Lighthouse Tours / Expeditions
General Lighthouse Tour / Expedition Information
Domestic | International | Photo Albums | Past Tour Itineraries
For more information on any of the listed tours / expeditions, call the Society office at (415) 362-7255.
Membership
Membership in the U.S. Lighthouse Society is required for all tours / expeditions. Learn more about becoming a member in the Membership section of this site.
Deposits
Tour / Expedition deposits are $100.00 per person for domestic tours / expeditions and $250.00 per person for international tours / expeditions. Your space on an expedition is not guaranteed until a deposit is received.
Payment In Full
90 days prior to departure for both domestic and international tours / expeditions.
Extra Days with Domestic Tours / Expeditions
Usually tours / expeditions feature an option for members to stay extra nights (before or after) at the rate the Society is charged. We need to know this well in advance to ensure rooms are available. Payment for the extra nights is made to the Society.
Tour / Expedition Cancellation Policy
The following schedule of cancellation fees applies to each person registered for a tour / expedition:
| # Days Prior | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
| 60 or more | $50.00 per person |
| Less than 60 | NO REFUND unless the spaces are filled, in which case the above applies. |
| # Days Prior | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
| 90 or more | $100.00 per person |
| Less than 90 | NO REFUND unless the spaces are filled, in which case the above applies. |
Trip Cancellation Insurance
It has been our practice to provide travel insurance brochures to each member taking an international tour / expedition. However, travel insurance is available, and recommended, for members who take domestic tours / expeditions, too. Our cancellation policy states that there will be no refund less than 60 days before a domestic tour / expedition UNLESS we are able to fill the vacated seats. Recently a few couples have had to cancel at the last minute – even the last day – usually due to health reasons, and have expected a refund. When we set up an expedition we try to keep the costs as low as possible and yet provide good lodging and an enjoyable and educational experience. Most domestic tours / expeditions require that we sign contracts for vessel(s) and a coach. We also have to guarantee a certain number of rooms with the hotels we book. The cost of the vessel(s) and coach is amortized between the number of participants. We use a factor of 40 for this purpose.
If a member cancels and we have already stated the final price then that person's or couples' amortized costs must still be paid. If the canceling member's tour costs are refunded, then the Society is responsible for the amortized amount because we cannot ask the remaining members for more money at the last moment. Additionally, canceling a participant requires a lot of phone calls and paperwork to locate a standby participant or to contact all the hotel and food venues. Please read the cancellation policy carefully before booking a tour / expedition. If you feel you may have cause to cancel, for whatever reason, then write or call and we'll provide our expedition insurance package, which is very reasonable and quite flexible. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you can afford to lose, for instance, $1,400? If you are between 56 and 75, the charge for the insurance is 7 percent of the cost of the trip, or in the previous example, $98. If the travel insurance policy is postmarked within 14 days of sending in your deposit, then the insurance even covers pre-existing conditions and cancellation in the event one needs to cancel to provide care for a relative.
Partial Tour / Expedition Attendees
We occasionally receive requests from members living in the area of a tour who wish to stay in their homes and drive their vehicle behind the bus to the various lighthouses we visit. We have decided against this for several reasons. (1) Cycling a full bus of 45 people through a lantern room is time consuming and adding more than that number would slow down our usually tight schedules, (2) a caravan of a bus and several cars could become separated in traffic, and (3) the expedition bus may have to wait past our departure time for the members driving to reach us due to traffic congestion or other reasons. We do encourage members living in the area of a tour / expedition to join us for dinner. Occasionally we can take non-tour/expedition members on the cruise portion of a tour / expedition.
Tour / Expedition Itinerary Changes And Religious Services Policy
Occasionally it is necessary to alter a tour's / expedition's itinerary. Sometimes it is merely revising a particular day, eliminating a venue or some other minor change due to unforeseen circumstances. On a rare occasion it may mean altering dates or reversing an itinerary. The recent Italian tour required a complete reversal due to an unexpected Vatican event. Instead of starting in Milan and ending the tour in Rome, it was necessary to start in Rome and end in Milan. For those members who opted for the Society-arranged airfare, this was not a problem. However, several members chose their own air, which was "locked in", and this required various additions to their travel. Also, a certain planned stop during a tour / expedition may be cancelled due to an unexpected closure; perhaps a museum has required emergency repairs or a new schedule was instituted after the tour / expedition itinerary was set. Finally, our itineraries rarely allow for members to attend Saturday and Sunday religious services.