My wife and I went on the Grand Canyon South Rim tour on Tuesday Nov 8th, 2022.
It is important to understand that this review is not of the canyon itself, as such a glorious and majestic place can never be “judged” and we just need to relish in its breathtaking beauty.
Prior to taking the trip, I called the customer support line a couple of times and each call was answered by Alexis, she was outstanding each time and very helpful.
On the day of the trip (we were staying at the Bellagio) the coach arrived on time, no issue there. However, for a trip that we knew would last about 14 hours with about 11-22 of those hours sat on a coach, I was not impressed when a Freightliner ECoach 45 rolled up! These types of coaches may be great for taking a group of party people on a bar hopping trip around a city for a few hours but not for 600+ miles round trip in one day. The seats are narrow and very uncomfortable, but the vinyl faux leather material added to the discomfort.
Our driver Robert LaRoche, was a very nice person, he introduced himself at the start and immediately explained that this was his first “official” trip as a driver for Gray Line as he had only just finished his training; there was a lady sat in the front with him who seemed to be a supervisor as it was his first outing. After doing a head count (multiple times as he kept miscounting) he explained that the on-board toilet at the back of the bus was out of order! Are you kidding me? Gray Line Tours sent a vehicle on a fourteen-hour day trip knowing that the onboard toilet was not working! And he once again reminded us that this was his first trip.
We eventually got underway and made a couple of very brief stops to pick up other guests at their respective hotels. Robert’s narration was interesting at times, as he delivered some facts about Vegas and Paradise. He also detailed much of his personal life and how long he had been in Vegas and how much he “loved” the place. We initially thought that as the journey progressed, he would give himself (and us!) a break from talking but OH NO! Robert just rambled on and on and on and on! It was like he felt he HAD to say something to impress the supervisor sat up front with him, my wife even said some of what he was saying was simply made up to enable him to keep talking! He just spoke for the sake of speaking. His rambling got so ridiculous at one stage he even said the following when talking about his relationship with his wife, and I quote; “Folks, did you know that women use more than 10,000 words per day and men only use 200?” REALLY!!!!
During his talking there were definite problems with the microphone system he used, but once again he reminded us that “this was his first trip, and he is new”.
After a couple of hours and once we picked up speed the highways, it became evident that there was a problem with the front passenger door not being able to close/lock properly (coach number 5011), my wife and I were sat in the front two seats on the right side and the front door was being blown open slightly at the top where there did appear to be a locking device; this situation caused a lot of wind noise coming into the vehicle which made the journey even more uncomfortable and also made it almost impossible to hear Robert talking (maybe it was a blessing in disguise?).
When I mentioned this to Robert, he said he did not know how to fix it as he was not familiar with the bus because . . . yes you guessed it, he was new.
After a couple of stops we eventually arrived at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center for what was described a lunch at a Pizza Hut, where we were permitted to have one small entrée, a side, and a drink after a five hour uncomfortable journey . . . enough said on that!
The two stops at the Canyon, Mather Point and Blue Angel Lodge were excellent viewing spots, but the time spent at each location did not please many of the passengers on this trip due to the short and rushed nature of each visit. Is there an answer to this? Probably not, due to the total length of the trip, so this is a difficult one to solve.
The return journey commenced and once again Robert told us that another piece of equipment was out of order, this time it was the on-board video system. He said there would normally be a film to watch for the passengers on the long journey home, but he and the supervisor could not get it to work and once again he reminded that, yes, he was new and wasn’t familiar with the system. Surely, if someone is starting a new job with various items of equipment that he/she will be required to operate, wouldn’t it be prudent to learn how to use them or have whoever is training that person teach them how to use it before the journey commences? Common sense and good training don’t you think?
Robert did inform us that we would be changing drivers once we arrived in Kingman, AZ (I suppose this was because he is only permitted to drive for so many hours in one stint?). We arrived at a large parking lot in Kingman, and the opportunity for passengers to grab a bite to eat at a McDonald’s was available. My wife and I only decided to stretch out legs and after short time we got back on the bus. And this is where the driver situation went from one extreme to the other regarding their relative personalities!
Our new driver got on board, with just me and my wife and a couple of others sat in our seats, I said good evening to her and she never responded, perhaps she didn’t hear me? I tried again and still no response, OK I thought, perhaps she is busy getting ready and doing her prechecks. As the clock arrived at the departure time, we were still missing a few passengers (still getting their Big Macs probably!) and the driver, who had still not said anything to anyone, pressed on the buses horn to remind the stragglers to get a move on (a good move in some ways as there were some folks “lolly gagging”).
Once everyone was on board the, new driver walked down (no, she charged down) the aisle of the bus and conducted a head count using a clicker (please get one for Robert!). She then got in her seat and off we went heading back to Las Vegas. We waited for a nice friendly introduction from her, and waited, and waited, and waited . . .in vain. She did not say word, NOT ONE WORD. With still a good 2 or 3 hours left on the journey we thought she would maybe get out of the busy areas and then say something, like introduce herself . . . NOPE, not one word, not even a suggestion of a word came out of her mouth for the entire journey, NOT ONE SENTENCE, WORD, SYLLABLE OR SOLITARY LETTER LEFT HER LIPS! And I was awake all the time.
Once we were about half-way into this leg of the journey, the radio on the bus suddenly came on “mysteriously” (the radio is located at front of the foremost left side seats), no passenger(s) activated the radio. After a few minutes (it was not loud by the way) the driver pulled over on the hard shoulder of the freeway, (it was also raining at this time) stopped the bus and then turned around, leaned over driver cabin front seats, and turned it down, without saying a word (surprise, surprise!). About 5-10 minutes later the radio was obviously getting on her nerves (but not the passengers’) and again she pulled over on the busy freeway (still pouring down with rain) and again she turned around, leaned over driver cabin front seats but this time she turned off the radio in a frustrated slapping manner. At this time, she did not ask anyone if they minded that she turn off the radio.
The final “act” of the last couple of hours occurred when the two passengers opposite me and my wife (at the front of the bus) turned to us and asked us if we were getting wet with rain? Coincidentally just a few seconds before they asked us, my wife said to me that she could feel rain drops. At first, we thought this was down to the front not being able to lock correctly and the gap in the door/entrance opening when driving at speed; within seconds we noticed that the driver had opened the window on the passenger side of the front cabin area causing the wind and rain to sprinkle the front couple of rows with a light but unwelcome spray!
Had the driver really done this without letting us know? Yes, she had, because this was her attitude throughout the entire journey that she was behind the wheel. The difference between the two drivers could not even be described as “polar-opposites”; the replacement driver said NOTHING throughout the ENTIRE journey, this is NOT an exaggeration.
Once we arrived back in Las Vegas she dropped off the passengers at their respective hotels and the silence continued, even when passengers thanked her. No acknowledgement from her whatsoever and not “Thank you for traveling with Gray Line”
If this is the way she represents your company, then you have a serious problem with this individual. She did nothing to ensure that the comfort, enjoyment level and overall experience for the passengers was one that they would remember for the right reasons! Robert at least had some personality!
I hope these issues will be addressed with both drivers, particularly Robert’s relief.