Worldstrides

I had to cancel my son's trip to Washington as he came down with a stomach virus the night before. I was told that you had to cancel 24 hours in advance with the added insurance in order to receive it. I would never have purchased the insurance had I known this. The presentation I attended at our school was very misleading. I have written back and forth with the company and have gotten nowhere. I also received three emails from them, one of which stated I would get a refund and one saying sorry but you are not eligible. As a parent with limited income I really had to scrape the money together to send my son on this trip. He was so excited and so sad that he could not go. The eighth grade Washington trip is a big deal at our school. I would warn anyone against doing business with this company. I also let our school know. In the future when my kids are in college, if Worldstrides is offering any trips they will not be participating.

I would give no stars if I could. They said they would refund my trip money when I cancelled it. They then sent me an email confirming the refund of $340.40. When I called to check the status of my refund they stated I would be getting no refund due to the $99 deposit being non refundable and that the $280 fee to return the trip money has to be paid even if I had only made one payment. They did not honor the email or the phone call where they stated there would be a refund. Terrible customer service. Stay away from this company.

Changed the location of the camp and now it's so far away that there is no way working adults could get their child there and back each day. 3hrs round trip (without traffic). Had to cancel and was forced to pay $450 for cancelation. Still waiting on the rest of our money. Was told 7-10 weeks but from what I've seen from others, it's likely going to be a battle for that as well.

The trip was horrifically expensive. Charged us for NYC/DC trip, but they subbed Philadelphia for NYC due to vaccine mandates and didn't adjust cost. There's a BIG jump from a Broadway show and free tour at a college and Amish market. The DC and Jamestown tour was grossly inaccurate and white washed. The guide didn't know what she was talking about most of the time, and somehow finds a way to insert herself as a prophet into the stories. She is either making crap up to fill space, or sharing inappropriate stories for a young audience. Like the story of her brothers recent stroke and brain bleed in the first 5 minutes we got on the bus after leaving the airport. Do NOT waste your time and money with this group.

I'm disgusted.

Was told that if we did the fundraiser money would be taken off her trip, no money was taken off I called and they said I would get a check I've called three times and still no check and she sold a lot. That check should be well over $400 according to the school, she went on this trip in May. So my advice is don't do fundraisers for them. You'll be waiting for your money for a long time like I'm still waiting on mine.

I was told that my son would share the room with another student, not 4 students! The hotel that they booked had bathrooms in the rooms with no privacy, no bathroom door, no shower privacy, no way to keep others out. One of the other students that bunked with my son decided to make a video of my son naked in the shower, all while my son was unaware and all his private parts were showing. This kid then decided to send the video to the entire 8th grade class in his school and on social media.

My son has been accepted to their The Honors Performance Series and they charged us $250 for deposit. We tried to find more information about the program, for example, the acceptance rate. But they said they don't have the number since they don't know how many people applied. What a joke! They don't know how many people applied! We asked refund at 10 days of acceptance letter. They refused to pay back and they said in the fine print: we have to do it within 7 days. There is no option of decline the program and there is no date in their acceptance letter. Not sure what else I can do to get my money back.

Cancelled trip due to COVID - Where's my refund? That is a great question. 10- 12 weeks for processing - still waiting. I called my Senior Program Consultant that is working on it with accounting. DO I NEED A LAWYER to get my money back or contact my bank for a fraudulent purchase? Do not use this company - regardless of you getting the insurance or not.

Wish I could leave zero stars. This company is a rip off and will hound you for every payment then takes 4-8 weeks to issue a refund. Absolute nonsense.

I honestly wish I could rate this ZERO stars. My daughter was accepted into the VERY expensive program, and we put all of our savings into sending her, it was her Christmas present and every penny we had. Thousands of dollars spent on the cost of the trip combined with travel expenses, clothing, shoes, luggage etc. On the day before she was supposed to leave a huge snow storm hit and no flights were leaving out of our area, all airports were shut down completely, so she could not attend. Dreams crushed, and my daughter was devastated. It has been months, and they refuse to refund me, they gave me HALF of what I spent and refuse to give me the rest back, after several people told me that I was getting a refund and they were working on an eta for me, then I find out I only get half my money back for something out of my control. Zero care given by this company. I also found out that some people in the same or similar situations received full refunds, so apparently they also discriminate on who they decide to refund. I am disgusted at the uncaring, unprofessional and ruthlessness of this so called "elite" program. Sickening.

My daughter's school trip to Washington DC for 4 days cost $2200. They go to all the FREE tour sites and 4 to a room. That equals $550 per kid. My daughter really wants to experience this great educational opportunity.

Payment options stated raising funds. But they do not, they charge you huge monthly payments that if you do not pay every month they charge you over $20 in fees every month. Their financial aid, the max you can receive is $100. Then on top of it, they intimidate you to purchase the full refund program. Canceled trips have happened, to find out you can only get a full refund if you cancel the day before, they do have clauses that they don't have to give you all back.

If you are a school administrator looking for a company that will work with your parents, offer flexibility, and is a reasonable price, do NOT go with WorldStrides. They take a $900 trip and pocket $1300. Companies like this take advantage of schools and students. Another example of companies that say education opportunities only means the privileged students get opportunities.

We had to cancel my son's trip due to unforeseen circumstances. They sell you on a "Full Refund" insurance plan, yet they do not offer that AT ALL! They are refusing to refund my money, and stated that even if they did, it would be 6 weeks or more before they even submitted for it. Their customer service is a JOKE! DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY and I wish the schools would not use them.

This is the worse travel program that the school ever used. My son was in the school program that it supposes to travel to DC. They cancelled the trip and never refund the money in full. We asked about our full refund, they replied that the company took some loses and would not give the full refund. We asked further explanation and they would reply. Only explanation they gave us is thT they took loses so therefore, they kept some of our money for their lose. It is not fair that they cancelled the trip and kept $115 for their lose. We think this compay is unfair to families like us ans to the students were ready to travel. We think if the company cancelled the trip they should return our money in full. Any school or individuals, we would caution using this company for students' travel. Very disappointed with... if we can give ZERO we would but progam would let us comments without give at least a star.

Does not deserve any stars! My sister paid almost $900 to send my nephew on a trip to Washington, he got sick and couldn't go, the kid was crushed he was so excited to go on his first trip. My sister was told she would not get her money back for the trip even though she paid extra for the insurance! Then she received an email saying she would get most of the money back. Then they decided no we are not going to give her the money back. WTF? My name is Laura Raforth, My Sister is Lisa Scottow. I am seeking legal action against this shady company now that they've decided to not refund my sister.

I am writing to express my profound disappointment regarding my son's recent DC trip organized by World Strides. Despite paying the same fees as other parents, my son was forced to endure an unacceptable and distressing experience during his stay at the hotel.

Upon arrival on March 13,2023, my son was assigned to a cramped room with four other boys, with only two beds available. To make matters worse, two of the boys promptly claimed the beds, leaving the third to his air mattress and my son with no option but the cold, hard floor to sleep on.

Upon learning of my son's sleeping arrangements, my heart sank. My husband attempted to rectify the situation by purchasing an air mattress from Amazon to be delivered to the hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel accepted the delivery but refused to give it to my son, citing "safety regulations" as their excuse.

I was met with rudeness and apathy when I contacted the manager on duty for assistance. He showed no concern for my son's predicament and insisted that it was not his responsibility, it was not his issue, instead referring me to the program coordinator.

My son has been forced to sleep on the floor for two consecutive nights thus far, an ordeal no child should endure. While I understand that the program may need to place multiple children in a room to make the trip more affordable, it is inconceivable that any parent would be okay with their child sleeping on the floor.

I implore World Strides to take immediate action to rectify this situation and ensure that future trips are more comfortable for all participants. Parents should be offered an additional option to pay extra for a room with fewer children so that each child can have a bed rather than being subjected to such deplorable conditions.

I sincerely hope that World Strides takes these concerns seriously and takes swift and appropriate action to rectify this unacceptable situation.

World strides hires a company name SD protection own by a Sandra Dominguez to chaperone school age children who travels and stay in hotels SD protection doesn't do a back ground check on people they hire
They just hire anyone they could have a record they could be hiring register sex offenders they could be hiring drug user with problem how do they know if these people are safe too chaperone your kids If a back ground check is not done on the people they hire I wouldn't trust my kids with SD protection. Parents please beware of world strides.com. Because they are working with SD protection that don't do back ground checks on the people that are hire to watch your kids at hotels is not a safe because there is no back ground check you have no idea who chaperoning your child parents please demand a back ground check report from SD protection Sandy Dominguez she lives in Florida and she hire people in New York and New Jersey with out doing a back ground check she does most her hiring threw emails mostly or rent a office in nyc with a Five minute interview this job is off the books.
So if they was a sex offender working for SD protection no one would know because of no back ground check parents please becareful