Shakedown Non-Cruise

A month or so ago, there was an article in The Boston Globe that showed a new, ocean-going cruise ship being christened. In Boston, of all the places I so don't associate with being a cruiseline hub. But unbeknownst to me - and there's really no reason why this would beknownst to me, a non-cruiser - we are the home to Vantage Deluxe World Travel, which specializes in, well, deluxe world travel. Their cruises have historically been riverine. But their newly minted Ocean Explorer is a small luxury ship (build cost: $70M) that will be taking to the seas.

Anyway, in the afterglow of the puff about their champagne-bottle-smashing christening, Vantage made it into the news for a less puffy reason: an article about a disgruntled customer who's been trying

to get a refund of a covid-canceled safari excursion that had been scheduled for August 2020. An excursion which Vantage had canceled in June of 2020. 

For TheresaStablewski (72), and her husband, sister, and brother-in-law, the safari was going to be a once in a lifetime adventure. $46K worth of adventure. Which is a lot of money. But, what the heck, what's once in a lifetime for? Especially for Theresa, who a decade ago had a near death experience: a heart attack brought on by a rare viral illness. 

When their dream trip was called off, Vantage tried to steer the couples into taking a rain check, and using the $46K worth of safari at a later date. 

Understandably the group said 'no thanks.' Who knew back in the summer of 2020 how long covid was going to be with us? When travel would get back to normal? Not to mention whether people were going to survive. Stablewski & Co. wanted their cash back. Seventeen months later, they were still lookikng for their money. And Vantage wasn't exactly treating them like first-class guests on the Love Boat. 

Three days after her cruise was canceled, Stablewski applied for a refund.

Since she first started trying to get her money back, Stablewski has amassed a thick file on her activities, inluding complaints that she and her sister filed with Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. 

[Her] office has received almost 500 complaints about Vantage, mostly from customers seeking refunds for trips canceled due to the pandemic. (Source: Boston Globe)

The AG's office hasn't made a ton of leeway:

“So far, we have secured 50 refunds totaling more than $870,000,” the attorney general’s office said. “We continue to advocate on behalf of Vantage consumers awaiting their refunds.” 

No surprise, then, that a nationally-syndicated travel writer, Christopher Elliott, has cited Vantage as "one of the most complained-about companies," according to the records he keeps on his travel troubleshooting work.

Sean Murphy, The Globe's consumer columnist, to whom Stablewski finally appealed for helped, has himself received more than a dozen complaints about Vantage. 

A review of those dozen complaints shows Vantage tried to placate customers with “sincere apologies” and appeals for “continued patience and understanding during these difficult times,” but no refunds.

Ah, weasel words.

For Stablewski, the weasel words included this:

 “You are getting closer to the refund,” Vantage said in an e-mail in February. “Unfortunately, I don’t have an exact timeline but the refund was finally approved yesterday.”

That was nine months ago - eight months after "Stablewski had been led to believe the refund had been approved eight months earlier." The refund turned out to be nothing more than a Fata Morgana. (In Vantage's defense, I do understand that you can lose all track of time when you're at sea.)

But Stablewski wasn't losing track of time. She was just trying to keep up with the weasel word "any day now" communications from Vantage. This fall - especially after seeing the galling announcement of the fancy, costly new ship Vantage was launching, she threw her hands up and turned to Murphy. 

Murphy, no surprise: he is, after all, the Globe's consumer compliant go-to, got some action:

A Vantage executive replied: “Upon careful review of Theresa Stablewski’s file, we see that she was approved for a refund and this will be processed within 10-15 days.”

A week ago, the refund arrived.  

Stablewski's happy, but if she had:

"...known beforehand about the dockside gathering for the launch...she would have shown up at the press-attended event to pressure Vantage executives into finally making good on its promised refund."

Vantage has another luxury ship in the works. Better make good on all thosse othe refunds, or there could be a nasty little demonstration when they go to christen that baby.

I'm sure that covid has been terrible for Vantage's business. Not a lot of luxury African safaris set sail in the last couple of years. But presumably, Vantage had some insurance and/or some reserves to see them through a bad spell. They seemed to have had enough to go for luxury ocean cruiser #2. And I'm pretty sure that the over $4 million they secured in PPP helped tide them over when it came to payroll.

But, hey, if you can secure an interest free loan from your customers, why not go for it. Except for one thing: the Stablewski family won't be vacationing with Vantage anytime soon. Make that never. Who wants to risk another shakedown non-cruise?