Vantage Class Action Says 15-Day Luxury River Cruise Became Bus Tour

Vantage Travel Service Inc. d/b/a Vantage Deluxe World Travel and Vantage Adventures has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the company breached customers’ contracts by failing to provide a 15-day luxury cruise as promised.

Plaintiffs Ronald Herbert of Baton Rouge, La., and Aime Denault of Westminster, Mass., claim they were given a five-day river cruise and eight-day bus trip instead of the 15-day luxury cruise they purchased. The cruise ships were “moored at out of the way locations,” the plaintiffs say.

According to the Vantage class action lawsuit, Herbert and Denault entered into a contract with Vantage for a “5 Star Luxury” river cruise that was scheduled to commence in July 2016.

The cruise was advertised as a “Majestic Rivers of Europe” tour that was to include stops in Austria, Germany and Hungary.

Herbert and Denault claim that the Tour Participation Agreement they entered into with Vantage failed to adequately disclose important contract terms, including the actual owners and operators of the MS River Voyager, which was advertised by Vantage as a “Deluxe state-of-the-art ship” that was part of “our fleet.” The contract also failed to disclose a lack of an emergency plan and lack of qualified agents that would be present on the cruise ship, the Vantage cruise class action lawsuit alleges.

“Vantage was responsible for having an emergency/contingency plan in place to address events on its ship such as engine failure, but failed to do so,” Herbert and Denault allege in the Vangage river cruise class action lawsuit.

Even though Vantage failed to provide the 15-day river cruise it promised the plaintiffs, the travel company also refused to provide any refunds, the Vantage river cruise class action lawsuit alleges.

“Plaintiffs have sent to Vantage by certified mail demands for relief, identifying the claimants and reasonably describing the unlawful and unfair and deceptive acts and practices relied upon, and the damages sustained as a result,” the Vantage river cruise class action lawsuit says. “Vantage has refused to grant reasonable relief upon demand in bad faith with knowledge or reason to know that its acts and practices complained of violate [the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act].”

Putative Class Members of the Vantage cruise lawsuit include all persons who paid for a 15-day “Majestic Rivers of Europe” cruise but instead received a five-day cruise and eight-day bus trip.

The Vantage cruise class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, breach of common law warranties, negligent misrepresentation and violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.

The plaintiffs filed this Vantage cruise class action lawsuit in Massachusetts state court last month. The case was removed to federal court on May 19.

Herbert and Denault seek actual damages, attorney’ fees and costs, restitution, disgorgement, rescission, injunctive relief and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

The plaintiffs are represented by James L. O’Connor Jr., James M. Galliher and C. Deborah Phillips of Nickless Phillips and O’Connor.

The Vantage Luxury River Cruise Class Action Lawsuit is Ronald Hebert, et al. v. Vantage Travel Service Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-10922-DJC, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.