We have been on many Viator tours all over the world and have always been satisfied with them. This, however, was a disappointment. We were supposed to meet Royal USA Tours at the National Archives Building and so we turned up half an hour before the allocated time. There were many tours starting from this area and a bus with another tour company turned up at about ten minutes before the time. No-one got off the bus and it only when our start time had approached that we went to the bus and asked about our tour. The driver then said that this was the bus. The Guide was not communicative and appeared to be in chaos, not knowing precisely what the tour entailed. We eventually started off and there was no explanation as to what we were going to do. She seemed to be asking the advice of the driver more than telling us herself. It gave us the impression that she was standing in on this tour for someone else. We signed up for the whole day 6hrs and we could have seen all the essential points in three hours. The lunch venue was unremarkable and the boat trip was boring. The only thing of note in the afternoon was the Air Force memorial.
In addition there were a couple of things including descriptions of buildings which I found out later were incorrect. The memorials need to be seen, but with another tour company.
Our tour guide Dewayne was wonderful! He was very knowledgeable and answered any questions we had. You can tell he wanted to make it a great experience for everyone. Our driver, however, was absolutely awful. My husband went up to her when she first got there to make sure it was the right bus, he approached her and asked, Is this the Viator bus that is taking off at 10:30? Her response - I need your ticket. Why she couldn't just answer my husband's question, I was unsure, but she was rude about it. Then she specifically said to everyone once they were on to take all of the water in the cooler - it is yours for the day and you paid for it. So take all the water you would like. I saw a Fiji water in the cooler sitting right on top, so I grabbed it - she grunted, Uhm...that's my personal water. I put it back into the cooler and went about my way. A man then came on the bus and grabbed the exact Fiji water I grabbed, she must not have noticed as he sat down he went to open it did not take a drink. When she saw her water was missing, she stood up and shouted, WHO TOOK MY FIJI WATER!? THAT WAS MY PERSONAL WATER! Everyone sat in silence, she then asked again who had taken it. The man held it up and said he did but he did not drink out of it. She then said, Well now that you have it I don't want it anymore. Jesus Christ. She had to get off the bus to cool herself down and walked across the street shaking her head. After a few minutes she got on the bus, still shaking her head, mad about this Fiji water mind you, this was in the cooler for anyone to take, and she did not have her name on it. She was rude the whole drive and treated us with disrespect. I think her name was Talina? She was so rude and had no filter. She ruined the trip for me and my husband. For spending 90 it made our experience not worth it since she was there anytime we had to get onto the bus. Dewayne, like I said was absolutely wonderful. Talina, needs a different job.
Our most favorite tour while in DC. It was an all day rainy day, but our guide was with us until the end. I've taken other D.C. City tours and the guides drop you off at the site and tell you to return to the bus in XX minutes. On this tour, the guide went with us a shared so much information about the site. He was so knowledgeable, pleasant and engaging! Our group of four agreed it was a 10!!!