Is anyone else having (or had) issues purchasing tickets from the Vatican site? I have tried for 2 days to purchase with multiple credit cards and they all say "Operation Canceled". Don't want a tour, just the tickets. The only report I was was from 2013 which stated they weren't taking credit cards any longer. Any help would be appreciated. Is there any other site you would trust to use for this purpose? We're trying for June 14. Thanks for your help!
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16538 posts
Hi -
This has evidently been a problem for over a month or so yours isn't the first post from someone having an issue. This recent thread on the same subject/possible fix should be helpful!
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/book-tickets-vatican-museum-online
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11876 posts
Have you notified your card co. that you are trying to make the purchase?
I had Visa decline an online purchase I was trying to make from Walmart because it was much larger than my previous online Walmart purchases. ( $300 vs $40-50 typical)
Posted by
OP
Hermitage, TN - USA
33 posts
Thanks, yes, I called them right after the first time it was declined. I made several purchases around the time and after I tried the Vatican purchase with no issues. I checked my account online and they declare all their Visa cards to be "Verified by Visa." Will give them a call to see if we can get that protocol put into place on this one, specifically.
Posted by
Green Bay
21142 posts
A lot of people have been having problems with on-line purchases at European websites, especially rail tickets. The issue seems to be with the banks they are using to clear the purchase. Recent EU bank regs limit credit card handling charges and if you are using a rewards card, could cause problems.
Does the Vatican site accept American Express? If so, try that as it has a temporary exemption from these regulations. Next, try calling them during business hours and doing the transaction verbally or at least by email, so it will be processed like an in-person transaction. I've done that.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Do they accept Paypal?
Posted by
OP
Hermitage, TN - USA
33 posts
They only accept Visa or MasterCard. Sure wish they would accept PayPal. I'd be all over that!
Posted by
1 posts
Same issue using two different Visa cards on two different computers and 3 different browsers since I got the same response that this was somehow on my end with the pop up blockers. Frustrating...
Posted by
Liverpool UK
440 posts
Must be a fault at their end but annoying when you are trying to book something
Posted by
Sunnyvale, CA
149 posts
I just went through the process. First few tries failed no matter which US Visa card I used. Then I called my credit card company twice and asked them to clear my transaction. Both time they said they did not see any transaction on their side and they said my card is covered by the "Verify by Visa" protocol, therefore I concluded that there might be a server problem on the Vatican side.
However, working as a SWE the past 20+ years, my instinct told me that it is odd that such a website is not working 24x7 in the year 2017. I called my credit card company again and asked to speak with a "Verify by Visa" protocol specialist, my transaction is cleared after I answered a few questions to him.
Posted by
San Antonio, TX
134 posts
SWE = software engineer ?
Posted by
Exton, PA
3 posts
I may have a solution for you. Two families on our tour last week had this exact same issue. We tried using Visa cards several times a day over several days on their site (the cards worked fine everywhere else) but no luck; it failed on the very last step.
Solution: we each switched to using a MasterCard instead (Amex is not an option on their site) and it worked! Good luck.