Melissa Sent on 02/18/2016

5 out of 5 rating

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5.0 out of 5 rating
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5.0 out of 5 rating
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5.0 out of 5 rating

We booked our honeymoon through Vacation Express for an all inclusive hotel in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I made an error in booking that I called to discuss with their customer service team and they handled it better than I expected, helping me get EXACTLY what I was looking for and more! They upgraded us for free to the honeymoon suite and we're more excited than ever to go! I'll review again when we get back ;)

User1750616 Sent on 08/05/2014

5 out of 5 rating

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We used Vacation Express for our honeymoon and we are very happy that we did! We went on a 6day 5night trip to Memories Grand Bahamas Resort in Freeport, Bahamas which is an all inclusive resort (includes round trip air fare, accommodations, activities and food for two people for your entire stay -- we didn't have to pay for any food while we were there!!!). We had a great time! The cost was very low and the quality was very high. Vacation Express offers many all inclusive trips for two to many tropical destinations for an incredibly affordable price. We have been recommending them to everyone we know since we've gotten back!! Why not go on a great vacation with great service for a great price??! We will most definitely be using them again for future island vacations!!

User1916355 Sent on 11/11/2014

4.5 out of 5 rating

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4.5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating

Vacation Express helped book our honeymoon to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. They made it so easy to book and set up excursions. Our hotel was PERFECT and was everything they said it would be and more! My only issue was that we were supposed to get the honeymoon package where we would receive a bottle of champagne and turn down service. We did not receive either. We had forgotten about it until we met another couple on the last day who received the service. Not a huge deal but would have made our honeymoon that much more special!

Terri N. Sent on 07/11/2021

2 out of 5 rating

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3.0 out of 5 rating
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2.0 out of 5 rating

Vacation Express is Horrible

This company is so hard to get in touch with , you spend hours on the phone trying to get through. we had to re book due to COVID and it was a nightmare, the initial deal included Spirit Airlines (horrible) and we got our flights cancelled and re booked on United! Then to try and get my money back from VAcation Express was a nightmare and then after months the money was refunded but to another person in our party, OMG how incompetent are these people??? NEVER AGAIN

Melissa S. Sent on 04/20/2019

1.6 out of 5 rating

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2.0 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating
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3.0 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating

Do NOT use Vacation Express!

1 star because 0 isn’t an option. Our flight was booked for 10:40 am. Airport flight status said on time 10:40 the day before and that morning. Got to the airport and found the flight had changed to 8:40. The representatives chuckled and walked away. They were rude, unprofessional and completely unhelpful. When we pointed out the 10:40 flight time on the status boards, they said they knew and meant to have that fixed. We received 83 sales emails in the 30 days post booking. None called our attention to the flight change. Clearly interested in sales vs service. Use someone else.

Leah B. Sent on 01/10/2023

1 out of 5 rating

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1.0 out of 5 rating

Awful terrible do not use

DO NOT GIVE THESE FRAUDS YOUR MONEY. If anything happens you are screwed. They do not give you any refunds even due to illness.

Steph B. Sent on 05/17/2022

1 out of 5 rating

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1.0 out of 5 rating

Never use Vacation Express

Criminals. Crafty. Forged documents and unapproved charges to my card. Intimidation tactics at the hotel, more lying, and manipulation when I tried to dispute it with Visa.

Lotus B. Sent on 04/19/2020

1 out of 5 rating

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1.0 out of 5 rating

Die or lose $2,410.00

Vacation Express basically said, travel and risk your life, or lose $2,410.00. We Don't Care. We're not refunding your money.

My feelings are so hurt. They even had the nerve to try to make it seem like we were canceling for any other reason other than the PANDEMIC that is currently affecting our lives. Who wants to be forced to make a distinction between possibly risking my life by using this voucher, or losing $2,410.00.

I can't believe how we were just treated

Jennifer D. Sent on 10/20/2018

1 out of 5 rating

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1.0 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating

Do not use their service or hotel

Greetings. I am writing, safe back on American soil. My daughters and I traveled to Sandos Caracol Eco Resort. We enjoyed the resort and were sad to see the trip end, until it turned out that we wished nothing more than to have the trip end. For reasons we were never told (and an issue beyond your control, I understand), our flight was delayed an hour, and then another hour, and then another hour, and then cancelled. Almost all of the time it took for that to happen, we spent with the Sunwing representative at the resort. At the first delay, he was kind enough to contact the driver of our pre-purchased private return and move the departure time. By the second delay, getting in contact with wherever the drivers are dispatched from was too long a process and we couldn’t delay. So during the third delay, the driver arrived. At that point, one of us was on the phone with Spirit trying to rebook the trip and I was on with Vacation Express directly, trying to find lodging for the night. (Wait, did I mention that although the Sunwing rep was very helpful and polite, it did turn out that every action took a minimum of 10 minutes, as in “they say they’ll call back in five minutes” but it was usually closer to 20 or 30. Not his fault, but it did take from roughly 9am-1pm to move past this stage to the actual hell part of the journey.) And the driver ultimately left with an empty car.

Phase II, lodging for the night of 3/19/18. The cost to stay at the resort for an additional night was quoted to me as more than the cost of all four days, so we declined. The Vacation Express rep quoted a lower price, but I am not sure whether she actually checked availability. The Sunwing rep said there was no availability. And so we selected a more reasonably priced resort, Oasis Tulum Lite—or as we like to call it, hell on Earth--where we could still take advantage of the airport ride we had paid for. We provided a credit card BY WRITING THE NUMBER ON A PIECE OF PAPER ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!, waited another 10 minutes, then 10 more, some more, and ta-da! We were handed the paper back. I received an email confirmation with updated travel documents at 2pm on 3/19. I think you get the gist of things here, so I’ll move to bullet points:

1. We paid $60 for a cab to the Oasis.
2. We arrived and were told we needed a printout of the reservation. The PDF we showed from the phone did not suffice. Nor the credit card receipt. Needless to say, we had no printer, but good news! The driver had brought us to the wrong entrance anyway, they’d deal with it across the way at the poorer cousin's.
3. Guess what? The poorer cousin was too good for the likes of us, up the street to the junkyard dog. (“But you can use all the resort facilities!” As if.)
4. We get to Oasis Lite*. Searching….searching….They do not have our reservation so they have no room for us. But we can leave our stuff in the lobby and use the resort. At this point, we’ve been at the resort for an hour.
5. Now over to Angel, the Sunwing rep, to rebook the ride to the airport. Aptly named, that dude. He went above and beyond, and I mean that with all seriousness. We did end up waiting 35 minutes just to talk to him, and then there was the whole “they’ll call back in 5 minutes" thing…we all gave up after about an hour, he had to go home, the sun was setting (so much for an additional beach day—maybe a nice jacuzzi?*), you get it. He did, in fact, secure and confirm a ride back to the airport for us the next day, and emailed us the information later that evening. Seriously, are you paying him enough? Can you send him to a better property?
5. We return two hours later to the junkyard dog front desk, as instructed. Still no reservation, but ALL RIGHT FINE TAKE A ROOM. And btw, carry your own damn bags.*
6. We do our thing, enjoy the evening, laughing at the dump we have landed in. A $300 dump, but a dump none the less. As we walk past the desk a grumpy clerk tells us to slow up, still no reservation. Another 45 minutes, checking the confirmation we provide, the credit card receipt. She makes a phone call and comes up with a confirmation number that she can use. We photograph it. Our happiest moment at Oasis Lite.
7. Next morning, we head to checkout. Guess what? They won’t let us checkout. We argue, the clerk calls management, then tell us we owe $529. We argue. She tells us to go talk to the manager in the nicer parts. We have to leave the youngest of us to await the airport ride. The bellhop or whatever he is, fearing we will run, drives us back to the Elite end of things.
8. More arguing with the Supervisor and Director who speak in Spanish to each other, shaking their heads. They just continue to tell us that regardless of whether we think we paid, they do not have a reservation so we have to pay again. She brings the cost down to $349. As if. I ask her to call Vacation Express to confirm the reservation. She won’t call outside of the country. Says she can’t. As if. (Side note here. I hope that when I blast this hotel to smithereens on every social media outlet I can find, she loses her job. She was one of the worst people I ever met personally.)
9. One daughter now runs off to find Angel. I argue until she returns. The Head Honcho arrives! But more importantly, Angel arrives.
10. We are told that the problem is that Monday was a holiday in Mexico, so they never sent the reservation to the US, which is where these things are handled. Party time for Mexico, bummer for us. We are still not clear as to why we are even involved in this story. Seems to us like the issue is between you guys and them guys—we paid Vacation Express for a room. The three well-paid people just sit and shake their hands. Angel gets on the phone and gets a variety of people to confirm our story. Head shakers don’t seem to care.
11. The Head Honcho says that while he believes us, they don’t have a reservation so what are you going to do? Sorry, can’t let you go. Honestly, promise you won’t do any more business with them? We threaten the embassy. But we don’t have time, really. We just want to make our plane.
12. The newly assigned driver that Angel arranged, and who has my youngest daughter, threatens to leave in 10 minutes with our without us. He will, of course, leave us the daughter. No more pesos would keep him there (as it was pesos that kept him there in the first place).
13. Finally, after much “We are going to miss our plane!!!”, Head Honcho takes my cell phone number (right, I’d answer if he called “I won’t receive calls from out of country.” How’s that feel?) and lets us go.
14. We make our plane and vow a) never to return to Mexico, b) never to fly Spirit, c) to flame everyone involved in this debacle on social media (yes, it is what I do for a living).

I’m sure I’ve left some things out. I’m sure you are glad.

I’d like to give you an opportunity to make this right for us, and just as willing as I am to write an excoriating review, I am equally willing to make Vacation Express the good guys in this story, second only to Angel in terms of customer service and satisfaction. We are out-of-pocket a lot of money here, and that would certainly be a start in making us happier and replacing our current victim memories with the fabulous memories we should be recalling as the mom and her girls who snuck away for the weekend.

Thanks for your kind attention and patience, and please be sure to read the footnote below.

jen

* Some points about the Oasis Lite, that you probably want to know since you book people in there.

* The room was disgusting. You know that sulfur smell you get in bathrooms when water is stagnant in your drains a long time? Yeah, the bathroom choked you. They gave us one towel for three people. The faucet was actually not aligned over the sink, but no worries, you could just knock it back into place.
* The infinity pool? It either doesn’t exist or not a single employee knows that term.
* And might want to tell them hot tub/jacuzzi generally does not mean “small round enclosure with water heated by the sun.”
* You CANNOT use all the facilities. You have most food choices unavailable to you. And infinity pool.
* What is with the men on the beach raking seaweed and stuffing it in plastic bags? By all accounts, it happens every day. That’s your beach front, 15 men working in the hot sun while you lounge in a chair, your view obstructed by plastic bags.

Punchline? They gave us a $50 travel credit. Like I would use them again...

Greg Sent on 06/30/2017

0.9 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
2.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

booked my vacation to Cancun, Mexico through this company and I specifically told them that I want to be in the adult section of the hotel with my friend. First of all this company does not know what they are doing. They booked us in a Sandos hotel in Cancun which is geared towards family. We are two guys wanting to have a good time in Cancun. Secondly, they put us in a room in a family section when I specifically told them that we want to be in the ADULT section. This would prevent us from going to other restaurants and into adult pools and other amenities. We felt like prisoners during our vacation.

To compromise, we said that we are okay with not transferring rooms to the Select Club (adult section in Sandos Caracol) for as long as we are given access to the Select club facilities. We were told by the hotel that since it’s not their fault that the booking was messed up that we have to deal with Vacation Express directly and have them negotiate with the hotel. We talked to their local agent in the hotel and she said she was going to reach out to their US counterparts. To our dismay, nobody tried to arrange with the hotel to even give us access and help us with this request (not a request actually because this is what we were supposed to have!). We were totally not happy with Vacation Express. We had to buy our access and paid extra money to give us access to the adult section on our second to the last night when we could have just gotten this right on our first day if only they know how to note our preferences. We were pretty clear about it. The worst, no apologies, no communication from them. We even had to pay our way and get a taxi cab and go to another Sandos hotel (Sandos Playacar) which has a better beach area.
There was no way they could have missed our preferences but somebody was negligent with their job. We had to pay extra for someone elses stupidity in order to enjoy all the amenities of an all-inclusive vacation.

Porsha Sent on 05/26/2015

0.7 out of 5 rating

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0.5 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

This company is a complete scam! I booked a 2 person trip to Cancun, Mexico flying out of New Orleans, LA for $550pp. When booking I told the agent I was celebrating my anniversary and birthday so I wanted an ocean view room with a King bed. She told me to bring a copy of my license (for proof) and guaranteed me my room would have what I asked for. The day of the trip, we were supposed to fly out of NOLA at 1:55pm with Swift Airlines. A 2 hour delay turned into a 3.5 hour delay, when we finally boarded the planed at 5:30, a thunderstorm had us waiting an additional 1.5 hours! We didn't depart from New Orleans until 7pm so we arrived in Cancun at 9pm. I basically missed an entire day of my vacation. When we arrived, I did not have an ocean view room or a king bed. The agent only put that I was celebrating my birthday. The resort of course wouldn't change the room because they said they had to go by the reservation. They wouldn't give me a credit or switch me to another resort. They refused to give me what I paid for because the travel agent who booked the room did not put the correct information. The Oasis company has 7 resorts in Cancun, we stayed at Oasis Cancun. Big mistake! They have on site construction which wakes you up in the morning, ALL the food is buffet style and not the good buffet, the alcohol is cheap and watered down so you basically have to behave like a drunk college student and binge drink. The workers roll their eyes and treat you like a tourist AND they pick out mature, older patrons to try and sell you a timeshare next door! If you are a young, single, binge drinker who could care less about comfort, good food, and great customer service, book with Vacation Express and Oasis Cancun. On the flight back to New Orleans, you guessed it, delayed 4 hours. We were supposed to leave at 11am, we did not depart until 2:45pm. Also stay away from Swift Airlines.

Steph Sent on 10/15/2016

0.6 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
0.5 out of 5 rating
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1.0 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

Do Not Book With Vacation Express. You do not get what you order.

Kathi Sent on 07/29/2018

0.5 out of 5 rating

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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

DO NOT USE VACATION EXPRESS!
They are the worst!
Their employees are very rare and not helpful.

They sold our group a week at Natura Eco Resort in Punta Cana.
It was literally the Bates Motel.
Unsafe
Unclean
Disgusting

It smelled so badly that my teens were vomiting. Not exaggerating at all!!!!

It was seedy and completely unsafe.
Every light and electrical outlet in my room except one was not working.
The door had a large hole in it and the door handle was falling off. I actually was stick in my room for close to an hour due to this.
I have 3 teens and we were traveling without my husband, and felt so very unsafe at this resort!!!

When we called VE and asked for help they told us there is nothing they can do and actually hung up.
RUN AWAY!!
Never use VACATION EXPRESS
OR
NATURA ECO RESORT PUNTA CANA

Sam Sent on 07/13/2017

0.5 out of 5 rating

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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

"You should have read the fine print" - Monique, Supervisor from Vacation Express.

48 hours before I trip departed, Vacation Express alerts us that the hotel is over booked and that they don't have a room for us. Over 4 hours on the phone, most of it on hold, only to find out that we either pay $1000 more, or they'll give us our money back. The most horrific customer service experience I've ever had in my life. If Comcast had a travel agency, this would be it.

Please learn from our mistake and do not risk losing your entire vacation time to this unprofessional, sad excuse for a travel agency.

Joshua Sent on 10/03/2017

0.5 out of 5 rating

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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

This company is ridiculously inept at doing their job. I requested a refund for a cancelled trip and was told I would get the refund in 5-10 business days. Three weeks later, two unanswered emails, and four phone calls speaking with four different customer service reps and I still do not have my refund. Each customer service rep gave me a different story about why I haven’t gotten my refund yet, and one even told me that my refund was sent to the airline as an air credit, which none of the other reps mentioned. After I complained about that, all of the sudden it was never sent to the airline and would be refunded to my bank account. But that still hasn’t happened. These guys are con artists. Do not use this company.

Tori Sent on 01/29/2018

0.5 out of 5 rating

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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

I am completely dissatisfied with Vacation Express. I wouldn’t even give them 0.5 out of 5 but that’s the lowest you can go.

Elizabeth Sent on 06/26/2018

0.5 out of 5 rating

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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

robably the worst vacation experience my husband and I have ever had. Avoid Vacation Express at all costs.

We booked a trip to Punta Cana thinking it would be easy and no stress. We pre-booked and pre-paid for two excursions in advance and were advised we would get the days / times for the excursions once we got to the hotel and met with their representative there.

First, our flight to Punta Cana was delayed 10 hours. We boarded the plane and had to wait for them to send a flight attendant because apparently they didn't have enough on the plane. We didn't get to our hotel until midnight which meant we missed an entire day of our vacation.

Since we missed the first day of our vacation, we had to meet with the VE representative the next morning to get our days and times for excursions. First we had to sit through a sales presentation for excursions even though we already had ours booked. The rep took our paper and told us to come back at 11:30 that morning to get the times. (Meaning we had to plan our entire morning around this, effectively not only missing the previous day of our vacation but also the first morning we had at the resort) The transportation for one of the excursions never showed up and we were told it was fully booked at every other time so we paid for something we never even got to do. We wasted 2 whole mornings of our trip dealing with excursions we'd pre-booked and only got to enjoy one.

The transportation back to the airport never showed up on our last day so we had to split a cab with another family to make our flight. We got the airport and called VE when boarding time came and went with no sign of an airline rep or plane and found out it was delayed. They never informed us of a delay.

There is no customer service line to call and when I tried to get through, the reservations agent hung up on me and wouldn't let me speak to a manager. This company is a total scam.

User2147809 Sent on 05/26/2015

0.5 out of 5 rating

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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating
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0.5 out of 5 rating

Horrible experience with this company, their strategy is scamming and cheating people. We experienced first hand when we booked and paid extra to have Ocean front room only to find out that we had to pay extra again at the hotel. Royalton hotel staff pretended that they have no association with Vacation Express, which was also a lie because Sunwing group owns Vacation Express. This is one big scam operation, I advise to stay away from these so called deals!!! I will never use Vacation Express again and will dedicate my time to spread the word on the internet.

Kari Sent on 10/26/2017

Quality of service
0.0 out of 5 rating
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0.0 out of 5 rating
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0.0 out of 5 rating
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0.0 out of 5 rating
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0.0 out of 5 rating

Vacation Express should get a negative 5 review. DO NOT use them! My friends and I experienced the worst trip to the Dominican Republic in September 2017. The hotel that Vacation Express recommended (Occidental Caribe) was terrible - rude staff, terrible accommodations in two different rooms (broken doors, stained towels, broken toilets, nasty disgusting showers). When we called Vacation Express for help, their "supervisor" was rude, condescending, and disrespectful. The representative on site lied to us. Vacation Express wanted us to pay additional money to go to a new hotel and said that we most likely would be penalized for leaving Occidental Caribe early. However, the representative on site never mentioned that to us until we had spent half a day looking for a new hotel, and then lied and said she told us that. So we would be paying double for one hotel stay. Vacation Express said that’s their policy – so beware. The “Post Travel” Dept is not helpful and Vacation Express refuses to take any responsibility or acknowledge the treatment we received from the reps.
Look for another travel agency, unless you want to flush your money down the toilet and enjoy a ruined vacation.

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