Legendary Journeys

This whole thing makes us sick. We took many trips with Legendary and ALWAYS received 150% satisfaction! We stayed in top notch hotels or gorgeous cruise lines. On one trip we were the only LJ couple on the cruise we disembarked in Amsterdam and were escorted off before any other passengers by a LJ representative and a limo driver. It breaks my heart to hear they are not in business. We have been unable to travel for a coupe years or we would have been victim to this closing. We surely would have been booked for one of their trips. The excursions were ALWAYS excellent . Just looked up this site to see what is going on. Soo sad!!!

08/21/2018 Florida Attorney General files for $3+ million, naming defunct Legendary Journeys only officers, Adrian L. Ferguson & Charles T. Scott ( aka Al & Chuck Travel ) and details proving they "... deceptively and unfairly collected millions from consumers ..." and then " ... used the prepayments to pay personal expenses, make extra payroll distributions, and even to pay for Scott's shopping spree at Saks .." PUBLIC RECORDS case # 2018 CA 004455 NC" (19 pages) available from websites (1) Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General or (2) Sarasota County Clerk of Courts. Unbelievable and worth reading the entire complaint with multiple examples. The filing also requests "A permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants" ( and anyone else involved ) "... which relates in any way to offering or selling travel services; ..."

I traveled to China in 2016, and on several cruises in different parts of the world over the past 14 years. I had great trips at a fair price. I did notice a difference in the service about three years ago. I would talk with an agent about a trip, requested additional info by email, but received nothing. I lucky called and got the agent who helped my on several earlier trips to help me with the Chine trip. She did a great job. Good agents are so important for the success of a company. I am sorry they have closed. They made traveling easy and affordable. They seamed to have a good working relationship with the cruise lines and airlines. I China we stayed at wonderful hotels close to important travel destinations. I hope I can find another company who can offer similar services. Thank you Thank you Thank you

My husband and I & other friends traveled for 30 years with Legendary Journeys. They did an amazing job. My most recent trip was in 2016, Australia to Seattle, 36 days, including 3 days in Cairnes, 3 days, in Melbourne, & 3 days in Sydney, plus 24 days on Royal Caribbean from Sydney to Seattle with various stops along the way. The total price was $4100.00 with hotels & an excursion or 2 while on land, airfare to Los Angeles to Sydney & airfare from Seattle to Orlando. They were a GREAT organization for many years. They most likely hired someone who decided to be dishonest & steal money! It is so sad! They had the best buying power of anyone out there! I probably went with them on 25 plus trips and had only a few issues.

I had booked a family vacation to Cuba over Christmas 2017. Paid Legendary Journeys by check because of their check discounts. This was my third vacation with them so didn't see their closure coming. Bought insurance but am told by insurance company that the policy doesn't cover travel agent closing. Now yesterday got an email from LJ saying to go after the insurance company, report them to the BBB, report to FL, etc. Seems like they are trying to take the blame off themselves? The owner has promised refunds to everyone after he sells the company assets but this new email sure makes it sound like that isn't going to happen. How is everyone else handling at this point? Unsure what to do next. Seems like we all have grounds for a class action lawsuit...against both LJ and the insurance company!

My husband and I have traveled several times with Legendary Journeys with very positive results. We even travelled with friends and I am so glad none of us were ripped off. We had wonderful tour managers and the cruises great. I am surprised/not surprised they went out of business. Their prices were really a bargain, but some of the cost cutting tactics were questionable. We were never ripped off except for two extra excursions which were cancelled due to weather and we were not refunded. They offered alternatives instead, one of which was adequate and another that was unacceptable. I'm very sorry for those who lost money. Companies go out of business all the time for various reasons and unfortunately innocent customers and suppliers lose their money. To me, Travel Insurance is a rip off. If you make a claim, you have to jump through hoops to collect. We had to cancel a trip due to my husband being in hospital at the time and they would not accept his admittance/discharge papers as proof. I had to go around to all the Drs. who treated him before during and after his hospitalization and get their signatures. Travel Industry is full of pitfalls. Be aware.

Friday, November 3 Update From: Al Ferguson - President of Legendary Journeys The last ten days have been incredibly difficult. I am watching the best of human nature (and the worst). Regardless, I will be as open, honest and transparent as possible. I will work this problem to conclusion no matter the time to do it. I am trying here. It is my only job. I am responsible and accept it. I am deeply sorry for the situation that is occurring and its affect on you. With that in mind... I want to update you on our progress of the last 9 days. HOW WE GOT HERE: I would be remiss if I didn’t clearly state that legal action is underway for theft. Former employees have violated Non-Disclosure Agreements and their No Compete employment agreements. Some have suggested we are a right to work state and they are low paying jobs that should allow them to do whatever they wish. HOWEVER, they didn’t pay for the business they stole. They didn't Market it, find the customers, pay for any of the related costs. Instead, they unethically stole proprietary information and contacted my customers and convinced them to cancel and rebook (or transfer) a reservation with a financial incentive to the client. Its unethical even immoral. This theft starts a ball rolling that affects all of us. Additionally, the cancellations in Cuba (state department recommending “no American go”), Caribbean hurricanes, and terrorism have dramatically affected Legendary Journeys business. THESE ARE FACTS. A perfect storm that has been impossible to overcome. And the distribution system and the use of travel agents is different today than when I entered the travel business. Perhaps you don't even want to. THESE ARE FACTS. BUT even with all of this said, I will do everything possible to resolve any issue or claim. PROGRESS MADE…. 1. WE HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH ALL OF OUR CLIENTS: Every client with a reservation has received an email with great detail of our situation. It is possible that an email did not deliver (for variety of reasons) but if that is the case, just advise us BY EMAIL ONLY and we will resend our summary. 2. MOST PASSENGERS ARE TRAVELING: Lost in all of the discussion (without facts) is that most of our guests are traveling. We do have cancellations and refunds. And we will deal with that. But we had passengers that departed on cruises and tours yesterday, today, tomorrow and… 3. LEGENDARY JOURNEYS HAS CLOSED OPERATIONS: That does not mean we are out of business. It means we are not accepting any new reservations. We are operating with a skeleton crew to administer the closure of Legendary Journeys. We have not disappeared. Hundreds of you have spoken to our staff or communicated by email. THIS IS A FACT. We will continue to operate (while closed) to dissolve substantial assets to reimburse clients that have not traveled or been reimbursed. Then Legendary Journeys will be no more. 4. LEGENDARY JOURNEYS HAS SUBSTANTIAL REAL ESTATE ASSETS TO PROTECT YOU: We own our buildings. We have hired commercial real estate specialists now and they begin the process to sell those assets. All funds through those sales are deposited into an account called LEGENDARY JOURNEYS CUSTOMER REIMBURSEMENT ACCOUNT. 5. LEGENDARY JOURNEYS HAS SUBSTANTIAL OTHER ASSETS TO PROTECT YOU: We own our motor coaches, our transportation, our equipment and other assets related to the business. We have hired transportation specialists now and they begin the process to sell those assets. Again, those funds will cover any refunds due. All funds through those sales are deposited into an account called LEGENDARY JOURNEYS CUSTOMER REIMBURSEMENT ACCOUNT. 6. LEGENDARY JOURNEYS IS COMMUNICATING TO OUR CLIENTS: Every day the most efficient way to communicate with Legendary Journeys is BY EMAIL to customerservice@***.travel NO OTHER EMAIL AT LEGENDARY JOURNEYS EXISTS. IF you send an email to any other address it is not delivered or seen. ALL emails will receive a reply and your booking invoice has complete communication document summary of your email and our replies. We are now responding to ALL emails within 1 business day. Comments you read to the contrary are FALSE and NOT accurate. Legendary Journeys will continue to communicate with our customers until this closure is resolved. Additionally, Legendary Journeys is communicating by phone. We have a skeleton staff that is answering phones and calling messages back. This process is slower than email however we continue to provide this service. We are now responding to ALL calls within 1 business day. Comments you read to the contrary are FALSE and NOT accurate. My point is that we are going to be open, honest, transparent and my commitment to have Legendary Journeys skeleton staff communicate with you is a VITAL part of this process. 7. WE WILL HAVE A DETAILED SUMMARY UPDATE TO ALL CLIENTS VIA EMAIL BY DECEMBER 1: This will include our progress and a solicitation to you on actual refunds you are due. We have a legal document and legal administration that will speed up the procedure and response. THERE IS NOTHING MORE FOR YOU TO DO NOW until we get to that request. But we will and this entire process will be clear, concise, open and transparent. 8. YOU SHOULD EXPLORE AND PURSUE ALL YOUR OPTIONS: For example, we have advised you have specific rights for Credit Card charge back. We have already posted substantial notifications for card charge backs and have not challenged a single one. They are being processed. IF you have not… we remind you the fastest, most efficient thing you should explore is THIS PROCESS. We are making a public statement to ANY AND ALL Insurance companies that Legendary Journeys HAS CLOSED Its OPERATION AND WILL NOT RE-OPEN. You should explore your options with your insurance as we remind you this is the fastest, most efficient thing for THIS PROCESS. Finally, I again take full responsibility for these events. I didn’t steal clients. I didn’t create the politics of Cuba. I didn’t create consumer confidence issues in travel because of Hurricanes, the destruction of Caribbean Islands or Terrorism. But I am responsible for the response. I continue to do my best. And I will. My track record of 30 years in the Travel Business proves this. My 20 years of Legendary Journeys seems to prove this as fact. I own my assets. My assets will eventually resolve the issues related to my closure. To those of you that have said so many wonderful things about our history in travel over these many years… you will never know how that helped me get through some evenings. To those that have said some really untruthful and terrible things... I accept them. I will continue… and will until this is completed... that is all I will do. Respectfully, Al Ferguson, Legendary Journeys

Booked an extended European trip called Legendary Journeys President's Best of Rhine River Holland to Switzerland and had paid in full. Included in our costs was all air and bus transportation, a 7 day Rhine River cruise, several pre-cruise nights in Paris and 5 post-cruise days and nights in Seefeld, Austria. The trip was to start October 17 and end November 2, 2017. We booked this trip last March along with my husband's sister and her husband and were very excited for this adventure for the four of us to enjoy together. When we booked this trip back in March we were told by the booking agent that it was just about sold out and that we were booking the very last two cabins for the Rhine river cruise. Last evening (September 20) both of us couples received an email from Legendary Journeys stating that our trips had been cancelled due to lack of bookings! Imagine our surprise, especially since we had been told in March that we needed to quickly book because this trip was all but sold out! So very disappointed, but all along this whole experience has not felt right. We had upgraded to City Center 4 star accommodations for Paris and Legendary Journeys could not tell us what hotel we would be staying in. They kept saying we would learn the details a month to two weeks before our trip. The same held true for our Rhine River cruise cabin and for what hotel we would be staying at in Austria as well as our flights to and from Europe! We had hoped to join another sibling in Austria, but not being able to know where we would be staying nixed that possibility in the bud. Lack of communication all throughout this process has left a very sour taste in all our mouths. They did offer us the option to receive a discount on any of next year's trips, but we just do not want to risk disappointment again and would NEVER recommend this travel agency to anyone!

We booked the Cuba tour (6 of us) for April departure and purchased the insurance. LJ says they are the tour operator so we should be covered by the insurance. The insurance company called me to tell me they were going to deny the claim. I asked to speak to a supervisor and asked for the appeals process as I will appeal the decision. He is suppose to investigate my claim again and call me back. So far no denial letter and no call back. I am getting the same updates from LJ owner. But bottom line is he took our money. I am also thinking class action suit after the appeal.

My parents paid $17,532.00 for a 34 day cruise to Asia for March 2019. I­t was a surprise trip for our entire family. A “bucket list” dream vacation. Legendary Journey’s deposited the check on 10/19/17 and closed their business the next day. We think they are using my parents retirement money to pay off their debts. We are begging for help. This isn’t 1000$. This is almost $18k. We’ve filed a report with the FBI this morning.

We book the trip through Legendary Journeys cost us $8431.60 before the trip start for 1 month Legendary Journeys canceled the trip and said their employee took all money and they sent us an email date 10/24/17 they will pay us back by the end of december31,until now we didn't hear anything from them. Now we do not know what to do to get our money back.please give us some suggestion. This is the first time we book with this Agency they took our hard earned money. We think the Agency pre planed to steal the customers money because they tell us to pay them by check.

I along with hundreds of others are waiting refunds from Legendary Journeys for our cruises. I am feeling now I want compensation for my time that they have stolen from me by telling me I need to jump through hoops to get the money THEY TOOK from me. What the *** happened to just refunding my money? Why should I file with the BBB the State the credit card company and the insurance company. THEY TOOK it they should just refund it. Al Ferguson recommends we contact our credit card company and request a charge back- I did that. Nothing. Why can't he refund like a store refunds on a dress I return.

just received an email from msc cruise lines cancelling our trip for lack of payment from you.we paid in full a long time ago WHAT IS GOING ON?????????????????????????????? we need an answer as soon as possible so we can decide what to do cannot believe this is happening. we have been customers of l/j for many years . I am glad we purchased trip insurance this is a lot of money for us to lose msc has offered us a chance to book with them directly we need to know whats going on in the next 7 daysi hope this will be settled to our satisfaction as soon as possible

They are emailing this out to everyone? Does this mean all should be protected? Or just some? -------- Original message -------- From: Customer Service Date: 11/10/17 9:39 AM (GMT-05:00) To: Cc: LAURIER@***.COM, Ed Mass Subject: CLIENT NAME: INVOICE NUMBER: TRIP NAME: CARIBBEAN DEPARTURE DATE: 12/31/2017 Dear As you are aware, Legendary Journeys has discontinued new reservations and is in the process of transition. Your reservation is confirmed. Legendary Journeys will transfer your reservation to Anchors Away Cruises. This 33 year old travel company is one of Florida’s best known and most respected travel agencies. The company has an A+ Better Business Bureau rating. We will advise the vendor (along with Anchors Away Cruises) that we are allowing your reservation to be transferred to Anchors Away Cruises. Anchors Away has three locations (Clearwater, and two in The Villages). In transition, I will be your contact at Legendary Journeys. At Anchors Away your contact will be: LAURIE RAVER LaurieR@***.com 727-812-**** We thank you for your kind support of Legendary Journeys and are extremely confident that your upcoming travel experience with Laurie and Anchors Away Cruises will be a great experience. Please do not hesitate if I can be of any assistance. Sincerely, Maribeth Voges maribeth@***.travel 941-953-****

Waiting for refund myself. I think LJ is trying. Company is still communicating with customers. That’s a good sign.