I 1st contacted Legacy Travel in May 2012 and spoke with Erin Alliston. I usually check a company's reviews before I commit to doing business w/them--for some reason this time I did not (big mistake).\r
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We (my mom & I) had been on 11 cruises and have been on too many to count non-cruise vacations. We've always researched and booked w/out a travel agent. This time I thought because we had never been to Europe we needed the benefit of an experienced agent/agency.\r
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I shared w/Erin that my mom would turn 70 on August 29, 2013 and I wanted to take her to Europe, preferably\r
by cruise as it's our favorite way to travel.\r
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I booked the 7 night cruise leaving from Rome (Civitavecchia) Italy. Later I added the flight and 2 night hotel stay. \r
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As life would have it I had a major disruption....I had to purchase a new car. I shared my concern, with Erin, that I was experiencing a major financial setback. I asked about options including postponing the trip for a couple weeks. Erin advised that this would be even more financially devastating.\r
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On Friday July 26th I asked Erin to check into the cancellation fees and get back with me. On Saturday July 27th I received an email from Erin stating our cruise had been cancelled and we should receive the refund w/in 3-6 weeks. You can imagine that I was livid at the blatant disregard to follow instructions. Erin was able to rebook with Royal Caribbean but advised that the flight/hotel vendor would probably charge $150 pp to rebook. I was extremely confused....why should I pay a rebooking fee when I didn't authorize a cancellation. Erin called back to say they would ""eat"" the $300 rebooking fee. \r
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The following week I received an email from Erin advising that an amount had been deducted, from account that had been on file, but not to worry because as soon as the error was realized the amount was reversed. I was confused again....how is it that the trip is paid in full and someone is still accessing the card I had on file. When I didn't see the reversal in 2 days I reached out to Erin. Erin responded that all I needed to do was call the bank, explain what they did and the bank would reverse the charge. That's not what the bank did-- the money was in the account on the 5th business day (this included a weekend). No apology was offered for this inconvenience.\r
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About a week before the trip my mom inquired about transfers from the airport to the hotel, the hotel to the port and the port to the airport. Before I called Erin I called the hotel in Rome. No transfers had been arranged--so I arranged them. Additionally, I researched getting from the hotel to the port by train. Wait a minute that sounds like things a travel agent would do....maybe I missed my calling. I did ask Erin about transfers from the port to the airport (after all in the past 11 cruises we always included it). Erin's email advised we'd have to get them on board. When we called Royal Caribbean to take care of the transfers before we left we were told our travel agent would need to make those arrangements. \r
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Finally, vacation time arrives. We had a great 2 days in Rome. We arrived at Civitavecchia by train--no problems. We were ushered to the priority check-in only to be told that we were not in the system -- there was no reservation for us. We sat nearby as our fellow cruisers boarded the ship. At about 3:20 pm we were told they could check us in. I asked ""what happened""? The answer? ""Your agency did something"". \r
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Our trip was absolutely amazing--- mom and I made some awesome unforgettable memories. \r
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Legacy travel agency and specifically Erin Alliston did nothing to contribute to our pleasant memories. I do not recommend them. \r
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