Tour operator leaves Carnival Cruise passengers without refunds after flight canceled at port

A group of Carnival Cruise Line passengers had to postpone a third-party tour to Greenland when their cruise ship canceled its port call. Although the owner has promised refunds, many passengers are still waiting for them.

Last year, Jill Reiter and her family booked a 14-day cruise to Greenland and Canada on the Carnival Legend. After learning that the cruise line didn’t book island excursions, another passenger, Sandra O’Leary, offered to make reservations for Reiter and other guests for $424 per person.

“Sandra created a Facebook group for all the Carnival passengers who were going to Greenland on our cruise. We all signed up and she directed us to her company, Sandra’s Cruise Tours. I was thrilled to be able to leave the planning of shore excursions to someone else,” Reiter told the consumer advocacy organization Consumer Rescue.

About 800 passengers accepted and paid the full fare.

Greenland cancelled

Four days into their cruise, the captain informed them that the ship would no longer be going to Greenland due to Hurricane Idalia and another low pressure system.

O’Leary quickly assured the group that they would be reimbursed. “I expect to receive the funds by Friday of this week,” she wrote on their Facebook group.

Reiter said: “Sandra got off the cruise ship in Canada at the first stop. She packed her bags and ran! We sat in the lobby and watched her leave. We didn’t realize at the time what she was doing until someone later told us she had given up.”

Passengers still haven’t received their money

After the incident, O’Leary claimed the fees were nonrefundable, changing the terms of their agreements on the fly. Customers who had signed up for his tour negotiated with their credit companies, tried to contact O’Leary and enlisted the services of a consumer advocacy group.

Reiter provided Consumer Rescue with screenshots of her communications with O’Leary, showing that she had initially promised refunds if the ship missed port. Investigations revealed that O’Leary was not registered as a travel agent and that local Greenland tour operators do not charge a 100% penalty for cancellations made before the sailing date.

Most people are still waiting for a refund for a trip that never happened. Some customers, including Deborah Hill, have managed to get their money back only by working with their credit card provider, not through O’Leary.

“Thanks to the tenacity of my friend Gayle Schuster, who made multiple efforts with her credit card company to refute the lies of this tour operator, we were able to get our money back on the tours,” Hill shared on Facebook. “We are all sending the message to never book a trip with Sandra O’Leary, Sandras Cruisetours or whatever new name she comes up with,” she warned.

Cruise Radio contacted the seller of the trip but did not receive a response.

How to Protect Your Shore Excursions

To ensure a refund if a cruise ship misses a port of call, travelers should book shore excursions directly with the cruise line or reputable travel agencies with positive reviews.

It is also wise to:

• Document conditions:Take screenshots or printouts of the terms and conditions when booking.
• Check out the reviews:Look for online reviews of the travel agency or agent.
• Understanding Policies: Familiarize yourself with the cancellation and refund policies.
• Think about insurance:Travel insurance may reimburse missed tours depending on the terms of the policy.