I recently returned from a trip to Ireland, so that's where I'm going to start this new blog of travel reviews. Over the next little while I will be writing reviews of all the services I used on that trip.
First up, Sceptre Tours!
I knew when the time came to visit Ireland that Sceptre Tours would be a good travel agency to look at. They offer several trips to Ireland, Scotland, and Britain as well as European river cruises, and I had seen some really good deals advertised through the Travelzoo Top 20 (if you haven't already signed up for the Top 20, definitely check it out. It's a great resource for finding travel deals!).
The trip we ended up booking was the Castles of Ireland and it included round trip air from New York City to Dublin, rental car for a week, and 6 nights in 4 different castles around Ireland. It sounded like the perfect way to experience Ireland, and Sceptre Tours was offering a great deal.
The representatives at Sceptre Tours were great to work with. They made the booking process easy and gave us information about services we could add to our package without pressuring us to buy something we didn't want. We received our itinerary and the vouchers we would need for the rental car and castles in the mail quickly after booking.
A few months after booking the trip, we needed to change the dates because of some conflicts with work. We called Sceptre Tours and were given all the information we needed to make a decision, including comparisons of different trips we could choose from depending on how much we wanted to spend. We received great customer service from them and were happy with how quickly they responded to our many questions.
We did think the change fees - which we knew we would have to pay - were pretty high, but we know all travel agencies charge more than seems fair and just figured there wasn't anything we could do about it. It made a great deal not so great anymore. We have traveled quite a bit without ever paying for or needing travel insurance, but I guess it's one of those things that you don't need until you do. We will consider it more seriously in the future.
A few weeks after we had changed the dates of the trip, the friend who was supposed to go with me had some unexpected medical issues and was advised by her doctor not to leave the country. We called Sceptre Tours again and were told that we could pay another fee to change her name and reservation to someone else. All we had to do was fill out a form with the new traveler's information as well as my friend's signature authorizing the change. It was a costly but relatively simple fix.
The only negative thing I would say, other than the fees if you don't have insurance and need to change anything, is the wait time when you call their customer service number. Once you get through the representatives are great, but there were a few times that I waited an excessive amount of time before finally connecting with a person. Their phones also seem to have a limit to how long a call can be put on hold, and more than once when I called to ask questions I sat on hold only to be disconnected after 15 minutes.
Overall, Sceptre Tours was wonderful to work with and I would use them again. Their options are fairly limited, but if what you're looking for is their speciality of Ireland, Scotland, Britain, or a European river cruise, they offer some great trips.
#sceptretours #Ireland
#sceptretours #Ireland
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