Don't use Explorica

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Fieldtrips Chatboard

Don't use Explorica

by Kim

Apr 17, 2010

My daughter's school used Explorica for a spring break foreign language trip to Spain and France in March 2010. The positives - my daughter describes the trip as 'awesome' and loved the tour guide. However, working with Explorica was a nightmare. We were initially going to use another company but the teacher planning the trip thought this company would provide better customer service. Far from it. Explorica has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. First, less that 2 months after signing up, they 'strongly encouraged' us to change our requested tour because we hadn't registered for a guaranteed tour. When we changed to a tour with an itinerary that wasn't best for our group but was guaranteed to run , the public price of the new tour was less than the cost they were charging us. However, they said we weren't new customers so wouldn't give us the lower price. There were MANY issues with this company but the biggest was that they sold an itinerary with activities on day 2 but booked flights with a 6 hour...See MoreMy daughter's school used Explorica for a spring break foreign language trip to Spain and France in March 2010. The positives - my daughter describes the trip as 'awesome' and loved the tour guide. However, working with Explorica was a nightmare. We were initially going to use another company but the teacher planning the trip thought this company would provide better customer service. Far from it. Explorica has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. First, less that 2 months after signing up, they 'strongly encouraged' us to change our requested tour because we hadn't registered for a guaranteed tour. When we changed to a tour with an itinerary that wasn't best for our group but was guaranteed to run , the public price of the new tour was less than the cost they were charging us. However, they said we weren't new customers so wouldn't give us the lower price. There were MANY issues with this company but the biggest was that they sold an itinerary with activities on day 2 but booked flights with a 6 hour layover that got our group to our destination at the end of day 2, meaning we missed the day 2 activities in Madrid (including the Prado museum). No cost adjustment or even an acknowledgement that they effectively charged us for a day of touring that we didn't receive. They said the tour guides were good at fitting in missed activities but, of course, that didn't happen. I know there were better flight options (I was checking) that should have been within their budget but they booked the cheapest possible flights. I e-mailed and then wrote letters of concern to our rep plus VPs and the President of Explorica and no one responded. Unless you're lucky enough to get a good tour guide (ours was changed 3 times - the last 2 wks before the trip), don't expect anything from this company. They do not value customer service at all. If you're already working with the company, book your own flights. Per their website, the flights are approx 35% of the tour fee. If you combine that with the airfare taxes & fees that they separately charge and the weekend surcharges, the amount available to buy your own flights should be more than enough for good flights with minimal connections plus transfers.

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Jason Jason On 5/04/17, Jason wrote: > On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote: >> Hi Kim, >> >> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to make >> changes to enhance our educational travel services as much as >> possible. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your >> experience and how we can help improve your relations...See MoreOn 5/04/17, Jason wrote: > On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote: >> Hi Kim, >> >> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to make >> changes to enhance our educational travel services as much as >> possible. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your >> experience and how we can help improve your relationship with >> Explorica. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Sarah V. >> >> 888.310.7120 >> >> >> On 4/17/10, Kim wrote: >>> My daughter's school used Explorica for a spring break >>> foreign language trip to Spain and France in March 2010. >>> The positives - my daughter describes the trip as 'awesome' >>> and loved the tour guide. However, working with Explorica >>> was a nightmare. We were initially going to use another >>> company but the teacher planning the trip thought this >>> company would provide better customer service. Far from >>> it. Explorica has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. First, less that 2 >>> months after signing up, they 'strongly encouraged' us to >>> change our requested tour because we hadn't registered for >>> a guaranteed tour. When we changed to a tour with an >>> itinerary that wasn't best for our group but was guaranteed >>> to run , the public price of the new tour was less than the >>> cost they were charging us. However, they said we weren't >>> new customers so wouldn't give us the lower price. There >>> were MANY issues with this company but the biggest was that >>> they sold an itinerary with activities on day 2 but booked >>> flights with a 6 hour layover that got our group to our >>> destination at the end of day 2, meaning we missed the day >>> 2 activities in Madrid (including the Prado museum). No >>> cost adjustment or even an acknowledgement that they >>> effectively charged us for a day of touring that we didn't >>> receive. They said the tour guides were good at fitting in >>> missed activities but, of course, that didn't happen. I >>> know there were better flight options (I was checking) >>> that should have been within their budget but they booked >>> the cheapest possible flights. I e-mailed and then wrote >>> letters of concern to our rep plus VPs and the President of >>> Explorica and no one responded. Unless you're lucky enough >>> to get a good tour guide (ours was changed 3 times - the >>> last 2 wks before the trip), don't expect anything from >>> this company. They do not value customer service at all. >>> If you're already working with the company, book your own >>> flights. Per their website, the flights are approx 35&37; of >>> the tour fee. If you combine that with the airfare taxes & >>> fees that they separately charge and the weekend >>> surcharges, the amount available to buy your own flights >>> should be more than enough for good flights with minimal >>> connections plus transfers.

May 4, 2017

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canada On 5/04/17, Jason Jason wrote: > On 5/04/17, Jason wrote: >> On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote: >>> Hi Kim, >>> >>> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to make >>> changes to enhance our educational travel services as much as >>> possible. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your &g...See MoreOn 5/04/17, Jason Jason wrote: > On 5/04/17, Jason wrote: >> On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote: >>> Hi Kim, >>> >>> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to make >>> changes to enhance our educational travel services as much as >>> possible. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your >>> experience and how we can help improve your relationship with >>> Explorica. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Sarah V. >>> >>> 888.310.7120 >>> >>> >>> On 4/17/10, Kim wrote: >>>> My daughter's school used Explorica for a spring break >>>> foreign language trip to Spain and France in March 2010. >>>> The positives - my daughter describes the trip as 'awesome' >>>> and loved the tour guide. However, working with Explorica >>>> was a nightmare. We were initially going to use another >>>> company but the teacher planning the trip thought this >>>> company would provide better customer service. Far from >>>> it. Explorica has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. First, less that 2 >>>> months after signing up, they 'strongly encouraged' us to >>>> change our requested tour because we hadn't registered for >>>> a guaranteed tour. When we changed to a tour with an >>>> itinerary that wasn't best for our group but was guaranteed >>>> to run , the public price of the new tour was less than the >>>> cost they were charging us. However, they said we weren't >>>> new customers so wouldn't give us the lower price. There >>>> were MANY issues with this company but the biggest was that >>>> they sold an itinerary with activities on day 2 but booked >>>> flights with a 6 hour layover that got our group to our >>>> destination at the end of day 2, meaning we missed the day >>>> 2 activities in Madrid (including the Prado museum). No >>>> cost adjustment or even an acknowledgement that they >>>> effectively charged us for a day of touring that we didn't >>>> receive. They said the tour guides were good at fitting in >>>> missed activities but, of course, that didn't happen. I >>>> know there were better flight options (I was checking) >>>> that should have been within their budget but they booked >>>> the cheapest possible flights. I e-mailed and then wrote >>>> letters of concern to our rep plus VPs and the President of >>>> Explorica and no one responded. Unless you're lucky enough >>>> to get a good tour guide (ours was changed 3 times - the >>>> last 2 wks before the trip), don't expect anything from >>>> this company. They do not value customer service at all. >>>> If you're already working with the company, book your own >>>> flights. Per their website, the flights are approx 35&37; of >>>> the tour fee. If you combine that with the airfare taxes & >>>> fees that they separately charge and the weekend >>>> surcharges, the amount available to buy your own flights >>>> should be more than enough for good flights with minimal >>>> connections plus transfers.

May 4, 2017

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canada On 5/04/17, canada wrote:
> On 5/04/17, Jason Jason wrote:
>> On 5/04/17, Jason wrote:
>>> On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote:
>>>> Hi Kim,
>>>>
>>>> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to
>>>> make changes to enhance our educational travel
>>...See More

May 4, 2017

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canada On 5/04/17, canada wrote: > On 5/04/17, canada wrote: >> On 5/04/17, Jason Jason wrote: >>> On 5/04/17, Jason wrote: >>>> On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote: >>>>> Hi Kim, >>>>> >>>>> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to >>>>> make changes to enhance o...See MoreOn 5/04/17, canada wrote: > On 5/04/17, canada wrote: >> On 5/04/17, Jason Jason wrote: >>> On 5/04/17, Jason wrote: >>>> On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote: >>>>> Hi Kim, >>>>> >>>>> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to >>>>> make changes to enhance our educational travel >>>>> services as much as possible. Please feel free to >>>>> contact me to discuss your experience and how we can >>>>> help improve your relationship with Explorica. >>>>> >>>>> Thanks, >>>>> >>>>> Sarah V. >>>>> >>>>> 888.310.7120 >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On 4/17/10, Kim wrote: >>>>>> My daughter's school used Explorica for a spring >>>>>> break foreign language trip to Spain and France in >>>>>> March 2010. The positives - my daughter describes the >>>>>> trip as 'awesome' and loved the tour guide. However, >>>>>> working with Explorica was a nightmare. We were >>>>>> initially going to use another company but the >>>>>> teacher planning the trip thought this company would >>>>>> provide better customer service. Far from it. >>>>>> Explorica has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. First, less that 2 >>>>>> months after signing up, they 'strongly encouraged' >>>>>> us to change our requested tour because we hadn't >>>>>> registered for a guaranteed tour. When we changed to >>>>>> a tour with an itinerary that wasn't best for our >>>>>> group but was guaranteed to run , the public price of >>>>>> the new tour was less than the cost they were >>>>>> charging us. However, they said we weren't new >>>>>> customers so wouldn't give us the lower price. There >>>>>> were MANY issues with this company but the biggest >>>>>> was that they sold an itinerary with activities on >>>>>> day 2 but booked flights with a 6 hour layover that >>>>>> got our group to our destination at the end of day 2, >>>>>> meaning we missed the day 2 activities in Madrid >>>>>> (including the Prado museum). No cost adjustment or >>>>>> even an acknowledgement that they effectively charged >>>>>> us for a day of touring that we didn't receive. They >>>>>> said the tour guides were good at fitting in missed >>>>>> activities but, of course, that didn't happen. I know >>>>>> there were better flight options (I was checking) >>>>>> that should have been within their budget but they >>>>>> booked the cheapest possible flights. I e-mailed and >>>>>> then wrote letters of concern to our rep plus VPs and >>>>>> the President of Explorica and no one responded. >>>>>> Unless you're lucky enough to get a good tour guide >>>>>> (ours was changed 3 times - the last 2 wks before the >>>>>> trip), don't expect anything from this company. They >>>>>> do not value customer service at all. If you're >>>>>> already working with the company, book your own >>>>>> flights. Per their website, the flights are approx >>>>>> 35&37; of the tour fee. If you combine that with the >>>>>> airfare taxes & fees that they separately charge and >>>>>> the weekend surcharges, the amount available to buy >>>>>> your own flights should be more than enough for good >>>>>> flights with minimal connections plus transfers.

May 4, 2017

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Sammer Explorica Tours seems like a ponsi Scheme! My kids School, planned a trip to one of our Provinces. The trip was paid for in full many months ago. Then out of the blue Explorica says we owe them 20&37; more! Then they call twice and don't leave a message. I ended up calling the school- they have not heard anything about this. My wife, ends up c...See More Explorica Tours seems like a ponsi Scheme! My kids School, planned a trip to one of our Provinces. The trip was paid for in full many months ago. Then out of the blue Explorica says we owe them 20&37; more! Then they call twice and don't leave a message. I ended up calling the school- they have not heard anything about this. My wife, ends up calling the company and they said it was for a "private tour". I ended up calling the School again and they still never heard anything about this. No private tour or no request for extra money. Despite the email from Explorica requesting money. Who runs a business like this??!!! Only scam artists in my mind. We are very worried about this trip now.

On 5/04/17, Jason Jason wrote: > On 5/04/17, Jason wrote: >> On 4/23/10, Sarah V wrote: >>> Hi Kim, >>> >>> We value all of our customers' feedback and strive to make >>> changes to enhance our educational travel services as much as >>> possible. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your >>> experience and how we can help improve your relationship with >>> Explorica. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Sarah V. >>> >>> 888.310.7120 >>> >>> >>> On 4/17/10, Kim wrote: >>>> My daughter's school used Explorica for a spring break >>>> foreign language trip to Spain and France in March 2010. >>>> The positives - my daughter describes the trip as 'awesome' >>>> and loved the tour guide. However, working with Explorica >>>> was a nightmare. We were initially going to use another >>>> company but the teacher planning the trip thought this >>>> company would provide better customer service. Far from >>>> it. Explorica has NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. First, less that 2 >>>> months after signing up, they 'strongly encouraged' us to >>>> change our requested tour because we hadn't registered for >>>> a guaranteed tour. When we changed to a tour with an >>>> itinerary that wasn't best for our group but was guaranteed >>>> to run , the public price of the new tour was less than the >>>> cost they were charging us. However, they said we weren't >>>> new customers so wouldn't give us the lower price. There >>>> were MANY issues with this company but the biggest was that >>>> they sold an itinerary with activities on day 2 but booked >>>> flights with a 6 hour layover that got our group to our >>>> destination at the end of day 2, meaning we missed the day >>>> 2 activities in Madrid (including the Prado museum). No >>>> cost adjustment or even an acknowledgement that they >>>> effectively charged us for a day of touring that we didn't >>>> receive. They said the tour guides were good at fitting in >>>> missed activities but, of course, that didn't happen. I >>>> know there were better flight options (I was checking) >>>> that should have been within their budget but they booked >>>> the cheapest possible flights. I e-mailed and then wrote >>>> letters of concern to our rep plus VPs and the President of >>>> Explorica and no one responded. Unless you're lucky enough >>>> to get a good tour guide (ours was changed 3 times - the >>>> last 2 wks before the trip), don't expect anything from >>>> this company. They do not value customer service at all. >>>> If you're already working with the company, book your own >>>> flights. Per their website, the flights are approx 35&37; of >>>> the tour fee. If you combine that with the airfare taxes & >>>> fees that they separately charge and the weekend >>>> surcharges, the amount available to buy your own flights >>>> should be more than enough for good flights with minimal >>>> connections plus transfers.

May 4, 2017

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