Best case scenario, this isn’t a true “experience” it’s just a designated driver for three wineries, plus a deli box lunch(not bad). So, definitely not worth it, Uber is an option locally.
To make it worse, the communication ahead of time was poor, they asked me to change my chosen tour date once (we could not change). Also the website gave us option to have pickup at our VRBO, which we selected and had printed on our ticket, but at pickup time they called me and asked me why I wasn’t “there” lol. Person on phone made me feel like it was my fault at first, but then when I pointed out that we had chosen VRBO pickup, she said, “oh it was an error on the website…so it’s ok, it was nobody’s fault…”
We drove to their spot (3 blocks away from my VRBO) and still weren’t late, we didn’t leave for 20 more minutes due to half the group was told it started at 11, not 10:30. Then because we were late (I assume?) the wineries didn’t have designated spots for our large group, they kinda squeezed us in and did their tastings, so it felt kinda meh.
To be fair, our designated driver was a super nice guy and apologetic
Like I said nobody from the tour was at all helpful or knowledgeable about wine etc, so I have no idea what we paid for
Wineries (and winery staff knowledge and helpfulness) were actually pretty good, but I’ll review them separately on their sites.
Bottom line: save your money, get a designated driver with Uber ($15-20 per trip) and pay for individual tastings yourself ($15-30 pp) and several wineries have little bistros for your lunch options.
Réponse de l'hôte
Feb 2024
Hello Benjamin. (and my apologies for the length but I wish to be certain that I address your concerns) I should begin our response with the fact that you were not on the Wine Tasting Experience - you took our Wine Trolley and they are two different experiences. We are happy that you enjoyed the wineries you visited because that's the goal of the Wine Trolley - to provide a fun day of transportation to great wineries. And you had originally booked the Wine Tasting but we notified you earlier in the week that there was an issue with your booking - and we offered you an upgraded experience at no charge that was available one day earlier, you could choose the Wine Trolley instead on the same day (and receive a partial refund for the price difference), or you could receive a full refund if you chose to cancel your excursion. According to our manifest notes made when contacted you stated that the Wine Trolley would be fine. Beyond this misunderstanding, there were certainly some challenges that you should not have experienced. We truly regret that anything occurred that did not meet your expectations because we exist to provide our guests with a great experience. As our office manager mentioned, some of this was an internet error that we were not aware of. Viator (and all of it's related affiliates) changed the listed departure time to 11am but we at Fredericksburg Tours were completely unaware of this as our standard departure time listed on our website is 10:30am. Our driver/host for the Trolley arrived on time at the Visitor Center to begin guest boarding at 10:15 and by 10:30 only half of our guests had arrived - so we began to call the guests because we were unaware that Viator was advertising a different time schedule. (Viator manages Tripadvisor, Expedia, Booking.com and many others). Fredericksburg Tours was not notified and we did not authorize this time change. We were as surprised as you! In 8 years of our operations, this has never happened. We have already taken action to find out how and why Viator made this change without our knowledge. As far as your pickup location, you may have had a pickup address on your personal ticket, but we could not see it from our side of the internet connection - because the Wine Trolley does not offer pickups. We have taken steps to secure a refund of the difference of the tour cost and also the pickup fee. Viator will be handling the refunds as you did not book through Fredericksburg Tours, you booked through Viator and they collected your payment. Once our driver and our scheduling department became aware that the tour times did not coincide, we immediately contacted our reserved wineries and let them know there would be a delay in our arrival. Assured all was well we did not lose our reservations. The group was 20 people, but 20 people is too many for one server to properly attend so we do allow smaller group seating. This is for your benefit and we pay attention to details like this to be certain that all of our guests receive timely service. However, 20 spots were reserved and 20 people received good service from our winery partners. Our Driver/host did his best to make all run smoothly despite the two ticketed tour times - guests may book direct through Fredericksburg Tours LLC and the time listed was 10:30am on our website. The "deli" box lunch you mention was a chef prepared lunch from a menu that you were able to pre-select your choices. Most of our guests reviews mention that it is delicious - fresh ingredients prepared by a highly rated local restaurant. We do this because it is very difficult to create "to order" lunches for 20 people at a winery to be served within a reasonable amount of time - especially during Saturdays when the wineries are very crowded. Again, this detail is important for us to provide timely service for our guests.
Also - Very Important to Note: there are very few Ubers in Fredericksburg, and once you leave the town vicinity there are virtually none that will drive out to the wineries when they can remain busy in town. This is a very small town with thousands of visitors every weekend. You might get someone to bring you out, but you won't easily get back. We know because we frequently get calls to rescue stranded guests at the wineries who tried to Uber the day. And last, none of the wineries you mentioned were $15 tastings, we go to highly rated wineries and pay the same fees you would - and we pay tax and 20% gratuities on your behalf. Our Wine Trolley is convenient with prearranged reservations for you. We make certain that you visit wineries that are highly rated, provide you with a driver/host who is friendly, kind, and works hard to make your destinations and day enjoyable, and we provide you with a great lunch, on time, with reserved seating so that you can enjoy your day hassle free. You don't have to drive, you don't have to plan individual reservations ahead and we have a fun, well appointed and beautiful Trolley to add to your experience. Our Wine Trolley guests love that they chose a Trolley and it's popular with those who are novices to wine and those who are seasoned wine experts and just want a fun day tasting great wines. Thank you for leaving a review and I hope that our response helps clarify your concerns. You are welcome to reach out to me through our contact information (which Viator does not allow to post here) but you have our info on your ticket. All the Best to you!