Bonita Springs man wants refund for $20K European cruise

Brian Leis was looking forward to seeing a part of Europe he’d never had the chance to experience.

He and his wife along with some family from Canada are booked on a European cruise that is set to leave from Prague on June 1.

The travel company, Vantage Deluxe World Travel, has suspended all trips through May 24 and is offering to rebook all June cruise trips as well.

But Leis said he’d rather have a refund of the trip which cost upwards of $23,000, given the uncertain economic times.

“I think you could say that our funds have been hijacked by the travel company,” he said.

As of publication, Vantage did not return WINK News requests for comment.

Consumer protection attorney Carmen Dellutri said travelers who find themselves in a scenario where a government mandate has not forced a cancellation of their trip should just wait it out.

“Maybe something happens in the cruise industry, or maybe the World Health Organization comes out and offers some guidance which says you know what, we don’t want anybody on a cruise ship … then they might have some remedies available to them because of what the World Health Organization says,” Dellutri said.

Leis also purchased a travel insurance policy through Vantage, but the circumstances of the pandemic so far do not require that policy to cover a full cash refund.

The policy does offer a travel voucher for any cancellation reason, which is what Vantage is already offering.