We are waitlisted for a Paris and the Heart of France tour leaving mid-Mayish. Does anyone have experience being waitlisted? We're wondering if openings tend to occur just before the tour departs, or can they happen at any time? We're mostly concerned about finding plane reservations if it's a last minute deal. Thank you!
Posted by
Northwest Arkansas
765 posts
Spend a few extra dollars to get either fully refundable or fully recredited (typically a year to reuse the funds) tickets. Make your flight reservations and you are ready to go or cancel.
Posted by
Minnesota
590 posts
Really an opening can happen at any time as people change their plans. Sometimes there’s a flurry of activity right before the final payment is due (60 days out) when some people change their minds.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12129 posts
Has the RS office given you info regarding how many are on the wait list? ( or how many are ahead of you)?
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2051 posts
I've waitlisted several times. I usually wait list for more than one date of the tour and one a couple months in the future. I have almost always gotten to go,
Posted by
CA, USA
1273 posts
Unless there is only a specific departure that works for you then you can sign up for several waitlists to increase the odds you get off one. Give the office a call, they can do this for you. In my experience getting off the waitlist happened 2 months or more before the departure, not last minute. Also check the RS site every week or two; in the past they've sometimes added additional tour dates once they fill the ones they started with.
The RS office used to take people off the waitlist in the order they went on it but apparently that wasn't working well. So now they'll send an email out to everyone on the WL and the first response gets it. You should set up a filter on your phone to alert you the instant you get an email from RS. Many RS travelers are not that tech-savvy so this will give you a huge advantage. You can find instructions on how to do this online; one guide is at https://www.techlicious.com/how-to/never-miss-an-important-email-on-your-smartphone/
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2334 posts
I put myself on a wait list one month ahead of the travel date and very shortly received notice that I was on the tour.
Posted by
Bend, OR
1160 posts
We waitlisted last year for several Sept. Village Italy tours. The openings occurred around the 60 day time for full payment. We did get the date we wanted and had several tours to choose from. The only problem was our flights were a bit more expensive as not being able to plan earlier. Starting in 2025, the openings may not occur as frequently as they have over the last couple of years because of the restrictions that have come back from pre-Covid regarding refunds, you can no longer make deposits on multiple tours while deciding which tour you really want to do then get your deposits back if it’s after 30 days.
“For tours departing Jan.1 -Dec. 31, 2025, tour deposits are fully refundable for 30 days from the date it is received unless otherwise noted in our Tour Conditions for 2025 tours.”
Posted by
Florida
19 posts
In addition, I believe that any tours which include Venice this year, are limited to 25 tour participants (new rules set by Venice to discourage over tourism) so I would assume that there are fewer seats available on any of Rick's tours that include Venice than there have been on previous years and therefore, possibly a lower chance of getting moved off the wait list for tours that include Venice. I believe I read somewhere that his tours are normally 24 to 28 people so I guess these new rules in Venice would rule out any more than 25 people. Please correct me if I'm wrong.