Grand Circle Travel / Grand Circle Cruise LineReviews of gct.com

Our tour guide, Flavio L., Was outstanding. He made the Tour awesome. If I could give him a 10 star rating I would. He deserves a raise or a bonus from the Tour company. He was there for everyone to help them no matter what came up and never showed any negativity. Ask for him if you take this Tours I will say that in the brochure and online this trip was rated activity level of one. It is not. I would rate this Tour more like a 2.5 to 3 activity level.

My recent trip "Spain and Portugal in Depth" was all I expected and more. It was very well organized and led by an experienced and extremely knowledgeable trip leader. The accommodations were good and the itinerary was perfect. In addition to Barcelona and Madrid, we visited all the culturally and historically significant sites in Southern Spain. It was truly a learning experience, and some of the sites we visited were magnificent and awe-inspiring. We learned so much of the history and culture of Spain, and also its way of life, which was reinforced by the home-hosted lunch, always a great experience that brings you close to the local people. The only negative comment I would have is that perhaps the title of the trip is a bit misleading. It certainly was Spain in Depth, but not Portugal, where we spent only a couple of days.

This is the worst trip I have ever been on. Delta Airlines cancelled flights to Paris on September 6 and September 7. Delta gave us a voucher for a hotel on the 6th but not on the 7th. We spent the night of the 7 th in the Atlanta airport terminal where we celebrated my wife's 80th birthday. We finally arrived in Paris on September 8 and Grand Circle was no where to be found. We had to find our own transportation to the ship. The only thing good I say about this trip is that the food onboard the ship was outstanding.

We booked an Eastern Europe to the Black Sea River Cruise with Grand Circle Travel on 26 Nov 2024 during their Black Friday Special. The Black Friday Deal in their website has the cruise fare for $3195 "with airfare" included. When we spoke with the Sales Agent Anne Breault, she stated that we are getting "free airfare" and persistently was upselling us to upgrade to Premium Economy. She provided a lot of false information and misrepresentations. She didn't even discussed the content of the invoice. I sent my issues to the OAT support last 29 Nov and had not heard for more than 3 business days. I called on 27 Nov and spoke with Daniel who lodge my complaint in their system. I followed-up on 3 Dec and spoke with Gabby. She told me that there was no supervisor to speak with and that there is nothing that they can do on my complaint. I raised my issue through BBB on 04 Dec 2024. Andrew French said that they reviewed the conversation and everything that the Sales Person said was correct. GCT was charging the airfare to be $1250 per person from Boston. But their promotion in the website said "FLY FOR FREE -- a savings up to $1,600 per person -- on March & May-June departures. GCT only discounted for only $1,100 per person leaving us to pay a total of $300 for the airfare. How is that Free airfare as claimed by their Sales Agent and their marketing Ad promo? The Sales agent was deceptive and the Travel Relations was dishonest. I would not trust this company.

I’ve traveled with this company 4 times and am looking forward to my next trip in April. I’ve taken 2 “small ships” trips and 2 river cruises. All were terrific in every way. Small numbers are important to me and Grand Circle fits the bill. While not luxurious, all accommodations are just fine- well appointed and comfortable. The food is terrific and most importantly, the guides and staff are excellent.