Since when has that stopped us from trying? We checked out all the major sites in the Eternal City yesterday, including the Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon and the Spanish Steps.
TOUR
Suzanne Cohen runs the Santa Barbara Adventure Company, a tour operator that offers kayaking trips in California’s rugged but breathtakingly beautiful Channel Islands National Park (no, that’s not hyperbole; check out our coverage from last year if you don’t believe me).
Here’s another reason to double-check with your tour operator before you take off.
Here’s another cautionary tale — as if we needed one — on the dangers of choosing an interesting destination for your next vacation.
When an airline cancels a flight, you’re entitled to a refund. When a hotel turns you away, you get your money back. Same thing when your cruise is canceled or your car rental company doesn’t have the vehicle for which you prepaid.
Have you ever returned from a trip and said to yourself, “That could have gone better”? John and Betsy Salunek did earlier this year, when they got back from a tour of Israel with Gate 1 Travel.
Debra Hitti’s tour operator promises it will refund her deposit if she cancels with more than 45 days’ notice. But when she does, the company balks, insisting it never made any such assurances. Who’s right, and how could a situation like this have been avoided?
First her flight is canceled. Then she misses another flight after her bus breaks down. Finally, Rebecca Canter decides to cancel her Australia tour. But her tour operator refuses her request for a refund. Can it do that?
Nancy Giese books an overnight tour to Chichen Itza, but when she arrives in Cancun, she’s told she only has reservations for a day trip. Now her tour operator is refusing to refund the difference between the tours. Is there anything she can do?
Her vacation package includes transfers from the airport to her hotel. But when she lands in Kingston, Jamaica, there’s no van to pick her up. What does N.M. Johnston’s tour operator, Apple Vacations, owe her?
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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