We had booked a daycruise, but four days before departure we were told that the trip was cancelled because of too few participants. The company stated that we could choose between new date or full refund. We chose full refund and this was confirmed. At 8:00 p.m. the night before the initial departure, the company tried to call us from an unknown number. We didn't answer because we didn't recognize the number. On the day of departure, about an hour before scheduled departure, they called again and informed that the cruise would still be completed, and that we would therefore not receive a refund. We asked for all further communications in writing and gave them a WhatsApp number. They said they should send a message “in a while”, but there never came anything. After waiting an hour, we even sent a message to the number we had already communicated with, without getting an answer. At 18:30 the same day we were called from another number. The person on the phone spoke repeatedly in our mouths as we tried to explain the situation in a calm and polite way. Due to the poor communication, we agreed to continue the dialogue in writing. I therefore sent a new message to the new number and explained that it was out of date to meet up, since the company had already confirmed cancellation and full refund four days earlier. This message was also ignored. It wasn’t until 20:00 that night that we received an email from TripAdvisor confirming that the company had submitted a refund request. Even though we finally got the money back, the whole process was unnecessarily stressful and marked by poor communication, lack of follow-up and poorly professional handling of the situation. When a company confirms cancellation and full refund, the customer should be able to trust that this is actually true. Unfortunately can not recommend this company based on our experience.
Dear Elias, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. While we are glad that your refund was fully processed, we are deeply saddened by this 1-star review, as we feel it does not accurately reflect the immense effort we put into securing the best possible outcome for your trip. We would like to clarify the timeline of our communication to provide a complete picture for future travelers: June 22nd (1.39pm): We informed you that we hadn't reached the minimum number of participants for June 25th. You requested a refund, and we kindly replied that we would initiate the process through Viator. June 23 (1:31 PM): Having your best interest at heart, we managed to rearrange other bookings to make the cruise happen so you wouldn't miss the experience. We immediately sent you a text message stating that we held off on the cancellation because the cruise had a high chance of running. We also attempted to call you twice and contacted Viator support to alert you, but received no response. June 24th (12.55pm): We officially confirmed to you via text message and the Viator platform that the cruise was running and your booking was fully active. We requested your details to finalize the port authority list. Later that evening (09.38pm) having received no reply, we sent another urgent reminder, explicitly warning that if we didn't hear back, the platform would automatically register a "No-Show" and a refund would be impossible per Viator policy. June 25th (9.52am) (Morning of departure): We tried calling you again and sent a final message prior to departure, urging you to respond so we could either welcome you on board or cancel immediately to save your funds. You contacted us at noon, after the boat had sailed, replying directly under the string of all 4 unread messages we had sent you on the exact same number. Because we never received a cancellation confirmation from you, we were legally and professionally obligated to hold your secured seats until the very last minute, preventing other guests from booking them. Regarding the afternoon of June 25th, the call you received was from our office colleague using our second official company phone line. Due to poor phone reception at that moment, it was impossible to communicate clearly by voice. For this reason, we requested to continue the dialogue in writing, where it was agreed that we would proceed with your refund despite the circumstances. Even though Viator support explicitly advised us that we were not required to issue a refund due to a No-Show, our company chose to prioritize your financial satisfaction. We offered you a free reschedule for the next day, and when that wasn't preferred, our team manually authorized and pushed through your full refund through Viator that same evening. We always go above and beyond for our guests, and it is disheartening to receive a negative rating for trying our hardest to save your cruise and ensuring you did not lose a single euro. We wish you the best in your future travels. Best regards, The Milos Freedom Cruises Team
