# Favorite Collette Tours



## BarbmC (Nov 24, 2018)

Looking for recommendations.  We have the Treasures of Ireland tour booked for April.  What other tours do you recommend? Also curious to know what people have experienced with either the "treasures"  or "discovery" tours.  Is there one style of tour you prefer. Thanks!


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## Luvtoride (Nov 24, 2018)

Barb, have you gone in any Collette yours yet?  We just booked our first tour, Iconic Israel for next September.  I’m interested in any feedback you or others have as to these Collette Tours in general ie. tour guides, accommodations, logistics etc. thanks. 
Brian


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## BarbmC (Nov 24, 2018)

No - Ireland will be our first Collette tour.


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## alwysonvac (Nov 24, 2018)

Just a heads up the tour companies are having a sale this weekend for Cyber Monday

_*Collette*
Save 15% off many departures in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and other destinations when you *book by Tuesday, November 27*.

*Globus*
Save 10% off tours worldwide, plus receive an additional $200 per couple discount off Europe departures when you *book by Tuesday, November 27*. You can also save an additional $300 per couple off the air-inclusive price of itineraries in Britain.

*Trafalgar*
Save 15% to 20% off select trips in Europe when you *book by Friday, November 30*.Past guests of Trafalgar and its sister brands can also save an additional $200 per coupleoff the air-inclusive price of Europe vacations.

*CIE Tours*
Save 10% off tours of eight days or longer in Britain and Ireland, plus receive a $200 per couple air credit when you *book by Friday, November 30*. You can also save 10% on trips of seven days or less.

*Intrepid Travel*
Save 20% off a variety of tours worldwide when you *book by Wednesday, November 28*.

*G Adventures*
Save 10% to 35% off departures in Asia, Africa, South America and other destinations when you *book by Monday, November 26*.

*Cosmos*
Save $100 per couple off Europe tours, plus save an additional $300 per couple off the air-inclusive price of British Isles trips when you *book by Tuesday, November 27*.

*Insight Vacations*
Save 15% off trips to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, plus save an additional $200 per couple off the air when you *book by Monday, November 26*. Past guests of Insight and its sister brands save an additional 5% off these itineraries. You can also enjoy savings of 10% on other vacations, plus an additional $200 per couple off North America trips. 

*Monograms*
Save $300 per couple off the air-inclusive price of independent vacations in Britain and Ireland when you *book by Tuesday, November 27*.

*Brendan*
Save 15% off Ireland vacations when you *book by Friday, November 30*. Past guests of Brendan and its sister brands can save an additional $200 per couple off the air-inclusive price of trips.

*Contiki (for travelers ages 18-35)*
Save 10% to 20% off select trips when you *book by Friday, November 30*_.​


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## Luvtoride (Nov 24, 2018)

Thanks Alwaysonvac, I asked about if the BF sales applied to MVC tours using points.   Unfortunately it did not.  


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## ilene13 (Nov 24, 2018)

I would check the hotels that they are using.  We almost booked a China tour with them, then I checked the hotels on TripAdvisor.  Europeans and a Russians gave the hotels bad reviews and said they were dirty.  If they said that I figured they would be disgusting.  The Chairman ‘s Club rep callled Collette while I was on the phone.  They got very defensive and would not let me upgrade, so we did not book it.  I have not heard very good reviews about Collette trips from my private Tavel agents.


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## DannyMc (Nov 24, 2018)

Has anyone been on both a Collette tour and a Rick Steves tour?  How would you compare the two?


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## VacationForever (Nov 25, 2018)

We were going to book a Collette Discover Southern Charm tour using MVC DC points for next year.  I asked about insurance since MVC insurance does not cover Collette tours and it will be during hurricane season.  The rep said they would compensate based on what they believe to be the true cost and will be up to whatever Collette Accounting dept decides.  I said then it would be a lousy deal and the agent hang up on me, while the MVC agent was still on the phone during the 3-way call.  The MVC agent could not believe it.  We decided we just won't do the Collette tour.  Just us MVC points for timesharing and we will continue to cruise.  We will rent out whatever excess points instead of forcing ourselves to find poor value ways to use them.


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## Luvtoride (Nov 25, 2018)

VacaForever, I discussed the insurance with them specifically for the tour we booked for Israel.  As Israel and the Middle East is still is on a travel “watch list” their insurance gives us up to the day before we leave to cancel vs 61 days prior without insurance.  It would be refunded for a similar value future Collette tour not the MVC points back.  I’m fine with that.

I also checked the hotels we would be staying in on Trip Advisor.  They were all rated about 4.5 and I read dozens of reviews almost all of which were very good as to service, cleanliness and location. 

Collette Rep on the phone was very good, courteous and patient and answered all of my questions while MVC rep was on the call.  

Has anyone on TUG actually been on a Collette Tour?  
Thanks. 



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## jeff76543 (Nov 25, 2018)

In the Fall of 2011, I travelled with my wife on a 3 week, small group Collette Tour to China and Tibet (which I believe is no longer offered). We used Marriott Destination Club points, and the cost in points was comparable to the cash cost for the tour.

The guide who stayed with us for the entire trip was wonderful and the hotels were all outstanding (although our guide told us that there was a plan to lower the standard of some of the hotels in future trips). Our experience was first rate and if the Collette standard today is what it was 7 years ago, I would highly recommend their SMALL GROUP tours. I do not know, however, whether there has been a lowering of their standards.

On the last day of our stay in China, on the way to the airport, we met the members a large group Collette tour that had just finished a shorter guided tour in China. From what we heard, their experience was far less positive than our experience, particularly relating to the lack of personal attention by their guides. I don't remember whether they commented on their hotels - although they stayed at the same Marriott Hotel as we stayed during the last night of their trip.


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## dioxide45 (Nov 25, 2018)

Luvtoride said:


> VacaForever, I discussed the insurance with them specifically for the tour we booked for Israel. As Israel and the Middle East is still is on a travel “watch list” their insurance gives us up to the day before we leave to cancel vs 61 days prior without insurance. It would be refunded for a similar value future Collette tour not the MVC points back. I’m fine with that.


Wouldn't you be better to purchase third party travel insurance instead of insurance through the supplier? Third party insurance would reimburse you in cash for losses. Generally speaking, it is often better to go out and buy a third party policy which may provide better coverage for less money.


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## VacationForever (Nov 25, 2018)

dioxide45 said:


> Wouldn't you be better to purchase third party travel insurance instead of insurance through the supplier? Third party insurance would reimburse you in cash for losses. Generally speaking, it is often better to go out and buy a third party policy which may provide better coverage for less money.


The issue is that 3rd insurance companies have no idea how to put a value on the DC points used.  There is about a 20-25% haircut when using DC points to book Collette Tours.  I find that hard to swallow but if you buy from a non-Collette insurer and we have to cancel the tour, this third party insurer who knows nothing about DC points is going to get confused on compensation for lost DC points. Hence I believe buying insurance through Collette may be better.


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## EZ-ED (Nov 25, 2018)

BarbmC said:


> Looking for recommendations.  We have the Treasures of Ireland tour booked for April.  What other tours do you recommend? Also curious to know what people have experienced with either the "treasures"  or "discovery" tours.  Is there one style of tour you prefer. Thanks!



We did a CIE 13 day 12 night Tour called the Wild Atlantic Way this past July. Started In Shannon and ended in Limerick. Traveled the west, north and east coasts before heading back inland. While we did enjoy the tour it was very tiring.  I kept a diary but I wish I had had a road map of Ireland to mark the roads we traveled.

Thought I had included that if Collette had an equivalent WAW tour I would highly recommend it.

Enjoy


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## ACP (Nov 26, 2018)

We did the Iceland Tour in March, it was truly awesome and a wonderful adventure, apart from us 2 Brits, everybody was from USA and we all had the most wonderful time and in touch with many of them still.  This was a Marriott Owner only tour whereas others obviously have a mixture of tourists.
A few years ago we did China using DP, the tour itself was wonderful however the accommodation (No where near Marriott Standard) and some of the food was very poor.  I know since we did that tour that they now do "Owners Exclusive" and have upgraded the hotels they use.

Good DP value for both trips and happy times


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## Luvtoride (Nov 26, 2018)

VacationForever said:


> The issue is that 3rd insurance companies have no idea how to put a value on the DC points used.  There is about a 20-25% haircut when using DC points to book Collette Tours.  I find that hard to swallow but if you buy from a non-Collette insurer and we have to cancel the tour, this third party insurer who knows nothing about DC points is going to get confused on compensation for lost DC points. Hence I believe buying insurance through Collette may be better.



I confirmed the travel insurance with Collette today.  You can cancel up until the day of the tour FOR ANY REASON and get the full value of points deposited back to Collette to use for any other tour within 1 year.  My only question is why they charge the insurance Per Person when the points used for the tour are for 2 people ?  I will find this out soon.  


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## VacationForever (Nov 26, 2018)

Luvtoride said:


> I confirmed the travel insurance with Collette today.  You can cancel up until the day of the tour FOR ANY REASON and get the full value of points deposited back to Collette to use for any other tour within 1 year.  My only question is why they charge the insurance Per Person when the points used for the tour are for 2 people ?  I will find this out soon.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That is definitely a different answer that I got, from the same agent who hang up on the call when I asked about how much would the insurance cover in the event that I need to cancel.  She said it is up to their accounting department to decide how much a comparable that they sell would cost and return the amount in cash to me.


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## dioxide45 (Nov 26, 2018)

Luvtoride said:


> I confirmed the travel insurance with Collette today.  You can cancel up until the day of the tour FOR ANY REASON and get the full value of points deposited back to Collette to use for any other tour within 1 year.  My only question is why they charge the insurance Per Person when the points used for the tour are for 2 people ?  I will find this out soon.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Do they still assign some monetary value to the tour? I would expect in the event of a cancellation, MVCI is then out of the picture and they assign some type of value to the tour you booked.


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## Glynda (Nov 27, 2018)

VacationForever said:


> We were going to book a Collette Discover Southern Charm tour using MVC DC points for next year.  I asked about insurance since MVC insurance does not cover Collette tours and it will be during hurricane season.  The rep said they would compensate based on what they believe to be the true cost and will be up to whatever Collette Accounting dept decides.  I said then it would be a lousy deal and the agent hang up on me, while the MVC agent was still on the phone during the 3-way call.  The MVC agent could not believe it.  We decided we just won't do the Collette tour.  Just us MVC points for timesharing and we will continue to cruise.  We will rent out whatever excess points instead of forcing ourselves to find poor value ways to use them.



Awww! Was looking forward to meeting you! We do have timeshares here... Bluegreen's Lodge Alley Inn and King 583. Festiva's Church Street Inn. Hilton is to build one here but that may take a couple of years yet. It's an easy drive from here to Beaufort for a day though I would move to a timeshare on Hilton Head Island and do a day trip to Savannah from there. I think Charleston takes a week, at least, to even begin to do it justice!   Hurricane season does take the fun out of some vacations though. It takes the fun out of living on the Southern or Eastern coasts and I am astounded when I read of people wanting to move to those coasts!


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## TravelTime (Dec 28, 2018)

I was thinking of a Collette tour to South Africa in 2020. I am curious about what is different with the owner exclusive tour vs a regular Collette tour? They have the same exact tour listed on their website with the same hotels and it comes out several thousand dollars cheaper by paying cash vs using DPs. Are the Marriott Owner Exclusive tours smaller groups? Do they offer anything extra compared to their regular tours?


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## Ceet69 (Dec 30, 2018)

We have used Collette for our 2016 trip to Italy including Venice and Switzerland (Lake Cumo). We 
had a very caring, thoughtful, and small group of great folks. Tour guides were mostly knowledgeable, patient and kind (except one, not so much). Hotels and the restaurants were very good. 
Therefore, we would recommend Collette Tours. Collette Staff was attentive and responded to inquiries in an effective and timely manner.

Planning on Spain and Portugal trip with Collette in late April to early May 2019. Would certainly appreciate some tips on this tour. Thank you in advance!


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