Experience the Journey

Membership Guidelines for "Experiencing the Journey" Travel Club

Please read the following guidelines before joining:

About Us:

"Experience the Journey" is a Travel Club established for all who enjoy authentic, quality experiences that will long be remembered. Whether your single or not, a parent or not, on a budget or not, there are traveling opportunities for all. This group will provide an opportunity to build lasting friendships, singles to find potential travel mates, couples to travel with other couples, and families to travel with other families.

We will experience enrichment, enjoyment, cultural immersion and education, with the time to appreciate our surroundings. I encourage all who have a desire to travel in style and “experience the journey” to join this group.

We will travel all over the world by sea and land. Our journeys will be luxury-focused and therefore may not be the least expensive itinerary but, they will have value. 

**A CHEAP VACATION CAN BE AN EXPENSIVE MISTAKE**

Traveling meetups you can look forward to will include, but are not limited to:

*Ocean & River Cruises
*Guided and Independent Land tours
*All-Inclusive Resorts
*Weekend getaways
*Day Trips
*YOUR Bucket List!

Local meetups you can look forward to will include, but are not limited to:

*Quarterly “Meet & Greet, Planning Meetup* to chat about your "Bucket List" and plans to check it off.
*Monthly Dinners
*Museums
*Stage Plays
*Movies
*Outdoor Markets & Festival
*Comedy Shows
*Cocktail Hours
*Whatever YOU suggest and are willing to host

Requirements to Join:

Membership for this group is free to you. If you are a Travel Agent or member of a travel related MLM, this group is not for you as we have a resident Travel Agent who manages all of our travel. If you are a business owner, please do not join if your intent is to solicit for your business as that is not this groups theme or purpose. There are plenty other Meetup groups that have been established just for you and your business. However, I am willing to consider an event that involves business owners and involves giving back to our communities. Please reach out to me to discuss.

This is NOT a VIRTUAL meetup group. We believe in QUALITY over QUANTITY! We would like to form an intimate group of quality individuals - not a large group of strangers. Seriously, I don't know of many who are comfortable with traveling with strangers. Therefore, you must be serious about being an active member of this group. I totally understand distance and commute is certainly a factor. So, please consider being a local event planner for this group to allow those in your area to build friendships and find potential travel mates. I will make every effort to come to those scheduled events.

Unfortunately, my personal and work commitments limit my personal travel to only several times per year. Therefore, for this group to be successful and remain active, it's important to have participation, as well as share the responsibility of hosting events and leading trips.

What is an “Active” Member?

An active member is one who actively visits the site, RSVP's "Yes" to at least one local Meetup per quarter and 2 travel related Meetups per year. We totally understand that not everyone has the same interests but I'm confident many of us do. (We all love travel right?!) The good news is this group is setup to allow for YOU to suggest and host a Meetup. So, if you have an interest, know of a local event, are planning your next vacation, etc., don't be shy - please share it with me and I will post it to the group and see if it generates some interest. Being an “active member” will let us know that you have a genuine interest in being a member of this group.

RSVP’s for a Meetup:

Local Meetups:

Please be courteous! Your RSVP is important and drives how the host needs to prepare for an event. If you RSVP ”yes” for an upcoming Meetup, then you’ve made a commitment to attend. I understand stuff happens that might prevent you (and me) from attending. If this is the case, please make every effort to update your RSVP, and/or call or email the Organizer to allow for those hosting to plan accordingly. Sometimes a notification may not be possible. This is understandable. However, if you are a repeat offender (3 or more no-shows) you may be removed without warning. If there are not at least three RSVP's "yes" in addition to the Organizer for a Meetup, the Organizer reserves the right to cancel the Meetup up to 24 hours prior to the scheduled date and time. That said, many of our local events will require a small, non-refundable fee with your RSVP as a gesture of your commitment to attend the scheduled event.

Additionally, if you don't RSVP, it is not okay to "crash" an event. In addition to the time and effort invested in an event based on the number of RSVPs, there are times an event will be cancelled due to the lack of RSVPs. We recommend you check the calendar and RSVP for the events you plan to attend, as well as to ensure the event hasn't been cancelled.

Travel Meetups:

Please be courteous! Do NOT RSVP “yes” unless you are truly prepared to commit. This means you must be prepared to pay the required deposits and/or communicate your intentions within 48 hours of your RSVP!

If within 48 hours, you have not contacted the Organizer directly or registered at the provided link/registration page to include providing payment information, you may be added to the "wait-list" until the requirements have been met, at which time you will be added back to the confirmed RSVP list. If you are a repeat offender (3 or more instances of not following thru), you will be removed from the group.

To protect you and your travel mates, all traveling members are required to purchase travel insurance.

Once you pay your initial deposit and are matched up with a roommate, you've made a commitment to comply with the scheduled payment plans. If you don't comply, your roommate reserves the right to find a replacement immediately. You will not be authorized to seek another travel mate within the group until you are caught up with your payments. Otherwise, you will either need to find your own travel mate outside of the group, pay any single supplement rates, or cancel your trip, but at your own risk and loss of any non-refundable deposits paid.

Safety & Respect for Others:

“Strangers are just friends waiting to happen”. Though we are hopefully all here to build friendships, we are starting out as strangers. So please exercise caution and sound judgment when sharing and exchanging personal information with other group members, getting into a vehicle with another member, and inviting members into your home. The Organizers do not conduct background checks on any member and are NOT responsible for them or their actions. On that note, disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. All are expected to be respectful to all, regardless of anyone’s race, religion, age, or sexual preference.

By joining this group, volunteering for this group and/or attending our events, you agree to hold Meetup, The Organizers, Assistant Organizer, Event Organizers and other members harmless in the case of accident, incident, personal injury, loss of life, destruction or loss of personal property or any other wrongful act.

By joining this group, you acknowledge that you have done so of your own free will and understand that membership is voluntary and expressly waive any and all such claims against each and every other member in the group, including without limitation any and all claims against the group organizer or assistant organizers. You are responsible for your own safety. You also agree to read the event postings and to adhere to any guidelines posted or given by Meetup, our organizers and the event vendor.

Suggesting a Meetup:

Please make this group YOUR group. However, as many of you are aware, the Organizers of any Meetup Group pay a fee to start and maintain the group, and this is in addition to our valuable personal time. I do not charge a membership fee for you to join. All that I ask in return is that the members don't ask me to do the work involved with researching and putting together a quote, building cruise/land tour sheets, and creating/posting it to the Meetup site, unless they are prepared to commit and book.

I also do not approve of “trolling” this site for travel mates to join you on trips scheduled outside of this group and not coordinated by and booked directly by me. This is to protect YOU and ME from any liability. If you have a trip idea, are ready to commit and book, please contact me directly with the details and I will work on some quotes and, upon your concurrence, create a Meetup to invite others to join you. If it turns into a “qualified group”, I will pass on any group amenities (e.g. lower rates, on board credits, etc.) to those attending as well as any group leader amenities to you as the event host. It’s a win/win!