surcharge

your right I didn't. I was just wondering if that sounded like a reasonable amout or not. thanks connie

I guess i didn't make myself very clear. the $866 was the added surcharge to our tour package not the price of the flight. connie

Connie, how about starting this post over and using some real numbers. A $866 surcharge on a $100 tour package might be a pretty good deal but $866 on a $2000 package may be pretty bad. Taxes and surcharges don't really mean to much by themselves. It is the total cost that is important. And we don't what that is, what it includes, so how can anyone answer? A little clarity, PLEASE !!!!

connie, did the tour company provide any details on what the "surcharge" was for? A sum of $866 sounds like a bit much, even if it's a fuel surcharge.

For future reference, you might consider RS Tours next time, as their prices are "locked-in" and there are no surcharges!

Good luck!

ken thanks for a friendlier response! They called it an air departure fuel and tax. the original tour last oct for nine days in taormina would have been four thousand for us both. we of course still need to get a flight to Boston from richmond.thanks. Connie

1 the

ken thanks for a friendlier response! They called it an air departure fuel and tax. the original tour last oct for nine days in taormina would have been four thousand for us both. we of course still need to get a flight to Boston from richmond.thanks. Connie

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I am sorry if thought my response was unfriendly. Difficult to respond to a vague question. You need to understand how the surcharge game is played. If you look at airline fares via any of the search engines, you will often see that the surcharges are greater than the fare. The internet search engines cause that. Everyone is always looking for the cheapest "fare" so you want to be first on the list that pops up from your search. I assume the same is true when searching for tours. So it comes back to what is the total cost not the size of the surcharge. On the other hand if you are saying that you reserved and paid for the tour last October and now this large surcharge is be added -- that is a serious problem. And should be a big no-no. In the tour papers/contract you should have some language that would cover this situation. They may have the right to do but you should have the right cancel. Give us the total picture. Don't just pick at the edges.

Connie, according to your figures, then, the surcharge is over 20% ! Are you locked into this tour? If not, you should cancel and find another.

connie, thanks for the clarification. I'm assuming from your reply that air fare is included in the total cost of the tour. I suspect that the "surcharge" is being applied due to the higher fuel costs now, as opposed to when the tour was initially booked, so they're just "passing on" the costs.

If both the cost of the tour and the air fare are included together, it makes it a bit difficult to tell exactly which part this surcharge is being applied to? It may be partially for the air fare and partially for increased costs for Coaches, etc. in Europe (your tour company will be paying for Coaches, Hotels, etc. in Euros!).

As Frank mentioned, there should be something in the "fine print" that indicates the conditons under which a surcharge will be added. If there is no provision for this and they've charged it anyway, I'd have some serious concerns!

As Norma mentioned, you could possibly consider cancelling and booking with another firm?

To give you some idea of my travel methods, lately I've been using a combination of a guided tour and an equal amount self guided travel. I always book my air fares separately and never as part of the tour package. I use RS Tours exclusively these days, and none of these include air fares anyway.

I suppose you're left with two options - pay the "steep" surcharge or cancel and book with another firm? If you decide to cancel, be sure to read the "fine print" to determine whether there are cancellation penalties. If you're interested, RS Best of Sicily in 12 Days has openings in their Oct. 13 - Oct. 24 tour.

Good luck with your decision and hopefully, Happy travels!

thanks I will be calling them on mon. for some clarification. I now think that amt. was the total surchage and not in addition to . thanks for all the feedback though