Changing tour dates vs. canceling
Quick question please....We have a tour scheduled for late 2023 that we realized we can't make. So far, I have paid the initial deposit and purchased their travel insurance. Final payment isn't due until August.
My understanding is if I cancel completely, they retain the insurance portion (and refund the balance of the deposit). But if I reschedule to a different time or a different tour altogether...will they apply the insurance portion?
Thanks....
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I recently cancelled one trip for another scheduled for mid 2023. They applied my deposit and GoT to the new trip. Can't answer about insurance as I didn't purchase it.
When I rescheduled a tour last year to a later date the insurance was carried over to the rescheduled date. You should not have a problem as long as you do not reschedule at the last minute.
In the recent past, if you didn't immediately re-book another tour, you received a refund of the deposit, while the insurance premium was placed in a "Dream Saver" account which could be used for the purchase of any Tauck product- the insurance, a deposit, partial payment of balance, pre or post stay, not-included excursion (e.g. helo flight), etc. for another currently booked or future trip, or even merchandise. It just isn't refunded. I haven't checked, but believe that policy is still in effect.
I just looked at a couple of tours/cruises that I have scheduled for the future. If you don't have the Tauck protection plan, you lose your deposit if you cancel 60 days or more for a land tour and 120 days or more for a cruise. At least that's what the website says.
If you have the protection plan, you lose whatever you paid for the protection plan.
Mike
Mike, again, if you have the plan, I don't think you lose the premium, you just don't get it as a refund. It goes into a Dream Saver account. Several years ago, we had to cancel just weeks before a trip, and premium went into the Dream Saver.
Probably the best way to get an answer on your specific situation is to either call your travel agent or Tauck.
We had no problem changing from one tour to another all funds were transferred as well as the got. The Tauck representative was very cooperative
I wonder if perhaps Tauck is going to start enforcing their terms and conditions. I signed up for the Greece cruise before they announced the price. When they announced the price, we decided we wanted to change the date - same cruise, just a different date. When I talked to the Tauck agent, she said I'd have to forfeit my deposit to change the date.
But when you’re on a wait list and they haven’t announced the price, you have some time (two weeks??, 15 days??) to decide. You can cancel during that time with no loss of deposit.
Since we were within that time, we were able to change the date without cost.
But, without that, she was going to enforce the deposit loss to change the date. She had to get a supervisor to change our dates without loss. She couldn't do it herself.
Regarding the payment for the protection plan, there's nothing on the website for my future trips that says anything other than you forfeit the payment for the plan if you cancel. I expect Tauck is forbearing enforcement because of Covid but may not carry that forward forever, But maybe there's some documentation of that and I missed it.
Mike
[Here's what the website says for a tour I have coming up in 2023:
Cancellation Fees with Tauck's Guest Protection Plan:
Loss of Guest Protection fee, per person ]
It depends on what "is" is.
Does "loss," "forfeit" or "non-refundable," mean the premium is totally gone, or does it mean no refund, but it goes into the Dream Saver account for future use? I don't believe the Dream Saver is described anywhere on the Tauck website, but our GPP premium was placed there on two separate occasions well before COVID. I can only speak to experience, and since it is not addressed, who can say what the policy is now.
Or, you may have gotten a relatively new employee who doesn't quite know all their policies.
I used my travel agent to change my tour and she was “magically” able to accommodate every change including using the protection plan for the newer tour. The response from her was that I am a loyal customer and I am. Travel agents have a dedicated phone line and the same contact person (if they wish) to make things happen for their clients.
The word on the website is "loss" for the Guest Protection Plan. I expect Tauck has a lot of leeway on how they enforce that, but I define "loss" as you lose the payment. That actually makes sense since it's insurance. You pay for insurance to protect you against loss, but the premium payment is not considered part of the loss. You pay the premium to avoid loss of other things, in this case, your deposit and/or your full payment.
Same with car insurance. If you have an accident, you are reimbursed for the damage to your car, but you don't get your premium payment back.
Mike