A note of encouragement to the RS staff

I replied to my tour cancellation notification with a personal note of appreciation for their professionalism and hard work.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one...

I would like to add my voice, these tours have had a significant affect on my life. Before 10 years ago I was afraid to travel outside the United States and only saw the world through the my American experiences, then I went on my first trip to Europe using the RS guide book and had a life altering awaking of how the rest of the world not only exists but flourished. I can only describe it as a feeling of enlightenment and each year when I travel I can feel my mind expand in it's understanding of how truly wonderful the world is.

I totally agree. I even feel for the airlines. I have a tour starting June 1 and I made my final payment. I have had such great customer service from the folks at Rick Steves Travel and if the tour doesn’t get cancelled, we are going!

I'm thinking two tours in 2021.

Yes, add our voices to the ones thanking the RSE staff. We have always appreciated them, and have tried to let them know. We've traveled with RS tours every year since 2009 and have loved every trip.

Thank you, Justin, for starting this thread, and thank you, RSE, for your incredible work. --Jane and Stan

Great job everyone. Thanks for what you do.

Adding my heartfelt thank yous also. I have always admired and appreciated the personal customer service provided by the Rick Steves organization, never more so than during this time of uncertainty. They have been promptly responsive to my many questions about my cancelled tour to Greece and patiently explained my options. I also have the Adriatic tour (with my family) scheduled to begin late May. We are all hoping that one will still go on as planned. In the meantime, all at ETTBD are working their tails off to keep everyone in the loop during this very busy and difficult time. I also have sent a personal note to the staff, the least I could do.

After thoughtful consideration my husband and I cancelled our 25th anniversary tour to Spain. RS staff was responsive, polite and professional. We look forward to touring with RS once. We are on the the other side of this pandemic.

Sad to not be in Lisbon in 3 weeks, but thankful that the Rick Steves company assessed the situation over there and made this decision for us. Hopefully the warmer weather will calm this.

Thank you Rick Steves group for your help with this.

YES! Thank-you to Rick and the staff!

Totally agree! Incredibly proactive, calm and reliable.

We received an email back today from our request to cancel our Best of the Adriatic tour which starts June 2. We are just outside of the date when we would have to pay for our tour balance. We asked to carry over our deposit until 2021 because we're not able to travel later this year, even if travel is ok, and we were thrilled to find out that we've been given through 2022 to use our balance.

Well done Rick Steves and staff! There are so many reasons why we love this company and this just adds to the list. We've been on 4 RS tours so far and we hope to enjoy many more in the future, including the Best of the Adriatic.

There was never a doubt in my mind that the Rick Steves organization would do the right thing. I am concerned about any of the RS local guides we've met in Europe and hoping, praying, none of them have been affected personally by this pandemic. Heartfelt thanks for all the joy you've brought me. Keep following all the safety guidelines, hand hygiene, social distancing, etc. See you next year.
God bless,
Lisa

The RS staff called me yesterday to straighten out our tour registration and discuss options. (Edit: we're going to Russia and should be starting the lengthy process to apply for a Russian VISA.) The person I spoke with was so understanding. He genuinely seemed interested in figuring out the best thing to help us. He listened so carefully and offered some additional information about the logistics of whether our tour would go. You wouldn't have known how hectic his life must be right now.

My tour roommate, who didn't really know much about Rick Steves before, is a big fan now and told me she's so glad we signed up with them!

And I appreciate very much the willingness of RS to allow so much discussion of the situation on this forum. Hearing from people around the world directly on what is happening to them and their communities and their insights, is providing much needed information.

We just transferred our June 1 Alpine My Way tour to end of Sept. Ricks staff I spoke to made it so easy and now I’m excited again! Stay well!

I'm trying to convince my husband that if (when) our mid-May South Italy tour is cancelled, we should switch to one in September. He's planning on being active in the presidential campaign, however, and isn't sure he wants to be gone then. I suggested I go on the tour by myself, but oddly enough, he didn't leap at the possibility.

Hmmm.. Maybe I need to work on my delivery. Or wait until he's had more wine before I suggest it. ;-)

Kudos and high marks for the RS staff. I had an unexpected predicament in 2010 and they were just awesome. They are always awesome! Now they are bearing through this crisis treating each customer with care and kindness.
Understandably, my Best of Spain- May 10 tour was just now cancelled. I received the official email.
Take care everyone there and thank you for keeping us all connected.

Yes, our May 18 Best of South Italy tour was just cancelled. I had the phone call from RSE before I saw the email. The RS staff member was very helpful. We're getting a full refund, and are waitlisted on the same tour set to begin August 29.

And in a burst of possibly hubristic overconfidence and optimism, I just booked us on the South Italy tour set to begin June 22. I know, I know, but really, what do we have to lose? If the tour is cancelled, we'll get our money back, and we're still waitlisted on the later one. And the June and July dates work much better for us. Come September, we have many other obligations and scheduled activities waiting for us. But late June and July are almost empty on our calendar. And lest you be concerned, we truly do not fear the heat of an Italian summer.

As soon as we're confirmed on the June tour I will optimistically follow up on changing all the reservations I had made for pre- and post-tour activities for the now cancelled tour.

And thanks again to the the great RSE staff. And our fellow Forum members.