Travelmarvel

Cruise started ok. Vega ship was awesome. Staff friendly and very welcoming. A group which had been to Paris prior who got on the boat were sick and infected so many passengers including both my wife and myself with a terrible flu like cold 3 days into the trip. My estimate was that 50% of people came down with this lurgy and some very unwell.… Read more

This is not the cruise ships fault but people should have been told and the sick people some very ill told to isolate in there cabin. Then we were told we had to disembark this boat halfway through. After packing up and a whole day on a bus arrived to board Polaris. We missed a couple of places we were supposed to visit as a result of this. Well what a joke Staff at reception not very welcoming and many more people we spoke to felt the same. We were made to feel like we were a problem and not welcome. Staff on Vega 10/10 Polaris 5/10. Air conditioning very poor on this boat. We had nearly 3 days of the trip parked up next to other boats with horrible septic smells coming into our cabin. We we unable to stay in our cabin on several occasions because of this and on one day 9hrs sitting in the lounge as a result. The food was ok on both ships and restaurant Staff were great but vega exceptional. If you think cruising is being on board and watching the world go by think again. So many days the top deck was not accessible. You pay and extra $2500 each to get a French balcony cabin well don't bother. Most times you are either looking at a concrete wall or another boat parked next to you. As far as a spa is concerned it is for 2 people and not operating 85% of the time. Travel marvel need to reconsider how Polaris operate. Overall after being sick for most of the trip and the boat swap then the staff and smells issues a disappointing way to spend in excess of $22k On a positive some of the places we got to visit off ship we amazing. The transfer. and moving between boat hotels and airport was great. The hotel in Amsterdam was great but the one in Budapest was disappointing . 2 nights there for $1000 was an absolute rip-off. Overall a disappointing trip.

We booked a river cruise in September 2024 from Budapest to Amsterdam with Travel Marvel. We boarded the cruise and after 2 days onboard we were told to disembark within 24 hours due to rising river water levels and the cruise was cancelled. Travel Marvel did not provide any refunds or compensation even though we paid over $20,000 as a couple for… Read more

this cruise. Other cruise providers refunded customers and paid for return flights and onward travel, as we spoke with other cruise travellers nearby, however Travel Marvel did not provide any assistance. Travel Marvel advised that we must contact our travel insurance company for help. Very dissatisfied and disappointed and will never go with Travel Marvel again.

Outstanding trip, four counties in 20days, Fladamir was the best tour leader that we have ever had, his,skills knowledge organisation, commitment to each person was outstanding. Every guide, tour and hotell was excellent.On our last day Elias supported us through the airport. Above our expectations, culture at its best. Show details

I took a Travel Marvel 17 Day Alpine & Danube tour in July and could not fault the entire experience. The communication during the booking process was seamless as was the handling of both the land tour and river cruise. Transfer limo on arrival in Zurich greeted us and from thereon the outstanding guide Misia anticipated every need and concern.… Read more

Hotels, and particularly coach transport was more than satisfactory. The only glitch was with 1 night's accommodation and Travel Marvel have promptly recompensed us for any inconvenience. A very satisfied customer.

My wife and I had just turned 70, and so we did the European Gems - Amsterdam to Budapest cruise from the 7 June 2024 until 21 June 2024. We travelled on the Travelmarvel Capella. This River Ship is quite new. There were no children on board. The staff could not do enough. The food was exceptional. The entertainers provided music through the… Read more

night, and also came on a number of town walking tours. There was always coffee and tea available through the day. Your cabin was turned back for you during tea. We had a French Style Balcony Suite, which was very comfortable.

The Cruise Director had a talk every night on the next days activity, and was always on shore with us, but in the background. The cabin TV provided the next days activities, and this was also posted in the ship's entry foyer. If the ship docked too far from town, coaches and tour guides were on the wharf waiting for us to disembark. The only incident to talk of, was when a group of passengers did an 'add on' excursion, which they said was really good, however the coach has a motor vehicle accident (MVA) returning them to the ship. The Cruise Director quickly organised hire cars to pick them up from the MVA so they did not miss the ships departure. The whole cruise went like clockwork.

Be warned that in some ports the ships tie up to three abreast to the wharf, meaning that you may have to walk through other ships to reach the wharf. This can be a bit up, down and over. On the plus side, it gives you a chance to look inside the other River Ships.

Canada is amazing – Our tour guides on both the East Coast – Chris and West Coast – Jessica were fantastic. Knowledgeable, helpful, caring – both went above and beyond. The bus drivers Pierre and Frieda were great. Overall a great tour and I would recommend it. Highlights for me were Niagara on the Lake and Niagara Falls, Parc Omega, Chateau Frontenac, Rocky… Read more

Mountaineer (I upgraded to Gold Leaf and was happy with my decision), Columbia Icefield, Butchart Gardens and the wildlife, Helicopter ride onto Mendenhall Glacier and dog sledding. East coast very European – which I loved and West side all about the scenery – absolutely beautiful. Canadian people were lovely. All the hotels on the East coast were really nice, on the West side – Vancouver, Banff, Emerald Lake, McKinley Chalet and Westmark Fairbanks – all old and tired. My favourite room was in Montreal. Breakfasts were sparse – they don’t seem to understand dietary requirements. The best buffet breakfast was at the Marriott on the Falls Hotel. The dinner at the Sugar Shack and McKinley Chalet and the lunch prior to boarding the Discovery Cruise left a lot to be desired – we were herded in like cattle and the food was disgusting. I was disappointed in the Grouse Mountain tour – we only had 1 hour which was not enough. I would have liked to stay an extra night in both Montreal and Whistler – there was no time to look around. We stayed at a few Marriott Hotels and I felt we were taken to separate rooms to eat as if to hide us from the rest of the Hotel. The Holland America Line Cruise – very old and I found it to be dirty – I was first for breakfast and tables were not clean and food under tables that had not been vacuumed. This was my first cruise, and I will never cruise again. There was hardly anything to do on board even though we had 3 days at sea. I am not a sit still person, I wanted activities. The gym should be 24/7. I was glad when we finally docked. The land part of Holland America was not much better. We were driven on a school bus into Denali National Park by a lady who was overheard to say to another bus driver – “They are Australian’s, they don’t understand English”. We are not children, so don’t treat us as if we are. We are bringing money into your country you should treat us with respect. I will never go to America again. I know there are nice Americans, but the ones I came across as part of this tour were rude and condescending. Such a difference to Canada. This trip was the most expensive trip I have ever done and this was my 11th trip overseas. You don't get much in the US for the AUD.

Reviews are not true as pressured to fill in review before end of trip by tour director, who also sees reviews, also the selling of 5% discount prepaying $500 is pressured and misleading You still get the 5% discount years later without paying $500 while on tour

Prompted by Travel Marvel’s most recent advertising campaign in Australia, I felt a social responsibility to warn travellers that this company cannot be trusted with your money. They cancelled our fully paid European just weeks before departure without any reason, contact from them or compensation for costs to find alternative solutions. Me and… Read more

my sister were out of pocket $8k because of ‘Travel Debacle’ as we now refer to them. 3+ years and counting now, and still not one person from this outfit has contacted us - appalling customer service.

Most unsympathetic company I have ever come across.My wife and I booked a Balkan Cruise and paid over $10,000. Two months before the cruise which was for July my wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor and needed an immediate operation. I contacted Travelmarvel requesting a credit, no money back but requested that we would do the same cruise later… Read more

or next year. No sympathy, no compassion just too bad. Kept the money and more than likely on sold our cabin to someone else for another $10,000. What a disgusting company. What a pathetic attitude.

The cruise that never was – We were also on board the Capella Budapest to Amsterdam Sept 15. This was our bucket list trip which turned into a horror story after the cruise was cancelled by Travelmarvel. No refund ,or future credit was offerred. Only assistance was transfer to Budapest airport. I've made telephone calls, sent emails and I'm still waiting for a reply. We are shattered by the experience.

Travellers beware - Utterly disappointing experience – Wow! What a devastating experience. Due to flooding of the Danube as a result of storm Boris, our cruise never left the dock. We boarded Capella on 15 September late afternoon, for our cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam, the itinerary being to check in, with sailing to commence on 16 September. After dinner went up to top deck for a look around… Read more

and noticed spa was not filled with water, I only thought this was odd as things didn’t seem ‘ready’. The following evening, we were told very matter of factly that the trip was cancelled and in the same breath told there will be no refunds offered. It was such rehearsed rhetoric. We were given until 12.00 midday on the 18th, to be off the ship. 170+ passenger’s immediately had to madly scramble as there was no assistance offered, other than ‘you can use our phone if you need to’…. With the time difference, as all passengers coming from the other side of the world, this was distressing and riddled with anxiety and tears. I truly believe that when we boarded on 15th the cruise would already have been cancelled, but for TravelMarvel to cancel BEFORE commencement, would have meant refunds etc; would come into play, by waiting until 16th, they were able to cite ‘force majeure’. Nicely played - not. Our cruise cost us over $23K and I simply cannot believe they are so cavalier about this. To add insult to injury, the general demeanour of the staff was extremely inappropriate. While there was a boatload of people clearly upset and stressed to say the least, they were joking around, laughing and high fiving each other. At least pretend you care in front of the customer. Just awful. Reading testimonials regarding other cruise lines such as Scenic, Avalon and what assistance passengers they were given, ( hotel accommodation, bus transport to meet other ships, discounts off any future cruises, just makes me so angry. This was our first ever river cruise experience, we have waited years to be able to do it, and based on our experience and how it has been handled, we will never attempt it again.

Canceled trip – The trip which never happened. $18,000 which Travel Marvel had for 12months, only to board the boat on 15th September to be told the cruise was cancelled due to high water. They must of known this trip was not going. We were left high and dry told we had to be off the boat the next day. It was a very stressful time for all the passengers who then… Read more

had the extra expense of trying to organize where and what to do. No refund or credit offered. Absolutely shocking way of treating passengers who had saved and were so looking forward to their trip. Travel Marvel you need to come good on this issue. Sue and John Manks

Shocking cruise experience – Went on a 14 day river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. Arrived in Budapest to be told that significant rain was expected so we have to depart immediately for our first destination of Vienna. Arrived in Vienna 24 hours later but were unable to leave the boat due to high water levels. This continued for the next 3 days until we are told on day 4… Read more

that the cruise was cancelled and would have to leave the boat the following day. We were also informed that this was a “force majeure” event and as a result none of the £9.5k paid would be refunded. Therefore 4 days of being locked on a boat, never visiting a city had cost us £9.5k.

Think very carefully before booking with APT / Travelmarvel.

Wonderful Canada – I recently returned from and wonderful holiday to Canada and Alaska. My journey began in Vancouver and ended in Fairbanks. I had the best time. I traveled on the Rocky mountaineer silver class train. The food was wonderful the crew were fabulous and very entertaining. Of course the scenery was amazing. I cruised on the Holland America Noordam in… Read more ·  1

the inside passage and saw the amazing glaciers. The cabin staff and restaurant workers were so friendly and helpful. The tours I took off the ship were wonderful. I went ziplining, which I have never done before this holiday. I went on a dog sled at the summer camp and was so thrilled at how excited the dogs were and how much they love to work. We went to Lake Louise which was still frozen, Emerald Lake, so beautiful. On land and via coach we traveled to Denali National Park which was huge. We saw bears, Moose and carabou (reindeer). We went to Fairbanks and traveled on a steam paddlewheel. We had a wonderful lunch and wandered around a Native village and saw the wonderful crafts, clothes and also their cabins and where they dry the salmon. All so very interesting. The accommodation was first class. All the meals that were included were delicious. Above all our Tour Guide Spencer Scott (from Canada) really made the trip. He was always available if we needed to discuss anything. He answered all our questions no matter how silly some of them were. And he taught us a fabulous song. (We have Rocks and Trees by The Arrogant Worms). The couch driver (also from Canada) we had was so helpful with transporting our luggage safely and also with local knowledge. All together this trip was a lot more than I expected. I loved every minute from start to finish.

Fabulous until Paris – (I don't know if this holiday was Travelmarvel Diamond???) I have just returned from a 3 week holiday with Travelmarvel from Prague to Paris. I have already done reviews up to and including the river cruise which was all fabulous. The down fall came after Amsterdam. The Tour Director, Marc, just was not up to the task. Was it his first time? … Read more

After experiencing the likes of Adela and Roland, who were excellent, it was hard to come down to earth with a bang. Also the hotel in Paris was also lacking. In my room I had a coffee machine and microwave but no kettle or any other utensils. The bathroom had plenty of towels but no flannel to use with liquid soap. Also getting into and out of the bath with no hand rail was quite an experience. After a previous touring holiday in Paris, it was a bit disappointing this time to find that the only excursion planned was a 3 hour bus tour around Paris. We arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon and we had no suggestion of where to go for dinner that night. After the bus tour on the Saturday we had our free time but it would have been lovely if there had been a night time excursion, say a river cruise and a visit to Montmartre with a dinner there and then nothing was planned for the Sunday except for the night time show. After a lovely start to the holiday Paris was a disappointment. Diane Hamlyn

disappointed – Five stars for the crew who were fantastic. The ship is ex APT and it is hard to believe that APT cruises are expensive and Travel Marvel cheaper when the cabin need a remake especially the bathrooms This cruise was full of Australians and who make you be ashamed to be Australian by their wearing of singlets, old shorts and rubber thongs at all … Read more

meals especially when asked to wear long pant for the first night dinner. I will not mention the women. The meals were western for Australians with some Asian included. We was looking forward to Cambodia and Vietnamese but not there. Our guide in [Name Removed] was terrible as continually talked about his childhood and talked all the time as we stood and listened and we did not see hardly of any of The Wats taken to. You need to consider if you use this company as this our opinion.

Travel to hell – Travel to hell After a year of hard work ,decided to go to a short trip to Tasmania ,where never been ,travel agent booked us for 6 days tour of Tasmania which made both of us (I & my wife)so I'll, that nearly cost our lives. From the 2nd day in the tour 1st I became so sick with runny nose, headache and cough, that couldn't go to dinner ,so weak… Read more

that had to rest in bed ,couple of days later my wife developped same symtoms. We fell sick only because of I'll organised tour ,only 2 person in the tour were sick : a careless ,selfish lady Who was sitting next to us was constantly coughing & blowing her nose in the open space not in her elbow , spreading the virus and another man doing same thing ,none of them had face mask ,didn't use hand sanitizer ,not keep the distance from others ,and worse senario was that the tour leader didn' ask them to follow the rules ,on the last day of the tour most of the people were sick ,this is the duty of tour leader to have face mask in the bus to offer to the people who need it ,to have the Rat test & and prompt the people who have the symptoms to follow the PPE rules .I paid for a tour but had to spend most of my times in the hotel. In comparison: We went on the 10 day tour to new Zealand in Jan 2023 ,never had any of these problems. Never recommend travelmarvel to any body.

A lot packed into 15 days – Just enjoyed a coach tour of New Zealand from top to bottom with Travel Marvel. Both Islands. It was well planned with accommodation, beds, showers, meals all well thought out and delivered. It must be noted that to pack so much in to this tour, be prepared for early starts and some long days. Not for the faint hearted or those who struggle with… Read more

life. The tour guide was amazingly competent and met each challenge with positivity and got it sorted. We had a number who became sick during the trip and some needed medical assistance. These were arranged. We were kept informed all along the way. Loo breaks were well planned and frequent. Arrangements for the next days were clear and easy to follow. The driver had huge knowledge of New Zealand and regularly shared this throughout our journey. He drove safely and care at all times and the coach was extremely comfortable with plenty of leg room, even for one who was 6 ft 7in. Would definitely recommend

Amazing care in time of trouble! – We had to unfortunately had to cancel our European river cruise booked for August 2023 due to the sudden death of my dear friend and travel companion. The kind, compassionate lady ( I would like to name her but dont think that is permitted) who dealt with our cancellation was extremely sympathetic, responded to queries promptly and generally made the very tough process as easy as it could be. I would like to thank her from the bottom of my heart. Show details

Ripped off – I lost a lot of money when THEY cancelled our river cruise. Not happy. They should give us a free holiday worth $2000 to compensate us. I would not book through them again. Show details

Stay away from APT Marvel – Booked with Marvel 2 + years ago then had to extend our cruise date out 12 months and of course had to change cos original trip was no longer, then when next date rolled round we cancelled rather than move our trip out, same as others they kept 20 + % after others actions so would never deal with APT or Travel Marvel. Took months to get our refund… Read more

feel sorry for our travel agent they are treated no different, don't give a damn so don't take a risk they are not worth it APT and associated Companies.

Terrible service – Poor communication throughout our whole experience. We, like many others had our original tour deferred due to COVID and we were given certain dates in which we could travel to the Kimberley. We had booked this TravelMarvel tour through Global Journeys, Noosa, for travel in 2020. Global Journeys was very good. TravelMarvel was very poor. … Read more

Getting information out of them was frustrating to say the least. Our trip included a land portion from Broome to Darwin and a cruise from Darwin to Broome. The cruise itinerary was changed due to Northern Territory restrictions and instead of boarding the vessel in Darwin, we had to fly back to Broome and cruise from there. No fault of TravelMarvel.

To start with: As the tour got closer, I had to research Western Australia and Northern Territory COVID regulations and ask Global Journeys to contact TravelMarvel for information, which was not forthcoming in any reasonable form. Eventually, they did provide information at the last minute, but by then I had already made the necessary applications. COVID is not an excuse for neglecting to provide this information sooner. It may be the case that the tour may not have gone ahead but it is better to prepare your guests in advance, after all, you had all our money which you wouldn't refund. Some inquiries I made with TravelMarvel were left completely unanswered and my opinion of TravelMarvel was that they were pathetic. That's my opinion, others might be different.

There were 33 people on our coach tour and every single one was disgusted with the way they had been treated by TravelMarvel. Another annoying thing - they kept spelling our surname wrong, even after they had been told. Just a little thing but on top of everything else, it just reeks of incompetence.

On the land portion of our tour, we had to have a COVID test no more than 3 days prior to boarding the ship. We were told by email about 2 weeks before we travelled that we had to have that test at the Kununurra Hospital and that test was scheduled for the same time that were to have a cruise on the gorge. We had prepaid hundreds of dollars for that cruise so I inquired about a refund of that outlay or an alternative. I was told there was no refund so that money was gone. Where was it going? Into TravelMarvel's coffers and there was nothing I could do about it. They way we were told this was no so pleasant. We asked our tour guide what arrangements had been made to take us to the hospital and he looked at us with an expression of incredulity and said he knew nothing about it. He had to make some frantic phone calls and then advised us that we would have to have it at Sullivan Nicolaides in Darwin before 3.30pm on the day before the cruise. We were told that TravelMarvel messed it up and we couldn't have the test in Kununurra. We arrive at Sullivan Nicolaides 50 minutes late due to the coach itinerary and if it wasn't for the wonderful nurse taking our swabs and personally delivering them to the airport, we would not have had results in time to board the ship, and would have lost thousands of dollars.

Our TravelMarvel coach guide was gobsmacked when we asked him about our transfers to Darwin Airport for our flight back to Broome - more frantic phone calls.

We were lucky our trip went ahead thanks to the efforts of Global Journeys and our coach tour guide and driver. No thanks to TravelMarvel and COVID is not much of an excuse, particularly when you can't communicate with your own employees. TravelMarvel or TravelHarmful?

Loved it – 3 other ladies and myself just arrived back from a fantastic holiday touring Queensland from Cairns to the Gold Coast. The accommodation was in the best hotels and the driver come guide couldn't do enough to make our holiday a memorable one. We also went to Hamilton Island, Australia Zoo and Fraser Island. Loved it and would recommend any one to do the tour.

Nil goodwill – Booked Rhine River cruise, covid interrupted, ACCC intervened, only lost 17%, they wanted 50%. Would never recommend them to anyone. No goodwill with Travelmarvel. Sad ending to an expected journey.

Reputation Tainted – We booked a tour for 2 which was cancelled by Travel Marvel due to Covid -19. When asked for a refund we were offered $11,372.50, and they kept $3,818.00 as an unexplained fee. We sent them three medical certificates (two by Specialists and one from our GP), we were then told the fee would be $2,248.00. There is no chance of us travelling in… Read more

future but it made no difference when we appealed again. We always travelled with APT and held them in high esteem as we were overwhelmed with their service and recommended them to our friends. We were very disappointed with the outcome of our request for a full refund.