All reviews of Don F
Review about: Exoticca
Trip to Morocco
I am speaking from my personal experience, so if you find what I am writing here offensive in any way, my apologies to you in advance. Nevertheless, I must be honest with you, and I do this only after having shown forth a LOT of patience with this company, which has been given more than adequate time to respond to us and make things right. But our patience has grown thin. This should not, needless to say, come as a surprise to them when they read this.
My wife and I trusted Exoticca with our time, money, and high hopes for a trip to Morocco in late May 2022. The gentleman who booked this trip for us was friendly and a delight to work with; we have no qualms with him. However, when we received the airline reservations approximately two months in advance of the trip, they booked us on Air Canada for what was apparently the least expensive ticketing. We were to depart from Las Vegas and travel through Montreal and Lisbon en route to Casablanca.
I let Exoticca know immediately that the layover in Lisbon was very short, in fact, too short to make the connecting flight to Casablanca. After a very, very long hold time, and having to endure the repetitively annoying music in the meantime while waiting for a representative, I emphasized my concern that we would not be able to make the connecting flight if the flight from Montreal was even a little late. The rep tried to assure me that there would be no problems. I was, of course, skeptical of his “reassurance,” having heard such things before. But he told me that they would get it changed and email me with the new itinerary. When the email came without either an itinerary change or an explanation, I called again and waited on another long hold, only to explain my concern once more to another rep, who tried to assure me that we’d be OK in making the connection in Lisbon. I couldn’t help but get the distinct feeling as she spoke that I was getting an earful of hot air and fluff, despite sounding sincere and genuine. She likewise told me that we would hear back very shortly with an adjusted itinerary, but the email once again came back unchanged, just as if my concern had been completely disregarded and my time wasted.
I attempted other calls to Exoticca, but each time the hold time seemed to get longer and longer. I gave up trying to contact them and just went with the itinerary they had provided. We left Las Vegas on time and waited for eight hours at the airport in Montreal. The flight from Montreal was delayed, causing us to run like crazy to the departure gate for Casablanca, only to be firmly told that the gate had closed and we would not be permitted to board. Our greatest fear was realized. Fortunately, for the most part, the airline agents in Lisbon tried to be helpful. Nevertheless, we were then redirected from counter to counter to counter by airline and airport reps, who weren’t able to do much for us. But after several hours, we finally managed to book a flight on a different airline.
As expected, our bags were not present upon our arrival in Casablanca. The lady at the desk that handled such situations had apparently become tired of dealing with angry Western visitors and would not let us make a claim. In desperation, we went to the Swissport office, where the gentleman tried his best to assist us. But we were not able to file an official claim. Our tour guide patiently waited for us and tried to assist us the best he could, but we left the airport without our luggage and didn’t have it the entire 11 days of the trip, forcing us to wash clothes every night. Repeated efforts to get our bags resulted in continual disappointment. To make matters worse, we learned from fellow trip members that we could have been booked directly from Montreal to Casablanca without that unnecessary and unfortunate layover in Lisbon. We were the only trip members to have to change flights there. Imagine that!
Despite this major setback, we did our best to enjoy our time in the country. We had a great tour group and guide, and were able to see many fun and interesting sites. So, why am I writing all this if we managed to have a decent time? Well, it certainly is not to thank Exoticca, who contracted with a decent in-country travel group. Days after our return, we were contacted by the Exoticca Customer Car Team. I responded to their email by stating that I was displeased with some aspects of the trip and asked to be contacted by the team. “Julie” replied that they were “so sorry to hear that some aspects of this tour did not meet” our expectations. After a couple of failed attempts to reach me while I was at work, I told her by email that I’d make myself available at a certain time that would be convenient for both of us. She apparently ignored my emails and attempted to call again two weeks later, again thanking me for my initial review and noting that she was still not able to reach me successfully. She even asked me to let her know if I’d like for her to contact me either by phone or email, as she said she’d be very grateful for further feedback, which, as she stated, would be “a very useful tool to assist in improving our service and products in the future.”
I never heard from her again. Another rep, “Ivan,” called me a month later and informed me that Julie had been taken off my case “for personal reasons,” which I now believe was BS – the case was simply passed on to him because Exoticca didn’t know how to (or simply didn’t want to) deal with my issue. I was never mean, threatening, or ... in any of my interactions, either by phone or email. “Ivan” and I seemed to have a helpful conversation, wherein I was able to explain my situation. We agreed that he would call me back one week later at a designated time and that he would be able to make things right. Well over a month later, that call still has not come.
It's apparent to me that Exoticca, while providing a great menu of very desirable-looking tours, is horribly unresponsive and not really interested in assisting travelers if there’s an issue of any kind. Be forewarned… and a word to the wise: They book the trip and hope like ... the contracted company in country does its job, because they certainly aren’t doing theirs, and they’re not going to help you if things go south! They don’t want to hear any complaints about their service (or lack thereof)… nothing negative. They will simply stop communicating with you if that’s the case. I gave them opportunity after opportunity to redeem themselves.
I wanted so much to disregard all the negative reviews I had read online before I signed up for this trip. Nevertheless, I made the fateful decision to disregard those reviews and give Exoticca a chance to prove those reviews were simply untrue and biased. At this point, I can no longer do that and feel that I must make my feelings very clear. The sad part in all of this is that I had wanted so badly to give them another chance and take advantage of other seemingly fun deals, but heaven help us if something were to go wrong… they wouldn’t be there to care in the least. Trying to contact them by phone has also been a nightmare, with very long wait times and reps that will tell you what you want to hear, but will not follow through with what they promise. I have always been better off booking with reputable companies like Gate 1 Travel, where I’ve never gotten any of this. The various tours Exoticca offers are quite tempting, and they’ll likely be good once you’re in country; however, just pray nothing goes wrong!