Gate 1 Travel
Reviews and Complaints

This company lied to me about being able to add travel insurance the day after I paid for my trip after I had a chance to check with my travel partner (my elder mom). I called the next day (still several months before travelling) to add insurance after my mom said she wanted it, and was denied. Then they told me I could do a name change if my mom couldn't travel. After she ended up in the hospital a month before our trip, I spent hours booking new flights for another travel partner, and then was denied a name change by Gate 1 on my land only reservation. My mother ended up dying and Gate 1 refused to refund the money for my mother's trip in spite of their broken promise to add insurance and to do a name change. I offered to pay the single room supplement to be fair but they refused and kept all the money for my late mother's half of the trip. HORRIBLE customer service! Avoid!

I had a bad experience and I want to let others know how it was handled hence 2 st I had a bad experience and I want to let others know how it was handled hence 2 stars.

I have been to Ecuador, Columbia, Portugal, Morroco and Greece with Gate 1. I always purchased the travel insurance, but it was useless for me when I needed it in Greece. I got sick also on my Morocco trip, but I didn’t file insurance because I didn’t feel bad until the last day. I was one of about three who wore a mask, but I let my guard down on the bus and toward the middle of that tour people started sneezing.

In Greece, although I wore a mask, On the second day, I felt ill and knew I could not go on, so I removed myself and stayed in Athens. The tour manager, it seemed to me ,

was more interested in getting me to sign a statement I volunteered to leave the group than she was in my well-being.

She wanted me to go to the hospital without any support, which I was afraid to do in a foreign country. It was some sort of respiratory illness, but I didn't know at the time.

I self-tested three times and it was not Covid. I went to the pharmacy and purchased over the counter remedies. When I got home, I filed a claim with backup for the part of the trip I missed and was denied. I am suspicious the paper I signed had something to do with it.

I felt There was very little support from Gate 1 and the insurance company was of no use.

From this ordeal, I learned that if everything goes well, the Gate 1 experience is fine, but if there is a problem like I had, not so much. I have another trip planned, but I am not too thrilled about it and will probably end up forfeiting the deposit.

I have been advised they will not refund the travel deposit.

I felt it important to share because in the past I have given Gate 1 glowing praise and that has changed and I will not travel with them again.

In paris end of 9 day seine cruise. Docked today at Roosevelt and went into Paris on our own. We asked when or if the ship would be moved. The woman at the desk said between 11 and 12 after she called the captain. So we asked that since we would be back at 4 would the ship be moved to Javel. This was confirmed by the front desk at around 9 AM. The cruise director gave us similar info the prior day.

We returned at 4, no ship at Javel. There is no number to call on the key cards. An officer from another line found the countess. She had not moved.

Ok, besides not knowing where the ship would be docked, no contact number, and a 3km walk all is great. Right great, not.

My wife hurt herself on the rough ground, back, and could barely walk. I got her back luckily by finding a taxi. Thank god. She was in pain, a lot of pain.

You didn’t directly cause the injury, but you sure as heck showed us how totally out of sync is the ship’s management.

Reservation #2134385 for Independent Tour of Paris & Barcelona

We arrived in Paris on December 22. On the morning of December 23, I ate some yogurt for breakfast. I started feeling ill and by the time we took the Gate 1 sponsored tour of the Louvre, I vomited at the Louvre. I was so embarrassed. I know it was the yogurt from the hotel because another lady who was on the trip, Evangeline from NYC, also ate the yogurt that morning and fell ill as well. I was sick the entire trip and by the time I returned home, I was so run down, I had contracted flu and pneumonia. It took me weeks to recover and I am still going through testing to see what damage the illnesses may have done.

Because I was ill, I did not use the Metro as I usually do in Paris. We took cabs and while the hotel may have been only a few miles from the major attractions, the cab rides were expensive because so many streets are now one-way.

Trying to contact customer service. I have written to them and have been waiting to hear from them. I talked to them however I cannot reach Nichol A. They cannot give me a number for customer service. They cannot tell me how they will refund the monies for the 3 of us. I took the insurance. I booked my trip separate from my brother and sister in law. We all had upgraded to business class. Then when the plane did not leave on Feb. 16. I was told since I was related to my brother and sister in law I had to stay in the same room. I told them I booked separate from them. I am in business class. The 6 hour bus trip to Dulles was painful. Then we left at 1:00am on Sat. Morning. We really needed a room for Friday . Gate 1 please contact me.

We never went on the excursion to the churches or the option excursion and would like to be reimbursed. Fifteen minutes at the bizarre was not adequate. Very little time at the museum and no free time in Cairo at all. Only to eat dinner.

Arrived in Israel 4 hours late 12/3/22. Hotel Metropolitan was terrible. There was black mold in the shower and all over the bathroom. First noticed a strong chemical smell. Took a shower and the drain wasn’t working so water spilled out into the hallway soaking the rug. 12/4/22 stayed at Restal Hotel. Bathroom again had mold and room was dirty. 12/9/22 stayed at the Dead Sea Hotel. Walked into the room and it had a heavy smell of mildew. Called the front desk and they had no other rooms. They sent a guy up to spray the room. Room was dirty. 12/10/22 Old Village Hotel. The bathroom smelled like an open sewer. Had to keep the door closed. Contacted customer service Genesis Solis Carrion. First she blew me off. Then she called because I said that I was going to call corporate. Next I get an email that they are giving me 100.00 credit to use on my next trip. Called to talk to her but a girl told me the case was closed on 3/7/22.

My trip was scheduled to leave on 2/26/23. On 2/22/23, they called and said they were canceling the trip. Stating there may be a "possible strike" on truckers/deliveries. It was an independent tour (only air and hotel). I called the airline, they advised me that they are not affected at all. My hotel was fine too. I offered to sign a waiver, but they just said they were canceling. Not offer to assist in finding another, or allowing me to book on my own. Horrible> they just canceled. I'm left, 4 days before i'm leaving with not trip, not assistance and no money back!. They said they would refund, but only $400 is "pending in my account" the other 1,200 dollars has not be sent to my bank yet (I called my bank). The refund should have happened immediately. Now I can't even book another trip since I don't have my funds. Customer service is horrific. No one helps and I was told 48 hours for a manager to call back. This is unacceptable from a gate one~ I feel like they canceled because they would lose money. My friend is there now, and everything is find in iceland.

On Wednesday February 8, 2023, about 6 days prior to departure on February 13, 2023, I requested Gate 1 to cancel my reservation (using the procedure outlined to me by their customer service representative in a phone call the same day) under trip ID 2296506 and asked that I be notified how much credit I will have for future travel since I purchased both travel protection with Arch insurance as well as 72-hour cancel for any reason (CFAR) protection. Finding that my reservation was still active on February 9, 2023, I re-submitted my request. As of February 10, 2023, I still keep getting emails as if I am still going for this trip. I am asking that my trip be cancelled and I be informed of the credit I will have for future travel. As of now, it is still within 72 hours of departure.

Book a trip to Thailand in July 2022 for October 2023. This only created an endless amount of problems, hours of hold time on the phone for days. They never post notes on your file so everything you call nothing is done and not one knows anything. GOING ON 4 DAYS WAITING FOR A CALL BACK!

They policies is to take your money charge you for anything and give you nothing in return. The price has dropped several times since we booked, so we are now paying the highs price for this trip.

We purchased a Gate 1 travel package which was a 16-day trip to Italy, unfortunately the trip was scheduled for June 2020 and was canceled due to COVID 19 we stayed in constant contact with Gate 1 through the process and was assured several times that we would be able to use and do the same trip up until the end of 2023. Well, we recently tried to book the trip and Gate 1 changed the pricing and did not honor the $2000 sale price we were assured they would cover. We have tried several times to contact them and work through this rationally instead of the new normal of going online and bashing someone's business etc. I must say they make it almost impossible to do so as they transfer you from person to person and leave you on hold for extreme periods of time.

As I write this, I have been on hold for 53 minutes and counting. I guess this leaves us nowhere to go but to the "new norm" as well as a legal action, I would imagine that their Merchant processor should receive a call as well. I would also Imagine that gate 1 received a decent amount of government money in assistance and is not honoring deals they made, but trying to gauge.

My reservation # is [protected]

My daughter and I just finished the trip "10 Day Affordable Spain". We are not very happy for what the Gate 1's tour provided:

1. We didn't visit Mezquita de Córdoba that is in our itinerary.
2. We didn't visit inside of Nasrid Palace at Alhambra that is the must-see site.

Those two sites are such significant so that we choose this trip. If we knew the site visit will be cancelled in advance, we will select a different date to travel.
We feel that we waste time to travel long time to just see outside the building. There are some potential problems from Gate 1:

1. Gate 1 's local tour manager should know that the Mezquita de Córdoba will be closed due to the holidays in advance. Why does Gate 1 still add this visit to our itinerary? We feel that we were fooled by Gate 1's attractive itinerary.
2. To make up for this change, a visit to the Royal Chapel was arranged in the afternoon. The Royal Chapel is not a must-see site. The Royal Chapel cannot be compared with the Nazrid Palace of Alhambra.

We are so disappointed that Gate 1's tour is so sloppy.
Gate 1 should put notes or (*) on the itinerary and mention that this visit might be cancelled due to holidays.
Gate 1 should suggest that the traveler's check if the visit may be adjusted due to some specific holidays.

Question: This was my 5th trip with gate 1.The first hotel was Hotel Metropolitan. The shower was full of mold.There was a strong smell of chemicals when we entered the room. When my cousin was in the shower the drain was not pulling water & it ran out of the bathroom into the hall soaking the room. The room was filthy.The second hotel was Restal Hotel. It contained mold in the bathroom. I mean black mold. Everyone on the trip was complaining but our tour guy couldn't do anything.The Lady stern hotel was not much better. I didn't expect luxury but I did expect a clean room and bathroom.Our flights were delayed in Chicago & we missed our connecting flight in Frankfort. We were 5 hours late getting into Israel. Coming back it took us 30 hours. Leaving Jordan our flight was late so we missed our flight in Washington. We got to the gate at 8:24. The plane was not leaving until 8:30. The airline person would not let us on. When we told him our flight was late and we had to get through customs and TSA, he said well other people from your flight were here 6 minutes ago. We explained we were in the back of the plane and had to wait to get off. He was so rude and refused to let us on. We had to wait until 2:30 pm to get a plane to O'Hara. All delays were due to maintenance issues according to United. I and my cousin would like to be refunded part of our money for this trip. Israel and Jordan on [protected] to 12-14-2022. With flight delays and missing airplanes coming back it took us almost 30 hours. I am so disappointed in Gate 1. I have always had good trips with clean hotels. In our hotel at the Dead Sea my cousin got bites all over her arms. The room had a very bad smell. We called the front desk and they sent a guy down to spray the room. It was suffocating. They said there were no more Ton the airplane coming back I ate their food. A short time later I felt nauseous. I rushed to the bathroom and projectile vomited all over the bathroom, my clothes and shoes. I told the attendant and she asked me why I didn’t grab a bag. She handed me one. She was so rude. United smashed my luggage. I stopped at the airport to tell the lady at United and she told me to file a complaint on line. When I did, they said I filed the wrong form and it was too late to refill it. I wanted a partial refund and they gave us a $75 credit. Why would I ever use Gate 1 ?

Good afternoon, I just received a Gate1 email, I’m flabbergasted by it and want directly submit a Complaint this way. I’ve transferred 2576,93€ (!) to Gate 1 for a flight in November 2020. After I’ve sent numerous emails to book new flights in the last 2 years, and being neglected all the time, Gate1 is now telling me we had to book it latest one week ago. Without any notification! One of their employees contacted me at the end of August 2022 with a great service email; that we could still use the 2576,93€. And suddenly this offer is canceled by your email by hiding behind regulations of the Airline!?! I expect an email from Gate1 asap to inform me how they are going to resolve this issue. I’ll take legal action and I'll contact the media in a variety of ways if this case is not solved in a good way by Gate1.

GATE1 customer service is TERRIBLE.

Everyone should be aware that if you buy travel insurance on Gate1 site, they do not charge you for the coverage immediately, but place it as a charge on your final bill. So, for a while you are NOT insured, and if something goes wrong before your final charge, you lose your money. We bought cancel for any reason insurance coverage, but had to cancel before the final charge. Nobody explained to me that insurance is not paid yet