Seeing the monuments at night is truly special so we were excited to take our friend from Italy on this tour with us. There were 5 of us in total. One lives in DC. We were all very excited for the tour.
Unfortunately the first 2 men who greeted us were extremely rude. When I showed the first man standing by the bus our tickets on my phone to confirm we were in the right place there was no "hello, welcome to the tour..." He just pointed and said, "There's the line." Of the 5 in our party, 4 of us were there and ready to board. The person who lives in DC was on her way. But when boarding started, the second man said gruffly" You can't board without the last person. Sit there." One of us even suggested 3 of us go on board and he would wait for the last person, but that suggestion was sternly turned down. So by the time we got on the bus the only seats left were in the back. That in itself was not really a problem. The issue came when the onboard tour guide started to speak.
We couldn't hear most of what was being said, which made it especially difficult for our Italian friend. Between the bus noises and the pace with which the tour guide spoke and an apparent problem with the microphone, we missed most of the information about the monuments. I did speak to the tour guide and driver about this issue during the trip and he tried to speak slower, which did allow us to understand what he was saying. But with all the info he had to share, it was probably difficult to get it all out in a timely manner without speaking more rapidly which he resumed doing. So again, we missed out on a lot. During the time we were on the tour I thought about some improvements that could have helped resolve this issue. First of all it should be stated on the ticket that all the people in the party must be present in order to board. Or be more flexible if one of them is willing to wait for the last person. Secondly, given that there are many older people with hearing difficulties taking these tours, it would be helpful to have the option of a downloadable PDF covering the highlights about each monument that could be printed by the attendee in advance, or if you really want to give great service, have some laminated and available in each seat for those who don't have a way to print them. Thirdly, you have digital screens by each set of seats. Why not utilize those with information about each monument. And lastly, having speakers at the back of the bus would be another way to solve the problem. This was my first bus tour so I didn't know what to expect. I was surprised that an issue like passengers being able to hear what's being said ( such a large part of what could make or break the enjoyment of the tour) had not been given the attention it deserves. Had I known, I would have researched the information about the monuments myself and printed off the info for my party to have with them. Surely there have been other people who have experienced the same issue. My hope is that you will make changes to, if not eradicate this issue, at least compensate for it so that the tour can best meet your clients needs...to learn about as well as see the monuments at night. I'm giving 2 stars only because the view of the monuments is really impressive at night. But unless changes are made, I would not recommend this tour.