probably still go a day early and pay for it ourselves.
It's worth signing up for Singapore/Bali just to get that "free" $1,000+ room at Raffles!
Market Art - Is that price for 2023, is $664 for 2022
@MarketArt When we did the Tauck tour of Scotland, England and Wales, we stayed at the Savoy in London for a couple of days. I know we would have never done that on our own. We're just too cheap:-)
I’ve found out today that Tauck will credit our credit card for the first hotel night and honor the Gift of Time! Very happy and I’ll make certain it comes through on my account. Thanks for all the info!
MarketArt Hi
even better the Four Seasons $1,200 per night on a Villa w/pool @ the Denpasar's Bali one...
" It's worth signing up for Singapore/Bali just to get that "free" $1,000+ room at Raffles!"
I'm in 2023.
I'd rather have time in S. I saw that price when I went to hotel site. Am thinking of doing Singapore on my own (can always attach it to a stop in Europe) b/c I need way more time & attaching Malaysia or Bali makes it too long for me in heat and humidity. A relative had business trip to S pre-covid and loved it.