Q: In early 2021, my girlfriend and I booked a fall foliage riverboat cruise with Tauck. At the time, there was no requirement for us to be vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus.
A year later, just before our cruise, I received an email titled “COVID-19 Policy Update for Your Upcoming Journey.” It required all guests to be “up to date” with their vaccinations.
We would have never booked this tour if this requirement had been in place in 2021. Tauck changed the terms of its agreement without our consent.
After receiving the COVID-19 policy update, we canceled the tour. Tauck gave us eVouchers for our next reservation, which are useless to us because of their COVID-19 policy.
I want a complete refund. Can you help me? — Daryl DeCrow, Simi Valley, California
A: If Tauck changed its terms, you should be able to get a full refund. But your story is more complicated than that.
You made a reservation with Tauck as far back as 2018 but could not go on the cruise because the tour operator canceled it in the wake of the pandemic. Tauck offered you non-refundable vouchers for the purchase of a future insurance policy, which you used for your fall foliage cruise.
Tauck’s non-refundability rule on its vouchers is normal. Your fear that it would always require proof of vaccination might not be valid.
Many cruise lines have dropped their vaccine requirements, so you never know.
You could have sent a brief, polite appeal to Tauck. It looks like you tried to contact a vice president twice by mail. I list more names, numbers and email addresses of the Tauck customer service executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
You might have persuaded someone higher up to review your case.
I brought this case to Tauck; they agreed to give a refund for the vouchers.
There’s no question that traveling with small children can sometimes be difficult, to say the least. Keeping them comfy, entertained, fed and quiet for a long duration sometimes requires planning and forethought. Luckily, flight attendants have some tips. Buzz60 has more.
