Legendary Journeys Consumer Reviews - Page 3
By D.S. - SARASOTA, FLORIDA -- The hotels chosen were described as "first class". The rooms were dark and noisy and had serious plumbing issues. The included breakfasts were only available if you were in the breakfast room before 7am (a fact not mentioned to those of us on the tour). The guide failed to mention many of the pertinent fact to insure a pleasant experience, for example she never mentioned to the bus of 50 people that we should check the board in the hotel lobby for updates to times and places for our group to meet.
Our tour bus could not park on the streets of the French Quarter so we had to have our luggage unloaded on Canal Street and each passenger had to drag our luggage a half a block down the street to the hotel. The meals that were include during our bus rides to and from New Orleans were at places that were ill-equipped to handle an influx of so many people and the food was definitely NOT first class. I would never go on a tour with Legendary Journeys again.
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By anonymous - THE VILLAGES, FLORIDA -- Trip advertised a bus trip to Orlando to see two hotel Christmas decorations, a surprise hotel and a lunch. Cost $45. Trip Started 45 min. late.. bus problem. Since the planned lunch was supposedly scheduled for 3 p.m. we decided to eat at first hotel on our own since it was noon. Second hotel No preparations had been made for us at the Grand Floridian (biggest hotel). Consequently we sat in parking lot instead of touring. We were then taken to Disney village and were given a very short time there. Next we were taken to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch at 3. Once again we spent time sitting in the parking lot as no arrangements were made for us.
After several calls to the main office we were finally able to have a $ 7 lunch. We were then taken to a third hotel, sat in parking lot while they asked if we could come. 30 min. there. Again no pre-planning. We then returned home. After requesting a refund to company and seniors against crime we were given a voucher to use on another trip. Not a refund. AAA gave a refund for their same trip. Bottom line...I will never travel with Legendary again.
Thank you for posting your concerns and giving Legendary Journeys the opportunity to respond. This one day trip did have a number of issues that occurred during the trip. Legendary Journeys sent an email to all guests on this tour explaining what had occurred. We will list them here in this response.
Our motorcoach departed 30 minutes beyond the scheduled departure time. This can occur for any number of reasons, including traffic delays. We were also informed that many of you were instructed, by someone who is not a Legendary Journeys agent, to be at the departure location by 8:30 AM and some of you arrived as early as 8:15 AM. For this we are very sorry, but we always inform all passengers to be at the departure location 15 – 20 minutes prior to your scheduled departure time and this information will always be stated on the bus list.
The incident with the Grand Floridian was beyond the control of Legendary Journeys. While it was unfortunate that you were not able to see the lobby and lights at this hotel, Disney's security guards reserve the right to refuse anyone trying to enter the property at any time without cause, which is what happened here. We did contact both hotels and were informed that no reservations were required and no reservations are accepted to see the lobby's and lights on Disney property. Once we learned of your refusal into the Grand Floridian we immediately took action and arranged a substitution, the Gaylord Palms, which is equal to or better than the Grand Floridian. This was to ensure that you were not left without seeing a second hotel.
In regards to Downtown Disney, we understand that many of you stated there was ongoing construction which caused some delays in being dropped off, but unfortunately this information was not listed on Disney's consumer website or any of their travel agent sites we reference for information prior to departure. Due to this construction you were re-routed to a different area for pick-up and drop-offs. Unless this information is available to us prior to your departure this cannot be anticipated.
We understand that many of you were under the assumption that the tour would return to the clubhouse at 6:00 PM. While this information was not published in your flyer, we are never able to guarantee return times as there can be delays due to traffic, passengers getting back on the coach or any other number of events that can delay the coach returning on time. For these reasons Legendary Journeys does not guarantee return times.
Legendary Journeys apologizes that aspects of your tour fell below your expectations. However, we feel that you have received everything that you paid for as you were provided access to Disney Wilderness Lodge Lobby & Lights, Downtown Disney for shopping and the lunch at Sweet Tomatoes as outlined in the trip flyer. The only substitution made was for Disney's Grand Floridian which was out of our control and replaced with an equivalent hotel.
Please Note: Legendary Journeys Terms and Conditions clearly state “Legendary Journeys reserves the right to substitute hotels, shows, airlines, restaurants, attractions, etc. of similar quality at any time”.
These points notwithstanding, due to the issues outlined above, Legendary Journeys provided all guests on this tour a Future Travel Certificate valid for $45, the cost of the tour, to be used with Legendary Journeys in the future.
Again, thank you for posting your concerns. Legendary Journeys strives to provide the greatest value for your travel dollar.
Sincerely,
Legendary Journeys
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By riskbetty - LARGO, FLORIDA -- We dealt with Legendary Journeys in Largo, Fl. and had no problems at all. We made a deposit and continued to pay until we have completely paid for the trip. They made all arrangements, we left from Tampa International Airport, flew into Munich, 3 or 4 people had lost luggage. We were met by a tour director who gathered everyone together, we rode on a beautiful bus to Seefeld, the hotel was quaint and very nice. Legendary Journeys worked with the airline to get the luggage for those people and saw that it was delivered to the hotel in Seefeld by the next day. The hotel staff was great, we did not have a great selection on the food but it was just fine.
I had already figured from the great price we had that there would be some compensations, but a full European breakfast with several juices, etc and dinner with 2 selections for the main course again was fine with me.. each night the salad bar was full. Our rooms were clean, lobby clean, etc. We really liked ** our tour guide, she had a quirky sense of humor and was quite knowledgeable.. No problems on our trip.
Thank you for posting your comments! Legendary Journeys appreciates your kind words and are thrilled that you had a great Reservation Experience and thoroughly enjoyed your trip! So often, people are quick to post the negative, but we truly appreciate you taking the time to post your positive experience!
Thank you again for posting your comments! We look forward to seeing you on a future Legendary Journey! Legendary Journeys strives to provide the greatest value for your travel dollar!
Sincerely,
Legendary Journeys
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SARASOTA, FLORIDA -- We are scheduled to leave on a trip to Rome this weekend. We received our travel vouchers several days ago to find out that they did not book us on our requested excursion for the 1st of November that they advertised but changed it to the 2nd without even contacting us. We paid for this 2 1/2 months ago and never heard from anyone regarding the change. When I contacted ** the person we booked with to say we did not want to do an excursion on the 2nd of November and wanted our money refunded, he sent the request to corporate and they have refused to refund our money.
We paid for a full day of touring in Rome and this has been changed to a tour plus transportation to Tuscany. We had plans for Tuscany on the 2nd of November. They would not accept credit cards for this and have refused to refund our money. I will be contacting our attorney regarding this but want other people to know how you are treated when you book with Legendary Journeys. This is our first and last experience with them.
Thank you for posting your concerns and giving Legendary Journeys the opportunity to respond. We are sorry to hear of your optional tour conflict due to our modification of the tour. Legendary Journeys advises all guests that Optional Tours are 100% non-refundable. The only exception to this is if Legendary Journeys cancels the tour, in which case we promptly refund anyone booked on that optional tour.
On the optional tour form that you signed, directly below the signature (where you signed agreeing to our policies) it clearly states:
"Reservations Are Non Refundable After Booking, including, but not limited to, cancellation of port by Cruise Line or weather issues and can not be given to another guest. Your signature acknowledges that excursions cannot be canceled for any reason including but not limited to regret of purchase. Additionally, while no revisions of the itinerary are anticipated, Legendary Journeys reserves the right to change any tour, schedule, or price, or to substitute stops and attractions on any tour without notice, and to use substitute equipment as necessary. You must contact your Travel Insurance provider to insure your optional tour purchase (or any additional pur¬chase). Do not assume that tours are insured because you have a policy on your base travel package, Legendary Journeys will not be responsible for tours not insured by your Insurance Provider. We also reserve the right to require a minimum number of passengers to operate any tour. Any tour canceled by Legendary Journeys will be promptly refunded. Additionally, please review your signed passenger information agreement for the trip. That agreement applies to any optional tours you purchase from Legendary Journeys. Legendary Journeys acts as a representative booking agent for airlines, motor coach companies, tours and the like. Therefore, we remind you that we can not accept responsibilities for their actions. You agree to make no charge backs for purchased tours."
In the above verbiage, we advise you of the potential for changes. Once you confirmed your participation in the tour, your reservation was locked in and payments made on your behalf to our Vendor who was providing the tour.
Many times, we are asked why our policy on Optional Tours are so strict. This is how we obtain our lower optional tour rates. We guarantee with our vendors that they will be paid for the excursions purchased, including, but not limited to the ship not coming into port that day. By guaranteeing payment, our vendors provide us with the best possible prices for optional tours in the industry and we pass these savings along to our valued clients. Furthermore, we advise all of our guests to purchase optional travel protection. In our optional Tour information we further advise our clients that they will need to contact their travel protection provider and increase their coverage to cover any newly purchased optional tours.
Again, Thank you for posting your concerns. Legendary Journeys strives to provide the greatest value for your travel dollar!
Sincerely,
Legendary Journeys
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SARASOTA, FLORIDA -- We just returned from the Cruise/Rail tour from New York to Quebec, and then back to NY via Montreal. Legendary Journeys promised better land excursions and better prices than if booked with the cruise - not true - excursions were often less with the cruise, and went to better places and had better times. One shore excursion was done by a "city" bus - and the guide said he had no idea where he was supposed to take us! We jumbled off, jammed into our uncomfortable seats, some facing BACKWARDS, while the cruise line shore excursion folks boarded their nice, plush, good visibility coaches. Typical of whole tour.
LJ did not account for time changes, and we only accidentally found our Green Gables tour bus as we were heading for a nice lunch on shore, thinking we had an hour to kill. At least 4 booked passengers missed this tour. (The cruise ship, MSC Poesia, was very nice BTW).
To top it off, we were promised airport transport from our included hotel in NY at the end. Well, LJ booked all our flights, and then put us in a hotel next to LaGuardia - we were booked out of JFK. The hotel, when we asked for our transport to JFK (as LJ directed us to do) said, "we only provide for LaGuardia." So we got up at 4:45 AM to get and PAY for a taxi to JFK. We were stupid for not checking this site before we booked, and we will never book with them again. BEWARE!
Thank you for posting your concerns and giving Legendary Journeys the opportunity to respond. This client also submitted a letter to our Customer Relations Team, which we responded to on November 2, 2010.
We apologize to this client as the tour did not meet their expectations. Legendary Journeys offers highly competitive rates giving our clients great value in their travel purchases. Our Optional Tour program offers a great value for our clients as our rates are typically much lower rates when you compare the same tour(s) with the cruise line tours. All of our pricing in this optional tour book was valid as of the time it was published. All tour suppliers regularly make modifications to their products depending on the number of passengers traveling and the amount of time in port.
In our response to this client we advised him that he should not have had to pay for the taxi from La Guardia Airport to JFK airport in New York. We further asked him to please mail us his receipts so that we could reimburse him for those expenses. To date, we have never received any such receipt to reimburse.
We understand aspects of your tour did not meet your expectations, however we provided you with excellent value for this cruise tour while traveling Canada & New England during its peak travel time.
If you would like to submit your receipt for that taxi ride for reimbursement, please email our Customer Relations Team at Customerrelations@LJ.travel. Please provide your names, invoice number and as much detail as possible along with the receipt and we will process this accordingly.
Again, Thank you for posting your concerns. Legendary Journeys strives to provide our guests with great value for the travel dollar!
Sincerely,
Legendary Journeys
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SARASOTA, FLORIDA -- I just returned from an 18 day tour which included London and A Baltic Sea cruise on Carnival. The cruise went fine with Carnival but the travel arrangements from Legendary Journeys was a trip from hell. When we arrived in London we had to walk about a mile to board the bus. This was very hard pushing and pulling luggage. They they had changed our hotel and instead of staying near London we were about 45 miles out of town. Some of our group was left at the airport and had to pay $100 to get transportation to hotel. We were responsible for our luggage to and from our rooms off of the buses.
We were not issued boarding passes and enough time was not allowed so we missed our flight in Germany. Yes, we flew from Jacksonville, FL to Germany then to London. The same on our return. I have travel extensively and have never had such a horrible experience as this. PLEASE, just pay a very little more and go with a reliable company that gives you what they promise.
Thank you for posting your concerns and giving Legendary Journeys the opportunity to respond. We do apologize that our travel package did not meet your expectations. Unfortunately, we are unable to locate who this exact client is to respond specifically to this post, however we will provide our response based on what is posted here.
We are thrilled that you enjoyed your Cruise on the Carnival Splendor! Carnival does a great job and provides an excellent value to all their guests. We are sorry to hear your other arrangements did not meet your expectations. We understand that Airports can be a vast area and there can be a considerable amount of walking within the airport. Airports do offer means of assistance for those that need it due to the vast distances they can be required to walk to get from the Gate to the Baggage Claim to Customs, then to the coach boarding area. If needed in the future, please obtain this assistance from the airport staff.
For most of our trips , our standard, or included, hotels are typically located outside the city center or near an airport. This is done to keep our overall costs down, which we pass those savings along to our valued clients. In recent years, we understand that certain clients have certain expectations and WANT to be city center in the heart of it all. Please understand - LEGENDARY JOURNEYS HEARS YOU! We now offer hotel upgrade features to virtually all of our cruise and tour options to give our guests the option to BE City Center in either a 3, 4 or in some cases even a 5 star property. Of course, these upgrades do come at an additional cost, however it now gives our clients the option of choosing the hotel type and location that best fits their needs and expectations. We do apologize that we did not offer these upgrades back in 2008.
Regarding your statements about guests being left stranded at the airport, we advised all guests in their travel documents exactly how to proceed should a delay occur that causes them to miss the included transfer, where it clearly stated:
“Emergency Flight Delays
If you experience a missed connection or significant flight delay, please plan on your course of action when you arrive in England. First, this is a DELAY issue that could be covered if you purchased travel insurance. Any expenses that result from the delay cannot be covered by Legendary Journeys. You will need to file a claim through the insurance provider. The most efficient transportation between London and Stevenage is by rail. The information desk at the airport will be able to provide you with directions. The hotel is approximately a 5 minute walk from the Stevenage train station.
BE SURE TO KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS FOR DOCUMENTATION TO YOUR INSURANCE PROVIDER”
In this instance, we gave guests the most economical and efficient means of getting from the Airport to the hotel. We further advised them how to proceed towards reimbursement for those additional costs involved. Please understand that Legendary Journeys has absolutely no control when it comes to airline flight delays or even delays that occur while being processed through Customs. This is why we advise our guest of their best course of action should these delays take place.
Regarding your airline arrangements, we do not understand why the client did not accept our upgraded Premium Air option when making their reservations. We state in our flyer, (at the time) brochures and the Client Information Packet you received upon making your reservation, about our included/Standard Air arrangements where it states:
"Standard Air: Refers to the Airfare (and Low-cost add-on cities) included with the package. Standard Air arrangements, Airline and Flight Schedule, are at Legendary Journey's sole discretion. Standard Air Schedules will experience up to 2 or 3 changes of planes in each direction. Standard air schedule will be available approximately 7-14 days prior to the trip departure date. Requests can not be accepted for Standard Air Arrangements, as well as the Client Information Packet you received upon making your reservation. Please note: Standard air low-cost gateways will require payment of all air costs at the time of acceptance"
With Legendary Journey's Premium Air upgrade feature for a fee of $49 plus the cost of the service you are requesting, you have the ability to choose a specific airline, schedule, routing, etc. With Legendary Premium Air you will never be unhappy with your airline arrangements again!
Again, thank you for posting your concerns. We are confident that if you chose to try us again Legendary Journeys always provides the greatest value for your travel dollar!
Sincerely,
Legendary Journeys
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NAPLES, FLORIDA -- A warning regarding nonrefundable prepaid tours booked through Legendary Journeys on their cruise tours. We booked 3 tours 6 months before the transatlantic sailing with 6 days in Tuscany included. Once onboard the ship, we discovered that none offered paid access to any of the attractions like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and secondly, most required walks of a mile or more to the attraction as tour buses are not allowed near and cannot park.
Also, by pre-booking these tours through Legendary Journeys, you might find that a 300 mile round trip bus trip to Venice is planned for the day after you spent 6 hours on a bus from Rome to Tuscany. Many hidden charges from advertisements in the papers or online. If planning to travel with a group of friends, be prepared to pay to stay together, either on the ship or in hotels. They charge for everything including the selection of your cabin.
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MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA -- APRIL 2007 purchased NCL cruise from Legendary Journeys which included hotel and transfers. Paid additional $396 for hotel upgrades in downtown Barcelona, Spain and Santiago, Chile. Didn't receive either upgrade. Barcelona hotel was so far out of town, it would have cost $100 round trip. All other couples staying with us on LJ tour had not upgraded. In both Spain and Chile, we were picked up by a driver who spoke no English.
3 weeks prior to our departure, LJ demanded an additional $200, or they wouldn't send out tickets. We had to pay it to be able to go, even though we had proof and a paid in full receipt. They did this as the travel documents arrived one week prior to departure, with a new restriction of only one suitcase per person. After 2 days finally got ahold of them and tried to explain as a disabled Vietnam vet couldn't travel 36 days on only one bag. Meds filled up half a bag. Told, don't go then.
Upon return, put in a claim for $396 upgrades which weren't received, which has blatantly been ignored for 4 weeks. LJ doesn't answer our inquiries. To top it all off, their Traveler's Protection Plan which was supposed to cover up to $10,000 in emergency expenses has the same approach. Took 2 weeks to open my simple doctor's receipt - then claimed it would take 5 months to resolve. Somebody ought to put these predators out of business!
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Six adults are concerned with the response we are getting from LEGENDARY JOURNEYS. We leave on Feb 27th, still do not have reservations on the airlines, cruise ship, hotels etc. in Europe. Unable to reach by phone, the web site they gave for reservation information is not available. We were told to contact the airlines to make our seating assignments, but LEGENDARY JOURNEYS did not give us the confirmation numbers that the air line requires, and our names are not on the passenger list. We have been calling for 3 days and get the same recording that this is Feb 15th.
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SARASOTA, FLORIDA -- Legendary Journeys Travel Agency cheated my friend and I our of almost $4000. We contracted a trip to Alaska and paid for the trip and insurance by check. We were told we had insurance that would allow us to cancel until the day before we departed. This was a lie. Legendary never paid for our trip insurance. We had to cancel our trip and we were not reimbursed. The FDACS say they do not have the authority to order this reimbursement. Legendary's manager Charles **, says he will not refund our money because he doesn't have to. This is fraudulent and disgusting.
Hiring an attorney will cost me more than I'm owed. Legendary knows this. We're two senior citizens living in New York. He knows we cannot run down there to fight this nor is it cost efficient. No one has a right to steal another person's money. This is a terrible blemish on Florida's tourist industry. They should not be permitted to perpetrate such an action.
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Thank you for posting your concerns and giving Legendary Journeys the opportunity to respond. We do apologize that our tour to the New Orleans Mardi Gras Festivities did not meet your expectations. We can certainly see your point that stating "First Class" hotels can open a wide array of meanings. This is why Legendary Journeys utilizes a minimum 3-star property for all of our Tour and Cruise Tour Hotel Properties. We do offer upgrade options for CITY CENTER 3, 4 and even 5 star properties. This way our guests can choose the level of service and location they prefer.
Many times Legendary Journeys contracts the included breakfasts to the Hotels that we use. When this occurs, the operation times of the included breakfasts are up to the individual hotels. We do ask our guests to please check with the hotel upon check in as to the details of their breakfast program.
Legendary Journeys feels it best to have a central point for information in the hotels. This is why we typically place a whiteboard in the lobby and place detailed information pertaining to the tour. We certainly apologize if you did not hear your Tour Manager's announcement of this information board being in the lobby of your hotel.
We do apologize that you had to handle your luggage from the motor coach drop off point to the hotel. While every effort is made for our motor coach to drop off our guests as close to the venue as possible, sometimes due to a variety of reasons, it is completely out of our control. We do apologize for the inconvenience.
Again, thank you for posting your concerns. Legendary Journeys strives to provide the greatest value for your travel dollar.
Sincerely,
Legendary Journeys