Tour operator still owes customers thousands of dollars. So why is she on Airbnb now?

 ⛑️Consumer Rescue presents🛟

Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land

Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.

Happy Monday, friends! 🤓

Let’s dive right into what’s new in Consumer Advocacy Land.

First up today: a disgraced former tour guide who catered to Carnival Cruise Line passengers has reappeared after lying low for the past two years. The problem for her? A significant number of her former customers are still owed refunds — and they have not forgotten. And neither did I.

So what exactly is Sandra O’Leary, formerly of Sandra’s Cruise Tours, doing on Airbnb and Viator? And does she have any intention of paying back those former customers?

I’ll tell you what my latest investigation turned up and what you can do to make sure you don’t risk losing your vacation dollars to a less than scrupulous tour operator when you book your next cruise excursion.

Of course, I have some other articles you may have previously missed:

And scroll to the bottom of the newsletter if you’re interested in the latest edition of Life, Lately.

Enjoy!

If you’ve been a regular reader, then you know that every summer for the past 27 years, I have had a full garden. Living in the Garden State, it has always been pretty easy to grow tomatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers, potatoes, peppers and more. I’ve always loved being able to pick things in the garden and bring them right into the kitchen to make grilled vegetables, spaghetti sauce, and other tasty treats.

When I downsized this summer, my garden was one of the things I had to say goodbye to. That was sad. But then I was at the local Home Depot one afternoon just after moving here. I was surprised they still were selling seedlings for gardens even though it was late July.

My husband and I had lived for many years in New York City before New Jersey and patio gardens were popular there. So when I saw all these little seedlings looking for a home, I got the idea that I could start a patio garden, too. The problem, of course, is that the middle of summer is definitely not the best time to start a vegetable garden.

I was undeterred and brought my little plants home. And last week, faced with a forecast for chilly overnight temperatures, I knew it was harvest time.

So I present to you my 2026 vegetable garden haul.

Exactly one cherry tomato and one hot pepper. Ta-da!

I’m not sure yet what I’ll be making with my crop — maybe I’ll need to freeze some of the overflow. 😛

All joking aside, it was still nice to have a little garden this summer, even if it wasn’t quite like the old days, lol.``

❤️And that's Life, Lately. 

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Until next time 😃

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