vantage travel trouble

Vantage Travel is bankrupt. But what about its owner? Two lawsuits say he should reimburse customers who lost millions.

W ith the sale of its remaining assets in bankruptcy court last month, Vantage Travel went out of business, bringing to an ignominious end one of Boston’s oldest and most successful international travel companies.

But the battle continues for the thousands of Vantage customers who are still owed large refunds for trips the company postponed or canceled.

Attorneys general in New York and Pennsylvania have set their sights on Vantage’s founder and longtime owner Hank Lewis, suing him personally in an effort to recoup some of the $108 million owed to customers whose trips never happened.

And while the corporation he founded is bankrupt, a check of court records through last week showed no filing by Lewis for personal bankruptcy.

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a suit on Sep. 13 against Lewis personally, and Vantage as a corporation.

“By virtue of the conduct alleged … [Lewis and Vantage] have engaged in repeated and persistent fraudulent conduct,” the suit says.

In June, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry filed a similar suit that accuses Lewis personally (and Vantage corporately) of engaging in unlawful “deceptive and unfair business practices.”

Yet, the Massachusetts attorney general has not filed suit against Lewis or Vantage. Instead, the AG’s office chose to go after Vantage while it was still in business. But that approach has resulted in just about a dozen settlements for Mass. residents for less than $200,000.

Since 2020, the Massachusetts attorney general’s office has received more than 1,500 complaints about Vantage, including 134 from Massachusetts residents. Thirty of those in-state complaints were resolved without the attorney general’s help, and of the remaining 104 complaints, the attorney general’s office helped mediate 13 for a total of $162,000 in refunds, or about $12,500 each.

The attorney general’s office also successfully mediated on behalf of 72 out-of-state residents for a total or almost $1.2 million, or about $16,500 each.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said the office opted to pressure Vantage to make refunds while it was still in business, rather than sue the company, as a strategy most likely to produce quick results. Campbell’s predecessor as attorney general, now-Governor Maura Healey, oversaw the issue through the end of 2022.

Almost 80 complaints are still pending at the attorney general’s office. But since Vantage filed for voluntary bankruptcy on June 29, Campbell’s office has been blocked from mediating those complaints due to bankruptcy rules and the company’s recent sale to an Australian travel company.

But Campbell’s office supports the efforts of the New York and Pennsylvania attorneys general and is in regular contact with them, according to her office.

Last month, under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, Vantage sold its customer list and the Vantage name to Pacific Travel Partners, a subsidiary of the Australia-based Aurora Expeditions, for $2 million.

But the bankruptcy case is not closed. A committee representing creditors, including the thousands of customers who are owed refunds, is investigating whether assets controlled by other Lewis-owned companies should be subject to distribution to creditors.

The New York and Pennsylvania lawsuits against Vantage as a corporation are stayed for now under bankruptcy rules. And even if the stay were to be lifted, the company has few, if any, remaining assets to satisfy any eventual court judgment against it, bankruptcy court filings show.

But it’s a different story for Lewis.

“The bankruptcy of a company may protect it from lawsuits, but it doesn’t protect the owner from being sued personally,” said Francis C. Morrissey, a bankruptcy lawyer and Boston University adjunct law professor.

“If the owner of a company personally has money, he’s got exposure,” he said.

Founded by Lewis 40 years ago, Vantage operated expensive river and ocean cruises and land tours around the world, with a customer base of predominantly travelers 60 and older. He was Vantage’s president, treasurer, secretary, chairman, sole director, CEO, and CFO, according to the recently filed suits.

Multiple emails seeking comment on behalf of Lewis were sent to Lewis’s bankruptcy attorneys, who are listed in filings by the New York attorney general’s office with its lawsuit, but were not answered. An email to Lewis at his former Vantage address “could not be delivered,” and there was no response to emails to other Vantage executives seeking comment on Lewis’s behalf.

The New York suit alleges that for more than three years, Vantage, with Lewis at the helm, repeatedly canceled scheduled trips, but instead of acknowledging them as cancellations, called them “postponement.”

The suit says calling them postponements opened the door for Vantage to refuse refunds while instead offering future travel credits, which the suit says violated the company’s own agreement with customers to provide “prompt refunds” for a canceled trip.

The suit cites the example of a 92-year-old woman who paid Vantage more than $20,000 in advance for a cruise scheduled for August 2022.

“Vantage canceled the trip, claiming that it had merely been ‘postponed’ until a year later,” the suit says, noting that the customer by then would have been one month shy of her 94th birthday.

“Vantage told this consumer that she could not get a refund because the trip was not canceled,” the suit says.

When the customer protested she couldn’t wait another year for the trip, Vantage offered her an earlier one.

“But then five weeks before that departure, Vantage again supposedly ‘postponed’ that trip” for more than a year, the suit says.

Vantage offered the woman a credit for future travel “but refused to provide a refund,” the suit says.

In another example, the New York suit cites a couple who wanted to cancel due to a recently diagnosed medical condition. But when they called to demand a refund of $18,000, a Vantage representative told them the company didn’t have to provide a cash refund under a new government policy meant to protect struggling travel companies, allowing them to instead offer a voucher for future travel, the suit says.

There was no such government policy, the suit says.

The New York suit says Lewis had “knowledge of and participated in the deceptive practices … and is therefore liable for” them.

“In emails to consumers who cancelled their trips due to Covid-19, Lewis repeatedly mentioned a ‘risk-free cancellation policy’ for future trips and offered credits or other incentives for consumers to book new trips, which Lewis knew or should have known could not be fulfilled,” the suit says.

In almost every communication, Lewis mentioned the high volume of calls to Vantage’s customer service line and often added that this was “resulting in unusually long wait times,” the suit says.

Despite Lewis’s awareness that consumers could not promptly reach customer service to discuss “postponed” trips, this problem was not rectified, the suit says.

The New York suit seeks an unspecified amount in “restitution and damages” for aggrieved consumers. It doesn’t say how many New Yorkers are owed refunds, but makes reference to 31 customers listed in a “representative sample” provided by Vantage under subpoena.

The Pennsylvania suit seeks “restitution to all customers who have suffered losses” without a specific number. When the suit was filed, the attorney general’s office asked anyone who may be a victim to contact that office.

The Pennsylvania attorney general, in her lawsuit, says Lewis and Vantage promised “‘risk-free’ travel, but in reality, [they] misapply their [contractual] terms and conditions by taking large sums of consumers’ monies and then fail to provide meaningful relief for consumers when they cannot travel.”

“Vantage took advantage of older Pennsylvanians by continuing to hold their refunds hostage,” Henry said in announcing the suit.

“If Pennsylvania consumers pay for goods or services and get nothing in return, our office will fight for those victims,” she said.

The Vantage Travel cruise ship Ocean Explorer docked at the Cruiseport Gloucester Marine Terminal on April 27.

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New management of bankrupt Vantage Travel to reimburse customers who had trips canceled 100% in travel credits

Jilted customers will receive full credit on future trips.

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Jilted customers of Vantage Travel , the luxury cruise line that went bankrupt in June and canceled trips worth thousands of dollars, will receive 100% reimbursement to put toward future travel thanks to new buyer Pacific Travel.

According to details of an agreement outlined in federal bankruptcy court Wednesday, customers will have until Nov. 30, 2028, to book travel with the new company, and caps will be imposed for how much value can be applied to individual services.

A cruise ship is seen off Port Douglas in Cairns, Australia, in 2012. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images, File / Getty Images)

Oceangoing travel credits will be capped at 50% of the trip's cost, while credits toward river cruises and land travel, like safaris, will be capped at 20%. Credits can be applied toward either a deposit or later payment but cannot be used toward airfare, according to the agreement.

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Credits are also transferrable to friends or family and be spread across multiple trips .

The embattled Boston-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. (Vantage Cruise Lines / Fox News)

The news comes after Boston, Massachusetts-based Vantage Travel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy June 29, had agreed to be acquired by United Travel Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of Nordic Hamburg and Heritage Expeditions. Last week, however, Pacific Travel of Aurora Expeditions in Australia, placed a $2 million bid to assume Vantage's assets, WFXT Boston 25 reported .

In the bankruptcy filing, Vantage admitted that customers lost $108 million for trips they had paid for, but never got to take.

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"Vantage has sought customary relief from the court to preserve the status quo pending completion of the sale," the company wrote in a statement. "Vantage has sought approval to complete the sale promptly, subject to any higher and better offers that may be submitted through the court-supervised sale process."

Vantage Travel has been under fire for months after hundreds of consumers complained about a lack of refunds for canceled or postponed trips. (iStock / iStock)

Boston 25 reported that the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office said it received more than 1,120 consumer complaints against Vantage since Jan. 1, 2020.

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The customers complained that they did not receive any refund after their luxury cruise was unexpectedly canceled.

Vantage Travel did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

A final ruling on the purchase will take place Monday.

Letitia James

Attorney general james sues travel company for failing to refund consumers, ag james seeks full refunds from vantage travel for dozens of new yorkers who were not reimbursed for canceled trips, september 13, 2023.

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against a travel company, Vantage Travel Services, Inc. , and its founder and owner, Henry R. Lewis, for failing to refund thousands of dollars to more than 100 New Yorkers whose tours were canceled. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) received dozens of complaints from New Yorkers in New York City, Albany, Westchester, and Long Island about Vantage Travel denying refunds for cancellations, including cancellations because of COVID-19. Attorney General James is seeking full restitution and penalties from Vantage Travel.

“When a trip is canceled and a refund is denied, it adds insult to injury,” said Attorney General James . “My office will not let Vantage Travel get away with flouting the law and denying dozens of New Yorkers the refunds they deserve due to canceled trips. Companies that make promises to consumers must fulfill their end of the bargain or bear the consequences. I encourage anyone who has faced similar circumstances and believes they are owed a refund they haven’t received to contact my office.”

Vantage Travel is a Massachusetts-based travel company that offers cruises for locations worldwide. The lawsuit charges that Vantage Travel and Lewis engaged in deceptive business practices by failing to honor the company’s policy to promptly refund consumers who had their trips canceled or had to cancel for health reasons. In a complaint submitted to OAG, a New York couple paid for a trip but had to cancel when the husband was diagnosed with a heart condition that did not allow him to travel. Vantage Travel refused to refund the couple thousands of dollars for the trip they booked despite repeatedly telling consumers in emails that the company offered a “risk-free cancelation policy.”

The company often mischaracterized its trip cancellations as “postponements” and then rescheduled the trips for much later times, sometimes as much as a year after the original scheduled trip, and trips were often rescheduled multiple times. If a consumer did not want the rescheduled trip, Vantage Travel offered only a credit for a future trip instead of a refund for what in fact was a cancellation. Consumers, who are often seniors, often paid $10,000 or more for the tour packages but could not reach anyone at Vantage Travel to provide a refund.

The lawsuit also alleges that Lewis was aware of the issues consumers were facing but did not address the problems. From July 2020 to February 2021, Lewis communicated to consumers that their trips would be postponed due to the pandemic. However, he did not provide a rescheduling date, nor did he provide consumers an option to receive a refund.

Through her lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks full restitution for all impacted New Yorkers, civil penalties, and disgorgement.

Attorney General James asks any consumers who believe they have been the victim of these practices to file a consumer complaint online or contact OAG at (800) 771-7755.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Melvin Goldberg of the Consumer Frauds & Protection Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Jane M. Azia and Deputy Bureau Chief Laura J. Levine. The Consumer Frauds & Protection Bureau is a part of the Division of Economic Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D'Angelo and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

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Boston-based cruise company vantage deluxe world travel faces lawsuit, hundreds of consumer complaints.

Company facing class action lawsuit over canceled trips

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Hundreds of customers have filed complaints against Boston-based Vantage Deluxe World Travel with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office in recent years and the troubled company now faces a class action lawsuit over the last-minute cancelation of luxury trips.

AG Andrea Campbell's office said Tuesday that it has received at least 818 complaints against the company since Jan. 1, 2020, including approximately 75 filed by customers who are Massachusetts residents. Of those complaints, officials said that approximately 181 of them were filed during 2023, including 21 from Massachusetts residents.

Campbell's office said it will provide consumer assistance to Massachusetts residents and is advising others to file in their respective states.

The updated information on the number of complaints comes after multiple reports of customer issues involving the company.

In April, Vantage posted public statements about a ransomware attack it said, "took down their call center, website, email and other internal systems." They said in a Facebook post on April 29 that the call center would be restored by May 1, but posted no subsequent update.

At the same time, Vantage confirmed the cancelation of four trips to the Netherlands "due to the vessel's readiness," and two trips to Egypt.

One widely-cited report from Consumer Rescue indicates that other trips are also being canceled. It cites a purported internal memo that said all tours would be canceled through Aug. 28.

This week, Boston-based attorneys and a client from California filed a class action lawsuit against Vantage in federal court. They claim that plaintiff Annette Woolf, 65, and other customers who suffered short-notice cancelations have sought refunds for canceled trips but "all of them have been stonewalled and misled."

The lawsuit also reports that an internal memo informed Vantage employees all trips scheduled through Aug. 28, would be postponed.

According to the lawsuit, Woolf paid $18,099 for a trip to Ireland with two cousins. She originally booked the trip in December 2021, for a scheduled departure on May 26.

Following the company's announcement of the ransomware attack, Woolf found that her airline tickets were canceled "due to non-payment by Vantage." They were subsequently re-issued but, on the day before her scheduled departure, Woolf was informed that her trip was being postponed. The new airline tickets were canceled but the lawsuit said the ticket price was refunded to Vantage.

Another example cited in the lawsuit involves a couple who purchased a $30,000 trip that included visits to Italy, France, Monaco and Spain. They said the trip was due to begin on May 13, but was canceled the night before.

A third example involves a $34,634 trip to Europe purchased as a graduation present for the customer and her niece. They were scheduled to fly to Rome to begin the trip on May 13, but the trip was canceled the night before.

"From my perspective, from what I can see so far, it's going to be a tough battle to figure out where the money is and how to get it back. I hope that that's not the case but we're prepared," said attorney Ronald Dunbar, who filed the lawsuit.

"I've heard as recently as this morning that some of these ships have been reclaimed by the actual owners," Dunbar also said.

Vantage, which was founded in 1983 by Henry Lewis, is incorporated in Massachusetts. As of the 2021 annual report, the latest available, Lewis served as the company's president, treasurer, Secretary, CEO, CFO and Director.

On Tuesday, however, Vantage and Lewis submitted a form to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, identifying general counsel Rossella Mercuri as the company's new registered agent.

As of Wednesday morning, the company's website was functioning, but multiple attempts to call the listed phone number for the company's corporate headquarters yielded an automated message that announced the call could not be completed.

On Wednesday evening, Mercuri responded by email to NewsCenter 5. Although we sent several specific questions, her reply echoed a short statement that she had previously shared with other outlets.

"At this time, Vantage Deluxe World Travel is engaged in sensitive negotiations for a sale of the company," she wrote. "Our primary goal is to obtain the best outcome for our customers. Confidentiality agreements governing our negotiations prevent us from disclosing additional information at this time."

Vantage made headlines in 2021 when it christened a new cruise ship, the Ocean Explorer , at Boston's Black Falcon Terminal. At the time, the luxury ship had planned trips to the British Isles, several South American ports and Antarctica.

Go aboard new Ocean Explorer luxury cruise ship launched in Boston

PHOTO: Cindy Loo for Regan Communications Group/Vantage Travel

Would-be travelers out thousands of dollars after last-minute cancellations. What to do

A dream cruise cancelled at the last minute. problems getting a refund of the thousands they paid. it happens. what can consumers do to avoid a frustrating and costly situation.

Settled in the Delta Sky Lounge at Tampa International Airport in late March, Lynne Schrum and her husband, David Hall, were ready to head out on their two-and-a-half-week vacation to Western Europe.

This wasn’t the original trip the couple had booked as first-time customers of Boston-based cruise company Vantage Deluxe World Travel. In January 2021, the St. Petersburg couple had reserved an Aegean Sea cruise that was set to sail 15 months later. But that cruise was subsequently postponed to October 2022, which did not work for them.

Vantage instead gave the couple the option to go on their “tulips” cruise, which would take them to Brussels for a few days before an eight-day cruise in the Netherlands, with an excursion to Paris to round out their time abroad.

“We’re sitting there, congratulating ourselves, getting excited,” Schrum said. “Then the phone rang.”

It was a representative from Vantage, warning them not to get on the plane and to collect their baggage. Their trip had been canceled.

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“My husband is sitting there, watching my face. He was pretty sure someone in our family had died,” she said.

She tried to reason with the man on the other line. She thought about all the things they had booked, the tickets they had to the opera and a trip to Giverny to see Monet’s gardens, and figured they could still go, even if they wouldn’t be going on the cruise. But five minutes later, she said, their seats on the plane were canceled.

“At first, we were just shocked. Now we’re angry,” said Schrum, who had paid $33,000 for the trip. “It’s all of the people who are so distressed about it.”

Schrum said she was told a refund would take 14 business days. Now it’s been more than 40.

“They’ve had this money for a very, very, very long time. We’re retired. We are not young,” said Schrum, who is 76. “It’s inconceivable that this amount of money would be gone from our savings.”

The couple's plight is due to issues with Vantage, but everyday travelers and vacationers run into problems with vacation bookings for any number of reasons.

In the weeks following the couple’s cancelled cruise, Vantage faced a ransomware attack that left customers without a way to contact the company for at least a week. It had also canceled at least five other cruises.

So what can consumers do to avoid a frustrating and costly situation with a trip? What should they do if they find themselves in a similar position? The Palm Beach Post asked travel experts for their advice.

Pay with a credit card when you make that initial travel booking

Vantage Travel offered customers discounts for paying with an eCheck or directly through their checking account. Both couples who spoke with The Post had paid by check. But travel experts say there’s no level of protection by doing this, and consumers should instead book travel with a credit card.

“The credit card company is going to give you protection against financial insolvency,” said Dan Meister, who owns Boca-Raton based Top Group Travel.

At least when paying via credit card, you can try to dispute a charge if you paid for a service that did not come to fruition and attempts to get a reimbursement directly from the company have been exhausted.

“As soon as they cancel, they’re good at getting the money back,” said Laurence Gore, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who specializes in travel and tourism law.

Research a company before you agree to be their customer

Before putting down that credit card, though, do your research.

“If you’re thinking of booking through a tour company, see the cancellations or comments,” Gore said. But be wary of the timing of those complaints. “If you find problems during the pandemic, that doesn’t necessarily mean the company has a problem now.”

Look up reviews on search engines and social media or through the Better Business Bureau.

You can also consider booking with travel companies that have certain certifications or proven financial stability, such as members of the U.S. Tour Operators Associations who put up $1 million in collateral in the event something happens, or suppliers listed with Trusted FIT Services, said Jeffrey Ment, a travel industry lawyer from Hartford, Conn. These companies can give travelers some extra peace of mind.

Consider a travel agency. It may be old school, but they can vet travel companies for you.

With Airbnb and direct-to-consumer companies like Vantage being the more popular way to travel, consumers these days tend to handle their own travel plans. But licensed, bonded and insured travel agencies, albeit old school, can offer customers options with vetted companies or tell you if a company has caused issues in the past. Additionally, agents can provide support to customers if a cancellation occurs.

“We can elevate (an issue) within our network where they have more leverage with these suppliers,” said Kurt Crowl, president of Travel Leaders of the Palm Beaches. “If you don’t book with a travel agent, you don’t have that leverage.”

Added consultant Phyllis Horodner: “Without a travel agent, you’re on your own.”

Keep good records of travel plans and communications with companies you are working with

You should always keep a paper trail of your travel plans. That means making sure you have a record of expenditures and receipts, tickets and correspondence with the company. On the company’s end, customer service calls are typically recorded and kept on file. It’s not a bad idea after such a phone call to write down what was discussed and email it to the company to confirm as another form of records.

Get travel insurance (but read the terms and conditions closely)

Getting travel insurance can help in the event you get sick or have an accident, but depending on the policy, it could also help if the company files for bankruptcy or is otherwise “not able to meet their obligations,” Meister said. The travel company will offer their own insurance, but it’s possible to get insurance through a travel agent or other provider. Meister said it’s better to get a policy around the time of your first deposit for the trip, but it can also be purchased right up until the start of the trip.

It’s important to read the fine print, both of the travel insurance as well as the company’s refund and cancellation policies.

Think carefully about your options once a problem has surfaced

Experts suggest sending letters to the attorneys general of your home state and that where the company operates, submitting comments to the Better Business Bureau and filing a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission.

If all else fails, you might want to consider the legal route and hire an attorney who knows travel law, such as one with the International Forum of Tourism and Travel Advocates, experts said. Even if you win in small claims court, because of the limitations you may not get back all your money.

Unclear how many people's travel plans disrupted by Vantage, but the company cited reasons for canceling trips

It's unclear precisely how many people were impacted by these cancellations. The Post sent inquiries to one of the company's executive vice presidents as well as the former outside communications firm, but did not receive a response at the time of publication. A month-old Facebook group dedicated to those who had been spurned has almost 300 members. Nevertheless, some Vantage customers are waiting on reimbursements in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The reasons trips were thwarted are varied, as Vantage's founder and chairman Henry Lewis wrote in two letters to consumers published to the website. On April 28, Lewis said four trips to the Netherlands had been canceled “due to the ship’s readiness,” and two trips to Egypt were canceled over safety concerns.

“With the recent U.S. State Department Sudan travel advisory, given the proximity, we are closely monitoring our trips to Egypt until further notice for the safety of our guests,” the letter from Lewis reads.

Furthermore, the message says that a ransomware attack discovered on April 20 affected Vantage’s call center, website, email and “other internal systems” for at least eight days, but none of the trips had been affected specifically by this incident.

Dozens of complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau. And those who are trying to get their money back say they’re getting unclear timelines from the company.

One couple canceled by Vantage said they will now look elsewhere for booking travel

Charles and Lea Moskowitz, both 75 of Daytona Beach, are also waiting for a refund of more than $20,000 after their “tulips” trip was canceled. The couple had traveled with Vantage for more than two decades, visiting all seven continents over 28 incident-free trips.

The couple’s first trip in the summer of 2000 took them to Scandinavia, the Baltics and part of Russia. This past April, they were looking forward to their 29th trip to the “Stans,” as Charles called it, traveling through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for the first time.

Two weeks prior to the voyage, Vantage notified them the trip had been rescheduled for later that year, he said. That wasn’t going to work with their schedule, so the couple opted to go on a cruise they had done before, but didn’t mind.

Then, a voicemail message popped up on their answering machine. “There’s some bad news,” the Vantage representative said, according to the recording shared with The Post. The ship was not ready, the representative said, who then asked to call an 800 number to review their options.

“We’ve never had an issue like this before,” Charles Moskowitz said.

Despite the company's previously blemish-free track record with Moskowitz and his wife, he'll book future travel elsewhere.

Hannah Morse covers consumer issues for The Palm Beach Post. Drop a line at [email protected] , call 561-820-4833 or follow her on Twitter @mannahhorse .

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Vantage Travel says it’s up for sale, employees say they’re not getting paid

Embattled cruise company Vantage Deluxe World Travel says it’s looking for a new owner.

The Boston-based business has been under fire for months after hundreds of consumers complained about a lack of refunds for cancelled or postponed trips. The company quietly told its employees last week that all trips through Aug. 28 are postponed, according to an internal memo obtained by Consumer Rescue .

“We are currently engaged in sensitive negotiations for a sale of the company. Our primary goal is to obtain the best outcome for our customers. Confidentiality agreements governing our negotiations prevent us from commenting further at this time,” Vantage General Counsel Rossella Mercuri said in an email to Boston 25.

The Mass. Attorney General’s Office says it received at least 793 complaints against Vantage since Jan. 1, 2020, including 156 complaints filed in 2023.

According to a Boston 25 tipster, Vantage employees recently lost their healthcare coverage and are having trouble getting paid. That person sent several internal memos detailing timecard issues and the loss of benefits-provider Insperity.

“No deductions will be made for Medical/Dental/Vision/Transit/FSA/HSA,” a June 8 employee memo said. “We are working on securing alternate benefits and will update once confirmed.”

Consumer Rescue founder Michelle Couch-Friedman said she’s been in contact with Vantage employees who are concerned about their jobs and the way Vantage is conducting business. She said an employee told her workers did not receive their anticipated paychecks Friday.

“They are as distraught as the customers,” Couch-Friedman said. “What I’m hearing are stressed-out employees who are bearing the brunt of whatever’s happening at Vantage.”

Mercuri said the company is paying its employees.

“Vantage has timely paid and will timely pay all amounts due to employees,” she said in a statement.

Mercuri did not respond to a subsequent email with follow-up questions. The AG’s Office said most of the consumer complaints against Vantage come from outside Massachusetts. At least 70 of the complaints are from Bay State residents. An AG spokesperson encourages consumers to file complaints with the Mass. AG’s Office.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Welcome to Consumer Rescue

Fiascos and Fixes

This is a ship on the ocean owned by the company Vantage Deluxe World Travel.

Vantage Deluxe World Travel: Here are the true tales from bewildered customers

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Consumer reporter and ombudsman

April 29, 2023

Attention Vantage Deluxe World Travel customers: The news isn’t good if you’ve got a trip planned with this tour operator. The unfortunate reality is that you might not be going anywhere.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, my consumer advocacy team has been fielding a heavy volume of Vantage Travel complaints. But recently, the number of pleas for help from customers of the troubled tour operator has skyrocketed.

On April 21, things went from bad to worse. That’s when the Vantage Travel website suddenly went offline, and its phone system stopped working. Simultaneously, the administrator of the tour operator’s Facebook page disabled commenting.

But not before angry Vantage Travel customers began sharing disturbing stories of canceled cruises and missing refunds.

May 7, 2023 update: A big refund for one Vantage Travel customer

Will travel insurance covers insolvency (june 29 bankruptcy update), why did the vantage travel website go dark for a week .

Many Vantage Travel customers are reporting that the company has canceled previously paid-for cruises, tours, hotels, and airline tickets. American Airlines, United Airlines, and Lufthansa have alerted some surprised would-be passengers that Vantage never paid for their airline tickets.

Vantage Travel says that the reason its site went down, its phone numbers aren’t working, its currently sailing ships aren’t able to dock in various ports, AND the reason it hasn’t been able to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars it has owed to a long list of customers since 2020, is because of a data breach that occurred in April 2023.

To this consumer advocate and reporter, the latest turn of events is ominous. I have reviewed hundreds of Vantage Deluxe World Travel complaints during the past three years. I know how many customers are waiting for substantial refunds — a great deal of these refunds are in the $20,000 – $30,000 range. For those on that list, things are looking grim.

Here are some of their troubling tales. Have a look and decide for yourself what’s happening at Vantage Deluxe World Travel.

Could Vantage Deluxe World Travel right its ship?

As the pandemic restrictions began to significantly lift early last year, Vantage Travel seemed to be righting its ship. Refunds began to slowly but consistently appear.

Last December, over at The Points Guy , I reported on my efforts to get Vantage Travel to finally pay the $7,443 refund it owed Sethu Krishnan. He had been persistently pursuing his cash for over two years. When I received his complaint, I was hopeful that I could bring a quick and successful end to his lengthy battle.

At the time, Vantage Travel had assigned a helpful, friendly, and communicative executive to resolve as many complaints as possible from our advocacy team. The good news came for Krishnan very quickly, and he soon had his long-awaited refund.

As a result of that article, a tsunami of additional complaints about Vantage Travel hit my inbox. As I began to tackle these cases, I had great optimism. It seemed that 2023 could be the year that Vantage returned to its former pre-pandemic status of a trustworthy provider of deluxe travel.

Bad idea: A travel insurance policy administered by Vantage

After Krishnan came Dennis Mould, another traveler who asked for help when his efforts to get Vantage to pay his $10,598 refund had turned futile. His case added a new twist I hadn’t seen previously.

The Moulds had wisely purchased travel insurance for their luxury cruise. They were under the impression that they had protected their journey through Allianz, a well-trusted travel insurance provider.

When Mould’s wife suddenly needed heart surgery, the couple was forced to cancel their Vantage cruise through the Greek islands. The Moulds were relieved when Allianz swiftly approved their $10,598 travel insurance claim.

However, the relief was short-lived when they learned an unfortunate truth about that policy.

Vantage Deluxe World Travel had sold the couple a pricey travel insurance policy in which Vantage itself was the administrator of the “waiver product” part of the policy. That meant that Allianz would review and approve the cancellation claim, but Vantage was responsible for paying it.

Mould soon found himself on that long list of customers waiting for a refund from Vantage.

I reached out to our helpful executive contact at Allianz about the Moulds’ approved travel insurance claim.

Hi Michelle, I checked with our claims team and they let me know that the cancellation product purchased by Vantage customers is a waiver product. The cancellation portion of the waiver product is offered and administered solely by Vantage. The waiver also includes post-departure benefits such as those for medical emergencies. Those post-departure benefits are offered and administered by us. While we do adjudicate all claims for Vantage, we do not provide payments for cancellations. Once we approve a customer’s cancellation claim, it is their responsibility to provide the refunds their customers may be entitled to. Allianz spokesman

The Allianz team reached out to Vantage Travel. They gave the company a reminder about the need to pay the couple’s insurance claim.

Mould got lucky. After this nudge from Allianz, his $10,598 claim suddenly rose to the top of the refund list.

“I don’t know how you did it, but sometime yesterday, I received a bank transfer [from Vantage Travel] for a full cash refund,” Mould told me. “I can’t thank you enough. We’ve been attempting to gain some satisfaction for four months, you did it in seven days.”

Thanks to the Allianz team, Mould can focus on helping his wife recover instead of worrying about fighting with Vantage.

But as I dug through the ever-growing pile of pleas for help from Vantage Travel customers, my previous optimism about the tour operator’s recovery quickly evaporated.

Another travel insurance policy administered by the troubled tour operator

When Shere Delafranier and her husband Leo booked a bucket list Nile River Vantage cruise in 2019, they could hardly wait. For the next several months, the couple looked forward to their dream trip, scheduled for October 2020.

But then Leo began feeling unwell and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Just days before the pandemic would shut down the entire cruise industry, the Delafraniers canceled their much-anticipated Egyptian adventure.

The couple had purchased TripMate insurance through Vantage, and their claim was soon approved. Unfortunately for the Delafraniers, as in Mould’s case, Vantage Travel would be responsible for the payment of the $11,540 insurance claim.

Nearly three years later, Delafranier, now an elderly widow, is still waiting for Vantage to pay the claim.

“My mother needs this money to live on,” Delafranier’s daughter told me. “I don’t understand how Vantage Travel can get away with this.”

Like the previous two cases, I hoped to be able to quickly put an end to this Vantage customer’s wait.

Some bad news for Vantage Travel customers waiting for a refund

But then I received some bad news for all Vantage Travel customers.

The helpful executive who had for several years pushed through many refunds for the customers our advocacy team brought to him was leaving this position at Vantage. After some cordial introductions, it became clear that his replacement was not cut from the same caring cloth.

Since this changing of the guard at the company, none of the Vantage complaints that we’ve received have been resolved. Communication between my team and the Vantage team has ceased. In fact, last month, we received notification that our email addresses weren’t approved to be delivered to this new contact. But not before I sent Delafranier’s troubling case to her.

The new Vantage executive in charge of facilitating refunds assured me that her team was looking into why it hadn’t processed Delafranier’s refund.

And that was the last time I heard from Vantage Deluxe World Travel about any cases.

Multiple follow-up requests for Vantage to pay the widow the $11,540 it owes her have gone unanswered — including one to the founder of Vantage and one to TripMate asking if it could help.

Today Delafranier is still waiting for Vantage to pay that refund – three years after all parties agreed the money is owed to her.

Vantage continues to refuse to give any explanation as to why it still has her money.

As often happens after we publish an article about a company’s bad behavior and the court of public opinion begins to weigh in , there’s been a happy development in Delafranier’s case.

Yesterday, she got a pleasant surprise when she opened her mailbox. The long-awaited refund from Vantage Travel — the one she thought she would never see — had arrived. The envelope contained no apology or explanation for the three-year delay, but that made no difference to Delafranier. She’s just relieved to finally be able to put this awful battle behind her.

Hi Michelle, I wanted to let you know my mom FINALLY got a check in the mail for her refund!! My mom cried when she opened her mail. She had gotten an email asking her to verify her address but was wary the check wouldn’t show after all the previous empty promises. I hope all your other refund cases get resolved quickly now. It’s mind boggling how many people they have done this to. Thank you so much for all your help with this! I truly appreciate it and feel that we would not have gotten her money back if it weren’t for your help! Chelsea (Delafranier’s daughter)

*Post-bankruptcy update: Delafranier’s refund would turn out to be the last refund that Vantage Deluxe World Travel would ever process before declaring bankruptcy on June 29, 2023.

“Please allow us to see the human side of Vantage Travel once again!”

When Michael Meyer’s wife took a terrible fall earlier this month, the couple knew that meant the end of the plans for their Vantage European river cruise, scheduled for this June. As his wife was recovering, Meyer tried to take care of the cancellation details with Vantage.

“I called and spoke to a Vantage agent and explained that we weren’t looking for a refund,” Meyer explained to me. “We just wanted to reschedule for next year for the same cruise.”

But to Meyer’s surprise, after his phone call with the Vantage agent, he soon received notification that he should file a travel insurance claim with TripMate.

I immediately sent an email to Henry Lewis, the founder of Vantage Deluxe World Travel. I was desperate and I explained that my wife took a terrible fall. My hope was that I could appeal to his sense of human compassion.

As others before Meyer discovered, most emails to Lewis go unanswered at this time. Instead of the compassionate response he expected, Meyer received a summary of his cancellation.

Lufthansa hasn’t received payment for the airfare

Meyer then reached out to TPG for guidance, and his request for help landed on my desk.

Two problems immediately became clear. The trip insurance policy Meyer held was issued in 2019. That $2,198 policy has been discontinued since late 2020, but Vantage applied it to a trip in 2023.

TripMate accepted the claim for review to determine if the couple has coverage protection for the cruise and ground portion of the trip – $14,400. But as we’ve already determined, the pre-departure cancellation waiver product of the claim, if valid and approved, will revert back to Vantage for payment.

Meyer had purchased his nearly $8,000 refundable business class airfare to Europe on Lufthansa directly through Vantage. I hoped that we could at least provide some relief to Meyer and get the refund of the airfare in process.

But when I checked with Lufthansa, I (and Meyer) got a surprise – the tickets for the flights were never issued. The airline was still waiting for payment by Vantage Travel — the airline had nothing to refund.

Lufthansa shows Vantage Deluxe World Travel didn't pay for this passenger's ticket.

Meyer was stunned. He had long ago paid Vantage for those Lufthansa tickets.

Can the Fair Credit Billing Act help?

The Fair Credit Billing Act allows credit card using consumers to dispute charges when a merchant has not provided the goods or service as agreed.

Credit Card Disputes: Everything you need to know before you file one

If a tour operator charges a traveler $7,362 for business class flights but never pays for tickets, this qualifies for a credit card dispute. I advised Meyer to provide this information to his credit card company ASAP.

He did and there is now an active credit card dispute investigation about this charge. Vantage will have 30 days to respond and explain itself. If that doesn’t happen, Meyer will win the dispute and get his money back.

Something tells me that Vantage will not be fighting this credit card dispute.

Meyer is currently waiting for the determination from TripMate. But if his claim is approved and must be paid by Vantage, he’ll likely be waiting a long time for that refund.

Paying Vantage Travel $66,000 for a cruise and then… tragedy

Maureen Bova’s request for help came in the same wave as the others.

She and her husband had planned a $66,000 bucket list adventure with Vantage Travel set to begin in October 2022. Unfortunately, just before the couple’s journey, Vantage gave them some bad news.

It was a new ship, Ocean Odyssey, and [Vantage explained that] due to Covid and supply chain issues, the first two legs of the cruise were cancelled [by Vantage]. This occurred early October 2022. We were then scheduled to start our trip November 17th. Maureen B

As the couple readjusted their plans and prepared to begin their trip in mid-November, the unthinkable happened. Bova’s husband was diagnosed with ALS — and it began rapidly progressing. There was no way the couple would be able to proceed with the trip and she alerted Vantage Travel.

Bova and her husband had insured the trip with Allianz via Vantage… so you can probably predict where this is going. Allianz quickly approved the claim and Bova expected to receive her money back. Vantage Travel acknowledged that it owed her the refund and representatives repeatedly thanked her for her patience. But they admitted they had no idea when the payment would be processed.

Over the course of several weeks, Bova pleaded with Vantage to process her refund. Her husband’s unexpected catastrophic illness was expensive and her family needed the $66,000 to pay bills. But her pleas fell on deaf ears as cheerful Vantage representatives continued to remind her of the terrible impact the pandemic had on the cruise industry. According to Vantage agents, the company was “doing the best we can” to process refunds.

When I read through Bova’s paper trail, I hoped that an AI chatbot had written the responses she received to her pleas. Only a heartless human could have responded so coldly to Bova’s emails.

This was especially true after Bova’s husband died in January 2023.

Please! We payed over $66,000 total for this trip. My husband passed away on January 14, 2023. ALS is an expensive disease and I have been trying to get an idea of when we can expect our refund and all I get is [repeated thank yous for my patience] Maureen B to Vantage Travel

But true to form, the Vantage Travel representatives had emotionless responses — not even condolence for Bova’s devastating loss.

Hello Maureen, The answer remains the same as when I responded to your email asking for a time line on 1/18/23. There are no new updates. Warm Regards , Courtney (Vantage Deluxe World Travel customer service)

Warm regards? There was nothing warm about those regards. In fact, this Vantage Travel agent sounded irritated that Bova had the gall to send an additional email after her husband died.

Now Bova joined that long list of Vantage Travel customers waiting for refunds. Today, her $66,000 remains in the hands of Vantage.

More customers report that their flights have been canceled by Vantage

Last week more Vantage customers reported that their previously confirmed flights have been canceled.

Just days ago, Liz S. sent a troubling summary of her experience. She and her friends have been trying unsuccessfully for years to reschedule a cruise that Vantage canceled in 2020.

Liz says that she asked for a refund at the time of the originally canceled cruise. Vantage pushed back and told her that the trip wasn’t canceled; it was only “postponed.”

That is a Vantage twist of the meaning of the word “cancellation” that I spoke about on ABC News way back in 2021.

Like thousands of other Vantage customers, Liz was faced with no other choice but to rebook… and rebook… and rebook again.

That leads us to the situation in April 2023.

Our latest rescheduled trip was to start on Apr 25, 2023. Vantage had scheduled our flights with United and I had confirmed on the United website the confirmation number and seats earlier. On Apr. 22, 2023, I went on United’s website to review our flight reservation for some additional information and found out that our flights to Europe had been canceled on April 18, 2023, by Vantage. We immediately tried to contact Vantage. It appears that they have taken down their website and they are not reachable by phone. We have not been notified by Vantage, but it appears that the company has stopped operating. We also had trip insurance for the trip, but the insurance company informed me yesterday that this situation is not covered.

Now Liz and her friends have been added to the enormous list of Vantage Travel customers who are owed a refund from the troubled tour operator.

Filing a chargeback for a Vantage cruise deposit owed

Then I received a request for help from Jane McGrath.

We canceled a wait-listed trip with Vantage Deluxe World Travel. A few days later, a member of Vantage’s “Yield Management Team” called and verified that we are due a $5,586 refund. But then we received an email from Vantage that said their team had no idea when they would be able to process the refund.

The good news for McGrath was that she paid for that deposit with a credit card. Vantage owed her a refund. It provided that information in writing and it had been over 90 days since it promised that refund. I gave her the same guidance as I offered to Meyer.

McGrath soon had good news for me as well. She had “won” the dispute. Her credit card company had retrieved the $5,586 refund from Vantage Travel.

Hi Michelle, [The credit card company has permanently] credited our account!!!! Thanks for your suggestion and support . We would not have been brave enough to do this [credit card dispute] without your suggestion. Best, Larry & Jane

And the team here at Consumer Rescue couldn’t be happier to hear this bit of good news!

What to do if Vantage Travel canceled your trip and owes you money

So what can you do if you are one of the unfortunate consumers waiting for giant refunds from Vantage Deluxe World Travel? There are a few things depending on how you paid, when you paid, the trip insurance you purchased, the state you live in and what Vantage does next.

Here’s what you need to know about how to get your money back from Vantage Travel.

File a credit card dispute

If you paid Vantage for airfare, hotel or cruise expenses with a credit card, which it has canceled or not paid for, you may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. The Fair Credit Billing Act protects consumers who use a credit card for purchases. If a merchant fails to provide the service or commits outright fraud, your credit card company can reverse the charge and investigate. The merchant has 30 days to respond to the claim. If it doesn’t respond within those 30 days, you will win the dispute and the credit will become permanent. At this point, it is highly unlikely that Vantage will challenge any valid credit card disputes.

Appeal to your state’s insurance board

If you have an approved travel insurance claim that Vantage hasn’t paid, your state’s insurance regulator may be able to move things along. That agency is responsible for making sure insurance providers are paying claims in a timely manner. You can find your state’s insurance regulator here.

Consult with an attorney

As some of the claims against Vantage Travel are in the mid to high five figures, consumers may wish to consult with an attorney to determine the absolute best way to approach this terrible situation. Your state’s bar can recommend an attorney who can guide you. Contact the American Bar Association to find your state’s bar .

Update: On June 29, 2023, Vantage Travel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced it had a buyer for whatever assets it has left (United Travel Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of Nordic Hamburg and Heritage Expeditions ) .

If a tour company, cruise line, or airline ceases to operate , and you’ve got a trip planned with it, you’ll want to check your travel insurance policy to see if it covers insolvency. Unfortunately, many Vantage customers purchased their insurance through Vantage, and those policies won’t protect the customer if the company is unable to pay its bills. (See: How buying travel insurance from a tour operator could be a $20,000 mistake. )

If you’ve purchased third-party travel insurance for your trip, check your policy or call your insurer to find out if you’re protected in this way.

Does your state have a Seller of Travel restitution fund ?

A limited number of states require Sellers of Travel to pay into a restitution fund that will protect travelers from a company’s insolvency. In order to operate in a state with such laws, the travel provider must register and pay into the fund.

If your state has such a rule, you may be able to recoup some of your money through that fund. Contact your state’s attorney general to find out if this applies to you.

Editor’s note : A previous version of this section noted that Vantage is a registered Seller of Travel in California, where there is a restitution fund . Unfortunately, while that is true, because Vantage is headquartered in Massachusetts, the California Attorney General’s office says that Vantage hasn’t paid into the restitution fund. Out-of-state Sellers of Travel must pay into California’s restitution fund only under certain conditions.

Join the bankruptcy class

The longest and least likely path to get your money back from a bankrupt tour operator is through court. Unfortunately, consumers are always the last “creditors” on the list for repayment during bankruptcy proceedings. But something is better than nothing. So should Vantage Travel file for bankruptcy, you’ll want to make sure you’re on that list.

The bottom line

Unfortunately, the Vantage customers you’ve just read about today represent a tiny fraction of the cases which are sitting in my advocacy folder entitled “Vantage Deluxe World Travel owes these customers lots of $$$.” This folder is growing in size by the day as the future of Vantage is unclear.

Today the Vantage website is live again with limited functions. But its call center remains closed. It has now enabled commenting on its Facebook page on one post. That post has hundreds of comments and shares. There you can read many similar tales from bewildered, formerly loyal Vantage customers.

It’s not hard to guess that this company owes refunds in the high six-figure, probably seven-figure, range. That’s just what it owes its customers. There’s no way of knowing how much the company might owe to other creditors.

Hopefully, Vantage Travel will somehow recover from this latest event — whatever this event actually is — for the sake of all those customers who have been waiting and waiting for their money. But that remains to be seen. ( Michelle Couch-Friedman , Consumer Rescue)

* June 2, 2023 update : Vantage Travel canceled my cruise. What can I do?

*June 20 Vantage Deluxe World Travel update: At just after 9 a.m. today, I began receiving messages from Vantage employees who attended a meeting this morning and were informed that the entire team was being laid off. The offices are now closed without any explanation from the company. I will continue to update as I learn more.

*June 29, 2023: Vantage Deluxe World Travel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today and announced a buyer has intentions of buying its assets in those proceedings. In that hearing, the company revealed it actually owes $170 million to secured and unsecured creditors (customers).

Vantage Travel is bankrupt: Here’s what customers need to know

* Aug. 20, 2023: Vantage is sold. Here’s what it means to customers

* Dec. 31, 2023: Consumer Rescue has helped return hundreds of thousands of dollars to Vantage victims this year. Here’s how .

* Before you go: Could a cruise line cancel your entire cruise based on a $112 unpaid ground transfer offered by a third party? NCL says it can. That didn’t seem right to Consumer Rescue!

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Boeing Issues Will Cause Travel Trouble This Summer, Experts Say—Here’s What That Means for Your Honeymoon or Destination Wedding

The Boeing shortage is impacting aircraft availability and driving up flight prices, which might make for a tricky travel experience.

Getty Images / murat4art

Planning to jet off on your international honeymoon or catch a flight to your (or someone else’s) cross-country destination wedding this summer? Get ready for a season of tricky air travel. By now, you’ve likely heard about the mess that is Boeing, the American company responsible for the majority of the world’s airplane design and production. If you haven’t, here’s a quick recap: After a myriad of terrifying in-flight failures this year, from the Alaska Airlines 737 Max incident in January (parts on the plane’s side blew off shortly after takeoff, reports CNN ) to the violent plunge a 787 Dreamliner experienced over Australia in March, injuring 50 passengers, the company is facing mandatory groundings of aircrafts , congressional hearings, production delays due to safety improvements, and fines.

Key Takeaways

Boeing, the world's leading aircraft manufacturer, is facing major safety scrutiny that has led to production delays.
Several of the world's largest airlines won't receive enough airplanes to facilitate anticipated summer travel, resulting in reduced schedules and higher fares due to increased demand.
Honeymooners and those hosting or traveling to destination weddings who have not yet booked flights will likely be impacted.
If you still need to book your honeymoon or wedding flights, there are a few things you can do to safeguard your summer plans, from booking your airfare now to investing in a price protection plan.

That should perk up the ears of all summer travelers, including those preparing for destination nuptials and honeymoons. With Boeing production now at a standstill—the supplier is racing to submit improved safety plans to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by the end of May—there just aren’t as many planes available this season (and airlines are trimming their schedules accordingly). The gist? Since several Boeing models, from the single-aisle 737 Max used for shorter flights to the 787 Dreamliner used for extended routes, are experiencing issues, honeymooners and wedding goers traveling near and far are being left in the lurch.

Meet the Expert

John Grant is a senior analyst affiliated with OAG, a travel data company.
Dr. Terika L. Haynes is the CEO and founder of Dynamite Travel , a luxury travel and media consultancy. She has 15 years of experience in the travel industry.

That means Boeing’s issues are about to become our issues, experts say. “There’s uncertainty over when aircrafts will be delivered to airlines around the world that had been planning on receiving these as part of their summer program,” explains John Grant , a senior analyst affiliated with OAG, a travel data company. This will result in a shortage, he says, and on short notice, too, which is causing airlines to scramble to find alternatives (like leasing or securing short-term use of planes from smaller suppliers).

Unfortunately, this will also result in higher flight fares , an effect travel expert Dr. Terika L. Haynes has already seen firsthand (particularly to hotspot honeymoon locales, like Mexico and Europe). “Less availability combined with increased demand is causing noticeable increases in price,” she explains. “In addition to the obvious challenges, there are also less obvious intangibles to consider, which is the heightened fear and concerns of travelers about flying in general. Many clients are actively requesting not to be booked on flights that have Boeing aircrafts.” (In fact, some travel booking sites, like Airline Alternatives , have filters that allow passengers to remove airlines with impacted Boeing aircrafts altogether).

But avoiding a Boeing flight isn’t always easy to do, considering the fact that many United States-based airlines rely on the supplier in some capacity. Southwest exclusively flies the company’s aircrafts, while United is one of the largest operators of Boeing in the world; American and Alaska’s fleets are also packed with these planes (and virtually all of these airlines have expressed their concerns and frustrations with the manufacturer, reports CBC ). Naturally, the airlines flying Boeing will see the most drastic impact (reduced availability, high flight costs, etc.), notes Grant—but virtually all carriers will feel some effect. “These are the airlines that we can expect to see the highest price hikes with,” affirms Haynes. “However, other airline prices will go up, as well, because the overall demand for flights will increase due to a shortage of aircrafts.”

Ultimately, there isn’t much that can be done, say our experts, especially since there aren’t many good alternatives; Boeing’s main competitor, Airbus, is maxed out on production through the decade and has also been the recent star of bad headlines. “Boeing and others have to address their production issues—you can’t magically make a load of aircrafts appear,” says Grant.

Getty Images / FG Trade Latin

But there is some good news. Chances are, if you’re traveling for a wedding or honeymoon-related reason this summer, you’re already set. “Most weddings and honeymoons are planned far in advance (at least nine to 12 months, if not earlier),” says Haynes. “Therefore the current challenges should not affect most people attending weddings or honeymoons this summer or year.” And while our experts are seeing some impact on international trips, the Boeing crisis will mainly effect domestic and regional flights, reports Bloomberg . Even better: Despite reports of trimmed schedules, we haven't yet found evidence of canceled summer flights (though it will be important to keep an eye out over the next few months).

And if you haven't yet booked your summer honeymoon or wedding travel? Don't fret—it's not too late, say our experts. There are a few things you can do now to safeguard your trip:

Book now: As in, right now! The sooner you book, the more options you will have regarding price, affirms Grant. “If you leave booking until the last minute, then it may be an expensive flight,” he says.
Invest in a travel price protection plan: This doesn’t just safeguard your initial flight investment and allow for more flexible scheduling changes—a price protection plan could also lower your spend if the Boeing situation eases by the time of your departure. “With price protection, this would allow the guest to have their vacation price adjusted down if the price drops after they book,” says Haynes.
Do your research: If you’re concerned about safety, scheduling issues, or higher flight fares, consider flying an airline that does not rely on Boeing. “Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, and JetBlue don't fly any Boeings,” says Haynes. On the international front, “SAS, Finnair, ITA Airways, Vueling, and EasyJet are options in Europe.” There are also several airlines that use Boeings, but don’t fly the 737 Max model that has been in the news, she adds. Do your research to ensure the flight you select is one you’re comfortable with—and remember that “aviation remains the safest form of public transport in the world,” says Grant.

Travel Itinerary For One Week in Moscow: The Best of Moscow!

I just got back from one week in Moscow. And, as you might have already guessed, it was a mind-boggling experience. It was not my first trip to the Russian capital. But I hardly ever got enough time to explore this sprawling city. Visiting places for business rarely leaves enough time for sightseeing. I think that if you’ve got one week in Russia, you can also consider splitting your time between its largest cities (i.e. Saint Petersburg ) to get the most out of your trip. Seven days will let you see the majority of the main sights and go beyond just scratching the surface. In this post, I’m going to share with you my idea of the perfect travel itinerary for one week in Moscow.

Moscow is perhaps both the business and cultural hub of Russia. There is a lot more to see here than just the Kremlin and Saint Basil’s Cathedral. Centuries-old churches with onion-shaped domes dotted around the city are in stark contrast with newly completed impressive skyscrapers of Moscow City dominating the skyline. I spent a lot of time thinking about my Moscow itinerary before I left. And this city lived up to all of my expectations.

Travel Itinerary For One Week in Moscow

Day 1 – red square and the kremlin.

Metro Station: Okhotny Ryad on Red Line.

No trip to Moscow would be complete without seeing its main attraction. The Red Square is just a stone’s throw away from several metro stations. It is home to some of the most impressive architectural masterpieces in the city. The first thing you’ll probably notice after entering it and passing vendors selling weird fur hats is the fairytale-like looking Saint Basil’s Cathedral. It was built to commemorate one of the major victories of Ivan the Terrible. I once spent 20 minutes gazing at it, trying to find the perfect angle to snap it. It was easier said than done because of the hordes of locals and tourists.

As you continue strolling around Red Square, there’s no way you can miss Gum. It was widely known as the main department store during the Soviet Era. Now this large (yet historic) shopping mall is filled with expensive boutiques, pricey eateries, etc. During my trip to Moscow, I was on a tight budget. So I only took a retro-style stroll in Gum to get a rare glimpse of a place where Soviet leaders used to grocery shop and buy their stuff. In case you want some modern shopping experience, head to the Okhotny Ryad Shopping Center with stores like New Yorker, Zara, and Adidas.

Day 2 – Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Tretyakov Gallery, and the Arbat Street

Metro Station: Kropotkinskaya on Red Line

As soon as you start creating a Moscow itinerary for your second day, you’ll discover that there are plenty of metro stations that are much closer to certain sites. Depending on your route, take a closer look at the metro map to pick the closest.

The white marble walls of Christ the Saviour Cathedral are awe-inspiring. As you approach this tallest Orthodox Christian church, you may notice the bronze sculptures, magnificent arches, and cupolas that were created to commemorate Russia’s victory against Napoleon.

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Unfortunately, the current Cathedral is a replica, since original was blown to bits in 1931 by the Soviet government. The new cathedral basically follows the original design, but they have added some new elements such as marble high reliefs.

Home to some precious collection of artworks, in Tretyakov Gallery you can find more than 150,000 of works spanning centuries of artistic endeavor. Originally a privately owned gallery, it now has become one of the largest museums in Russia. The Gallery is often considered essential to visit. But I have encountered a lot of locals who have never been there.

Famous for its souvenirs, musicians, and theaters, Arbat street is among the few in Moscow that were turned into pedestrian zones. Arbat street is usually very busy with tourists and locals alike. My local friend once called it the oldest street in Moscow dating back to 1493. It is a kilometer long walking street filled with fancy gift shops, small cozy restaurants, lots of cute cafes, and street artists. It is closed to any vehicular traffic, so you can easily stroll it with kids.

Day 3 – Moscow River Boat Ride, Poklonnaya Hill Victory Park, the Moscow City

Metro Station: Kievskaya and Park Pobedy on Dark Blue Line / Vystavochnaya on Light Blue Line

Voyaging along the Moscow River is definitely one of the best ways to catch a glimpse of the city and see the attractions from a bit different perspective. Depending on your Moscow itinerary, travel budget and the time of the year, there are various types of boats available. In the summer there is no shortage of boats, and you’ll be spoiled for choice.

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If you find yourself in Moscow during the winter months, I’d recommend going with Radisson boat cruise. These are often more expensive (yet comfy). They offer refreshments like tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and, of course, alcoholic drinks. Prices may vary but mostly depend on your food and drink selection. Find their main pier near the opulent Ukraine hotel . The hotel is one of the “Seven Sisters”, so if you’re into the charm of Stalinist architecture don’t miss a chance to stay there.

The area near Poklonnaya Hill has the closest relation to the country’s recent past. The memorial complex was completed in the mid-1990s to commemorate the Victory and WW2 casualties. Also known as the Great Patriotic War Museum, activities here include indoor attractions while the grounds around host an open-air museum with old tanks and other vehicles used on the battlefield.

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The hallmark of the memorial complex and the first thing you see as you exit metro is the statue of Nike mounted to its column. This is a very impressive Obelisk with a statue of Saint George slaying the dragon at its base.

Maybe not as impressive as Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower , the skyscrapers of the Moscow City (otherwise known as Moscow International Business Center) are so drastically different from dull Soviet architecture. With 239 meters and 60 floors, the Empire Tower is the seventh highest building in the business district.

The observation deck occupies 56 floor from where you have some panoramic views of the city. I loved the view in the direction of Moscow State University and Luzhniki stadium as well to the other side with residential quarters. The entrance fee is pricey, but if you’re want to get a bird’s eye view, the skyscraper is one of the best places for doing just that.

Day 4 – VDNKh, Worker and Collective Farm Woman Monument, The Ostankino TV Tower

Metro Station: VDNKh on Orange Line

VDNKh is one of my favorite attractions in Moscow. The weird abbreviation actually stands for Russian vystavka dostizheniy narodnogo khozyaystva (Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy). With more than 200 buildings and 30 pavilions on the grounds, VDNKh serves as an open-air museum. You can easily spend a full day here since the park occupies a very large area.

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First, there are pavilions that used to showcase different cultures the USSR was made of. Additionally, there is a number of shopping pavilions, as well as Moskvarium (an Oceanarium) that features a variety of marine species. VDNKh is a popular venue for events and fairs. There is always something going on, so I’d recommend checking their website if you want to see some particular exhibition.

A stone’s throw away from VDNKh there is a very distinctive 25-meters high monument. Originally built in 1937 for the world fair in Paris, the hulking figures of men and women holding a hammer and a sickle represent the Soviet idea of united workers and farmers. It doesn’t take much time to see the monument, but visiting it gives some idea of the Soviet Union’s grandiose aspirations.

I have a thing for tall buildings. So to continue my travel itinerary for one week in Moscow I decided to climb the fourth highest TV tower in the world. This iconic 540m tower is a fixture of the skyline. You can see it virtually from everywhere in Moscow, and this is where you can get the best panoramic views (yep, even better than Empire skyscraper).

Parts of the floor are made of tempered glass, so it can be quite scary to exit the elevator. But trust me, as you start observing buildings and cars below, you won’t want to leave. There is only a limited number of tickets per day, so you may want to book online. Insider tip: the first tour is cheaper, you can save up to $10 if go there early.

Day 5 – A Tour To Moscow Manor Houses

Metro Station: Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno on Dark Green Line / Kuskovo on Purple Line

I love visiting the manor houses and palaces in Moscow. These opulent buildings were generally built to house Russian aristocratic families and monarchs. Houses tend to be rather grand affairs with impressive architecture. And, depending on the whims of the owners, some form of a landscaped garden.

During the early part of the 20th century though, many of Russia’s aristocratic families (including the family of the last emperor) ended up being killed or moving abroad . Their manor houses were nationalized. Some time later (after the fall of the USSR) these were open to the public. It means that today a great many of Moscow’s finest manor houses and palaces are open for touring.

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There are 20 manor houses scattered throughout the city and more than 25 in the area around. But not all of them easily accessible and exploring them often takes a lot of time. I’d recommend focusing on three most popular estates in Moscow that are some 30-minute metro ride away from Kremlin.

Sandwiched between the Moscow River and the Andropov Avenue, Kolomenskoye is a UNESCO site that became a public park in the 1920’s. Once a former royal estate, now it is one of the most tranquil parks in the city with gorgeous views. The Ascension Church, The White Column, and the grounds are a truly grand place to visit.

You could easily spend a full day here, exploring a traditional Russian village (that is, in fact, a market), picnicking by the river, enjoying the Eastern Orthodox church architecture, hiking the grounds as well as and wandering the park and gardens with wildflower meadows, apple orchards, and birch and maple groves. The estate museum showcases Russian nature at its finest year-round.

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If my travel itinerary for one week in Moscow was a family tree, Tsaritsyno Park would probably be the crazy uncle that no-one talks about. It’s a large park in the south of the city of mind-boggling proportions, unbelievable in so many ways, and yet most travelers have never heard of it.

The palace was supposed to be a summer home for Empress Catherine the Great. But since the construction didn’t meet with her approval the palace was abandoned. Since the early 1990’s the palace, the pond, and the grounds have been undergoing renovations. The entire complex is now looking brighter and more elaborately decorated than at possibly any other time during its history. Like most parks in Moscow, you can visit Tsaritsyno free of charge, but there is a small fee if you want to visit the palace.

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Last, but by no means least on my Moscow itinerary is Kuskovo Park . This is definitely an off-the-beaten-path place. While it is not easily accessible, you will be rewarded with a lack of crowds. This 18th-century summer country house of the Sheremetev family was one of the first summer country estates of the Russian nobility. And when you visit you’ll quickly realize why locals love this park.

Like many other estates, Kuskovo has just been renovated. So there are lovely French formal garden, a grotto, and the Dutch house to explore. Make sure to plan your itinerary well because the estate is some way from a metro station.

Day 6 – Explore the Golden Ring

Creating the Moscow itinerary may keep you busy for days with the seemingly endless amount of things to do. Visiting the so-called Golden Ring is like stepping back in time. Golden Ring is a “theme route” devised by promotion-minded journalist and writer Yuri Bychkov.

Having started in Moscow the route will take you through a number of historical cities. It now includes Suzdal, Vladimir, Kostroma, Yaroslavl and Sergiev Posad. All these awe-inspiring towns have their own smaller kremlins and feature dramatic churches with onion-shaped domes, tranquil residential areas, and other architectural landmarks.

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I only visited two out of eight cities included on the route. It is a no-brainer that Sergiev Posad is the nearest and the easiest city to see on a day trip from Moscow. That being said, you can explore its main attractions in just one day. Located some 70 km north-east of the Russian capital, this tiny and overlooked town is home to Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, UNESCO Site.

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Sergiev Posad is often described as being at the heart of Russian spiritual life. So it is uncommon to see the crowds of Russian pilgrims showing a deep reverence for their religion. If you’re traveling independently and using public transport, you can reach Sergiev Posad by bus (departs from VDNKh) or by suburban commuter train from Yaroslavskaya Railway Station (Bahnhof). It takes about one and a half hours to reach the town.

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a great place to get a glimpse of filling and warming Russian lunch, specifically at the “ Gostevaya Izba ” restaurant. Try the duck breast, hearty potato and vegetables, and the awesome Napoleon cake.

Day 7 – Gorky Park, Izmailovo Kremlin, Patriarch’s Ponds

Metro Station: Park Kultury or Oktyabrskaya on Circle Line / Partizanskaya on Dark Blue Line / Pushkinskaya on Dark Green Line

Gorky Park is in the heart of Moscow. It offers many different types of outdoor activities, such as dancing, cycling, skateboarding, walking, jogging, and anything else you can do in a park. Named after Maxim Gorky, this sprawling and lovely park is where locals go on a picnic, relax and enjoy free yoga classes. It’s a popular place to bike around, and there is a Muzeon Art Park not far from here. A dynamic location with a younger vibe. There is also a pier, so you can take a cruise along the river too.

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The Kremlin in Izmailovo is by no means like the one you can find near the Red Square. Originally built for decorative purposes, it now features the Vernissage flea market and a number of frequent fairs, exhibitions, and conferences. Every weekend, there’s a giant flea market in Izmailovo, where dozens of stalls sell Soviet propaganda crap, Russian nesting dolls, vinyl records, jewelry and just about any object you can imagine. Go early in the morning if you want to beat the crowds.

All the Bulgakov’s fans should pay a visit to Patriarch’s Ponds (yup, that is plural). With a lovely small city park and the only one (!) pond in the middle, the location is where the opening scene of Bulgakov’s novel Master and Margarita was set. The novel is centered around a visit by Devil to the atheistic Soviet Union is considered by many critics to be one of the best novels of the 20th century. I spent great two hours strolling the nearby streets and having lunch in the hipster cafe.

Conclusion and Recommendations

To conclude, Moscow is a safe city to visit. I have never had a problem with getting around and most locals are really friendly once they know you’re a foreigner. Moscow has undergone some serious reconstruction over the last few years. So you can expect some places to be completely different. I hope my one week Moscow itinerary was helpful! If you have less time, say 4 days or 5 days, I would cut out day 6 and day 7. You could save the Golden Ring for a separate trip entirely as there’s lots to see!

What are your thoughts on this one week Moscow itinerary? Are you excited about your first time in the city? Let me know in the comments below!

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24 comments.

Ann Snook-Moreau

Moscow looks so beautiful and historic! Thanks for including public transit information for those of us who don’t like to rent cars.

MindTheTravel

Yup, that is me 🙂 Rarely rent + stick to the metro = Full wallet!

Mariella Blago

Looks like you had loads of fun! Well done. Also great value post for travel lovers.

Thanks, Mariella!

I have always wanted to go to Russia, especially Moscow. These sights look absolutely beautiful to see and there is so much history there!

Agree! Moscow is a thousand-year-old city and there is definitely something for everyone.

Tara Pittman

Those are amazing buildings. Looks like a place that would be amazing to visit.

Adriana Lopez

Never been to Moscow or Russia but my family has. Many great spots and a lot of culture. Your itinerary sounds fantastic and covers a lot despite it is only a short period of time.

What was their favourite thing about Russia?

Gladys Parker

I know very little about Moscow or Russia for the\at matter. I do know I would have to see the Red Square and all of its exquisite architectural masterpieces. Also the CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR. Thanks for shedding some light on visiting Moscow.

Thanks for swinging by! The Red Square is a great starting point, but there way too many places and things to discover aside from it!

Ruthy @ Percolate Kitchen

You are making me so jealous!! I’ve always wanted to see Russia.

Moscow is in my bucket list, I don’t know when I can visit there, your post is really useful. As a culture rich place we need to spend at least week.

DANA GUTKOWSKI

Looks like you had a great trip! Thanks for all the great info! I’ve never been in to Russia, but this post makes me wanna go now!

Wow this is amazing! Moscow is on my bucket list – such an amazing place to visit I can imagine! I can’t wait to go there one day!

The building on the second picture looks familiar. I keep seeing that on TV.

Reesa Lewandowski

What beautiful moments! I always wish I had the personality to travel more like this!

Perfect itinerary for spending a week in Moscow! So many places to visit and it looks like you had a wonderful time. I would love to climb that tower. The views I am sure must have been amazing!

I was lucky enough to see the skyline of Moscow from this TV Tower and it is definitely mind-blowing.

Chelsea Pearl

Moscow is definitely up there on my travel bucket list. So much history and iconic architecture!

Thumbs up! 🙂

Blair Villanueva

OMG I dream to visit Moscow someday! Hope the visa processing would be okay (and become more affordable) so I could pursue my dream trip!

Yup, visa processing is the major downside! Agree! Time and the money consuming process…

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Airbus and Boeing's problems spell bad news for the cost of your summer vacation

IATA predicted this year will beat the pre-pandemic record for air travel.
But both Boeing and Airbus jets are having problems that are reducing capacity.
Some airlines are already warning that prices will go up.

You can expect to pay more for plane tickets this summer, as airline capacity struggles to keep up with demand.

In December 2023, the International Air Travel Association predicted 2024 would break records for the most air passengers ever . It expects 4.7 billion people to travel this year — 200 million more than the pre-pandemic high set in 2019.

But airlines are warning they'll have fewer seats available than they initially thought, as both Boeing and Airbus are dealing with problems.

IATA had predicted a 9% growth in capacity. But passenger airlines will see 19% fewer aircraft than expected this year, Martha Neubauer, a senior associate at AeroDynamic Advisor, told Reuters .

Southwest Airlines has paused hiring because it now expects to receive 46 new Boeing 737 Max jets, down from 79.

Watch: Thousands of bags pile up at US airports after flight cancellations

Main content

Watch CBS News

Eclipse watchers stuck in heavy traffic driving home: "Worst traffic I've ever seen"

By Megan Cerullo

Edited By Aimee Picchi

Updated on: April 9, 2024 / 2:37 PM EDT / CBS News

Drivers returning home Monday from watching the solar eclipse in cities and towns in the path of totality described traffic jams that were among the worst they'd ever experienced, keeping them on roads all night and into Tuesday morning.

Indeed, cities and towns in the eclipse's path experienced some of their largest influxes of tourists in their histories, providing an economic boom to states from Texas to Vermont. While eclipse tourists tended to stagger their arrivals during the weekend leading up to the event, many departed roughly at the same time after the eclipse ended on Monday afternoon, clogging highways and local roads.

Traffic on I-89 in Vermont, which links Burlington, a city in the path of the totality, with Boston, and on the state's I-91 was heavy on Monday afternoon, according to the Vermont Agency of Transportation. "Worst traffic I've ever seen," wrote Richard Chen of the venture fund 1confirmation on X, formerly known as Twitter, after visiting northern Vermont to view the eclipse. But, he added, "[I]t was totally worth it."

It took us over 6 hours to drive 110 miles in MO. last night after the eclipse. I’ve never been in that long of a traffic jam. The majority of it we were only going 8 miles an hour. I guess that’s the price you pay for center line totality! Cell service was out too!🤯 pic.twitter.com/GGVkXEcLn7 — Anne Jones (@1neatgirl) April 9, 2024

Along I-75 near Dixie Highway around Perrysburg, Ohio, motorists were stuck in miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic, according to a local media report .

Michigan residents who had driven to Ohio to watch the eclipse described their return trips as taking twice as long as they should have, according to WTOL 11.

The Maine Department of Transportation said the state had 10 times the volume of normal traffic in its western and southern regions Monday evening, according to Fox23 Maine . Most eclipse watchers departed at around the same time on Monday, even though they had arrived at different points leading up to the eclipse, according to The Maine Turnpike Authority.

The Maine DOT had earlier advised visitors to arrive early and leave late to avoid congestion on the roads.

On TikTok, user @schoolhousecaulk said he had anticipated bad traffic in Vermont and that it was "worth it," despite driving overnight for 150 miles at a "snails pace."

At 5:30 in the morning, he said he finally reached his home in New York City. It had taken him 13 hours to drive 370 miles, he said.

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News Streaming to discuss her reporting.

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ENVIRONMENT

The U.S. plans to limit PFAS in drinking water. What does that really mean?

The EPA’s plan to limit forever chemicals will be costly, experts say—but will protect millions of Americans from a host of health problems.

A close view of someone filling a glass with tap water.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced on April 10 the first-ever limits on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, in drinking water.

The agency says that the new rule will protect 100 million Americans from six PFAS known to accumulate in the body and cause a host of health problems —including kidney and testicular cancer as well as pregnancy-induced hypertension, preterm birth, and liver and immune system problems.

“I applaud the decision,” says Susan M. Pinney , director of the Center for Environmental Genetics at University of Cincinnati. “It’s in line with what we know about the health effects of PFAS.”

( Toxic "forever chemicals" are more common in water than we thought .)

But while public health experts approve of the new rule, they contend that getting forever chemicals out of our drinking water will be a herculean task given the sheer quantity of PFAS found in it along with the difficulty in removing them. And it may come at a cost to consumers. Here’s what to know about what comes next—and what the new rule means for you.

Next steps in cleaning up the nation’s drinking water

The downside of the new rule is the cost of installing the technology to fix the problem—which estimates suggest could be between $1.5 billion to $4 billion. Under the new rule , all U.S. public water systems will have three years to test their water for the six PFAS tagged by EPA and five years to reduce levels to the new national standard of 4 parts per trillion.

The EPA estimates that between 6 and 10 percent of the nation’s 66,000 public drinking water systems may have to make changes to their infrastructure in order to abide by the new rule. Eleven states already limit PFAS levels but many will still have to make operational changes if their levels are above the national limit.

Their first task, Pinney says, should be determining the source of pollution to prevent it from entering the water system—which is cheaper and easier than removing pollution that’s already there. Many facilities will have to install granular active carbon, ion exchange, or reverse osmosis water filtration systems, proven but costly methods for filtering PFAS from water.

As for infrastructural changes, the typical facility already has processes in place to coagulate or remove solids from water, polish it to remove things like heavy metals, and a chlorination treatment to disinfect the water of harmful microorganisms. “New infrastructure will likely fall somewhere in between the polishing and chlorination phase,” says Chris Moody, who handles regulation compliance for American Water Works Association (AWWA), an organization whose membership is made up of 4,300 utility suppliers.

( Is tap water safe to drink? Here's what you need to know .)

Updating infrastructure may also require hiring an engineer to design any new system for filtering PFAS as well as a piloting process to test that it’s working, adds Moody.

The EPA estimates the annual cost of compliance at $1.5 billion but Moody contends it’s vastly underestimated. In a report last year, AWWA estimated the implementation budget as closer to $3.8 billion .

What will that mean for your water bill? Moody says the cost burden depends on the size of your local water treatment facility. “Small systems just don’t have the economy of scale so your cost is much higher per household,” he says.

The EPA has already announced $1 billion in federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but municipalities may also have to secure funding at the state level and much of that cost is likely to be shouldered by the consumer. Moody estimates it could cost thousands annually per customer for smaller utilities and hundreds for the larger systems where the cost is spread over a greater population.

Is it worth it?

But many experts argue that the new limits make sense given the “weight of evidence” showing health problems associated with PFAS.

“It is these very low concentrations that can have big effects overtime as chemicals bioaccumulate in the body,” says Scott Belcher , director of the Center for Environmental and Health Effects of PFAS at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

( Here's where forever chemicals are hiding in your kitchen .)

PFAS are ubiquitous, found in everything from cleaning products and food packaging to water-resistant fabrics. Water, says Belcher, is low-hanging fruit when it comes to cleaning up what he calls a “long-term pollution crisis.”

While the EPA has only imposed strict limits on six PFAS based on a preponderance of scientific evidence, thousands more persist in the environment. The hope is that once new infrastructure is in place it will also remove many of those chemicals that haven’t yet been banned.

In the future, Belcher says, identifying polluters ahead of time needs to be a priority. “We’ve learned lessons over the past few decades that once these compounds get into our environment, they’re extremely difficult to remove."

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Vantage cruise ship leaves from Gloucester

The Vantage Travel cruise ship Ocean Explorer docked at the Cruiseport Gloucester Marine Terminal.

Vantage Travel, a Boston company that has canceled several cruises since April 1, sent its ship Ocean Explorer on a cruise to Montreal on schedule and from its usual port of embarkation on Thursday.

The cruise began in Gloucester, as planned. An earlier Globe report said the ship had been expected to embark from Boston. That Globe report was based on the company saying on a temporary website that the Ocean Explorer was set to “embark” from Boston.

Vantage fell victim of a “data systems incident” last month, possibly due to a ransomware attack, prompting it to establish the temporary website.

On Saturday, a little more than a week after the apparent ransomware attack, Vantage restored its website and announced to travelers “our cruises are sailing, and we’re ready to welcome you aboard.”

“Our employees are working around the clock to overcome these challenges to continue serving guests who are en route or preparing for future departures,” according to the statement. “We apologize for the distress this is causing and thank you for your patience as we work with the experts to resolve these matters and bring you the latest information.”

In the statement, Vantage acknowledged that it has recently canceled six trips, but said none was due to the apparent ransomware attack: “No trips have been disrupted or canceled specifically due to this incident.”

Until Saturday, Vantage went for days without releasing information or making company officials available for comment.

In informing customers of last-minute cancellations of cruises, Vantage cited a lack of boat “readiness” and, in the case of a scheduled cruise on the Nile in Egypt, security concerns.

The company operates about 20 ships, some of which it leases and some it owns. Most are relatively small, accommodating hundreds or dozens of passengers, not thousands, according to an online profile.

During the pandemic, Vantage came under heavy criticism from travelers for long delays in receiving refunds for canceled trips, according to a 2021 Globe story .

The office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell on Tuesday released updated data on filed complaints against Vantage, saying it has received more than 700 complaints, mostly for refunds after cancellations due to the pandemic.

“To date, the office has secured refunds for more than 80 consumers” for a total of more than $1.2 million, for about $15,000 per complaint, according to the office of the attorney general.

That means there are about 620 pending complaints against Vantage, which could add up to millions of dollars in potential refunds.

“We encourage Massachusetts residents having trouble seeking refunds from Vantage to file a complaint with our office online,” Campbell’s office said. “Out-of-state consumers are encouraged to file with their state attorney general.”

In late 2021, Vantage launched a new $70 million ship, Ocean Explorer, in Boston Harbor. That prompted the 2021 Globe story about two local couples who said it irritated them that the company made a fancy display of christening the ship with a bottle of champagne.

At the time, the two couples had been fighting for about 18 months for $46,000 owed to them by Vantage for a canceled safari to Africa. After the Globe asked questions, Vantage refunded the couples’ money.

This story has been updated to reflect information supplied by Vantage subsequent to publication saying that the recent cancellation of four of its trips to the Netherlands was due to a lack of the boat’s “readiness.” In addition, it has been updated to say the Ocean Explorer departed from Gloucester as regularly scheduled.

Got a problem? Send your consumer issue to [email protected] . Follow him @spmurphyboston .

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Help! Vantage Travel canceled my cruise. What should I do now
Vantage Travel in trouble
Traveler to Antarctica waits 1 year to receive travel refund from
Is Vantage Travel in Financial Trouble
Vantage Travel is bankrupt. Here's what customers need to know
24 Travel Problems and How to Avoid Them

COMMENTS

Vantage Travel is bankrupt. Here's what customers need to know
Here's what customers need to know. Michelle Couch-Friedman. Consumer reporter and ombudsman. July 16, 2023. Vantage Deluxe World Travel finally pulled the plug on itself and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 29. This move was no surprise to anyone following the troubling situation at the once well-respected tour operator.
Vantage Travel problems: $1.23M recovered for consumers, AG says
Consumer advocates working for Massachusetts' Attorney General have recovered more than $1.23 million for customers of Vantage Travel, a Boston-based luxury cruise company, officials said. The ...
Vantage Travel is bankrupt. But what about its owner? Two ...
Vantage offered the woman a credit for future travel "but refused to provide a refund," the suit says. In another example, the New York suit cites a couple who wanted to cancel due to a ...
New management of bankrupt Vantage Travel to reimburse customers who
Jilted customers of Vantage Travel, the luxury cruise line that went bankrupt in June and canceled trips worth thousands of dollars, will receive 100% reimbursement to put toward future travel ...
Attorney General James Sues Travel Company for Failing to Refund Consumers
NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against a travel company, Vantage Travel Services, Inc., and its founder and owner, Henry R. Lewis, for failing to refund thousands of dollars to more than 100 New Yorkers whose tours were canceled.The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) received dozens of complaints from New Yorkers in New York City, Albany, Westchester ...
Vantage Travel owes more than $170 million, bankruptcy filings show
Besides the $108 million it owes to customers, Vantage is $62 million in debt to vessel managers and other vendors and suppliers, for total liabilities of more than $170 million, the filings say ...
Lawsuit, complaints filed against Boston-based Vantage Travel
Hundreds of customers have filed complaints against Boston-based Vantage Deluxe World Travel with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office in recent years and the troubled company now faces a ...
Vantage Travel cruisers await money back after cancellations. What to do
Drop a line at [email protected], call 561-820-4833 or follow her on Twitter @mannahhorse. Would-be cruisers with Boston-based Vantage Travel are waiting for their money back after last-minute ...
Vantage Travel is negotiating a sale of the company amid cancellations
The Vantage Travel cruise ship Ocean Explorer docked at the Cruiseport Gloucester Marine Terminal on April 27. Vantage is negotiating for the sale of the company, the company said in an e-mail to ...
What to know about Vantage Travel, the embattled Boston cruise ship
1. The company has been in Boston for four decades. 2. Vantage's owner has had run-ins with the law before. 3. Both employee and customers have criticized the company. 4. The Massachusetts ...
Complaints mount against Mass.-based travel company
June 1, 2023. 1. A growing number of complaints are mounting against Vantage Deluxe World Travel, a Massachusetts-based cruise company. The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office told Boston ...
Vantage Travel says it's up for sale, employees say they're not getting
The Mass. Attorney General's Office says it received at least 793 complaints against Vantage since Jan. 1, 2020, including 156 complaints filed in 2023. According to a Boston 25 tipster, Vantage employees recently lost their healthcare coverage and are having trouble getting paid. That person sent several internal memos detailing timecard ...
Vantage Deluxe World Travel: Here are the true tales from bewildered
Paying Vantage Travel $66,000 for a cruise and then… tragedy. Maureen Bova's request for help came in the same wave as the others. She and her husband had planned a $66,000 bucket list adventure with Vantage Travel set to begin in October 2022. Unfortunately, just before the couple's journey, Vantage gave them some bad news.
Vantage Travel cancels trips, blames data security incident
Last week, WBZ reached out to Vantage on behalf of a Florida couple who had a different trip booked that was also canceled. A company representative told us that couple could reschedule or get a ...
Vantage Deluxe World Travel
Status: Unanswered. In Sept. 2022 a friend and I paid over $7000 for a trip in Oct. 2023. The travel company, Vantage World Travel, has ceased operations and it appears that we will not get out ...
Crocus City Hall attack
Crocus City Hall attack. / 55.82583°N 37.39028°E / 55.82583; 37.39028. On 22 March 2024, a terrorist attack which was carried out by the Islamic State occurred at the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. The attack began at around 20:00 MSK ( UTC+3 ), shortly before the Russian band Picnic was scheduled ...
Spring Fever: 3 Travel Stocks Set to Surge as Bookings Bloom
Travel stocks to buy for 2024's record-setting spring and summer travel seasons April 12, 2024 By Jeremy Flint , InvestorPlace Contributor Apr 12, 2024, 12:58 pm EDT April 12, 2024
Boeing Plane Issues Cause Travel Trouble for Summer Honeymoons
John Grant is a senior analyst affiliated with OAG, a travel data company. Dr. Terika L. Haynes is the CEO and founder of Dynamite Travel, a luxury travel and media consultancy. She has 15 years ...
Vantage Travel abruptly cancels Netherlands trip
Christopher Elliott, whose nationally syndicated "travel troubleshooting" column appears regularly in the Globe, at the time called Vantage "one of the most complained-about companies ...
Gay Moscow · City Guide
Having said this, most tourist visits are trouble-free, and Moscow has a relatively low crime rate. Like all other big cities, it is best to avoid darker, off-the-beaten-track streets or alleys. ... apart from the normal first and second class and national railways provide restaurant cars. Travel from Paris takes 38 hours. Several other ...
Travel Itinerary For One Week in Moscow
Day 6 - Explore the Golden Ring. Creating the Moscow itinerary may keep you busy for days with the seemingly endless amount of things to do. Visiting the so-called Golden Ring is like stepping back in time. Golden Ring is a "theme route" devised by promotion-minded journalist and writer Yuri Bychkov.
Record Summer Travel More Expensive With Boeing and Airbus Issues
In December 2023, the International Air Travel Association predicted 2024 would break records for the most air passengers ever. It expects 4.7 billion people to travel this year — 200 million ...
Wall Street Favorites: 3 Travel Stocks With Strong Buy Ratings for
This explains why Sabre remains at a depressed valuation despite the ensuing travel recovery. However, the company expects major cost savings in 2024 and 2025 and has a path to positive earnings.
Airline points, miles aren't worth nearly as much as they were
The highest average reward travel price this year was on United at $30,460, up from $25,000 in 2019. Southwest had the lowest average reward price at $14,484, but that was almost double 2019's ...
Eclipse watchers stuck in heavy traffic driving home: "Worst traffic I
It took us over 6 hours to drive 110 miles in MO. last night after the eclipse. I've never been in that long of a traffic jam. The majority of it we were only going 8 miles an hour.
Air India Dealt Blow as Aircraft Technicians Plan Strike
Trouble for Air India Ltd. is mounting with aircraft technicians planning a strike later this month after its pilots voiced concerns last week about being overworked and underpaid.
Vantage Travel CEO blames 'close confidant' for big investment losses
As if Hank Lewis didn't have enough problems. Lewis is founder and chief executive of Vantage Deluxe World Travel, which this week blamed a ransomware attack for bringing down its website and ...
The U.S. plans to limit PFAS in drinking water. What does that really mean?
The agency says that the new rule will protect 100 million Americans from six PFAS known to accumulate in the body and cause a host of health problems—including kidney and testicular cancer as ...
Cruise Operator Viking's US IPO Filing Shows $1.9 Billion Loss
Viking Holdings Ltd. has filed for an initial public offering, disclosing growing revenue and a loss in 2023 of about $1.9 billion, as the travel industry continues to rebound from its pandemic ...
Vantage cruise ship leaves from Gloucester
Vantage Travel, a Boston company that has canceled several cruises since April 1, sent its ship Ocean Explorer on a cruise to Montreal on schedule and from its usual port of embarkation on Thursday.