Process for confirming a wait listed tour?

The one time I was on a waitlist and notified of availability, I had 24 hours to accept by link. Confirmation was within the normal time 1-2 days. Weekends matter. But I dont think you should rely on that.

It doesnt sound right that they wouldn't do it in order of sign up.

I got offered one of my waitlisted tours just last month. They sent me an email, I clicked on confirm. The very next day (a Saturday)
I got confirmation and the first of the documents for me to sign. That was just over a month ago and I am now busily planning my activities for free time, finding hotels for non-tour nights, etc. I love trip planning. I had investigated which flights were avaiable when I waitlisted and so that was the very first thing I did (buy my ticket.) I must add though that the difference in flight and hotel prices compared to my trip last September/October was shocking.

Our experience was much the same as stan and Laurie Beth's; an email with a confirmation link.

At least one time, we did this by phone, since we were moving from one tour to another. And we also have always found the staff extremely helpful.

Are you waiting for October of ‘23 or ‘24? I’m waitlisted for a tour in April of’24 and I’m wondering about how long to wait before not getting airfare done will become an issue. I’ve also signed up on a backup tour.

I’m not there now of course but I think I booked at 5 months last time I traveled overseas and prices and availability got steadily worse from there. The man I spoke with in the office said I should pick a date to bail out on that I can live with and not second guess. You’re right, they are very nice to deal with.

We went through the wait list process last year (2022) for a tour we took this May. When we first signed up for the wait list we called and spoke with RS customer service about these same questions - and, yes, they are very helpful. We were told that if an opening occurred for our tour that an email would be sent to all on the wait list and it would be filled by the first response. Because of that, I was really diligent (probably compulsive, lol) about checking my email. Tarheel Traveler, your decision to put an alert on your phone is a good idea. If I’m remembering correctly, I needed to sign into my tour account so it’s a good idea to know your login or keep your account open and logged in. Once I responded to the tour opening I received confirmation of success within a hour.

@Lyndash, if you don't book the rock bottom fares for your airfare depending on the airline you may be able to book now and then cancel your ticket. You'd have to check your airline's policies on refunds vs vouchers. The last couple of times I actually paid more with Delta to have a completely flexible ticket.

@TarheelTraveler - would you still go to France even if you couldn't get on the tour? It would be easy to book airfare around the time of your tour and spend time in Paris (always a plus for me, lol!!) and Nice or Aix or somewhere south. Are the wait list dates close enough together to be able to cover the time with one booking?

Thanks for all of the excellent suggestions and information! We are hoping to get the tour this year. This May we took the Best of Eastern France tour. Last year we did the Paris and Heart of France tour. We decided we really missed France, so on a whim decided to try to get on the Loire to the South of France tour for this fall. I think waiting to find out if we get a spot must be what it is like waiting to find out if you won the lottery. Thanks to all of your input we will be ready to jump on the email, should one arrive. Fingers crossed.