I would give this business zero stars if I could. Future Travel has been bought up by the conglomerate Direct Travel which has offices all over the US. This review is specifically about the League City Texas Direct Travel , Michelle Weller and Paul Maley who runs Ring of Fire Eclipse Expeditions which also seems to have been acquired by Direct Travel. The trip we took was to ANTARTICA from November 27 through December 8. My first negative experience was with Michelle when I informed her I would not be booking additional nights at the 400/ night Hyatt because I was renting an Airbnb at 25% the cost per day for our party of six. I was immediately told that Airbnb would cancel my reservation and " there would not be another room in Buenos Aires" . Clearly she was assuming I was a novice traveler who could be bullied so she could up her take on commissions from hotel reservations. The incessant notifications from Paul MALEY were full of erroneous information and became hugely unwelcome in my mind as they just caused more angst. . When we pointed out that he had no sizing for the jackets we were to reserve for the trips onto the land he was unresponsive. My son had to blow up a picture of the jacket and Google a sizing chart . It was sent to Paul but he elected to not share it with other passengers. The trip was amazing because it was Ponant, a high end French cruise line. Unfortunately the astrophysicist was hellbent on getting to a tiny blue spot of sky and rerouted the trip to try to catch it. Advertising for the trip made it seem like we would need a ton of winter gear for all the fun landings hikes and wildlife sightings. Many many of the emails from Paul were just full of errors especially as we got closer to the trio. They included lot's of doomsday speculations and predictions about all the reasons the trip might not happen and typos around the timing of necessary COVID tests before we boarded the cruise. We were berated by Michelle about not being in a so called bubble and told they would not cover our covid testing because we were it staying at the Hyatt . We easily accessed testing in BA and entered the hotels with our negative tests in hand only to be brought into a hotel meeting room with two hundred Traveller's , all tested but none of them had the test results yet. The opposite of a bubble if you ask me. We got off the boat only once because as we got closer to the eclipse day it became clear there were tons of clouds . They went a great distance in an attempt to see the eclipse based on an erroneous map with a tiny blue spot of clear sky on it and skipped going on the protected side of the Shetland islands against the captain's advice . All other cruise ships that were having landings during that time were on the protected side of the Shetlands. People who befriended the naturalists were told by the naturalists that they had been told to step aside in their lectures and interactions with the passengers.because there would be astrophysics lectures primarily. Basically this cruise was like the floating " Big Bang Theory". There was so much ego on board this ship. I mean who over rides the ship captain advice to stay on the leeward side of the Shetland islands? The afternoon before we left my husband and I had lunch with one of the physicists who gave about six lectures and is very tight with Paul MALEY. He told us before we got in the boat " there will be no landings " When we expressed our interest in having whale sightings. He said " there will be no whales". Really? We saw 9 whales the next day. Ponant the naturalists and the entire crew get an A+. Micelle Weller Paul MALEY get an F minus . As the final kicker is that we put down 1600 down for the kayak trips that never happened. I asked for a refund directly while I was on the cruise and was refused. I emailed Michelle Weller and was not given the favor of a reply. I emailed the person who subbed for Michelle on the cruise and she told me Michelle was on vacation and would issue the refund to the whole group after the new year. So I have disputed the charge. Never again. read more

Very rude and does not listen to your side of the story. Especially when someone in the family poses as myself. Stay away from these rude owners. read more

After firing my travel agent in League City for failure to do anything and taking zero interest in the vacation I was planning, I jumped on Yelp and found a positive review of Travel Leaders/Future Travel, so I gave them a call. Jamie took the call and I let her know upfront that I had just canned my travel agent and explained why, then let her know what hubs and I were planning for our next vacation. Within 2 hours, as promised, Jamie had quotes for 9 days on the Hawaiian islands, airfare, and jeep rental for the entire stay. We made a few tweaks along the way and Jamie was ALWAYS patient with us, and took a genuine interest in what I was saying and what I wanted to accomplish. So, just 3 days after my first contact with her, she has all the details in place and we just paid our huge deposit on the vacation. It took my last travel agent 2 weeks to get me just quotes on the hotel, and that was after I called her and reminded her that I was waiting on them. Fail! Thanks so much Jamie!! :) read more

The absolute best travel agency I've ever done business with! I've had both Sheron and Barbara handle my travel and they both have done a top notch job. They've been excellent helping me find locations, setting up all the details, and keeping in touch with me through the whole process. I also do my business travel with this travel agency (now known as Travel Leaders) and they always do an excellent job, never letting me down once. Most of the other travel agencies in the area closed down, but this travel agency is obviously well run and has survived by keeping up with the technology. They are obviously well managed and the courteous, prompt customer service cannot be beat! read more

Unlike the other 2 reviewers, my experience has not been ideal, with anyone here. It took MONTHS to get MOST everything booked. With the exception of 2 hotels, I had to find airfare, and 3 hotels myself- after telling Heather countless times what I wanted. Even after notifying Charlotte (owner) of my dissatisfaction, the painful experience continued, to which i was bound after paying such a huge deposit. NEVER again. read more

I was new to using a travel agency but now I will go no where else. I wanted to book a trip to Mexico as a surprise to my mother for her 50th birthday without her knowing. So I researched online but found myself very confused and lost. After asking my mother about where I might be able to find information on my "trip to Florida" (a cover I used to get her help) she led me the idea of travel agency. I found the closest one to me which was travel leaders. I walked in cause I really had no idea how this was supposed to work. Fortunately an agent was finishing up with one of their customers and was able to see me within 10 minutes of walking through the door. At the front desk I was asked all about the vacation I was looking for and the agent was able to get all the information as soon as she saw me(via computer). After giving her some specifics of what I was looking for, for my mother and step father, she was already pulling up all inclusive vacations to Mexico. I asked her to email me the information so I could look it over and not feel rushed on my decision. I got an email with 6 all inclusive hotel packages with the flights. After we narrowed down the hotel and flight she helped me book all the things I wanted to have planned for my mother. Transportation, a spa treatment, ways to go shopping and a dinner on the beach for her and her husband. Within a week the trip was booked. My folks had a blast on their trip to Playa del Carmen and my mother said she couldn't have had a better vacation. I was so pleased with the service and attention to detail these people gave me. Being that the trip wasn't for me I couldn't thank them enough for giving my mom an unforgettable birthday. read more

After reading reviews about this company I contacted them to help me arrange travel overseas so that I could visit and spend time with family. The service that I received was deplorable. I made an after hours appointment for which no one bothered to show up to meet me - nor did they bother to call. I had left a voice mail while driving to the office to let them know I was on my way. About 2 hours later I received a voice mail from Heather - whom I called back. I was then told to call Debbie. Later in the day I checked my work email and saw there was an email from Stacey (sent while I was already on the road driving to the office) requesting to reschedule the appointment. How they got my work email is beyond me: as I provided my personal email and phone number as a contact. I do not use my work email for personal business. So, while others may have received great service - the so called "service" I received was the worst EVER! After wasting hours of my only day off from work - I finally found another agency who took care of my needs within less than 15 minutes. I plan on using the other agency to help me arrange another overseas vacation that I am planning in spring. Just AWFUL! read more

Noble, LuAnn, and Sheron at Travel Leaders/Future Travel were terrific in helping our family and another family book a trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico on very short notice and very late in the summer travel season. In one afternoon, they were able to take our multiple resort and travel date requests and work with us to book a great trip with a wonderful resort and excellent flight times. They listened to our needs and answered all of our questions. Believe me, we asked a lot of them. We really appreciated Noble going above and beyond the call of duty to find us that deal and give us a call that same evening. What great service and what a stress reliever! They just gained two new customers! read more