Reviews

I paid World Strides for a school trip to ****** for May 2024 for my child and myself. I purchased the extra trip insurance for both of us for $ 400. The trip group did not find out the travel details until about a week before the trip. The flight to ****** was set up as connecting flights from ********* to ******* and then ******* to ******. This caused the group to have to meet in the middle of the night to make the very early morning flight to *******. Late the night before, an hour before we were supposed to meet and board a bus, we found out from our trip leader that all flights to/from ******* were canceled for the next morning. Our trip leader was on the phone with World Strides for over an hour but, unfortunately, World Strides was unable to reschedule the flights without breaking up the group and causing everyone to miss a day of the trip. To our dismay, the trip was canceled and not rescheduled. The group was told that World Strides would refund (even those who did not purchase trip insurance) or allow a credit for next year's school trip to **********. Also, those that wanted a refund would not be refunded any trip insurance fees. I called World Strides and requested the trip insurances fees be refunded also. I was told those fees would not be refunded. After several emails to/from World Strides I was told again those fees would not be refunded. I was also told repeatedly I would be refunded the rest that I paid by July 23 but was not. After many emails from me and excuses and unnecessary delays from World Strides, I was finally refunded the rest in mid/late August. I still feel it was unfair to refund those that didn't purchase trip insurance but not refund those fees to those that paid for it. So, we were all packed and ready to go but didn't even get to go on the trip (mostly due to poor flight scheduling by World Strides) and I lost $ 400. I do not recommend this company.

Dear ******,Thank you for taking the time to share your review with us. We appreciate your honesty and value your feedback. We sincerely apologize that your experience fell short of your expectations. Your comments are essential to our continuous improvement, and we take them seriously.We have reviewed the circumstances that led to the flight delay and the cancellation of your trip. Unfortunately, several aspects were beyond WorldStrides control. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have ********* address this situation, we decided to go beyond our standard policies. We offered a refund to all parents enrolled in the Full Refund Program (FRP), minus the cost of the program itself. For those who did not purchase this protection, we refunded their investment, less a fee equivalent to the cost of the Full Refund Program. We are committed to doing the right thing for all participants. Thank you once again for choosing WorldStrides. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the *********** regards, ****** *****

This was the worst experience for my 12 year old that I have ever seen. She not only helped save up her hard earned allowance for her school trip, but I did fundraising and raised most of the money from friends and family donating, only to have it stolen by World Strides. They not only stole it, but wouldnt refund me anything. They actually charged my in laws card twice and for the wrong amount, causing us to call and get that fixed with the bank for them, then world strides expected us to fix the problem they created telling us she was caught up on her payments, but failed to tell me how their mistake would cost me extra money in the end. I found out a few weeks before the trip about the mistake with my in laws card, fixed the mistake and called World Strides who would not removed my in laws card from the files after I told them to the first time! This company is a bunch of corrupt horrible people and Im working now on suing this company for the money that we worked so hard to earn but had to tell my daughter no two weeks before her scheduled trip

Dear *******,Thank you for taking the time to share your review with us. We genuinely appreciate your honesty and value your feedback. We are truly sorry that your experience fell short of your expectations. Your comments are essential to our continuous improvement, and we take them very seriously.We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may have faced, and we are committed to making things right. Our team is actively addressing the issue you raised, and we will work diligently to prevent similar situations in the future.Upon reviewing the details of your account, our records indicate that we received a total payment of $3,088.00, all made over the phone using the payment method you provided. However, $1,542.00 of these payments were refunded to your **** ending in 6510 on 01/02/24, leaving a total amount paid of $1,454.00. Additionally, we received back charges for $775.00, which reduced the total amount paid to $679.00.Our records also show that we reached out to you several times to advise you to bring your account up to date. Unfortunately, after receiving no response, your account was canceled on 02/21/24 due to the lack of payment. As per our terms and conditions, the cancellation policy applicable to you at the time was 50% of the trip price, and therefore, no refund was due to your account.If there is anything else you would like to share or discuss, please feel free to contact us directly. We are here to listen and learn from our mistakes.Thank you once again for choosing our brand, and we hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the future.Best regards,***********************

The lodging is not well vetted. We had to room with geckos and cockroaches, mold, broken facilities, etc. When we walked out of the hotel and found our own lodging that was clean, safe, and vermin free at 9:45 p.m., we were told later that because our tour leader is the one who emailed them about the concerns (with photos attached of the disgusting conditions) that this didn't qualify, and it should have been us that called. They will not compensate us anything. The representative said they offer insurance, which we thankfully purchased, to remediate any problems. I asked point blank, "So Explorica and World stride don't accept responsibility for the lodging or what happened?" and he said, "That is correct." Are you kidding me? $10,000 and no support. When we were in the foreign country our tour guide was helpful, kind and very knowledgeable. Given the experience with the company however I would not recommend a tour by Explorica to anyone.

Thank you for sharing your review with us. We appreciate your candidness and apologize for any inconvenience you experienced. Your feedback is invaluable as it helps us identify areas for improvement.We understand that your recent experience fell short of expectations, and for that, we sincerely apologize. Our team is committed to rectifying the situation promptly. Here are the steps were taking:Investigation: Were thoroughly investigating the issue you raised to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Unfortunately, there are natural events that fall out of our control, such as the hurricane that caused the delay on your flight.Training and Improvement: Although some of the concerns you've raised are related to our providers, your concerns have been passed along to the corresponding department for our staff to undergo additional training to enhance service quality.Resolution: We aim to make things right. Please allow us the opportunity to address your concerns directly. You can reach out to us at your convenience and ask to speak to ***********************, who will be happy to continue assisting you.Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused. We value your business and hope to regain your trust. Thank you for choosing us, and we look forward to serving you better next time.Best regards,

Without question the worst experience I have had working with a tour company, or any company, save perhaps the ***( but it is close)Now, post event they are scrambling to try and cover their tracks. Not only will I never use this company, but Ill encourage others who care about their musical experiences to run away, run far away.

Dear ****,Thank you for taking the time to share your review with us. We appreciate your honesty and value your feedback. Were truly sorry that your experience fell short of your expectations. Your comments are essential to our continuous improvement, and we take them seriously.We apologize for any inconvenience you may have faced, and were committed to making things right. Our team is actively addressing the issue you raised, and well work diligently to prevent similar situations in the future.If theres anything else youd like to share or discuss, please feel free to contact us directly. Were here to listen and learn from our mistakes.Thank you once again for choosing our brand, and we hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the future.Best regards,***********************

We were booked on a school excursion from June 20-July 1, 2024 We toured ****** and *****. They booked our flights on *** ******. This airline had been threaten to strike for weeks in advance of the trip. When our group leader inquired about the strike and asked if Explorica would change our flights, they indicated that if something happened that our flights were canceled, they would work expeditiously with the airline to get us rebooked. The room accommodations at some stops were not safe for kids (or adults for that matter). One stop in ****** was a motel that smelled like sewage on the first floor and at least one room had spiders under the mattresses. A group of us refused to stay in those accommodations and were promptly moved to a more suitable hotel. Another stop in ***** was a hotel located in a not good part of town and we heard gun shots in the middle of the night not far away. I did not sleep for the rest of the night. We ended up stranded at the airport on July 1st. the flights were canceled, Explorica's reservations line did not open until 3 hours later while several other flights were available for rebooking. Several of us took our own kids and took matters into our own hands and paid AGAIN to book new flights to get out of the country. We paid $5000.00 to go on the trip and i paid another $4700.00 to book my own flight to get home. Others who could afford to do so did the same. Others were stranded in ***** for 3 additional days. We kept in constant contact to make sure everyone was ok. Explorica provided them no support with rebooking. This trip was a nightmare. They have no regard for the safety of their customers traveling in foreign countries.

Dear *********,Thank you for sharing your review with us. We appreciate your candidness and apologize for any inconvenience you experienced. Your feedback is invaluable as it helps us identify areas for improvement.We understand that your recent experience fell short of expectations, and for that, we sincerely apologize. Our team is committed to rectifying the situation promptly. Here are the steps were taking:Investigation: We are thoroughly investigating the issue you raised to prevent similar occurrences in the future.Training and Improvement: Based on the specifics of your concerns, which are related to services from our third-party vendors, we will pass this feedback to the corresponding areas. Additionally, our staff will undergo further training to enhance service quality.Resolution: We aim to make things right. Please allow us the opportunity to address your concerns directly. You can reach out to us at your convenience and ask to speak to ***********************, who will be happy to continue assisting you.Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused. We value your business and hope to regain your trust. Thank you for choosing us, and we look forward to serving you better next time.Best regards,***********************

Unorganized & chaotic would be an understatement. Day 1 guide, ****** spent more time talking outside where no one could hear him rather than tell us on the bus. Schedule for these tours are not efficient, you spend more time driving back & forth to places that are ****************************************************************** the same area all at once. Spent more time in the ******** ********** bus than anywhere else in **. We could have seen The ***********, the monuments/memorials Monday evening. Instead we went back to the area 3X after going somewhere else like ***************, we didn't even go to the ******************* cuz ******. Didn't have enough time at memorials to look for family names. Day 2 was a 4 HOUR delay cuz our driver didn't turn of the batteries to the bus the night before didn't go out ahead of leave time to start the bus. Didn't tell our Coordinator that it was not starting. Refused to call for a new bus that would, take a hour to get here. Instead of making up for lost time ****** decided to spend his time pushing his political views, talk about himself. He couldn't walk well so he wouldn't go places. He only gave us an hour to look in Museums which should take hours. ******************** told us not to go in any shops cuz he had the best to take us to, only reason it was the best, was he got a cut for bringing us in. Breakfast the hotel served was coffee grounds in the coffee, no fruit, just carbs, that were soggy & cold. NY was better guide ******* was an hour late, He stopped in the hot sun to talk for, refused to stop in the shade. Marriott B.B was disgusting, there were used contact in my bed frame, it was very clear the ONLY thing done before we got there at 11PM, the bed was made, sheets were not changed, not vacuumed or cleaned. We paid over $11k to W.S for this trip if I could take all my money back I would. Who ever is in charge of making the itinerary should be fired for how much time fuel and money they make you waste on this adventure.

Dear *******,Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about your recent tour. We appreciate your honesty and value your feedback. Were truly sorry to hear that your experience didnt meet your expectations.At WorldStrides, we strive to create memorable and enjoyable tours for all our participants. We apologize for any inconvenience you encountered during your program. Rest assured, we take your comments seriously, and were committed to making improvements.Were reviewing our organization processes and making necessary adjustments. We want to ensure that future participants have a better experience with us.We sincerely hope youll give us another chance to exceed your expectations. Thank you for the time you have dedicated to sharing your feedback. Warm regards,WorldStrides