Vantage travel lessons
 

About 3 weeks ago, Vantage Travel entered into bankruptcy. Among their liabilities were $108,000,000 owed to customers including folks who prepaid fares and those who were due refunds for cancelled parts of travel excursions. Two things that became apparent to me are:

1) Do not use a check or an echeck when paying for fares even if they offer you a discount. The folks who prepaid their fares are gasping. If you use a credit card, you may have recourse through the credit card company.

2) Make sure you get your insurance from another source than the cruise company. Folks who purchased the travel insurance through Vantage will not receive any money from the insurance because Vantage was responsible for the insurance.

To be clear, we had a great trip on our Vantage cruise to the Antarctic. However, our chances of getting the $3000 we are owed due to an cancelled trip extension are slim.