Overseas Adventure Travel

I am currently on the OAT AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND 30-DAY TOUR. A complete waste of my time and money.

This is my 18th tour with OAT. WORST tour ever. If I could change my airfare I would fly home early.

Out of 30 days, 15 days are driving, flying and freetime. The meals are limited if you can eat them.

Drinks are not included. I bought my own food so I can keep myself healthy.

In the Outback the tents had no electricity. The bathroom facilities were unacceptable. The bathrooms were a football field distance from the tents.

To use the facilities at night there were no escorts to protect us from wild animals and snakes. Breakfast was bread and coffee. Our group of 16 were cramped in an all-terrain vehicle 11 hours for an 8 hour overnight stay.

I spent $12,000.00+ to be on this tour. Not to mention the time and effort it took to get here.

I am losing time and income from my business, paying a petsitter $40.00 a day, and paid $220.00 for long-term parking.

The highlights of the tour are optional tours at a cost of 1,000+ The optional tours are not worth the money so I sit in my hotel room.

Now, the tour guide's daughter has joined our group in Queenstown for 4 days to celebrate her 21st birthday. I never agreed to that. I was told. So happy birthday because I'm paying for that.

I have contacted OAT customer support with no response to date.

I have one more tour with OAT in November. That tour will determine if I travel with OAT in the future.

We had previously taken an O.A.T. trip to Southeast Asia.

We loved it. O.A.T was flawless putting all the pieces together. This time, my wife and I had some time on our hands deciding to take another O.A.T. trip.

We chose New Zealand this November. Upon talking to the travel advisor we opted for them to take care of all aspects of the trip including air reservations. I asked about seat selection and upgrades and was told that at this point in time it was too early. They could not book them.

I should later contact Air New Zealand. I received a travel payment confirmation from O.A.T. It contained no airline seat assignments. Worse there was no six digit Airline Booking Reference to use on the Air New Zealand website.

Fed the trip data into the app CheckmyTrip. Came up with the air reservation trip reference. Put the info into the Air New Zealand site and it said I had to call O.A.T.'s. Did so.

Worse Air New Zealand said they dont have to pre-assign seats at all (unless I guess you pay extra). They will assign seats at check-in. Checked the flight. There were multiple addons including more foot room availability in Economy.

Called an O.A.T advisor. He tried to update the reservation couldnt. Couldnt get enhanced economy seating. Couldnt get a seat assignment.

What he could do is Upgrade to either Business Class or Premium Comfort. The cost over $6,000 more r/t. The lower cost enhancements unavailable through O.A.T. would have cost $520.Unwittingly or knowingly a Bait and Switch.

I paid the $$ and with it came the ability to choose seats. We discussed that the O.A.T. contract info does not match up with the reality. He said where does it say it?

Here I quote

"Our Air Service Counselors can assist you if you would like to personalize your flight schedule, including arriving early, staying later, or upgrading your seat options. Our Air Service Team books the most ideal routing at the best value based on airline availability and your itinerary schedule. Due to the unprecedented number of schedule changes airlines are currently experiencing, please wait 120 days before your trip departs to finalize your air arrangements.

"

In the end they were unable to fulfill the above obligation. It would have been less expensive and far more convenient to book directly.

I am currently on the OAT Australia & New Zealand 30-day tour. If I could change my airfare I would go home early.

This is my 18th tour. It is the worst tour ever.

Out of 30 days, I will have spent 15 days flying, driving, and freetime. I spent $12,000+ to be here. The highlights of the tour are optional tours at a cost of $1,000.

So, I sit in my hotel room. The optional tours are not worth the money spent.

In the Outback, the tents had no electricity. The bathrooms and showers were a football field from the tents. No escorts at night to keep us safe from wild animals and snakes.

It took 11 hours of driving in an all-terrain vehicle for an 8 hour overnight stay. Breakfast was bread and coffee. There are 16 people in the group all cramped in the back of a van.

Now, the tour guide flew her daughter to Queenstown for her 21st birthday to join our group for 4 days. I never agreed to that.

I was told. Is that OAT protocol?

I saved for 10 years to be on this tour.

Not to mention the time and effort it took to get here. I am losing time and income from my business, paying a petsitter $40.00 a day, and paid $220.00 in long-term parking.

I have contacted OAT customer support with my concerns with no response to date.

I was on an OAT trip to Tasmania/Australia/New Zealand 12/1/23-1/5/24. Cyclone Jasper (CJ) manifested approximately 12/5/23.

At that time, our guide, GH sent email to OAT office in Sydney (S) about CJ recommending that our group be diverted from the Cairns/Port Douglas (C/PD) segment of the tour to another location in Australia. Our C/PD segment was scheduled for 12/16-12/20/23. CJ made landfall at PD on 12/13/23. CJ then stalled for several days in the area until 12/18/23.

CJ caused power losses, drinking water shortages,trees to uproot,overflow of rivers and creeks,and mudslides and destabilizing damage on many roads. People needed to be rescued. C airport finally closed (12/16-17/23). Mossman and Daintree River also flooded.

Crocodiles were seen floating through Ingham. CJ was the wettest tropical cyclone to impact Australia on record. On 12/16/23, while we were in Ayers Rock, G told us that after CJ had hit things were back to normal in C/PD. When we landed in C.

we were met with torrential rain. After several detours, we arrived at the hotel about 12 Midnight. P told us to be in the lobby at 9am for the Wildlife Tour. On 12/17/23 morning, P told us that there would be no trip to the Wildlife Zoo nor any planned activities.

We were confined to the hotel. Some of us wrote emails to OAT about our situation in PD. On 12/18/23, we all received an email from Marisela R. Perez, Traveler Relations, OAT that acknowledged the situation we were in and attributed it to circumstances beyond OAT's control.

She reiterated that our safety remained OAT's priority. We were angered by her letter. On 12/19/23, planes started to fly in and out of C airport. All the various roads between C and PD were impassable.

PD started up a Ferry Service between PD and C. On 12/20/23, we took the Ferry from PD to C and then flew from C to S as originally scheduled. On 12/22/23, we all received another email from Marisela reiterating that the change in program in C/PD was out of OAT's control. As a gesture of good will, we were provided a travel voucher for $500.00 per person to use on any OAT or Grand Circle Tour within the next two years.

This second letter angered us even more. We wrote a group response where we all agreed to reject the $500 credit offer from OAT and requested compensation of $10,000.00 cash for each person for OAT's gross if not criminal negligence for sending us into an existing dangerous situation putting our lives at risk. G mentioned the suggestion for altering our itinerary was nixed by Sandrine Le Gillard, VP Regional General Manager, South Pacific. On 1/23/24, Marisela spoke with SC and said the Executive Team would not authorize any refund at all.

On 1/28/24, I sent an email to Harriet Lewis, Chairman of the Board with Grand Circle Corporation (GCC), Brian Fitzgerald, CEO GCC and Nicholas D'Angelo, Executive VP Traveler Relations OAT. I requested the following from OAT: 1. A letter from OAT acknowledging their accountability in this grossly negligent incident with an apology 2. Compensation of $10,000.00 for the gross negligence.

3. A conversation with a person in the OAT organization with authority over quality control and processes to get assurance that this will never happen again-to anybody. On 1/31/24 Marisela and I spoke. She said that she was speaking on behalf of Brian Fitzgerald.

She said that the decision to send our group to C/PD was based on phone calls to the airline where OAT was told that the planes were flying and to the tourist businesses in C/PD where OAT was told that the tourist venues were open. That was the info OAT had at the time and what happened in PD was unexpected. This is "Force Majeure" or "Act Of God". However, the foreseeable conditions in PD nullifies the third test of unforeseeability to trigger the "Force Majeure" clause.

I received a refund of $27,000.00 that I had paid in full for four OAT trips. I will no longer travel with OAT.

I signed up for a trip and said very clearly that I did not want the travel insurance that OT offers. I paid the bill in full and then about three weeks later I received a check in the mail, reimbursing me for travel insurance based on their assumption that I had already paid for the travel insurance.

But I have not paid for the travel insurance so they didnt owe me that 800 and some dollars, I did not cash the check and I waited for a couple of weeks before I then found OT to ask what to do with the check. Their response was that I was supposed to deposited in my account and then write a check back to them and mail it to a PO Box of their address. That seemed a bit convoluted and so I asked if they could not just please cancel payment on that check. A few weeks later I have not heard so I called again and was on the phone for a long time and talked to several people and things were supposed to get worked out a few weeks later and was on the phone for a long time again talking to several people again and they finally made an agreement that they would stop payment on the check.

They asked that I contact their finance department to request that they cancel payment on the check and that took a couple of phone calls to reach the person I was supposed to talk to who did not seem to know anything about the case , so I went through the whole explanation with .them. About two weeks later I received something in the mail saying that I was all cleared and that the check has been canceled.

This letter is effectively what was communicated no less than 8 times in writing and conversation to OAT representatives up the chain, beginning 19 days before the trip. OAT was IMMOVABLE on allowing us to find an alternative travel companion and it was 100% due to rigid policy, not real barriers.

We never expected a refund and wouldn't have blamed them if we could not fill my spot. They refused to even give us the opportunity. Appalling and sadly representative of their customer service. Congratulations, you lost two customers and one long time referral source.

I only think it is fair that folks know the nature of the company at this point. An absolute shame.

As a dedicated Edmund Hillary member of OAT with a history of introducing countless friends to your service including 4 who booked trips, I am writing to express my deep concern over the handling of our Galapagos trip booking in light of a recent medical emergency. This situation not only highlights significant gaps in customer communication and care but also underscores the need for immediate, effective action.

Timeline of Events and Communication Issues:

Initial Contact on 11/22: We contacted OAT 19 days before the trip, scheduled for 12/11, as soon as it became clear that extended surgical complications would prevent my travel.

Policy of No Refunds or Changes Under 30 Days: We were informed that the trip is non-refundable under 30 days, which is understood. However, OAT also refused to allow a replacement traveler, posing zero risk to the company.

Both of us called, met with the same response.

Response from Exceptions Department on 11/22: The no-change policy was reiterated by the Exceptions Department on the same day.

Written Escalation on 11/22: Both parties sent written letters to escalate the matter.

Delayed Response Until 11/29: We did not receive any response until 11/29, with OAT mentioning the inability to make changes 12 days before the trip.

Policy vs. Practical Reasons: The response seemed more policy-based than practical. We offered to cover the cost for a replacement traveler for the internal Galapagos flight, which was declined. The rep always returned to the policy prohibiting it.

She further added we do not sell trips within 30 days. Upon looking the next day, I found no less than 7 different itineraries with no less than 13 different trips that I could have booked within 30 days.

Further Escalation Request and Conversation on 11/30: A further request for escalation resulted in a 23-minute conversation on 11/30 without any change.

Given these circumstances, I propose the following practical solution:

Future Travel Credit in Exchange for Re-Selling My Space: If finding a substitute traveler is unfeasible, I suggest OAT resell my space to another interested party, crediting me for a future trip. This solution aligns with my preference and ongoing loyalty to OAT.

The lack of a constructive response and rigid adherence to policy without considering exceptional circumstances is alarming. It not only affects this immediate trip but also impacts my ability to continue advocating for OAT in good conscience.

An amicable and prompt resolution to this issue would speak volumes about OAT's commitment to customer satisfaction and flexibility.

Unless there is a prompt and constructive resolution to this matter, we will be forced to escalate our concerns further. This includes reaching out to higher management within OAT, engaging with consumer protection agencies, sharing our experience through travel forums, and social media for breach of service.

Our preference is to resolve this amicably, yet the current trajectory leaves us little choice but to pursue these avenues.

I implore you to seriously consider these options and respond in a manner that reflects OAT's values of empathy and customer support. Your immediate attention to this matter is not only appreciated but necessary for a resolution that respects both parties' interests.

Thank you for your understanding and prompt attention to this critical issue

From Generali Insurance Generali Claim

#240040**-**

We acknowledge your claim concern. Despite attempts to contact Overseas Adventure Travel, our call were disconnected.

They confirmed sending a confirmation/receipt to you post-purchase. To assist further, please locate the reference number in your confirmation /receipt email or call them. We can retry on Monday

I have been attempting for almost 2 months to get this information from you. I need you to contact my insurance company with information regarding the council portion of my pre-trip to Australia.

I know that you have already settled these claims with my fellow passengers and I would greatly appreciate it if you could do the same for me.

I am in my 70s and working part time to pay for my travel.

I certainly dont need to have to come home from work and deal with this nonsense for over two months. I appreciate your swift assistance in this matter.

I love traveling with OAT but Ive become VERY frustrated in finding any available trips that I want to do this year..specifically Costa Rica and Colombia because either there is nothing available at the times I want to go or there is a slot available but either the pre or post trip doesnt havent a single opening. Why would you open up a trip but not have enough single spaces on the pre AND the post!

Theres even issues for 2025. I know Costa Rica is very popular right now so why not open up more trips.

Theres not even a single opening (with both add ons for October 2025)！Why do I have to book something well over a year in advance to even get anything! Im getting older and dont even know whether Ill still be able to travel that far out.