Used Wrong Travel Agent to Visit Cuba

I decided to visit Cuba after I read an article in Conde Nast Magazine about how to do it. The article mentioned WOWCUBA as a travel agency to set up the trip for an American. The way the system works is the traverler pays WOWCUBA for the entire trip, and then is supposed to pick up a packet of vouchers at the Cancun Airport to give each service provider-Hotels, Car Rental, Transportation, etc. The WOWCUBA instructions clearly state that the traveler is to see their representative in the Cancun Airport to get the vouchers. The name of the company is "Havanatur". So I arrive in Cancun, go to see the Havanatur representative, and he doesn't have me on his list. He instructs me to see the Havanatur representative at the Cuba Airport. I arrive at the Cuba Airport, and the Havanatur office has no record of me either. After traveling for 11 hours, I then sat at the Cuba Airport for another hour and a half while they checked on the vouchers. Havanatur then told me to see the Havanatur representative at my hotel the next morning. They eventually sent me to my hotel in a cab at 9:30 that night (the airport transportation that had been booked was long gone). The next morning, surprise!...I was told that there is never a representative at this hotel, so I had to go to a larger hotel to find a Havanatur representative. I finally found an agent, she made a phone call, and then I was told the vouchers were on their way and to return in two hours. This happened three times, so my first day in Havana was pretty much wasted. Still without vouchers, I then asked the Havanatur representative to call Kristen at WOWCUBA to see if she could help. The agent dialed the number and handed the phone to me. As I tried to explain to Kristen what was going on she constantly interrupted me and then chastised me for not calling her sooner!! She was so RUDE I could hardly believe it!(neither could the Havanatur Agent). This woman should not be working in the travel business. I would suggest a career as a guard at the airport, or maybe an IRS agent. The situation was hard enough with the language challenge and not knowing who or what was where. This woman took a big problem and turned it into a tirade! Thankfully, the vouchers arrived as I hung up after trying to speak for a good 5 minutes. My advice, if you want to visit Cuba, STAY AWAY from WOWCUBA. They take your money and then you're on your own. Use "Cuba Incentives"...I talked to their representative at another Hotel. They are great, very informative, AND they Take Care of Their Customer! (Note to Kristen: This email has been sent to every travel review site I could find-have a nice day.)
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1 comment
#823579

Dear client,

We regret the confusion you experienced with the instructions provided on where to pick up your document package for land services in Cuba and the compounded frustration when you attempted to resolve the issue on your own.

We published your original complaint and our response here:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/wowcuba/travel-feedback-independent-land-intl-air-10-nov-13-t-newmann/692464****77949

View our Better Business Bureau company review here:

http://www.bbb.org/maritime-provinces/business-reviews/tours-operators-and-promoters/pei-stoveworks-ltd-in-charlottetown-pe-17148#reasonrating Best regards

ID
#460219 Review #460219 is a subjective opinion of poster.
Location
Naples, Florida
Loss
$300
New Reviewer

WoWCuba unedited client feedback a Big PLUS

I am the CEO of WoWCuba and would like to redirect any interested parties to our unedited client feedback here: https://www.facebook.com/WoWCuba/notes Honest feedback from clients is very easy to discern from fake complaints or praise. We think it's fair to publish all of the experiences our clients pass on for the benefit of others, along with our responses. We invite you to peruse the above link and we're sure you will agree. Have you ever wondered about a company that only publishes glowing reviews of itself on its website? We also think that it most often does not reflect the true picture, so created the above feedback link so that our potential clients could get some true insight into how we work, and how satisfied our clients really are with our services. It's unfortunate that this website, and many others provide an anonymous outlet for defamatory comments from less successful competitors, but such is the nature of the internet. We trust that our clients are smart enough to figure out for themselves which are the honest and and which are the dishonest and fraudulent operators. We have a long track record of satisfied customers and have all intentions of keeping it that way. Discover Cuba's Inner Beauty with WoWCuba
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ID
#357318 Review #357318 is a subjective opinion of poster.
Location
Sosua, Puerto Plata

Wowcuba scam

I started wondering that something was wrong when complaints started appearing all over the internet from a disgruntled client of wowcuba called "paintedlady" she was also scammed like we were. After trying to contact them we realized that their offices are nothing more than a shipping address and the phones are all mobiles....Don't use them! They're corrupt and would be banned from operating in Canada. Choose a professional company and not people trying to make ends meet. And we ask that paintedlady make contact with us to file a joint scam complaint for non delivered rent a car in Cuba and nonexistant cycling tour in Cuba.
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1 comment
#940389

The above post intended to misinform potential travelers and to defame WoWCuba was provided by a Spain-based organization called Travelucion / Online Travel Management. The desperate sales tactics of some competitors, including posting fake complaints all over the internet, are unscrupulous to say the least.

Rather than stooping to that level, WoWCuba recommends that potential travelers to Cuba take several precautions when choosing their travel service providers. Anonymous review sites such as this one are probably not the best place to source honest feedback and real traveler experiences. Consult with your friends, family members, or a trusted travel professional before handing over your personal & banking information to any organization. Check the company’s credentials, are they registered with the Cuban Chamber of Commerce?

How long have they been in operation? Do they have officially-appointed and accredited local company representatives in Cuba to take care of any troubleshooting? Have they provided you with those contacts and are they responsive? Do you know of anyone that has had a positive experience using their services in the past?

Do they respond to emails in a timely manner and include the employee name who is attending to your request? Does that person actually exist? Are their international telephone contacts operational? Is the company information available from any independent and respected business organization, such as the Better Business Bureau, for example?

Do they have secure online credit card processing capability or do they ask you to forward copies of your credit card and personal identification over non-secure networks? What is the merchant name of the organization that will process your credit card payment and are they on a list of merchants frequently challenged for fraudulent operations? With which national tour operators in Cuba can you corroborate the agency’s credentials?

Take extra precautions before entrusting your private information to what may turn out not to be a legitimate agency. You want to avoid being stranded in Cuba, with the unpleasant task of trying to get your funds back for undelivered services.

Perform your research before contracting the services of a travel professional that you’re not already familiar with. That’s my best advice.

ID
#323865 Review #323865 is a subjective opinion of poster.
Location
Madrid, Madrid
Loss
$2700

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