Spring Break Fiasco (Long)
today i just got back from my spring break. it was fun, but full of problems from the get go. and the ones that i'm listing weren't problems with Mazatlan itself, but problems with the company that we bought out tickets from. let me explain.
5 friends and I booked a spring break vacation through StudentCity.com. it was a bus trip that left from Tempe, Arizona at the ASU campus and arrived in Mazatlan Mexico. the bus ride in total was almost 24 hours each way....something that was expected. the trip itself cost about $450, and included the bus ride, 5 nights at a Howard Johnson, a meal plan, and free drinks at selected bars throughout the day.
we left with about 300 students and traveled down and crossed the boarder in Nogalas, Mexico. from there, we got off these buses, with our luggage, and got on some mexican buses that took us from Nogalas to Mazatlan. those that were going to the Howard Johnson boarded certain buses, while others going to other hotels boarded other buses. we loaded up our luggage on a HoJo bus, and boarded it. BUT, we found that the bus was already full. we were then told that because our luggage was already loaded, that it would be fine and stored in a secure holding area at the hotel if it arrived before we did. this was told to us by a StudentCity rep. HE LIED. when we got to our hotel 17 hours later, we found that some good samaritans had seen 6 pieces of luggage left on the curb and decided that they'd do the right thing and store them in their room. THANK GOD. if it hadnt been for them, our stuff would have been stolen by the mexican cabbies. the StudentCity rep on that bus didnt give a shit about anything.
but this was just the beginning.
we had been told that if we donated either 5 articles of clothes or 5 canned goods that we'd get free corona for the entire week at the bar. this was complete BULL SHIT. see....the "free bar" area was an 8x8 tent on the beach that served 5oz cups of beer. it was crowded by 80 drunks hovering over ONE eight foot side (the only side serving) just standing there being served one beer, drinking it, and waiting for another. it was like being at a party with 150 people and only one keg.
the last straw happened today. and this is the most complete BULLSHIT THING EVER.
leaving the HoJo was a breeze. we boarded our bus with our luggage and took off. in total, i believe 7 buses left at around the same time from the hotels. after a good long drive (almost 18 hours) we arrived at the mexican boarder and unloaded our stuff from the bus. we expected to find our american buses waiting for us so that we could load up. so, the 40 or so of us passed through customs and we waited. after around 30 minutes and not seeing any of the other 6 mexican buses, we got a little worried. we called StudentCity and were told something AMAZING......and no, the american buses werent running late. THEY FUCKING LEFT WITHOUT US. and to top it all off, WE WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING OURSELVES HOME. MOTHERFUCKINGCLASSIC.
in the mean time something entirely even more amazing happened. TWO MORE OF OUR MEXICO BUSES ARRIVED. so yes, between 120 and 150 of the 300 students that were on our trip were left by StudentCity pretty much in Nogalas Mexico. these fuckers left with 4 half full buses, with the full knowledge that they were without 150 students.....and they didnt give a FUCK. we had no StudentCity reps with us and pretty much had to figure this shit out ourselves.
now, it seems as though everyone got back to tempe save and sound....but what the fuck would you be doing about this? for one, i'm calling these fuckers and giving them a piece of my mind....and i'm going to demand all of my money back. anyone else have any other, more intense suggestions...something to get the wheels turning on this bullshit?
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