I recently booked a short break for me and my son to Rome. This was my son's first break for 6 years due to illness. I month before going i booked a trip to go to the Vatican museums (fast track) this would have been the major highlight to the holiday as my son is highly religious.
The trip was also going to fall on my son's 21st birthday too.
On the eve of the trip (9.20 pm) i received a email stating that the tour had been canceled due to a bank holiday we were both very disapppointed to hear such bad news.
Why had they allowed us to book if they knew it was a bank holiday in the first place and giving us no notice to change.
I contacted GET YOUR GUIDE who stated they will speak to there partner in Rome no compensation for a ruined holiday due to neglect. My aim now is to make this situation as public as possible so people don't use GET YOUR GUIDE
Posted by
near San Francisco
5364 posts
That's a shame that you didn't get your expected Vatican visit.
I had a similar situation in that a company offering a tour through the GetYourGuide platform really hadn't intended to hold a tour on my date, but they had neglected to update their calendar on GetYourGuide, which each tour operator controls for themselves. In my instance, the owner of the tour operator company led us on the tour himself, so as not to have to cancel. Of course I was pleased as I had several other tours with that same operator, each booked through the GetYourGuide platform.
So it really does depend on each operator and their own management of their schedule on the GetYourGuide platform. It's just a shame when they're not diligent with their 3rd party platform offerings. And a disappointment for you!
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
717 posts
Book direct. I can’t say this enough
don’t use get your guide, Don’t use Viator
All inserting a middleman does is increase the complexity and increase the risk. And if you’re a tour operator and you’re overbooked, then you have a choice between one of these middle men where you have to give up percentage of your money or the person who book direct, which would you pick? I know which one I would pick.
Posted by
near San Francisco
5364 posts
I certainly understand that point of view of booking direct. And I consider that each time I book an airline, a hotel or an activity.
In my case, I find the GetYourGuide platform highly convenient. Their app helps me manage trips where I might have half a dozen or more activities booked through their platform and can see them all in one place. Along with, typically, very favorable cancelation terms.
To your point, however, there are also risks. As in this OP case where the tour operator may have known early on that the date wasn't available and, if booked direct, there might not have been the last minute disappointment, with very little opportunity to rebook another Vatican tour on short notice.
I suppose it's like anything: knowing and weighing the risks for your own situation. There is a certain layer of additional risk that I am willing to accept for my nice-to-have type activities. If one were canceled, my plan B might be just fine.
Sadly, this was not a nice to have activity for the OP and the disappointment weighs more heavily.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16537 posts
I'm so sorry for you and your son's disappointment!
What date was your tour scheduled for? The only Vatican Museum closures occurring recently were May 1 (Labour Day) and today (June 2, Republic Day). Both of these are national holidays.
I don't know if you're still in Rome? There are some wonderful churches - including the Pope's official church as Bishop of Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore - that you could visit if it would help you both salvage your holiday. Can we help with some suggestions if you've not already made a list?
The forum had another poster very recently who also experienced a problem with GYG.