An Ontario couple who planned a riverboat cruise had their itinerary changed at the last minute and said the company didn’t offer a refund for a $22,000 vacation when the new trip didn’t fit their plans. “We had all our bags packed, and we were ready to go,” said Brian Lobaskie in an interview with CTV News. Lobaskie and his partner had been planning for their 11-day European river cruise with AmaWaterways for more than a year until the company changed the itinerary 24 hours beforehand. “Unfortunately, I got a 24-hour notice before I was scheduled to fly that the cruise company could not operate the river cruise in its entirety,” said Lobaskie. Lobaskie said that the trip he had planned included a cruise from Amsterdam to Switzerland and purchased excursions and a rail pass. The travel company then offered a different route through the Netherlands and Belgium. “They marketed or attempted to market to me a substitute cruise in the Netherlands and Belgium, which I was not interested in, and it was not what I had paid for,” said Lobaskie. Cruise company responds In a interview with CTV News, a spokesperson for AmaWaterways said that “we understand that changes to a long-awaited vacation can be disappointing.” “In this case, the cruise was not cancelled and did operate, although extraordinary river conditions required adjustments to the original itinerary.” “River conditions can change quickly, sometimes even within a matter of hours. Our teams continuously assess the situation and make decisions based on the latest information available, which we then immediately communicate to our guests and travel advisors,” the spokesperson said. “As this particular cruise operated and was not cancelled, a refund did not apply. However, we did offer different options to Mr. Lobaskie and all affected guests.” The spokesperson said that for guests who chose to go on the changed itinerary, they were offered a credit on future trips equal to 50 per cent of their cruise fare. Those who opted out of the revised itinerary, the company offered an option to postpone the trip and would receive a credit “equal to 100 per cent of their cruise fare.” Lobaskie said those options were not suitable for him and that “when an entire itinerary is cancelled, an option should be given for a refund.” “I should be entitled to a refund,” he said. ‘Not an unusual situation’ In an interview with CTV News, travel expert Loren Christie said that heatwaves and drought situations in Europe this year have been causing issues for many riverboat cruise companies and that trips are prone to change due to severe weather, including droughts and floods. “This is not an usual situation because of the heat in Europe. A lot of the river levels are low, and that is causing changes to people’s (river cruise) itineraries,” said Christie. “In these river cruises there are waivers built in, and what you sign for often covers off these things, because (changing itineraries) it is not an unusual thing to happen,” said Christie. Lobaskie was given a $22,000 travel credit, but he says prices have already gone up for next year and feels it’s unfair a refund was not allowed. “I’m concerned. I don’t know if they will be operating next year. I don’t know the river conditions next year,” said Lobaskie, who added, “I’d have to pay even more to do next year, what I couldn’t do this year.” With files from Farah Chandani
