Having to leave late at night and expected to sleep on the plane and start a very full agenda the next morning was grueling. By the time my daughter arrived in DC, she was sick and only became worse the whole trip. There wasn't much of a contingency plan for this. She was expected to just keep up with the group on this nonstop itinerary instead of being allowed to rest separate from the group with necessary supervision. I believe this is what made her worse. She ended up not being able to enjoy the trip. Her flight back was another late one and they got delayed because of weather, so they got home very late on a Sunday night and had to be at school the following day, which she missed from being so sick. Overall a disappointing experience for what we paid and her anticipating this trip for months. read more

WorldStrides practices unethical business practices. Our child's trip was recently cancelled by the trip leader. WorldStrides was to refund the money that had already been paid into the trip account to a card that was cancelled. They have been asked numerous time to reverse the credit and issue a check back to us. They refuse stating their hands are tied. I would never again send a child on any trip with WorldStrides and the people in charge of the trips. read more

Let me tell you about the fraudulent company called World Strides!!!! Their money back guaranteed is fraud!!! I paid 189.00 for the full refund program and $99.00 down towards my sons trip. My dad took ill and money got really tight so I canceled the trip. They refuse to give my money back even though I paid for the full refund program. read more

STAY AWAY!!!!! I don't even understand how this company is still in business!!! They are horrible don't ever use this company!!! If I could give them negative star! I'm still waiting on my refund and it has been over 2 and a half months and all they keep saying is it's in the mail we sent it idk what else to do. I asked for a tracking number and apparently that was way too much to ask for they said they would absolutely not do that! They are all incompetent can't even speak English the worst people I have ever had to deal with!!!! Don't ever use this awful company! read more

After paying over 2 thousand dollars sons plane delayed in Chicago when they were suppose to be in Washington DC so stayed over night missing all activities.Call to get refund for missed planned day 1 tours.Worldstride said they were not responsible for airline they booked and missed events.Please do not use this service they will scam money and will not fix or reimburse for anything kids miss will never use again waste of money read more

The trip was good, however a lot of wasted time. I went as a chaperone on a middle school trip to Washington DC. We flew into and out of Baltimore, MD airport rather than Dulles or Regan International. Also, our hotel was about an hour outside of the metro DC area. Right there, that was a significant amount of time lost in driving that I felt could have been added time to our actual trip itinerary in order to see and do more things. There were several museums, the American History Museum and the National Portrait Gallery for example that our group was only allotted about 1 hour at. Both of those places we could have spent more time. Even the children in our group were wanting more time at the American History Museum. Our trip included Georgetown Cupcakes on the itinerary. However, it was not communicated from Worldstrides to our trip leader that an order HAD to be placed in advance. Therefore, Georgetown Cupcakes was a "Drive By" for 29 middle schoolers. So they were not happy that they couldn't get out and get cupcakes or even experience the store. That was a disappointment not to mention a big waste of time as Georgetown was way out of the way. We would have liked to have Jamestown or Williamsburg on our itinerary, neither one was there. Our group felt like if the itinerary would have been streamlined better without so much time wasted, we could have experienced one if not both of those places. And to be fair, we couldn't provide feedback to Worldstrides about changing the itinerary or updating it, as they didn't give it to us until 4 days prior to our trip departure. Therefore, I would suggest that Worldstrides presents itinerary at least a full week, if not 2 weeks prior to trip departure for purposes of review, minor changes, etc. On a positive note, the contacts at the airports, hotels, were very friendly and helpful. Our bus driver was fantastic and very thoughtful as well. So while there were changes that could have been made, and I think I would look at other companies to compare and contrast a bit more before booking with Worldstrides again, we did have a good time. read more

Same recent experience as others, trip is postponed or cancelled due to coronavirus issues, so the trip and date I signed up and paid for will not be happening, may be rescheduled, but again, not the date I paid for. Full refund, right? No, they'll give you 85% back in a credit for a future trip...and if I don't take a trip - nothing! This is definetly all about greed and not doing the right thing. The new 3/31 cancellation date - that is if you cancel by then you can take advantage of this 85% credit, if not you may get nothing at all. If a trip is cancelled completely, all participants should get 100% of thier cost back - you did not deliver a service. If the date is changed, you should have option to get back full cost - again, the service/trip I paid for did not occur. My guess is they have already spent most of these costs and refunding costs would put them out of business...just a pyramid scheme that is about to catch up with them. read more

Do not trust this company. I asked them for refund since March, but they never refund me. I am one of the parents who paid extra $89 for "guarantee refund", but they never bother to process my refund. What a big scam. They are cheating all the innocent parents' money. They tried to get their way out by filing the bankruptcy now. What an ugly and dirty operation they are running. read more

World Strides is a UNTRUSTWORTHY company I've been waiting for my whole refund from this company since MARCH!! My senior trip to Disney and Universal was canceled due to the pandemic. The most unsettling part about this company is the Costumer service representatives, They are absolutely no help at all I have called a total of 5 times this year trying to receive my whole refund of $1700 but this company has never called me ONCE whenever I was directed to someones voicemail. This is very disheartening due to I as a working student through majority of my time in High School worked my A** Off to save for this trip and when I wasn't even able to go the COMPANY still has my MONEY!!! read more

Zero stars would be more appropriate! In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. State Department issuing warnings about avoiding unnecessary travel, WorldStrides is not cancelling my daughter's class trip to Northern California on 4/1/2020. Instead, they are offering "credits" for future travel or postponement of the dates of travel until June 2020. Hello? The school year's going to be over by June... Also this is an annual class trip--any future credit is not going to be used. It's just a fancy way of saying "Sorry we've got your money and there's nothing you can do it pry it away from our greedy hands." They need to do the right thing and refund everyone's money for the trip that's never going to happen due to the travel restrictions. Also even if the trip goes as planned, are any of the museums and places on the itinerary going to be open? They should be ashamed to fleece families like this. I hope karma catches up to this unscrupulous company! read more

I would never use this company or the services they offer. Be very careful with the structure of the contracts for payment and set up. I am always amazed that companies like this still exist and do business daily. Absolutely TERRIBLE!!! read more

This is regarding a refund that has not arrived... I paid in full 11 months ago... they continue to put me off. I call and email, it is the same each time, it will arrive later, later, later... So far no refund. The refund will be minus their expenses, which I have not disputed. It is almost a year since I paid in full, how terrible is their accounting that they can't refund within a decent amount of time? Pandemic or not, money goes in and out of banks. It's simple accounting. So far it is 11 weeks after the trip "would have started" and still no refund. Perhaps a group letter to the FTC is next? Schools would be wise to consider other companies for their trips. I myself would not trust them for another trip and will not send any child anywhere with this company. read more

I was concerned they wouldn't refund my child's school trip (they really didn't have to). They went above and beyond to do so. I'm sorry there's so many negative reviews as the pandemic is not their fault, there's other fees in the chain they have to pay and they are working as hard as possible to give refunds. Thank you! I will send my younger child on a WS trip! read more

WorldStrides is the most unscrupulous company ever! They are taking advantage of people during the global pandemic and committing highway robbery. My daughter's long-anticipated tour to Scotland with her youth orchestra was cancelled well over 100 days in advance due to COVID-19. Then we got the second shocker: that WorldStrides would charge us a cancellation fee of $500 per person. Our entire family (4 total including our daughter) all purchased a tour package from WorldStrides, so we are looking at $2,000 total loss. I believe the entire orchestra and their families had about 200 people purchase packages from WorldStrides, so they have STOLEN $100,000 grand total! Since it is an unprecedented global pandemic that led the tour to be canceled (and we did not personally choose to cancel it) WorldStrides should have done the honorable thing and waived the cancellation fee. Other organizations are willing to waive cancellation fees when their customers or the companies themselves cancel trips during this global pandemic. Since WorldStrides was unwilling to waive the fee, we will definitely never purchase tours with them again in the future. I'm positive all other families wouldn't either come next summer when the orchestra is due to travel to another country to perform. The orchestra families have banded together and made a pact to not use them again, and we have also asked the orchestra to use other travel companies in the future. WorldStrides, good luck getting anyone to purchase your tour packages again. And you left me no choice but to explore other means to get my full cancellation fee back. read more

I had several kids signed up for end of year trips when the Coronavirus hit. This is the only company to trying to keep large amounts of money for cancelled trips. It was my least favorite trip originally as far as price/included things/communication went, now they are proving to be less than ideal to work with. You can't put this money towards a trip next year. People graduating, changing electives, etc. How do you know who will be there to be involved in a trip next year? How do we know that the next trip will be at a good time for us? Ridiculous that you're going to force legal to get involved instead of just doing the right thing. Will never send my kids on a trip with you again. All this negative on your ratings will likely have an affect on your future to trips as well. Not a smart business move at all. read more

I wish I would have listened to all the negative reviews from former employees before taking this job. This place is under the strain of poor management. When I started there, the team joked about how quickly the last person hired for the position left. What a bunch of assholes! If you want to be treated like garbage by the under skilled and over titled, you will love working there. I really feel sorry for the next person. read more

WORLDSTRIDES SUCKS MONEY HUNGRY COMPANY!!!NO STARS IF I COULD....This is the worst company ever. They rescheduled my son's 8th grade trip due to the COV-19. The rescheduled date is a date my family already had a trip out of the country planned. They would not give me a full refund back even though the company was the one to reschedule .As a company they just want the money and dont care about the students. Especially during this COV-19 epidemic they should be more worried about the families and more helpful during this hard time. As a company who reschedules a trip during the summer knowing families go on vacation this time of year and then never give a full refund. This company needs to do better. Your customer service people Heron Navarrete and Ivana Bagundo who was the manager were both rude. This company sucks I would give them no stars if possible. Don't schedule any trips with this company they suck. read more

Update: I have increased my rating because they are offering refunds to my group. I appreciate their consideration and action in this matter. Teachers, please find a company with more compassion to take care of your children when planning a trip. I hope to discourage other school groups to use in the future so please share with others. World Strides runs a tour group that my son was going to use to go to DC for 5 days for $998. The trip was planned for March 26th. They have refused to cancel trips due to the fact that they would have to refund money to their participants, even though DC has been closed for weeks. They have left that decision up to the Program Leaders. My Program Leader had to postpone until next year so the parents would not outright lose their money. I was not one to add the insurance of a $1000 trip - not banking on a Pandemic that would shut down the country. NOW - not only is our trip next year - they are charging MORE for the trip! They will not let me add insurance for the trip next March nor refund the additional charge (it is not much but it is the point). I was okay with a lot of this because my kid still wanted to go UNTIL I saw that they added an additional charge. Adding an additional charge is NOT postponing the trip, however, they also state it is not a new registration so I can't add insurance if I want. I feel I get screwed both ways. I feel like this is a bait and switch. This company is not letting anyone talk to supervisors. They have no compassion for people who may be hitting hard times and may need that money to survive nor may not be getting a paycheck right now and could use that money. World Strides is way overpriced to begin with and so if you are a teacher looking for a tour group - pass on WORLD STRIDES. read more

World Strides Washington D.C. Trip 2019. I recently chaperoned my daughters trip to Washington DC, this also included Williamsburg, Jamestown and Arlington. I'm mixed on the trip, the good part first. Williamburg was awesome, Arlington awesome and most of the onsite guides awesome. The part of the trip I did not like had nothing to do with the sites themselves it was with WorldStrides and in some cases the guide himself. He was nice and very cool but I felt like at times all he was trying to do is get as many sites in as possible regardless whether we have enough time to enjoy being there or absorb the moment. Not all sites were like this some he took his time and was very knowledgeable on, but it almost seemed we were some days just allowing him to check a box to say "yep took them there". Most of us would have preferred to see less sights but spend better quality time while there. For example one night we were running around D.C. at 11pm looking at the Korean monument (couldn't see anything), Capital building, Supreme court and others just looking at them, seriously, I want to see them in the day light, I want to go in the and tour them, we did not tour the Whitehouse either. With the cost of both my daughter and I for about a grande more I can take my whole family next time and take our time enjoying things. read more

Please read the reviews they are true There is an epidemic the whole world is on shut down. They are in it just for the money all there stories about Caring is bs.. They making families lose out on money So they can protect the olny interest Money... They built there wealth on hard working parents that had to make a sacrifice to send there son or daughter on this trip... They arent refund all the money back. They are going around the loophole.. It's okay worldstride I canceled I lost money But guess what.... My son is worthy more..... Shame on you....your company and the schools that are going to continue on using them... Because it's not what really counts protecting your kids Its protecting your pockets... Please don't continue on embarrassing yourself to a respond on this review... It wouldn't matter anyway... My son will be safe with me enjoy the miserable 800. That I have donated, In a time of need your company has shown they true color's.... read more

When deciding to send my child on a trip to DC, I was super excited. I purchased the $99 protection plan, but somehow only received a partial refund after the pandemic hit. This company posted they will be issuing, "generous" refunds, amounting to more than what they have already paid vendors. I'm not so sure what is so generous about keeping consumers money, especially for those who purchased protection. Extremely disappointed and will never use a service like this again. Buyer beware. read more

My daughters are booked for a Washington DC Trip next year in May 2021. Per their website it states if you're a resident of California and your trip is cancelled due to no fault of your own, your trip would be refunded in full. After speaking with someone in their Customer Service Department, they claim this is not true and they would offer a trip in the future instead. I was offered to purchase insurance but after reading all the reviews from parents still waiting to receive their refund, I feel this company is not very ethical and I have no confidence in them. They currently have a Class Action Lawsuit in place and someone mentioned they now filed Bankruptcy. read more

There is a global pandemic and they are not cancelling my daughter's trip to DC in order to keep $249. It is unconscionable to not cancel during this time and to not refund the amount paid in total. I will make my feelings clear to everyone with kiddos. This is not how businesses should behave - it is how greedy companies do though. Good riddance. read more

Worldstrides is the absolute worst! Their customer service is so terrible and they just do not care. They quick to take your money but give such a hard time to get refund. Please listen to me when I tell you that they are difficult. Please think twice before given them your hard earned money to this company for your child's trip. read more

Zero star. No refund due to the Coronavirus for kid's school trip. I see so many similar complaints here. This greedy company shouldn't be exist. Hope someone or someone you know with attorney background can take a lead file a class action lawsuit against this company. read more

THE MOST HEARTLESS TRAVEL AGENCY EVER! I wrote the following email to WorldStrides in regards to the details of my sons trip to Washington DC in April being affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My email: Along with many others, my sons Washington DC trip was cancelled due to the following message below because of this world wide crisis / pandemic (WorldStrides email received 3/13/20 below). Dear Valued Customers and Friends, As the spread of the coronavirus continues to escalate globally, I am writing to assure you that the health and safety of WorldStrides students is at the center of everything we are doing. As the virus has spread throughout the world, we are saddened but have had no choice but to postpone and relocate programs, first in Asia, then in Europe, and now in the United States. We are working closely with Program Leaders to make these decisions, and are focusing on programs that were scheduled to take place in the next few weeks, as this situation continues to evolve. My response: **Please be advised, my son is in 8th grade and wanted to go on this trip for educational purposes but also to be with his friends. Offering for him to go in his Freshman year is not sufficient. We have no idea what other friends would accept this offer and it is not fair for my son to go on a trip where he would potentially not know any of the kids he was traveling with. Additionally, my son is a band student and as a Freshman they go on several trips throughout the course of the school year - I have no idea when those trips may be. I should not have to plan a year ahead or be told I will not get a refund not knowing what his Freshman year looks like yet. This is ridiculous!!! I work 2 jobs so my children are able to participate in these opportunities, I do not walk around handing out $1300.00 for nothing. I want a full refund and under the circumstances, with or without the refund insurance you are "obligated" to do so as notated in your Terms & Conditions below. Additionally, by changing the date of the trip by more than 3 days with the party not able to go - you are also "obligated" to issue a full refund** "WorldStrides reserves the right to cancel a tour at its discretion for the safety of its travelers, and all monies paid to WorldStrides for the trip, minus merchandise fees, will be refunded. Decisions to cancel tours will be based on travel warnings issued by the U.S. Department of State. No additional compensation will be made." Three days later, I received the following response: Unfortunately, this trip has been postponed, not cancelled. With this global crisis, it has been a company wide decision to adopt this policy for our trips with no exceptions being made. Please feel free to call regarding this at 800-468-5899 between 9 AM and 7 PM EST Monday through Friday. My response: THE TRIP IS FOR 7TH & 8TH GRADERS!! MY CHILD WILL BE A FRESHMEN, IT IS NOT POSTPONED FOR HIM. YOUR TERMS & CONDITIONS CLEARLY STATE: WorldStrides reserves the right to change the date of departure due to heavy demand on certain peak travel dates by no more than two days from the original departure date. These changes are not grounds for cancellation without penalty or for refunds after the tour. On occasion, WorldStrides must change dates of a scheduled program by 3 days or more. If you find it necessary to cancel because your program dates are changed by WorldStrides by 3 days or more, you will be refunded all monies, minus fees for returned checks and merchandise fees. Your letter of cancellation must be postmarked no more than 14 days after the date change is announced to the Program Leader, and it must state that the date change is your reason for canceling. With all that is going on right now, I have to say my dealings with Worldstrides has made me the sickest!!!! How dare you profit on a world wide crisis. I want to know who I need to speak with directly in getting this resolved and receiving my refund. I have never heard back from them to date and have sent another email. The Program Leader at my son's school has been in contact with her contact at WorldStrides and was told the "3 day move out" did not apply as it was not peak season, they have an excuse or a back up for everyone of their terms and conditions. It did not purchase the refund insurance when I paid for my son's trip, I had every intention of him going - none of could have foreseen this crisis coming. The trip was not cancelled or postponed at my request. It makes me sick to think that a Company (that has their own insurance) would use the current world wide crisis to make a profit!!!! I hope all school systems think twice before using WorldStrides. read more

Unbelievable experience for the 8th grade D.C. trip! Not sure about the other cranky reviews, but our experience was wonderful. Organized from beginning to end. Sure it's pricey, but what isn't these days? My child has memories with all of his friends to last a lifetime. Each city they visited gave them a visual to go with everything they've studied and then some... Walking thru history, a little King Kong on Broadway, and some fun on the boardwalk in Coney Island (bungee rides?!!) heck yeah it's worth it. read more

I was shocked to see all the negative reviews. I sent my daughter this year and my son last year and they both had an amazing time! Very educational and fun! They were extremely busy from sun up to way past sun down. Both my kids made new friends and enjoyed every minute. They stated they both understood history a bit better after seeing things first hand and hearing from the tour guides. Yes, this is expensive, but they stay at nice safe hotels, eat at nice restaurants and overall I felt good that my kids were experiencing something they may not see again due to the distance. read more

Ditto to what so many others have said recently. Our child's trip was scheduled for June, but canceled in March by the school due to the pandemic. Initially I was told I'd get a refund (minus a $300 administrative fee...) in 4-6 weeks. It's been 6 weeks so I called back today and was told it will be approximately 8 weeks AFTER the scheduled trip date. So now I'm looking at August (hopefully). That's 5 full months after cancellation. That's $2,500 that my family desperately needs now. Do not support this company with your business. They do not care about anything other than their bottom line. They definitely don't care about the children or their families. read more

I went with my son and his 4th grade class to Sacramento/San Francisco and it was fabulous. Extremely high price but the whole trip was really great. He had a good time and the tour guide was so caring and entertaining. When we ran into problems (people taking wrong lunches, etc), she was apologetic and explained how it happened. Traffic was bad one of the days and we only had 40 minutes to explore a super cool museum but it wasn't their fault. I did laugh at the $10 per diem for dinner at the airport. But it's a class trip, there were 80 people, and I was super impressed with all the facts we learned. Great trip! read more

Absolutely horrible. I cancelled my son's trip due to covid. I didn't balk at the chunk they took out for their fee. However, they sent me an email saying that it would be 4-6 weeks before I got it. It ended up being 4 months before I got it. Then they don't deposit it in my bank account. They send it in a check. In my son's name! First of all my son is 12 and has no bank account. Second, they sent it to an address I no long live at. Which could have been avoided if they ever bothered to contact me. Or told me that they had changed to check one of the SIX times I called. I regret using this company, and will never use them again. read more

Absolutely horrible handling of the refund process during COVID 19. The trip to NY and DC for my daughter has been paid for since March. I had full refund protection for the trip. I asked to refund the money for the trip due to COVID so I could setup a trip for her during the summer. They informed me that they will not process my refund until 8 weeks after the original departure date which is June 5th. That sets the refund in August sometime leaving no time to use the money to go somewhere else. They had the nerve to say they are diligently working to issue refunds in a timely manner. I don't think 90 days for a refund is anywhere in the realm of a timely manner. I hope schools avoid using this company for future school trips. read more

4 MONTHS and NO REFUND...My daughter wasn't able to attend a trip in December 2021 (organized through World Strides) due to testing positive for Covid. The package/contract we paid for had a refund policy-should the participant not be able to travel due to Covid payment a refund would be issued. I assumed it may take the company up to 90 days to issue a refund given the extraordinary amount of Covid related cancellations, etc. We sent an initial email on 3/15/2022 regarding the refund. On 3/16/2022, Hector Collins, Financial Representative with World Strides, stated: "Your original refund was scheduled to be delivered in April, I have rushed your refund to be delivered NEXT WEEK as this is causing troubles for you. You are receiving back a total of $4006.00 which includes the reimbursement of the participants. If you have any questions, please let me know." The next week would have been the week of 3/20/2022 - no payment was received. On 3/26/2022, we followed up as we still hadn't received payment. On 3/28/2022, Hector replied stating: "A check was processed and delivered on Thursday 3/24. You should be receiving it in these days" - still no payment received. We followed up, AGAIN, on 4/4/2022 as payment STILL had not been received. Hector never responded. We've emailed multiple times-still no response. This is extremely disappointing and we will not be participating in any future events through World Strides. We have been more than accommodating, and feel we cannot trust the company moving forward. If the payment isn't received by the end of April 2022, we will be having our attorney step in. read more

A school trip planned to depart to southern Italy on 16April 2020. Italy closed all borders to visitors on 10March2020. Worldstrides only agrees to refund 75 percent of monies and provide a voucher to be used in next year. Voucher has many restrictions including being used all in one trip etc. If worldstrides canceled the trip than we would be entitled to 100 percent refund but because their policy is to reschedule trips or move locations, they skirt any requirement to actually refund their customers. Discussions via email with the senior vice president of customer service, who has responded here led to nothing. In fact...they claim that they can unilaterally modify terms and conditions after the fact due to the emergency. Hoping for a class action and have sought legal help for one to begin read more

Please do not use this company. Any school should take note of every parents post. 75% refund plus their administration fees. Complete and total BS when hotels and airlines are giving 100% refunds. Way to profit during a global crisis!!!! I hope this company closes down for how they are handling this. read more

Total rip off company do not use. They are stealing people money in a pandemic. My daughters trip June 11, 2020 - June 16, 2020 Destination: Washington D.C., New York Trip ID: 173334. The trip was canceled by Worldstrides who now refuses to refund my trip cost plus insurance was 3,251.00 dollars. Worldstrides is offering to refund the payment minus 279.00 dollars and it take 6 weeks to process after they have had my money for 1 1/2 years really what ripoffs. Lets get a class action lawsuit together people. read more

If I could give a zero star I would!! This company is HORRIBLE!!! TERRIBLE customer service and communication around everything related to this trip. The best communication was prior to booking now in hindsight I see that was because they want your money. First red flag was seeing price increases do to people withdrawing from the trip. No communication just an added charge to your account. Then them messing up payment emails. We received an email with a past due amount and went online and made the payment only to receive another email a week later for another $700. Called Customer Service (super unhelpful) couldn't explain what the issue was so I was finally transferred to Finance which stated that the person sending the emails made typos in sending the communications. Then 1 month prior to the trip they send a communication for a vaccine requirement. No medical/religious exemptions allowed and you must be fully vaccinated 14 days prior to the trip. Mind you the country doesn't have a vaccine requirement. Which based upon this requirement you can't meet the vaccination requirement because there is a 3 to 4 week wait between shots. So for a trip that cost $4000 they are now willing to provide a $50 refund and that is with insurance. I don't even know how you can tell a person you will give them a $50 refund for a $4000 trip!!! I will NEVER EVER recommend this company to anyone EVER! One final note: don't ask to speak to a supervisor because I was told they are in a different department and a ticket request needs to be entered and you will wait a week to hear back from one. read more

Problem after problem. If your child has allergies DO NOT SEND THEM! My son has celiac so I was very hesitant to let him go, but after calling World Strides, and emailing back and forth with them and putting it all over my son's paperwork, I thought he'd be safe. Not only were they completely unprepared, most of the vendors DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT GLUTEN WAS!!! They handed my son a Philly Cheese steak (without a bun) and fries. Gluten free DOESN'T MEAN no bun, it means - CHECK EVERYTHING! The cheese sauce they used contained wheat and the fries were coated in wheat. He ate one bite before I stopped him to question the chef. He spent 2 of his 6 days so sick he could barely moved and missed the things he was looking forward to the most. Also - 14 year old boys don't want a salad... which was the only gluten free option at many of the meals. After asking our world strides rep - they said gluten free wasn't in any of the paperwork they had received - which is complete bull. I ended up spending money out of pocket to purchase other foods that I knew were safe and taking an Uber back to the hotel because he was too sick to participate - twice. Second issue - the bus that was supposed to take us to the airport NEVER SHOWED up, which meant we had to scramble for rides at the last minute for 41 people at 2:30 IN THE MORNING! We almost missed our flight. read more

Update ** After some time and I'm sure a lot of complaints, they decided to refund the money. I respect the change of heart and appreciate the refund, however, the initial response was still very poor and could've been handled much better. It took some time to get the refunds which we totally understood. It was a lot to sort out. I would hope in the future, if something of this magnitude happens, the company has a much better reaction and response to these families and kids. read more

Late fees if payments are not paid on due date. Plus you pay a 6.00 fee everytime you pay with credit card. They want you to pay for trip in full 2 months before departure. Last time using them. read more