LiveAboard.com

[scubaviol1]

I thought it is a good time to start a discussion on a liveaboard travel agencies. One of the biggest is LiveAboard.com, located in Amsterdam.

I have booked trips with the LiveAboard.com in the past with no problem. But after my experience this time around I am sure to take my business elsewhere.

I have booked and paid in full for a cruise on Turks and Caicos Explorer II in 2019 for a cruise in April 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the cruise was cancelled by the operator. I have requested a refund but was informed by the LiveAboard.com that operator is not issuing refunds but offering reschedule instead.

Fast forward to present time: we are still in the pandemic with no end of it in sight. My repeated requests for the refund are denied and I am given a deadline of April 2022 to reschedule this trip. Since pandemic is still ongoing it does not look like I will be able to go and have lost all this money as a result.


Be careful! Think twice before giving your business to the LiveAboard.com. They are nothing short of con-artists who will be happy to take your money and will not give it back to you even when cancellation is entirely not your fault.

At this point I am considering taking legal actions against Liveaboard.com

Will keep you posted on my progress.

Please let me know if you had similar experiences with this Company

 

[drrich2]

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the cruise was cancelled by the operator. I have requested a refund but was informed by the LiveAboard.com that operator is not issuing refunds but offering reschedule instead.

Fast forward to present time: we are still in the pandemic with no end of it in sight. My repeated requests for the refund are denied and I am given a deadline of April 2022 to reschedule this trip. Since pandemic is still ongoing it does not look like I will be able to go and have lost all this money as a result.

A few questions based on your report.

1.) Is it possible Explorer Ventures has your money, rather than LiveAboard.com, in which case if E.V. is holding it, L.A. doesn't have it to give you?

2.) As always in dealing with such things, did the original contract terms specific you were entitled to a full refund under such circumstances? I have no idea, but it's an important point.

3.) While the pandemic is ongoing, is that live-aboard not running now? Can you not go?

 

[waterone]

FLEXIBLE BOOKING – This liveaboard offers a free trip reschedule within 24 months if you are unable to travel due to Covid-19 related restrictions.

If you wish to cancel instead of reschedule then the following cancellation terms apply;

• More than 180 days out = 90 % refund
• Between 120 and 180 days out = 80 % refund
• Between 60 and 119 days out = 70 % refund
• Less than 60 days out = no refund

What about rescheduling and sell it so you don't lose it all?

I know that operator is running currently and through that website it states no refunds and only offer rescheduling for up to two years. Which to me seems like a reasonable amount of time.

 

[kaylee_ann]

Honestly this is very very common with many companies during COVID (diving and non-diving alike.) Thing is, if they refund everyone, all their money is gone. Permanently, from that trip. Whereas if people reschedule, they still get their trip, just maybe not as soon as they wanted.
I'm willing to bet this was in the contract or at least somewhere in the fine print. Possibly in the FAQ section that most websites have.

 

[O-ring]

Here are a couple other recent threads that might interest you:

Thread is older, but the recent COVID era stuff starts on about page 16 - liveaboard.com Can I trust them?

Recent spinoff of that thread - Info - Masterliveaboard.com can I trust them?

If you do some searching around you can find other threads where we got down in the weeds on LOB and liveaboard.com policies mostly in mid-late 2020 and last year.

My own experience - booked June 2020 trip on T&C Aggressor through liveaboard.com pre-COVID. Aggressor cancelled the sailing and I was given a non-transferable voucher (e.g. cannot be sold) good for one year on the T&C Aggressor only (no other boats in the fleet). Was able to reschedule the trip for June 2021 and luckily it went off without a hitch. Tried my best to get a refund, but I didn't get anywhere. Good luck.