Wait-Listing on Rick Steves Tours

I’ve successfully waitlisted for several RS tours. The RS staff may have the best information regarding historical data in this area. Very happy to hear that it is working out for you.

My husband and I registered for South Italy tour in 2022 and a couple of months later a good friend of ours waitlisted for the same tour; he did NOT get in.

Of course, 2022 was a special year in that it was after the covid reopening, so that year's tours may have been especially busy.

That's our only experience with the wait list.

I understand that openings come up for waitlisted tours just before the tour balance payment is due, so you may have a longer wait for the Poland tour.

If you haven’t already, call the office and find out what place you are in the waitlist line. That will give you some idea of the likelihood of getting on the tour. You also are quite a ways out from the tour time so I would say you have a good chance. Good luck!

@Luv2Travel -
Actually, that's not how the wait-list works with RS Tours. Everyone on the Wait-List gets notified at the exact same time when an opening appears, and whoever responds first gets the opening. So person 'A' could join the wait-list in January, and person 'B' could join in June, but both people get the email 'Your Waitlisted Tour Has An Opening' and if person 'B' gets online and makes the reservation first, they get it!

In some ways, that is not a 'fair' method, but - I can see how they just don't have the resources to implement a more sophisticated process where each member of the wait-list is contacted in turn, each given the 'right of first refusal' (with some time limitation, like 24 hours), moving on to the next person in the list, waiting for them to decide, etc etc.

For our first wait-list success, we were driving across the Bay Bridge in SF when the message came in. We pulled over (legally!), and completed the transaction then and there. Second time, I was sitting at home when the email came in and I placed the reservation immediately ... both times within 15 minutes of receiving the email.

Everyone on the Wait-List gets notified at the exact same time when an opening appears, and whoever responds first gets the opening.

I don’t think that is exactly true. For example, it there is a single opening available I doubt they notify people looking for 2 spaces. Similarly, it there is a room for two travelers, they probably don’t notify the singles.

For example, last year I received an email that started, “ Great news! We have an opening on your waitlisted tour. For the next 48 hours, we're holding 1 seat for you on the following tour:”
I suspect that I was probably the only solo traveler on the waitlist.

For what it is worth, I got on a tour off the waitlist last year but there have been other years where I did not.

I stand corrected. That’s the way it was for us in 2019. But I would still want to know how many were on the waitlist to gauge my chances.

I don’t think that is exactly true. For example, it there is a single opening available I doubt they notify people looking for 2 spaces. Similarly, it there is a room for two travelers, they probably don’t notify the singles.

That would seem perfectly logical (separate lists for single vs double rooms), but doesn't change the core functionality of their process.

For example, last year I received an email that started, “ Great news! We have an opening on your waitlisted tour. For the next 48 hours, we're holding 1 seat for you on the following tour:”
I suspect that I was probably the only solo traveler on the waitlist.

Now, THAT is interesting! The wording 'For the next 48 hours we're holding 1 seat ... ' clearly indicates a 'right of first refusal' approach, so I wonder if this is a specific process they've implemented for solo travelers? Or perhaps if there's only one member of the wait-list?

My email from them (earlier this year) said "We have good news to share! A few seats are now available on your waitlisted tour: ... If you’re still interested in joining this tour, travel on over to our website by selecting “Join Tour” below, complete the registration, and pay your deposit. ... Please note the available seats are filled on a first come, first served basis, and may sell out quickly " which is quite different from what you received. (this was also in 2025, so things could have changed this year).

I did call them to inquire further about the process when we first joined the waitlist, and they explained the fact that they did not maintain any concept of 'place in the queue'; it was entirely 'first come first served'.

@Luv2Travel:

I stand corrected. That’s the way it was for us in 2019. But I would still want to know how many were on the waitlist to gauge my chances.

Good point - if you are the only one on the wait-list, better chance than if there are 20!

Now, THAT is interesting! The wording 'For the next 48 hours we're holding 1 seat ... ' clearly indicates a 'right of first refusal' approach, so I wonder if this is a specific process they've implemented for solo travelers? Or perhaps if there's only one member of the wait-list?

I speculate that I was the only solo traveler on the waiting list and if I turned the spot down they were going to open it up on their website (e.g., change from “full” to “1 space remaining”). It would make sense that they would give people on the waitlist the opportunity to secure the position before opening the tour back up.

Based on the new refundable deposit terms, I wonder if there will be fewer cancelations or potentially wait list openings will will be available sooner. Deposits are no longer refundable for reimbursement or credit after 30 days. Apparently people were abusing the system and booking multiple tours and then canceling all but one. The abuse of the system is one of the reasons hotels offer different prices for refundable and non refundable rooms.

Update - we joined the wait-list for the Poland tour (as noted in my OP) 11/25/2025, and got notified of an opening yesterday (12/5/2025 at 2:40pm) - so about 10 days after joining.

Unlike our other two 'successful' wait-list bookings (which we snapped up within 15 minutes of receiving the notification), we couldn't make up our minds right away, so we delayed a decision. I just looked now (about a day after the notification) and the spots are gone - so obviously there were other enthusiastic takers on the wait-list.

The wording on the notification was 'A few seats are now available on your waitlisted tour ...' '... Please note the available seats are filled on a first come, first served basis, and may sell out quickly. '

We remain on the wait list for several dates on this tour; we shall see what comes next!

We tried the wait list approach but couldn’t get on any tours because the seats were snapped up within minutes.