Eric
Extremely Unreasonable Cancellation Policy.
I had a really disappointing experience with the cancellation policy. I accidentally booked an Alcatraz trip just after midnight for 1:00 PM that same day, when I intended to book for the following Monday. I realized the mistake and contacted them to cancel, but was told they would not allow it because cancellations require 72 hours’ notice. That makes absolutely no sense in this situation. I made the reservation only about 13 hours before the scheduled departure, meaning it was literally impossible for me to ever comply with a 72-hour cancellation requirement. I contacted them essentially immediately after realizing the mistake, yet there was apparently no discretion or reasonable exception. A cancellation policy like this feels predatory because it effectively turns any same-day accidental booking into a nonrefundable purchase from the moment you click “book,” regardless of how quickly you contact them. If that is the policy, it should be made extremely clear before payment that bookings made within 72 hours are completely nonrefundable. I understand businesses need cancellation policies to protect themselves from last-minute cancellations, but there is a major difference between someone holding a reservation for weeks and cancelling at the last minute versus someone making an obvious booking mistake and immediately asking for it to be corrected. Very frustrating customer service experience, especially for something that could have been handled with a little common sense and discretion.