I would give this business zero stars if I could. Future Travel has been bought up by the…read moreconglomerate 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.

After firing my travel agent in League City for failure to do anything and taking zero interest in…read morethe 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!! :)

Tina and Stephen listened to what we wanted for our 5th Anniversary trip. They found the perfect…read moreboutique hotel in Vancouver - L'Hermitage. It is was centrally located to restaurants and shops, which were within walking distance. They helped plan three excursions that were great. I love how they sent me everything in an App, making it easy to see what we had scheduled. Stephen anticipated my questions and guided me through the customs process, since I have not flown out of the country in many years. It was as easy as when I go on a cruise. I love all of the thought and detail they put into planning the trip and tailoring it to us and our needs.

Agent was very snobby and made me feel like if I wasn't a millionaire she could not help me. Told…read moreme unless I was I was willing to spend at a minimum of $5k she could not help me. She did pick up the phone so there is stars for that.

I have used Catherines services more times than I can remember and the thing I appreciate the most…read moreis her attention to detail. She makes sure the small details are attended to so there are no surprises. Her knowledge is unsurpassed, and she is great for those who are just beginning to travel. I didn't know the first thing about traveling abroad and I am thankful she was there with a smile on her face every step of the way. Thank you, Catherine, I truly appreciate you.

From the owner: Our business specializes in giving you exceptional service in everything vacation/getaway. We will…read morecall airlines, cruise lines, resorts, and rental companies directly in order to secure travel arrangements for our customers. Research information on where our clients are wanting to go, and relay important information including weather conditions, travel advisories, and required documents for their destination. Safety is also a factor in international travel, so we keep you abreast of the latest news, ensuring that each planned destination is safe. All you have to do is pack while we plan.

Sheri planned my "bucket list" trip. Did a GREAT job. I have her a list of things I wanted to see…read morein Washington DC and she not only delivered them but MUCH MUCH MORE!!!! Was a truly wonderful time. Highly recommend them!!!

We recently got back from a fabulous trip to New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. The hotels and tours…read morethat were arranged were great. Highly recommend Pam if you want a trip of a life time.

Hook-n-Line Map Company are the go-to maps for water safety and are recommended for all boat…read morecaptains. My hubby has been using their hard copy maps for years although they are now getting harder and harder to find in stores. Neither Walmart or Academy no longer carries them. I ended up calling HNL about year or so ago to see if they could tell me where I could find one locally in SA since there was no time for ordering online before a coastal trip to a new location. They were able to tell me that Austin Canoe & Kayak still carries them which works out perfectly as we knew where two were... There is a Austin Canoe & Kayak in NW SA not far from IH 10 (where I purchased my helmet about 3 years ago before whitewater rafting to protect my brain injured head, lol) and another one located between New Braunfels and San Marcos on IH 35... or you can just order the maps online. His fishing partner more recently purchased a Garmin GPS & Sonar for hubby's boat then purchased a SD card for the maps just a few weeks ago. Well, some how on their fishing trip last week, they lost the instructions on how to upload and download the information. So I decided to call the company to see if they could help us replace the instructions. As I was talking to the gentleman to ask if they might have another copy to send me, it dawned on me that I've talked to this man before. It's the same map company! I explained what happened and he sent a email right over with the information that we needed... We're saved! Joe Trombley is the owner of the company. He answers the phone. I'm pretty sure the address listed on their website is his personal home. Joe's company service is exceptional... which lead me to write this review... 5 stars for Mr. Trombley & Hook-n-Line Map Co!

Hook N Line still has their web site up ... they should take it down. their phone number is out of…read moreorder and we drove to the actual address and the place is vacant. we ordered two maps over two months ago. Paid thru Paypal going to have to dispute it

Amber has booked/planned trips for my guest and I multiple times; and we cannot recommend anyone…read morebetter. She goes above and beyond on gaining local knowledge and finding those great local hot spots to visit while on vacation, we can not wait to book another adventure with Amber.

From the owner: Personal service that astounds…read more We not only love what we do, we're great at it. You will feel confident and cared for, from the moment your vacation planning begins until you have arrived home safely. We have access to incredible deals on cruises, land and resort vacations. We know how important every getaway is. You save your vacation days and hard-earned money – all to experience something magical. Let us introduce you to a world of unforgettable experiences, a world of Dream Vacations.

Cindy at Go Be Adventurous was amazing at every little detail about our trip. We will use her in…read morethe future

From the owner: Greater Houston Area Travel Agentread more