"We had three major problems"

We had three major problems.

1. Gustavo drinks alcohol on tour. We watched him drink before swimming with the kids.

2. We had a student with a phobia of animals (hyperventilating) Gustavo never stepped up for her. I had to talk to every guide to keep the dogs and cats (that are pets of the caving company and indigenous People’s Park) away from her. That was not taken seriously.

3. Flying Southwest and being paired with other the Norwell High School was awful. Their students knocked on our kids doors at night, they pushed our kids out of the way and attempted to board the flight out of their boarding groups and when I asked Southwest to step in the Norwell H.S. students verbally abused me and my students. Assigned seating is very important.

Here is the day by day information.
All breakfasts were great, especially Ponce.

Day 1: we knew we were having a tour of Old San Juan but we were never told if we had admission to any sites until we were outside of one. Students needed to use a bathroom and they were brought to a place that charged $2 per person when we could have gone to a fort (where we went next) and used the bathroom for free.
Lunch day one we overran a local fast food shop, El Messon.
Dinner was one main and one side. Many students had chicken and a salad without any carbohydrate. This was not good.

Day 2: sustainable farming was a nature preserve - not farming. It was rather rundown. The guide only spoke Spanish and 2 of our students translated. Gustavo watched and did not help translate. We did not know students were required to work. We were happy to do so but we were unprepared. At that location a student tracked her AirPods (in the case) to a location where three people who worked there were helping her look but they could not be found. Her backpack had been hung in the fence by someone who worked there.
Lunch was at a mall food court.
Dinner on the second night was great.
We anticipated a boat ride the next day between lunch and dinner. Gustavo notified us it was an 8pm swim. I asked him to cancel but he could not. Instead of Gustavo providing an itinerary, I and the three chaperones spent the bulk of the day researching things to do.

Day 3: Lunch at another mall food court. Gustavo told us he would take us to a museum, a waterfall, and then to Peguero. The town with the museum was CLOSED. Kids wandered around shops until the bus returned. Next, Gustavo cancelled the waterfall and said there were hiking trails on the coast. We arrived in Peguero and one of our chaperones had to take over. He found a trail map and led the kids on the walk. Gustavo followed us. We returned to town. Gustavo then said he was going to get waivers from Paradise scuba and WE should arrange dinner with a budget of 25$ per student. As he disappeared, we did that and I negotiated the menu with the restaurant. Gustavo settled in away from the group and drank beer with his dinner. We then went floating in the biobay if the kids wanted to - 2 of our kids can’t swim and I told Gustavo this. 6 students were left out of the activity. We arrived back at the hotel at 12:30am.

Day 4: El Yunque was great, Loquillo was great, lunch was great, kayaking was fine but again dinner was not arranged. Kayaking was “fine” because 2 people had to be pulled out and go with another company. 2 chaperones stayed behind. For dinner, Gustavo was recommending anything open. He recommended restaurants that were up dark streets with exorbitant prices. It was clear he had done no research or did not know the area very well. Again, because of the size of the group the kids didn’t finish eating until 9:30.

Day 5: drive to Ponce. The cave was great!
Lunch at a pizza place. Gustavo said it was great and told us there were many options. He then asked me to order pizza for the group. Then we went to Ponce, dinner was great. Tour of the square was good.

Day 6: the Indigenous People’s Museum visit was wonderful, but stressful because of the dogs. Gustavo wanted to drop us at the airport 4 hours early citing the USDA inspection. We arrived a more rational 3 hours early but I had to call his attention to the timing.

All in all, the students were largely shielded from the weakness of the tour guide and the behind the scenes scrambling. By the end of the trip the students’ noticed when Gustavo shared that he wanted to buy books about Puerto Rico saying he needed to learn more.

I know this was a lot but it needs to be shared.

"The tour leaders are always wonderful…"

The tour leaders are always wonderful and the experiences are thought out and meaningful. The company needs to improve on the options for students meals. The fact that they have to pay for their own soft drink for dinner after the amount they have spent seems a bit silly.

"Flight times not good"

Flight times not good. Tour director did not share information in a timely manner.
Have to buy breakfast the night before at a Walmart was ridiculous.
Activities and hotels were good.
Not enough activities.

"Spain and Portugal trip"

Our extremely knowledgeable, engaging and personable guide, the sites with opportunities to learn deeply about the history and culture, and the experiences as well as built in free time for exploration were amazing!

"Review"

Fun activities and stuff

"Amazing trip some small flaws"

I loved dc and it was amazing to do this tour with world strides. The people were kind, helpful, and welcoming but as with everything there were a few flaws. There was a small communication struggle on the last day when our bus got a flat tire so it couldn’t pick us up but no one knew for about 30 minutes so all the kids and chaperones had to wait outside until we got the message from world strides.

"Tour Guides Were Good"

I loved the tour guides. The DC tour guide, Josh, was great at storytelling and getting our attention. The tour guide in New York City, Lawrence, was comedic and down-to-earth and captured the culture, people, and lifestyle of NYC very well. The restaurants weren't amazing though.

"Budget Lacking Tour on 5 Star Cost"

I was shocked at the lack of transparency and cost of this Washington DC trip. We were given no details until a month before the trip that we paid over $700/night for our kids to stay at a Holiday Inn not in DC that cost $20/night, to eat in food courts and fast food restaurants with $20 vouchers, and to fly on a return budget airline. They didn’t even make it to the White House or Pentagon because World Strides didn’t schedule it and asked parents to organize. If there were a way for a refund, I’d like it because we did not get what we paid for! By the way, all the tours are free in Washington!

"Poor professionalism "

The trip itself was great, but I was really unhappy knowing these kids would spend half the day traveling from one plane to another, only to arrive in Puerto Rico late at night despite having a morning flight. I had to pick her up after midnight. They waited until the last minute to book, even though they had months to plan. Extremely frustrating.

"Fantastic trip"

WorldStrides helped our group navigate a new city and provided many interactive opportunities for students. A represent I’ve was there every step of the way insuring all our needs were met and that our trip ran as smoothly as possible!