asudevil83

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?

slimshaydee

sounds like you might have a lawsuit on your hands. I suggest you go to that ask an attorney thread and tell him what happened.

Hurricane1

Did StudentCity offer bus service for the next day or a later bus at all?, no place to stay? If they didn't offer you and the other 150 stranded passengers an alternative, then yup, I think they have a problem. I can't imagine a tour company leaving a ton of folks stranded without compensation or alternatives. Very negligent, IMO.

Carno

Fuck em up man!

I'd be pissed as hell if that ever happened to me. I agree with the lawyer notion.. At the very least get your money back.

maleficent

Calling them and giving them a piece of your mind while therapeutic, is not going to be all that effective in the long run. You really want to write them a letter, with a copy to the better business bureau, and a copy to the State's Attorney General possibly, giving them just the facts, as to what happened.

Include a copy of what you were promised. Though, I'd bet it the advertisement was worded in such a way that they gave you exactly what they said they would, and you (as would anyone) made assumptions.

In your letter, tell then what you expect them to do, and you might want to have each of the other students do the same thing. At the very least, you expect to be compensated for your trip home.

By copying the BBB on this letter, it gets it recorded and will hopefully prevent other students from making the same mistake in the future.

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joemc91

That's rough man. The only thing that looked a little iffy this Spring Break for my friends and I was arriving at the hotel with 7 people and finding out that Travelocity had only reserved 1 room, not 2. Anyways, that sounds like a good class-action lawsuit if anything. I wish you luck with it.

For future Spring Breakers, these package deals really rip you off. They look pretty good, but with decent planning you can get a good hotel and plenty drunk on less money. Plus, by planning it yourself, you can go do things besides getting drunk.

Seanland

Along with this, if you can still contact other people that were there with you get them to do the exact same thing, the more people that do it, the more effect it will have.

asudevil83

what one chick did was try to get EVERYONE'S name, phone number, and email address that was left there. i think she did a pretty decent job, and i think she got at least 5 pages worth of stuff.

Seanland

I'd say definately use that to your advantage and start calling them
Alot of good things could happen for you and them.. doubt they would be able to do anything against 150 cases

alec

whoever said travel packages are a rip off is right... i ended up spending like over 1400 dollars to get to acapulco last year... blah, such a waste of money.

i wish id have thought things out and just done things through orbitz, hotels.com or some other place.... the student/college oriented packages just rip you off for the most part. but always next time.

dirtyrascal7

like the saying goes... "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

it might also be helpful if you can find a few students who DID get on the american buses back to ASU. they might be able to make your case even stronger if the studentcity reps knowingly left half the students stranded (which it seems obvious that they would have known).

Seanland

You Can't Blame travel packages because you got ripped off once, I mean, I went on a travel package to Washington DC From Toronto, ON for like $500 CDN, I thought it was great, we always had something to do. I thought it was well worth the money

Hurricane1

Travel packages are great. As a :::coughcoughtravelagentcoughcough::: please, please buy travel insurance next time. You can compare quotes using www.insuremytrip.com and come up with the best bang for your dollar. This would come in handy if you would need to cancel due to an assortment of problems. Travel Delays due to bad weather. Strikes. Natural Disasters. Baggage loss or delay. Lost or stolen money, passports, etc. Also ~ missed flight connections!! It is very cheap and insures that if there are problems, someone will be on your side.

ShaniFaye

forgive me if Im wrong...but I dont see anything in his ordeal that travel insurance (from what you listed) would help-well except if his baggage HAD been lost, but it wasnt.

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

Hurricane1

I was generalizing. You can call and have custom insurance made just for you and your particular trip.