Anonymous

Good tour but hotels are Trafalgar's weak point

We recently completed a tour of Italy. We had an overall good experience. We found the tour to be very well organized and went smoothly. The tour director did a great job balancing the discipline getting 50 tourists through crowds and from one place to another with allowing them to enjoy themselves. This included dealing with a few serial stragglers and a few constant complainers. Trafalgar, and I assume other large tour companies arrange for early access to the Vatican and bypass the lines at other popular venues. The tour included stops in Rome, Capri, Assisi, Venice and Florence. The hotels were acceptable but not first class in my opinion, even by European standards. I imagine that is an effort to keep prices competitive. There is also the issue of room assignments. For example, in Capri, some had large balconies with fantastic views while many others had views of a large tree. Trafalgar washes their hands of this issue and indicates that it is the hotel that assigns rooms. The problem with this is that there is no rotation with regard to who receives the best rooms at each stop.
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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous
map-marker Trenton, New Jersey

Woman and son who got screwed by Trafalger

Read in Newark Star Ledger about a woman and son who got screwed by Trafalger. Bad publicity for Trafager. Have used Caravan in the past and was very happy. The problem should not have gotten this far. For the few dollars you are trying to save, many readers will be discouraged from using Trafalger including myself. Woman and child should have been reimbursed immediately. You will lose customers as a result of the paper article. I have made my point and don't feel additional words are necessary. Trafager tours screwed a family who paid for a seven or eight day trip, placed on a bus that was half way through the tour and refused to take any responsibility.
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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
1 comment
Guest

Would not use Trafalgar after reading the article in the paper!

Anonymous
map-marker London, England

Trafalgar Tours Britain And Ireland Grandeur Review from London, London

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Scott Hunter is a total ***
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1 comment
Guest

I'm going on a Trafalgar tour in August 17, Britain and Ireland Grandeur 20 day tour.

Can you please let me know if you have done this tour recently and what was it like ? Are there any suggestions on what optional to experiences tours not to take. What are the hotels like comfortable, clean and are the meals good?

Anonymous

Aug 2015 Best of Canyonlands - got screwed on our tour

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We just came off this tour. Trafalgar threw us (9 total) in with another tour already in full swing.

Those folks (35) were on day 8 of their tour. Our 7 day tour ended up a 3.5 day tour, because that's when the tour they threw us in with ended. Both the tour guide & driver left us in Vegas. They were off the clock after dropping us off in order to rush folks from the main tour to the airport.

We were essentially abandoned mid week and left to fare for ourselves in Vegas for 2.5 days! Felt really bad for the seniors abandoned with us. They seemed really lost. Worst part of all of this is we barely got 1/2 day in the Grand Canyon, which was the highlight of our tour.

Because our Grand Canyon day fell on the last day of the main tour. Getting those folks to the airport was the main priority.

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Loss:
$3660
Cons:
  • Getting thrown in with another tour in progress
  • Not getting the tour we paid for
Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised

Preferred solution: Full refund

Anonymous
map-marker Franklin, North Carolina

SCOTLAND TOUR 8/23-9/5/15 --TOUR GUIDE TOMMIE GRACIE

I just returned from the above tour and certainly enjoyed seeing the country and meeting the people that were with me. From the very beginning, landing at the airport and waiting about 25-30 minutes for someone or Tommie to greet the crowd waiting to go to the hotel I was hoping things would go well but who knows. Every time we got on the bus, he gave very little information about the surroundings and Scotland on a whole. Sometimes a couple of hours would go by and he told us nothing. He would put on blaring music constantly almost to keep us quiet. He told my cousin he was only an organizer. I was on a tour of ITALY last year and the tour guide I had was wonderful and gave us so many facts which were appreciated. He went out of his way to accomodate everyone so I thought that the Scotland tour would be the same. I think TOMMIE GRACIE needs to speak slower (because of his accent) and get more people skills and facts.
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Loss:
$95
Pros:
  • Couch driver
  • Sites we visited
Cons:
  • Customer service
  • Tour director
Reason of review:
Damaged or defective

Preferred solution: Full refund

Marchelle Pam
map-marker Patrington, England

Tastes and sounds of the South. Commenced 2nd Sept. 2015

After a long day travelling and sightseeing our group of 5 arrived at the Doubletree Hotel Memphis 5th September for 2 nights. The rooms we were given were on the second floor.

The hotel is situated next to a busy intersection. The single glazed window frames were rotten and the glass filthy. Ceiling polyurethane tiles were damaged and dirty. Carpeting had seen better days.

Rooms were depressing. The whole hotel is in dire need of refurbishment. Having paid a bit extra to go with Trafalgar we expected something better than this.

Obviously not the case. It appeared to us that Trafalgars attitude was " put them anywhere there just another bunch on a coach trip.

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Pros:
  • Sites we visited
  • Places
  • Director and coach driver
Cons:
  • Customer service
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Anonymous
map-marker Indianapolis, Indiana

Trafalgar Tours - Tour Review from Indianapolis, Indiana

Trafalgar Tours - Tour Review from Indianapolis, Indiana
Trafalgar Tours - Tour Review from Indianapolis, Indiana - Image 2
Trafalgar Tours - Tour Review from Indianapolis, Indiana - Image 3

I booked a tour in January for Spain named "Spanish wonder" which will start on June 5th this year.I got a single deal and was sure that it means that I will not have anybody to share room with me.

Couple of days ago when I received my travel package I found out that I have a twin share room and it was only limited rooms availability for people who travel along to get a room without twin share. I was very disappointed because in the brochure it does not say anything about limited room availability without twin share under single deal. My travel agent also had no idea about it. Now I have only couple of weeks left and I can not change anything.

I hope that in future if you make such deals you should also add another sentence about limited room availability for single people. This way people will know right away that it means that they have to share room with somebody. You should not even offer this deal because it is deceiving and I would rather pay for single supplement then expect a discount for it.

I will attach couple of pictures from the brochure to prove what I meant.Thank you, Linda Bochkis.

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Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised
3 comments
Guest

This is not the fault of Trafalgar as it is clearly defined in their books but the fault of your travel agent for not understanding what he/she is selling you. I have had a "roommate" 3/4 times I have chosen to take this singles option and have had great experiences each time.

I recently visited my last "roommate" at her home in England and hope to host her here in the U.S. soon. Give it a chance.

Unless you are a very private person you may find this relationship adds to your vacation. It has mine!

Guest

when you book your trip you either pay the single supplement or you might have a roommate may be you should have clarified this with your agent

Guest

I booked with Trafalgar via Costco and Costco was explicit in stating that there are 2 solo traveler options: single supplement (pay several hundreds dollars extra) or twin-share (take chance that you will/will not have a stranger as a roommate). On the trip I just returned from (Best of Canada West), there were 2 solo travelers who paid the single supplement and got rooms to themselves.

I paid twin-share and didn't share a room because there were no other solo travelers. It's a gamble taking the twin-share but sometimes it pays off and only works if you're a flexible, easy-going person.

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Anonymous
map-marker Kansas City, Missouri

Trafalgar Tours Jewels Of Italy Review from Kansas City, Missouri

This is my first tour and day. I have several beefs.

Why are the hotels in the middle of nowhere? It's a real pain to get anywhere and costs alot. Why do all the activities have to cost extra?

Does the cost only cover transportation between cities and hotel? More and more this seems like a real rip off.

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Reason of review:
Pricing issue
1 comment
Guest

But why are you so stupid?

How much did you pay for this trip? You can cver not even the home tel rates........with what you spend, you can probably bye just 2 nights in a central hotel in Rome.

You you are so cheap stay home and do not go out!

Anonymous
map-marker Hove, Brighton And Hove

Tour Director Isabelle Vergara - Northern Spain 18th to,28th June 2015

Dear sirs we have already filled out and handed in our questionnaire regarding the above tour. We were extremely disappointed for the following reasons which in the main refer to the Tour Director. My husband who has temporal epilepsy had a minor seizure which provoked the comment " you can get medication for that ". He has been on medication for over 25 years and his seizures are rare nowadays. No sympathy was shown nor subsequent enquiry as to his health made. On occasions the tour director treated us , the paying passengers , like children. She came across as quite bossy and a lot of her instructions regarding departure times etc were confusing and often changed causing more confusion. For instance we were told to catch the coach to Madrid airport at 7.30 am even though our flight was not until 3pm. When she realised her mistake she said we could go back to the hotel and return to the airport later. We declined having decided to wait at the airport. She also upset us on 2 separate occasions by making the comment about Gibralter when she said " we shall get it back from the English soon ". She also mentioned the fact that countries such as France and Italy helped fight Fascism ignoring the role played by thousands of English who lost their lives. We got the impression she did not like the English at all. We had hoped to see more of the major places on the

itinerary but in our opinion , apart from the necessary comfort / coffee stops the Tour Director stopped too often to visit her " little treasures ". This obviously reduced the free time available to explore the major more interesting places. At time there appeared to be a negative atmosphere on the coach which was felt by others in the group. I admit that efforts were made to cater for my gluten-free diet and I thanked her for her help in this regard. Incidentally we handed in a letter on our comments to the travel agent some time ago and although in your review website someone was going to look out for our letter and reply we have not have a reply.

Mrs Christine Davies,

1a Normanton Avenue, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 2TX

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

3 comments
Rosaisela Uih

Hi isabelle can you send me a copy of the emails of the group please

Guest

I am very sorry to hear about the health incident. There is nothing worse than being abroad and have something happen in unfamiliar territory.

Many of the Trafalgar tour directors are more skilled at creating a party like atmosphere and showing off than actually dealing with the needs of people. They are freelancers and Trafalgar allows for their ommissions as some of the more charismatic personalities bring in a lot of cash. Use Trafalgar tours for the free bus ride, deals on hotels and meals but bring along your Rick Steeves tour guides to give you the right historical facts and practical advice as to where to eat.

Do look up tours such as Collette, Exotic, G tours, Globus as people in the 55 age plus group have had better experiences.

As for the insensitive bloke who responded to your concerns, I hope they are staying at home, sheltered and insulated away from the rest of us who want to enjoy our travel experiences.

Guest

Get over yourself and whilst your doing that get a sense of humor

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Avian Nqw
map-marker Morrisville, Pennsylvania

Indifferent tour director, Loud, *** dinners, and missed opportunities

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Best of Scotland Tour-June 2015 Tour director "mailing it in". Started bad when he ignored the fact that some of the people weren't rotating seats on the coach. That got sorted by day three of a 6 day tour! The group dinners were held in venues where there were multiple coaches all attending at once or in one case a wedding. I couldn't hear my wife next to me. Four days in a row I came out of dinner with a knot in my stomach and a headache. And I don't get headaches. The food was mediocre at best and that's being kind. We had opportunities to see more significant sites, like castles, but no we had to go to the tourist trap village with overpriced restaurants and shopping. Of the good sites we saw we were rushed. Overall, I would give this 2.5 stars out of five.
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Cons:
  • Dinner accomodations
  • Itinerary
  • Director
Reason of review:
As indicated above. Highly dissatisfied.

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

1 comment
Guest

What a load of bollocks

Anonymous
map-marker Oakleigh, Victoria County

Ignorance and arrogance Spain, Portugal and Morocco Tour

Tours should be catered for all not just history buffs.

1/ in the largest church in the world in Seville and we were not allowed 5 minutes to buy a souvenir

2/ we were rushed through the Beautiful town of Toledo with their beautiful black steel and gold jewellery, instead taken to a warehouse where 90euro pieces where put in $2 gift boxes and no authenticity. then we were taken to La Mancha for lunch, where the bread was stale and soup cold and the shops shut.

3/instead of our Tour Guide wanting with us all to catch the ferry to Tangiers he is elsewhere and we werent able to board as our tickrts were incorrect resulting in a search party for him.

4/those with allergies be careful as the paperwork fill out could get lost..it nearly cost me my life.

5/Salamanca..no orientation tour, had we not opted to have dinner there we would not of seen it.

6/half the bus were sick from Morocco and knowing this we were taken to the most run down and unrefrigerated restaurant to eat in Rabat..resulting in the tour director coping a mouth full from a number of guests. People either didnt eat or just ate the hot chips

No more Trafalgar for us

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
1 comment
Guest

Hi

I just booked the same tour. Were your hotels the same ones posted on their itinerary?

Would appreciate any info.

Thanks Luba (myown64265@***.com)

Anonymous
map-marker Greenfield, Massachusetts

Canceled Trafalga Tour

I signed up and prepaid for a tour in Oct 2015 4 months in advance I have a single supplement without a charge as a special promotion, FOr some reason which was never adequately explained I was bumped from that tour but offered another with the same deal. I accepted and paid in full. Six weeks before the departure I was told it was being canceled and ordered a similar trip. I ask if my single supplement deal was still offered. After over a week with no reply and less than a week left to cancel with a full refund I was fed up and asked for my money back. Over a week ago I sent a form that was emailed to me by fax and waited. I called my agent after 10 days and asked where my money was. And now I am asked to send a second fax to a different number.This is an unacceptable way to conduct business. Beware
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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous
map-marker Brookline, Massachusetts

Horrible Tour and Director for Canyonlands

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Everything was unpleasant, I felt like I was being held prisoner, we had barely enough time to look at any of the sights we signed up to see on this tour. Stephen McNally, the tour director, was rude, uptight and aggressive.

Save your money, it's miserable. Lunches for two of the days were at a mall food court and a supermarket. We were bullied for not wanting any of the optional experiences and had no freedom to explore the sights. Not one location was much more than an hour.

So disappointing. At the end the tour director dumped us in Vegas and told us to go to registration ourselves though they told us there he should have provided our room keys and meal vouchers.

He handed them out to a select few and told the rest of us to go figure out.

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Loss:
$2500
Pros:
  • Some of the other participants
Cons:
  • Illness on the bus
  • Tour director
  • Stephen mcnally
Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

1 comment
Guest

OMG we just came off this tour Aug 2015 and had the EXACT experience. Ours was worse because we were thrown in with another tour already in full swing.

All of the comments in this post mirror our experience. No time to see sights.

Horrible food court lunches. Nothing exceptional or enjoyable - particularly for the price paid !

Anonymous

Bad customer experience - Trafalgar Best of Morocco

After 4 Trafalgar tours, I thought I could trust them for a best of Morocco tour. This tour needs to be totally revamped and more importantly, the agenda information needs to be more accurate and explicit. Too many disappointing scenarios.

The hotels also need a major wake-up call on some basic services (e.g. providing bottled water in a country where you can't drink the water and providing safes that work in the room, removing the information to contact the hotel on the phone to name a few).

Here a couple of personal issues:

- While in the Sahara desert on the *** of having a chance to ride a camel, the tour director starts screaming at everybody, that we are not allowed to ride one. Apparently, someone sued Trafalgar when they fell off their camel for $1million and now we are all being punished. This should be disclosed prior to the trip. Also, get a waiver form and let me waive my right to sue Trafalgar.

- While in Marakech, we were taken to a pharmacy for 45 minutes to have someone tell us about lotions/potions. This was horrible and even worse than the rug showroom. Totally, unacceptable!!!

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Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

Anonymous
map-marker Greenville, Texas

Best travel guide ever!

A friend and I did a Travalgar Best of Ireland and Scotland in early May 2015. What a wonderful trip it was!

We sincerely believe that the experience was marvelous mainly due to our fun, knowledgeable travel director, Peter Flood. We sincerely believe that we saw and understood everything about Ireland Scotland that a visitor could ever expect. He had many one liners and quips that kept us all laughing and happy all the time. We were very satisfied and completely worn out when we returned home.

I wish every traveler could be as lucky as us. I know this is supposed to be a complaint blog, but we had nothing to complain about.

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Reason of review:
Good customer service
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