Intrepid Premium Canceled My Trip to Morocco
Intrepid Premium canceled my trip to Morocco hours after a devastating earthquake near Marrakech in September 2023. Unfortunately, my journey had already begun, and I entered the murky world of trip interruption. Here is an account of what happened.
Takeaways
Trip interruption does not cover many expenses.
If you are on a tour, stay in the assigned hotel.
Make sure your cell phone’s international service plan works.
Pay with your credit card, not cash, so you can provide double proof of transactions to your travel insurance company.
When in Morocco, hang on to your exchange receipt for changing your currency to dirhams. You will need that proof if you need to turn your dirhams back in at the airport or bank.
Use LinkedIn to find company representatives and send them emails with your complaint. Do not rely solely on the customer service options.
Background
My good friend JB recommended Intrepid Premium’s Morocco Explorer tour after traveling with the company to Peru. Other friends also echoed their approval for Intrepid Premium. Since Morocco tipped the top of my travel list, JB and I put our money down. I also purchased refundable airline tickets that spring. After two cancelled trips to Antarctica, Tinleg, my travel insurer, allowed me to transfer the Antarctica policy to cover any incidents in Morocco.
“Refundable” means something different to Air France.
Travel remains unpredictable despite loosening restrictions after the height of the pandemic lockdowns, so I bought refundable tickets on Air France. The tour began in Casablanca and ended in Marrakech, making the Intrepid Premium itinerary unusual. Consequently, I purchased four airline tickets: Washington Dulles to Paris continuing to Casablanca and Marrakech to Paris returning to Washington Dulles. Air France considers this itinerary a multi-city ticket.
An airline ticket is only refundable if it is unused.
While my plane from Washington Dulles was in the air to Paris, an earthquake occurred in the mountains near Marrakech. I learned of this disaster upon landing in France when I met JB in Terminal B at Charles de Galle Airport. No one picked up when we called Intrepid Premium that morning. The Air France departures and arrivals board indicated both the Casablanca and Marrakech airports remained open with no delays. Armed with this limited information, we decided to continue our journey to Casablanca.
Upon landing, we found an Intrepid Premium driver waiting to take us to the hotel. However, fifteen minutes into our ride, JB received an email from the tour company announcing that they cancelled our tour scheduled to leave the next day. I wanted to leave a day early to avoid delays. However, if we scheduled later flights, trip cancellation would have occurred while we were still at home. So, there we were – stuck in Casablanca, entering the dark waters of trip interruption.
The big question: what should we do? (Intrepid Premium provided no help or advice.)
Instead of staying in Paris, we flew into an active quake zone. The deadly earthquake occurred 250 miles from Casablanca. Residents felt the quake in the Moroccan capital, but no structural damage occurred.
France established a protectorate over Morocco from 1912-1955 and rebuilt Casablanca, an important port city. International news coverage showed crumbled buildings outside of Marrakech which is hours away. Our tour was supposed to end in that area in just 12 days. (Our return flight home left from Marrakech.)
We did not stay at the hotel recommended by Intrepid Premium. Instead, we booked our first night at Yto Boutique Hotel (Rue Taoufik El Hakim - Gauthier, Sidi Belyout, Casablanca, 20000, Morocco). Our three-star accommodation exceeded expectations. I highly rate this hotel for their immensely helpful staff, cleanliness, excellent location, and reasonable rates. However, we should have stayed at the Hotel Idou Anfa, the meeting point for the tour.
I have traveled all over the world, and I rarely activate international calling service for my iPhone. I naively thought I could activate it from Morocco, which was an incorrect assumption. I will never do this again. My regular email and Facebook Messenger worked, but What’sApp remained silent even with in-country Internet service.
Since I could not, JB called Intrepid. The man who answered the phone provided no help. The prescheduled welcome meeting did take place at the Hotel Idou Anfa the next day, but we never received this information via email or from the groggy Intrepid Premium representative on the telephone. We wanted to meet other individuals stranded in Morocco and hear Intrepid’s explanation.
After a wonderful meal, we decided to get a good night’s sleep and figure out our next move in the morning.
The morning after in sunny Casablanca.
We awoke to a city in mourning. I called Tinleg to get some guidance on what expenses they would cover for my trip interruption. (Note: there is an enormous difference between trip cancellation and trip interruption.) Tinleg could not tell me much: file a claim and wait for the insurance adjuster’s decision.
Despite setting travel alerts, my two credit cards did not work when I tried to buy a return airline ticket back to Washington, D.C. on my iPhone. JB let me use her credit card to purchase my one-way ticket from Casablanca to Washington Dulles via Charles de Galle. The least expensive ticket was on Wednesday morning, four days away. We felt safe, and I had no idea what Tinleg would cover, so we decided to spend four days in Casablanca.
Morocco’s closed currency.
The Moroccan dirham is officially designated as a closed currency. Marketplaces, small shops, cafes, and taxi cabs require cash as well as retailers outside the major cities, and tourists can only secure the currency when they arrive in Morocco. Most mid-to-large hotels, luxury restaurants, and malls accept Visa and MasterCard. JB and I exchanged American dollars for dirhams at the airport. I paid for my hotel, meals, and transportation back to the airport with cash. When I left Morocco, I went to three different currency booths at the airport to exchange dirhams to American dollars. (Note: your original exchange receipt is required, so do not throw that piece of paper away.)
Casablanca feels like Paris.
Casablanca is a fine city. The food is fresh and creative. Highlights of our brief tourist time included the Hassan II Mosque, Rick’s Café, a food tour led by a home cook, and one of the best meals ever at le quatorZe.
Although Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary legislative system under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, the French influence remains strong. I enjoyed my time in Casablanca, but I paid to see Morocco. Four days in Casablanca felt like four days in France.
A bumpy return to the United States.
Five days after arriving in Casablanca, we left North Africa. I traced my route back to Washington, D.C. on Air France, while JB flew to England to see her dad. I awoke the next day with the goal of getting my money back.
Did I get reimbursed?
Yes, I received a portion of my money back, but the process was not easy. I yelled at company representatives for 10 days. Here is the breakdown of my results:
Intrepid Premium
The tour company gave us two options: we could sign up for another trip or receive reimbursement. After getting stranded in a kingdom with a closed currency, I did not want to travel with Intrepid Premium again. I selected reimbursement. Intrepid informed me a refund would take four to six weeks. That timeline was unacceptable, and I pushed extremely hard to get my money back as soon as possible.
After repeated phone calls and emails, JB and I received full refunds a week after my return to Washington. Intrepid employees expected high praise for this action. Why? Who knows? I did not get the vacation I paid for, so I expect immediate reimbursement. Other travelers we met who were on other tours stayed in Morocco with adjusted itineraries. I will never understand why Intrepid Premium did not try to provide an amended vacation experience instead of unceremoniously ignoring us.
My assessment of Intrepid Premium: the staff is young and inexperienced. Think twice about traveling with Intrepid Premium to remote destinations. If everything goes according to plan, Intrepid Premium performs well. Throw a monkey wrench into an itinerary – like a natural disaster – and their staff cannot pivot.
Air France
I battled with Air France, but I only received $62 back from my “refundable” airline ticket after emailing and calling over a dozen Air France employees. The airline refused to re-open the case – or speak to me again. Representatives continually referred to a clause in my ticket as the basis for the nominal refund. I never found this clause, nor would Air France provide clarification.
Traveling on Air France is delightful – wonderful food, free champagne, and nice planes. However, they provide HORRIBLE customer service should anything go wrong with your flight or ticket. Complaints about Air France exist all over the internet. Flyer beware of Air France.
Tinleg Travel Insurance
I will continue to use Tinleg for their responsiveness and professionalism. My insurance adjuster provided clear information. In the end, I only received reimbursement for my one-way airline ticket back from Casablanca to Washington Dulles (because it cost less than my original multi-city ticket) and the cab ride from the airport to my home. I did not receive reimbursement for my hotel or food during the four days I waited in Casablanca. (Note: JB flew from Casablanca to London, and not back to her home in the U.S. Her travel insurance did not reimburse her return trip.)
Tinleg wanted not only receipts from vendors but proof that I paid for items with my credit card (or JB’s credit card since she bought my plane ticket home.)
In conclusion, my situation could have been much worse. But I did not get a vacation, and I fought hard for reimbursements when I returned home. Force majeure can happen at any time. I learned that if trip cancellations occur after you begin a journey, the traveler does not receive substantial compensation from trip insurance. Trip interruption provides few benefits.
I love to travel and continue to do so close to home. My next big international adventure takes place on November 22, 2024, when I fly to Buenos Aires to begin a 12-day trek to Antarctica on Viking Expedition Cruises. This marks the third time I booked a trip to Antarctica. We switched tour companies hoping it would improve our luck. Stay tuned for an update to see if we get there.
Elizabeth Tuico owns Rebel Road Creative, a marketing and content writing consultancy based in Washington, D.C.