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Italy Forum: Pre-Pay Italy Land Packages???


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jlphotography
   Fayetteville, GA
   Joined: Mar 2005
   Forum posts: 3
   Travel map pins: 0 

More about jlphotography...
Posted on: 10:23 pm,March 27, 2005
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Hello all,

I'm planning a trip for my mom to Sicily...she's 76, an Sicilian-American, and has never been there. So, we're going in September. As a result, look for many questions from me. I promise to reciprocate with answers when I get back.

Ok. So, we're going through a travel agency to plan it out. They want a credit card for the airfares, but the hotels paid 100% in advance by check. This is the Donna Franca agency. Is this practice normal? Doesn't seem safe to me, esp if the hotels are dives or if they lose the reservation.

Is this normal for an agency to do??

Please advise and thanks,

Jim


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Ginalola
   USA
   Joined: Oct 2004
   Forum posts: 756
   Travel map pins: 93 

Posted on: 11:07 pm,March 27, 2005
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I answered your same question on the Sicily forum, but I want to add this: if you pre-pay your land package, I would advise your purchasing cancellation insurance in the event that you could not make the trip. This insurance is pricey, around $300 for two travelers, and it usually does not cover acts of war or acts of God (earthquakes, floods, mudslides, etc.).

Try booking your hotels directly and holding your rooms with a credit card. If you don't go, then you can cancel your rooms according to the hotel policies without penalty, thus avoiding the cancellation insurance.

Your mom raised a nice son; she is going to love her trip!


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WeWe
   Akron, OH
   Joined: Jul 2005
   Forum posts: 5
   Travel map pins: 3 

Posted on: 9:40 am,February 22, 2006
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Did you end up using Donna Franca? We were considering their tour UNTIL learning about paying by check....the other tour companies (Globus, Trafalgar, Central)we've looked into use poor hotel choices. Any suggestions?


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