Frequently Asked Questions
Here you find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions that we receive. We hope that this can be a useful resource to you. If you still have questions that aren't answered here or you would like to contact us for another reason please feels free to
contact us.
COVID-19 Trip Cancellation Refund Questions
Answer : Refunds are processed in a timely manner and are updated weekly. All issued refunds may be viewed in your CTA Trip Account using your Login Link.Close
Answer : Sure! See our
Contact Page for instructions on getting your Login Link emailed to you immediately.
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Answer : Please refer to the Refund Authorization and Release Form that was originally emailed to all affected parents, and to your school, which outlines your refund payment schedule.
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Answer : Please check with the school as they also received a copy, or, ask another parent. Otherwise, please complete your request using the Contact page of this website. Close
Answer : No, the ICW fee is non-refundable.
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Answer : As of January 2021, all COVID-19 cancellation refunds are now issued by check.
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Answer : At the time of registration, an optional Individual Cancellation Waiver (ICW) was offered at an additional cost.
If you purchased ICW for a CTA trip that did not occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you will receive a full refund by installment payments as outlined on the Refund Authorization Form that you submitted, less the ICW cost.
If you declined the optional ICW during registration, then a portion of your trip cost is non-refundable, rather than receiving no refund at all as was stipulated in the original Terms and Conditions at the time of your booking.
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Answer : Any COVID-related refund questions should be submitted using the Contact page of this website. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding. Close
Questions Parents Ask
Answer : Common dietary restrictions, such as gluten-free, nut-free and vegetarian requirements, can usually be accommodated on site at the food venue, provided that the student can self-monitor.
Severe food allergies, sensitivities or food-related medical conditions regrettably cannot be accommodated in our group dining settings, and special individual menu requests simply cannot be considered due to logistical constraints. In such cases, CTA may require that a parent or parent-appointed guardian attend the trip as an additional paid passenger, in order to ensure the safety of their child.
NOTE: In the event that a participant does not partake of a tour-included meal, even for reasons of a food allergy or sensitivity, no refund or credit is provided by CTA.
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Answer : Seat belts are not legally required on motorcoaches as they are on school buses in some states, such as in NJ. Also, due to the softer, padded interior, the sturdier construction of the overall vehicle itself, and their primary design for long distance travel, motorcoaches already have a markedly higher passenger safety rating than school buses. More motorcoaches are being outfitted with seat belts these days, and some motorcoach companies already have them on a portion of their fleet, but no company has them on every single coach. Therefore, it is possible that seat belts may be included on one or more buses provided for your CTA trip, but in most cases they can not be guaranteed. Today there are simply not a sufficient number of seat belt equipped buses available for every CTA trip to have them on every motorcoach, especially during the extremely busy spring tour season.
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Answer : To create a new registration, click this link >> Register Online.
Individual CTA Trip Registration is ONLY accepted online, and payment via debit or credit card is required to complete registration (your card statement will show a payment to
"CTA Field Trips").
A new registration must be created for every new individual registrant, whether adult or student.
To register for a trip via our secure website, you will need your group's
CTA Trip Code and your email address.
Immediately after registering (confirmed online payment required), you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to your newly created trip account. Save that confirmation email for accessing your trip account to: View your account balance; Check your payment and refund history; Plan for upcoming payments; Track an expected refund, fundraising credit or scholarship award.
CTA does not automatically charge your card for installment payments. Instead, CTA reminds you via email for every upcoming payment (both 14 and 3 days in advance), until you are paid in full.
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Answer : CTA is deeply committed to the safety and well being of our tour passengers and staff. In accordance with this goal, should a Federal, State or Municipal government officially ban tourist travel to a CTA destination during dates that coincide with a CTA trip to that destination, then CTA will work closely with the school administration, their staff and our travel supplier partners to either: 1) reschedule the trip to a mutually convenient time, or 2) cancel the trip outright and provide a refund to registrants per the CTA refund policy in place at the time of your trip registration. In the absence of any such travel ban, CTA assumes that a normal and reasonable tourist safety environment prevails and therefore CTA tours will continue to operate as scheduled.
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Answer : Please note that hotel privacy policies prevent their staff from discussing specific requests related to a group hotel arrangement. Parent special requests related to lodging must be submitted to CTA in writing from our website Contact page. CTA will reply on or before the next business day. Please note that students are lodged four to a room (quad occupancy) sharing two double or queen sized beds, and due to fire safety regulations cots are not permitted.
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Answer :
Any applicable trip refunds are paid using your original method of payment, with the exception of 2020 COVID-related cancelled trip refunds that since January 2021 are all being refunded via check.
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Answer : Before your next trip payment is due, CTA will send you an automatically generated email that includes a simple one-click link directly into your Trip Account with no login required. Please be sure to set your email to “enable links” and to allow messages from CTA by adding "request@CTAfieldtrips.com" to your email address book.
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Answer : Following receipt of your successful online registration, CTA immediately sends you a Trip Confirmation email containing a quick link into your CTA Trip Account (no login required). By simply clicking this link, you can view the details of your Trip Account, and you may make your next payment. Before each future payment deadline, CTA will send you an email reminder.
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Following successful online registration, CTA immediately sends the new registrant a Trip Confirmation email. Within this email are your unique Registration ID and a quick link into your Trip Account (no login required). By clicking this link, you can view your total trip cost, your current outstanding balance, the status of your ICW, your next payment due date, and every payment, refund and credit applied thus far.
If you do not have your Login Link, please see our Contact Page for instructions on having your Login Link immediately emailed to you.
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Answer : This can happen for many reasons. The most common ones are listed below in their order of likelihood.
#1 - It is possible that your email system is blocking CTA messages or sending them to your Spam or Junk email folder. To allow messages from CTA, include the CTA address “request@CTAfieldtrips.com” in your address book.
#2 – You may have changed your email address since registering for the trip. If you can no longer access your old email account, then simply message CTA via our Contact page instructing us to update your email address. #3 – You may have incorrectly entered your email address when you registered online for the trip. Simply message CTA from our Contact page to update your email address in our system.
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Answer : When you register with CTA, there are two payment options: (1) pay in full at registration, (2) make regularly scheduled installment payments under a manual installment plan established by CTA, with a $5 non-refundable handling fee on each installment payment, including the initial and the final payments.
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Answer : CTA does NOT automatically charge credit cards for future payments. All payments must be submitted by the cardholder before the payment due date. Please check your CTA payment reminder email for a quick payment link. Payment security note: Our secure online payment system (when available) never transmits credit card data to CTA. We do receive confirmation of your payment, but we NEVER receive your actual credit card number nor any other sensitive data. NOTE: Temporary COVID-19 travel payment restrictions may prevent online payments, at which time mailed check payments are required before each payment deadline to avoid a late payment fee.
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Answer : CTA employs state of the art security on our website, especially with regard to the payment process.
Wherever we collect personal information, it is encrypted and transmitted in a totally secure manner. You may verify this yourself by the presence of a closed lock icon at the bottom of your web browser, or by the presence of
"https” at the beginning of the CTA web page address.
To view our complete privacy policy,
click here.
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Answer : The fee for any late payments made after any scheduled installment date is $15. Your account must be paid in full by the final payment deadline as noted in your CTA individual trip account or your account will be subject to cancellation.Close
Answer : Once an individual is cancelled from a CTA trip, reinstatement on the trip is not guaranteed. Both CTA and the sponsoring organization must agree to reinstate any previously cancelled registrant. If a previously cancelled registrant qualifies for reinstatement on a trip, a fee of $35.00 is assessed and is due immediately.
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Answer : Fundraising proceeds are applied promptly to an individual’s Trip Account (usually within 24 hours), following verification from the sponsoring organization (e.g., school, club, etc,…). If you believe that the amount of your fundraising credit is incorrect, please contact the sponsoring organization directly. If your Trip Account shows no fundraising proceeds, this indicates that CTA has not yet received the amount of your fundraising from the sponsoring organization.
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Answer : CTA honors your school's policies regarding medications, cell phones and the use of other electronics during the tour. For safety considerations, personal cell phones are encouraged for all CTA student travelers. Specifics on these details are discussed at the Parent Information Meeting.
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Answer : Some trip sponsoring organizations (e.g., school, club, etc,…) offer scholarship awards to offset part or all of the trip cost. Please contact your sponsoring organization directly to determine if scholarships are available, and if you qualify. If a scholarship is awarded, CTA applies the amount of the scholarship directly to the recipient’s Trip Account.
CTA does not accept scholarship applications, and CTA has no authority in determining which applicants are selected for scholarships.
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Answer : Some schools may not have a sufficient number of faculty chaperones available for a trip. In those instances, parents are sometimes needed to assist in chaperoning, and you may wish to volunteer. The duties and responsibilities of a parent chaperone are not for everyone, and can even be overwhelming to some. Consider carefully these points when inquiring about chaperoning your child’s school trip.
Check School Policy
Some schools have a strict policy forbidding parent chaperones.
Some school districts require a background check on parent chaperones, usually at the parent’s expense.
Some schools permit parent chaperones but forbid them from traveling on the same bus as their own child.
Many schools give chaperone selection priority to parents with professional medical training.
Most schools do not permit parent chaperones to consume tobacco or alcohol during the trip.
Most schools require that parent chaperones pay their own way, even if the child receives financial aid.
Most schools require that parent chaperones attend one or more mandatory chaperone meetings.
If You’re NOT Selected by the School to Chaperone
Accept the school’s decision, and support their right to determine the best mix of chaperones for the trip.
Don’t take it personally. Complex criteria are considered when selecting parent chaperones.
Be prepared to still support your child in his/her participation in the trip.
If You ARE Selected by the School to Chaperone
Attend all chaperone meetings scheduled by the school.
Always support the school’s trip leaders by following their instructions throughout the trip.
Never break from the group; the school is relying on you to chaperone your assigned group at all times.
Never remove your child from the trip to do some personal family sightseeing.
Never ask to drive your own car to “follow the buses” during the trip, unless your child has Special Needs.
Support the trip schedule and remember that it was designed for students, not adults.
Never undermine nor question the authority of the school faculty or administration during the trip.
Contact your trip roommate prior to the trip to introduce yourself and break the ice.
Patience! You will be away from home, sleep-deprived, stressed, surrounded by excited students all day long, and possibly sharing a room with a stranger. Be prepared, be flexible and be open-minded.
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Questions about Planning a Group Trip
Answer : CTA custom designs all items included in every group tour. We welcome special requests, provided that the item meets our CTA quality standards. All requests must come direct from the sponsoring organization’s official representative.
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Answer : For a single motorcoach tour, CTA recommends at least 40 passengers, however we will adjust pricing down to a minimum of 20 passengers although the per-person cost does increase dramatically.
For tours that include airfare, group sizes may be as low as 16 paid passengers.
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Answer : In order to preserve privacy and avoid contrasting chaperone behavior policies, CTA does not mix small groups. CTA will combine small groups if both organization representatives are familiar with each other and if each requests to be joined with the other.
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Answer : If space permits, a group may add a chaperone beyond the free allotment, however an added cost will apply.
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