Globus Family of Brands
reviews and complaints

Globus cancelled my April trip to Portugal. This occurred in March. I requested a refund even through they called me to try to get me to accept a voucher. I still have not received my refund (it is now the end of May) and have been contacting them every two weeks and getting the same run around that each reservation must be handled manually. They have enough people to call you and try to get you to accept a voucher; why do they not have enough people to process something simple, where all they have to do is enter some basic information into a computer, to process a refund. I should have been refunded in a matter of days. In my opinion, this amounts to fraud. They either do not have the resources to make refunds or they are holding onto our money to have working capital. No matter what, they are damaging their future viability and there are a lot of people who will think more than twice before doing business with them again.

I was looking forward to a tour to Italy on March and then the Corona Virus struck Italy on February 23rd with 3 known cases and by the next day, there were over 100 cases. As A professional medical person and someone who will be taking care of a new born in-the coming month , it was my responsibility to cancel my much awaited trip. Not only did I not want to expose my husband(a cardiac) and myself or newborn to this deadly virus but not want to expose others and bring this to our country. I had purchased travel protection so did not see a potential problem to get my money back since this would have to be considered the responsible thing to do and an exception would be made. When I called Customer Service and the escalation dept in the Corporate office, I was told I would get 10% of my monies back($4646 total paid for trip)and no exceptions would be made. This trip was cancelled on that day of February 24th. Spoke to several people with no results. Stated the situation and was told I would get a voucher for 2 Years and to fill out forms. At my age, I may not be able to take this trip within 2 years and want my hard earned money back. It is totally unacceptable for this company to expect travel during this Pandemic and potential deadly virus. I was not aware that I would not be able to get my money back especially during such a tragic and unexpected disaster.

I have travelled with Globus Family of Brands for at least 10 or more escorted tours. I had a trip planned with them to Hawaii in May . Because of the Corona virus issue, we had to change our plans. We had booked our trip with a travel agency called Affordable tours so that was our starting point in cancelling the trip. Because we had purchased insurance with Globus (Aon), they suggested we contact them. Since we were told we could cancel for any reason, we thought this would be the best approach. Aon said they would not approve the cancellation for a refund, but would advise Globus and would probably get a voucher for future travel. This was exactly what happened. Aon said because we used the corona virus as a reason, 'cancelling for any reason' was not a valid reason. First of all we didn't cancel because we had Covid 19, we cancelled because we had a stay at home order from the Governor of Illinois, plus we were advised by CDC that travel was not recommended for our age group (over 80). Plus we knew that Globus would no doubt cancel the tour. So we officially cancelled on Mar 12 and Globus cancelled on Mar 24, 2020. Because we cancelled before Globus by a few days, they do not feel obligated to refund us, but will only give us a voucher. With our age and the probable length of the virus it is doubtful we will be able to use the voucher. We have contacted Globus customer service and they stuck with the party line and refused to give me someone in a higher pay grade to plead our case. So I am just giving them a bad review, because it seems that is my only recourse. I have spent a ton of money with Globus and would have expected a better outcome.

I have reached out to Monograms for the past 6 weeks asking why the refund has not been issued for the March22nd trip to London, Paris & Rome, which was cancelled by Monograms on or about March 12th. The reply from Monograms again today is the SAME RESPONSE I have been getting for the past 6 weeks on all my calls! My agent sent an email to Monograms in mid-March with a request to refund both L. *** and my trip costs for the cancelled trip. L. *** received her refund within a couple days in mid-March! Apparently, whoever processed L. *** refund didn't see my name right below L. *** name in my agent's email instruction to Monograms. When I called Monograms the first week of May to inquire where my refund was, they didn't even have any record of a refund for me! I had to provide my travel companion, L. *** invoice # so they could connect my name to my paid trip reservation. They said they would put my refund in process for an expedited refund. I have called several times since then, and the reply I get every time is "it is in process and will be a couple weeks". I also learned in a call a couple weeks ago that they traced through their systems and saw it was processed in all their systems, but couldn't find that the bank had processed the actual refund. This refund should be expedited IMMEDIATELY and sent to the bank TODAY for IMMEDIATE processing of a refund to my credit cards. This is INEXCUSABLE, and I have been very patient and polite in accepting the repeated responses from Monograms. However, I will be filing a complaint with all the federal and state agencies that govern fraud as I am now convinced Monograms is deceiving me and that I will never get my refund. I am a retired widow and need this money.

Globus cancelled our trip and promised to refund us within 7 to 10 business days. To confirm this, we received an email dated 02/29 from *** at Globus, stating that our refund will be showing up in the next 7-10 business days. See email below. Now, it has been over 30 days and Globus still has not issued our refund. When we contact Globus they say the refund has been resubmitted and it will take another 4 to 6 weeks to process. Every response from Globus is from a different sales consultant that give us the run around. They simply do not care. It is nothing more than delay after delay to process a simple refund. This company is a joke. Beware of Globus. Their word means NOTHING. See below Email from their supervisor of sales development. From: Beth Lindemulder Date: February 29 at 2:32:53 PM EST Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to assist with your travel concerns. I appreciate your time and patience while we worked though the issues in the last few days. A very special thanks to S for your time, and working through all of the tough issues with me. Here is a breakdown of your cancellation refund, per booking: Booking Bparty of 2 $1499 land per person $300 airfare, per person $86 Pre-paid gratuities, per person $1885 total paid per person -$250 cancellation penalty per person $1635 refund x 2 passengers = $3270.00 to Visa ending in *** Booking Aparty of 2 $1499 land per person $300 airfare, per person $1799 total paid per person -$250 cancellation penalty per person $1549 refund x 2 passengers = $3098.00 to Visa ending in So, in seeing that the same Visa card was used to pay for BOTH reservations, the total refund is $6368.00 This refund will be showing up in the next 7-10 business days. We will be cancelling your reservations today. Please accept my sincere apologies for any trouble and stress this has caused. I hope that you will consider us for any future travel plans. Thank you, *** Supervisor, Sales Development

My wife and I had booked 2 trips with Globus Family of Brands company starting on May 02, and on May 10 respectively). We paid deposit of $500 for each trip, i.e., a total of $1,000 for both trips. This company is wholesale tour operator offering tours via travel agencies. Globus is located at 5301 South Federal Circle, Littleton, CO 80123. Their phone number is [protected]. Their website is globusfamily.com We had taken tours operated by this company over last 10 years and had purchased all trips via a travel agency "***]. Due to the pandemic all trips were cancelled. Also, the agent that we were working with at *** Tours, quit his job during this time, thus leaving us in limbo. Globus is refusing to return our deposit citing their policy of non-refundable deposits, instead offering a letter of credit for future travel. I agree with their policy under normal circumstances. However, if the trip was cancelled due to the pandemic and not by us, the deposit should be refunded. Due to our health, we may not be able to travel in the future. I tried to complain to my credit card company, but they got the same response from Globus. It is noteworthy that all other companies involved in this trip (domestic and foreign airlines, hotel, local sight seeing companies) have returned our deposits, fares, etc. I am seeking help from your office for getting back our deposits of $1,000 from Globus.

In December , I purchased a tour for my family of four for travel to occur in April . The flight was cancelled by the airline (Air Canada - booking ref TYBFVM). Under carriage terms, any flight that an airline cancels allows the individual to receive a full refund. At the time, I was told that Globus would not allow me to receive a refund but would give me a full credit for the cost of the package tour I purchased for a future travel date. As a good faith measure, they agreed to give me an additional $100 per person above the $5,396.20 for my booking of *** - Turkish Escape I have made a good faith effort to work with their team to rebook before the credit voucher expires December 2022. They are no longer offering the original tour that I booked. In addition, they have no comparable tour offerings in that same price point. I have worked with their team for options that appear to be similar in price however when they "add" airfare costs into a package that is quoted as being inclusive of airfare, the price point for an $1750 per person trip is $3,800 per person for a 9 day trip. (When attempting to directly book those flights, on American Airlines they are only $1400). It's apparent that the firm is artificially inflating the cost of airfare well above the actual cost. It's unreasonable to expect that I can use my $5,396.20 voucher when all trips for a one week duration are now averaging between $14,500 - $18,240 My previous requests for a full refund have been ignored.

Globus Family of Brands -- not feeling that they are much like a "family" right now -- has decided to withhold the $250 deposit for each in our group, a total of $2500. We cancelled a trip we were to take in 2020 because several of our members are seniors in the high-risk group for COVID-19. Many have said it is unlikely they will travel again, given the unknown about how long the pandemic will last. So the best option was for us to cancel outright and get a refund. And now Globus itself has decided to cancel the trip, but because we asked to cancel FIRST they are saying they don't have to give us the $2500 deposit. While we understood that we would forfeit the deposit itself, if they went ahead with the trip and we cancelled --- but now GLOBUS HAS CANCELLED but still wants to withhold our $2500 deposit. Because of the pandemic and the risk that will remain for the foreseeable future, we asking for a full cash refund, which we have been waiting for now for several months. This is heartless and doing business in complete bad faith. What makes this worse is that we are in a pandemic, high-unemployment with millions of Americans losing jobs and dying. We too have been impacted by COVID-19 in various ways, some of us are frontline workers going out there everyday to keep the country going and risking our lives -- seriously Globus? The $2500 will go a long way for all of us! We are are asking for a full refund to our group of 10, ASAP! Many in our group are high-risk in age and co-morbidities

A tour to Japan departing March 25 was booked on my behalf via a travel agency with Globus Tours. When the CDC first raised the travel alert to Level 1 for Japan due to the COVID-19 epidemic, on February 20 I wrote Globus about re-booking the the tour to 2021. They stated that their company policy was to refund the cost of the tour minus a 20% cancellation fee. Then the CDC issued a Level 2 Alert advising older individuals to avoid unnecessary travel to Japan. On February 23 I wrote to Globus management and requested that they re-book my trip without penalty. I received a negative response. On February 25, I wrote Globus management including the CEO to re-book to trip to 2021 without penalty and again received a negative response. As a person over 70, I contacted my health care provider for guidance and was advised to follow CDC guidelines and cancel my trip. I finally cancelled on March 2nd. and subsequently received a refund of the trip cost minus the 20% change fee. The following day I wrote Globus customer service advising them that I had to cancel the trip and asked them to reconsider the change fee, again I received a negative response. On March 9, Globus published a "temporary policy" on their website offering to wave the change fee for cancellations by giving a letter of credit. On March 10, I wrote the head of customer service requesting that because of this policy change they refund the change fee. response. The response received was negative. If they were going to wave the fee, the cancellation would have to have been within 24-hours of the policy change.

We booked a tour to South America through *** which deals with the tour company Globus Tours. We paid $1000.00 by credit card to secure the tour January 19. The tour was to take place the following September-October. At this time we were in full agreement with all requirements for the tour.In March Covid 19 spread worldwide and subsequently Globus (Cosmos Tours) cancelled our tour and said it would be re scheduled at a later date. We were in agreement with this as we were led to believe the tour would take place the following year. At no time did this company discuss the $1000 we had already paid them.The following year 2021 the company again cancelled our tour for 2021. All this time they were holding our $1000. We had no recourse in the matter at this point but to wait for them to reschedule. They gave us no choice as to whether we wanted to cancel the tour, but continued to hold our money. Just recently, this year 2022, we were told we could reschedule our tour for this fall. However, when we asked if we were required to be vaccinated we were told we could not go on this tour unless we were fully vaccinated. This is a change in what we agreed to in 2020 when we booked the tour and we were no longer in agreement with their requirements. As a result we requested that the tour be cancelled and our $1000 be returned. Globus Tours has refused to refund our money. We feel this is unethical on their part because they cancelled the tour both in 2020 and again in 2021 and it was THEIR choice to change the terms of the original agreement now requiring vaccinations. They have taken monies from us for services they never provided.

My husband and I were booked on a river cruise to Amsterdam 4/15-22, 2020. The cruise was cancelled by the cruise line due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I called before they cancelled the trip (March 10) to see what my refund options were - we paid for travelers' insurance - and was told that there would be cancellation fees, so I held off on cancelling at that time. Upon Globus/Avalon's cancellation of the trip, they sent notification of a Letter of Credit. I attempted to call them numerous times and could not get through or was put on hold for an extraordinary length of time. I decided to wait until call volume decreased before calling back. I called today (4/8) and was made aware that they were giving refunds for trips. When I asked about a refund, I was told that the deadline ended on 3/31 and that they extended it to 4/6. I was NEVER made aware that 1) a refund was an option and 2) that there was a deadline. I was told that when the Letters of Credit were sent (which mentioned nothing of a refund), people were calling, basically, to complain, and got refunds. There was no direct communication with us via email or phone to follow-up on how we wanted to handle this. It's my understanding, in hindsight, that they expected their customers to continuously visit their website for updates. I offered another solution - now that the same trip is discounted for 2021, I asked if I could get a refund of the difference in cost if I were to rebook and told, no. There would be a balance on my Letter of Credit. This is completely unacceptable - the difference in cost is not enough to cover another trip, so I would end up having to spend more money with them in order not to lose my money! I did ask to speak with a superior and the agent took my phone number and told me that I would be contacted in 48 - 72 hours. I will be happy to update you if I receive satisfactory resolution, but I have little hope of that happening without intervention.

In 2019, we contracted with Cosmos/Globus to travel to South America.Due to ***, Globus cancelled our tour. Instead of receiving our money back, our trip was extended using the "Peace of Mind" option to transfer our money to the same tour in 2021.Once again, Globus cancelled our tour in 2021. Again, we extended this tour to this year. When we inquired about the tour for this year, we were told we had to have a "vaccine" in order to travel on the tour. This was NEVER in our contract. This was NEVER even conveyed to us in any way. Globus changed the rules midstream unbeknownst to us. That in itself should constitute a full refund of our money.GLOBUS BROKE THE CONTRACT by adding a requirement that was never agreed upon by us. WE ARE NOT CANCELLING THIS TOUR.THEY ARE CANCELLING . When they have cancelled us every time where is their penalty? They want to penalize us when WE NEVER CANCELLED ANYTHING. We in GOOD FAITH kept our bargain of this contract. We stuck with them during a struggling period with good intentions of traveling with them when the *** threat was over. Now, they refuse to give us our money back and they have never given us ANY GOODS OR SERVICES. We received absolutely NOTHING from them. Their policy of not refunding a deposit is when the customer cancels. Therefore, this does not apply to us in this case as the company will not accept us because we will not take a medical treatment to travel with them. In addition, we did not just give them a deposit, we also made payments toward the tour. Due to a worldwide pandemic, exceptions to their policies should be accepted now as we had to accept theirs when cancelling on us repeatedly. This is not business as usual. Ethical standards would imply you do not take advantage of people during a crisis. Either Globus is a respectable and trustworthy company or they are not. We expect a full refund of $4509.76 and nothing less. We will NOT accept another extension as we do not know what hoops they will require.

I, and five others in my travel group, purchased a Travel Cancellation Plan from Globus Family of Brands for a Rhine River Cruise scheduled for July , We paid the deposit on the trip in May with the balance to be paid in April . Because of the Corona Covid-19 virus and the advise to the US government to restrict travel, we chose to cancel before paying for the entire trip. Having purchased "Cancel for Any Reason" insurance from Globus we expected a cash refund of all but the insurance premium we had paid. When speaking with Globus we were referred to Trip Mate and told that they would refund the amount that Globus did not. When the claim form was completed on-line with Trip Mate, Covid-19 was listed as a reason for cancellation but that reason did not print on the form that I printed for my records. I made Trip Mate and Globus aware of the that omission. Some eight to ten weeks after the claim was submitted I received a communication from Globus (not Trip Mate) that the claim was denied because the reason for cancellation was not covered in the provisions of the plan. I ha e had a number of communications via email with both Globus and Trip Mate, have written to the CEO of Globus (Scott ***) and the Sr. VP of Client Relations at Trip Mate (Debbie ***) to address this issue. Frankly, based on information in all of Globus' marketing material, invoice document and subsequent communication, I believe a cash refund should be Globus' responsibility. In the sales material Globus references "our" Travel Protection plan, the billing invoice references "our" Travel Protection Plan and the communication accompanying the credit voucher given in lieu of cash says ":We have been informed by Trip Mate, the Plan Administrator for the Globus family of brands Travel Protection Plan." Does not say 3rd party provider, doesn't address why a global pandemic is not sufficient reason for trip cancellation under a cancel for any reason plan. I am also filing a complaint against Trip Mate in Kansas City, MO.

I booked my "Trip of a lifetime" with Globus in December and paid my deposit of $500. I called them March 9 because the balance of the payment was due soon but Covid 19 news made me concerned about the trip being canceled so I called Globus customer service to discuss because I did not want a few thousand dollars floating with them indefinitely. The rep that I spoke to talked me into canceling my May trip and letting them hold the $500 until September then re-booking for 2021. At the time that sounded like a good idea as no one knew how bad things were going to get. Today is July 18,2020 and I called Globus to request my deposit back due to the Covid 19 situation and the fact that I am in a "high risk group". I have heart disease which has required 4 hospitalizations in the past 8 years. Under normal circumstances I felt I was safe to take this trip. Unfortunately now the risk seems too high for the foreseeable future and I wish for them not to continue to hold my money. I called their customer service today and was told the time passed that I would be able to get a refund on the deposit and also because the first person talked me into rescheduling (without a date) for the 2021 year. Globus did cancel my originally scheduled trip that was to take place in May . I was flat out told they could not refund and when I asked Preston the customer service rep what the procedure was to get the deposit back if I passed away before I could take the trip he bacame very upset and avoided answering my question. He actually hung up on me! I called back and spoke to *** who also could not or would not answer my simple question. She said that she did not know the procedure but that it would be handled by accounting however they do not take phone calls. She said I should call back during the week to talk to a supervisor but I already know from other peoples complaints that they will say "that is not their policy". I cannot be upset like this. At that time I just wanted to know what the procedure was so I could tell my children what to do under those circumstances. Now I do not care about that. I just want to be refunded the money since my chances are slim of survival if I catch Covid 19 and my family does not need the aggravation of dealing with this company if that should happen since apparently they don't even know the procedure under those circumstances.

My wife and I got married in December but started planning our honeymoon to Ireland and Scotland back in June . We went through TourRadar on whose site we then booked our trip through Cosmos. Our trip has since been effectively canceled by Cosmos as the tour was supposed to commence on June 19th. Cosmos was forced to suspend all tours with a departure date through June 30th. That is completely understandable given the current crisis going on. However, they are claiming that our tour is not "canceled," but rather "suspended," and that therefore, we are not entitled to a refund of our $1,898 we have paid on the tour. Per a communication from a representative on 04/02, they said: "Thank you for reaching out to us. Your tour departure has currently been suspended.This is an unprecedented situation where government bodies have made it impossible to run the tour. The credit on file is for you to rebook a tour in the future once it is safe to travel again. You can use the credit up until December 31st 2022 which gives you plenty of time to reschedule. Best Regards," If the crisis has made it "impossible to run the tour," then the tour is effectively canceled by Cosmos. Per their own terms and conditions, they are obligated to refund us what we have put down on the trip. They are not a financial institution insured by the FDIC and I have no intention of using them as a savings account until who knows when we'll get to actually safely travel to our desired destination. Here is the applicable portion copied and pasted from Cosmos' terms and conditions: "Cosmos reserves the right to cancel or reschedule any vacation departure for any reason, including insufficient demand or force majeure. If a vacation is canceled prior to departure, Cosmos' only responsibility will be to refund the amount received for the reservation. Cosmos will try to rebook the same vacation with a different departure date or a similar vacation but there is no guarantee of availability of offering. For air-inclusive vacations, Cosmos will try to confirm air schedules for the selected new dates, subject to availability. Cosmos cannot assume responsibility for any additional costs or any fees relating to the issuance and/or cancellation of air tickets or other travel arrangements not made through Cosmos." I understand that Cosmos could not for-see the ongoing crisis which is one application of their included phrase "force majeure." However my wife and I had no desire to cancel our trip and Cosmos is fraudulently claiming that their tours are only "suspended" as opposed to "canceled" so they can hold onto innocent customers' hard-earned money for as long as they can.

My wife and I booked a Globus tour to northern Italy scheduled to depart on June 4. On March 24 we received an email (copies of all emails available on request) from Globus advising they were "suspending operations for all departures through June 30, which includes your scheduled tour." On March 27 we received another email from Globus advising that they had issued a letter of credit (total amount $5614) good through 2022. Neither email mentioned a refund or a date by which we had to request a refund. In April we decided that due to the worsening coronavirus situation as well as our personal health (we are both over 70; my wife has asthma) we no longer wished to travel on a vacation. We focused first on obtaining a refund from American Airlines and British Airways for the air portion of our trip, which we had not booked with Globus. When we called Globus on May 5 to request a refund, the agent we spoke to said that the deadline for requesting a refund--April 6--had passed and there was nothing he could do. We asked if there was someone else we could talk to and he said no. Had we known about this deadline, we would have made a timely request for a refund. As previously stated, the emails we received from Globus made no mention of a refund, a procedure to obtain a refund, or a deadline for requesting a refund. On August 1, we received an email from Globus inviting us to a Zoom meeting to hear about Globus tours. We signed up for the meeting with the express purpose of hoping to ask a question about what we considered was very unfair treatment by Globus. At the Zoom meeting on Aug 6 I saw at least one person ask (in writing) whether he could get a refund. An assistant at that meeting--Cory ***--asked that person to send him an email directly. I did the same thing, explaining our situation. Janet *** from Globus replied, leading to an exchange of several emails. Essentially, Ms ***'s position is that Globus posted all the information we never received directly--procedure to request a refund, etc--on its website and on social media as of March 14. Why should we have looked on the Globus website when Globus sent emails directly to us? Additionally, we are senior citizens and are not on Facebook, Twitter, etc. I suspect Globus did not mention a refund in its emails because it was afraid it would be swamped with requests for refunds. They directly sent us an email inviting us to a meeting about Globus tours, but not an email telling us we could get a refund. How fair is that? Globus keeps sending us emails directly inviting us to book tours, but nary a word about a refund. Contacting Ms *** will do no good, as she has explained her hands are tied by some executive policy. That policy was arbitrarily set by higher-ups who can just as easily change it or make an exception. As a matter of equity, we should receive a refund. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.