Overall, the tour was ok. We did definitely hit the highlights of D.C. By coincidence, our tour was during peak Cherry Blossom season so the traffic around the FDR, MLK and Jefferson was VERY heavy. The driver and guide were able to rework things a little to allow us to stay on schedule and still see everything by having us walk from the Jefferson to the FDR. For me this was actually a highlight because we got to walk under the trees for 1/4 way around the tidal basin. The main reason I give this 3 stars is the lunch situation was really, really bad. We were encouraged repeatedly by the guide to order our food ahead and mentioned 2 of the restaurants at Washington Harbour. I asked her specifically if we'd be able to eat inside the restaurant as it was 42 degrees and 20 mph wind gusts - she acted irritated, said yes and told me she had already said that to everyone. We checked the menus, took some time out from the visit to the MLK memorial so we could place our order. 15 minutes later we are dropped at the waterfront and told to get lunch meet the boat in 50 minutes. We went to Farmers, Fishers, Bakers as to get our pre-ordered food. The restaurant was mobbed and we were not allowed to sit - inside or on their patio. We walked around for 20 minutes until we went in the Starbucks and ordered drinks that we didn't want so we could sit inside and keep warm. Tip: Other people that ordered from the Mexican restaurant were able to sit inside and eat.
You CAN take your food on the boat and eat it- there are tables. Our $100 worth of food was frigid by the time we could get on the boat but we were starving (it was 2 pm) so we ate it.
The boat ride was a nice feature, but because it was so cold and windy they had the plastic flaps down that partly obscured the view, and the narration kept glitching. They do sell drinks (inl. beer and wine) and some small snacks on the boat.
Finally, in addition to giving us bad info about the lunch situation, the tour guide was unhelpful and unfriendly. My mom was repeating some info about a site to her husband and the guide pointedly stared at her until she was quiet. Another person on the bus made a joke about something (which everyone laughed at) and she gave him the stare until he shut up too. These were all adults and families- no one being rowdy or disrespectful.
Shout out to our driver- he did an amazing job under trying circumstances.
Одговор домаћина
Jun 2022
Dear Customer, We are sorry to hear that your experience was not the best, we would appreciate it if you would give us an opportunity to reverse this experience either in the cities of Washington DC or New York and we invite you to see our new fleet of buses and convertible Mercedes, likewise these practices have left aside since new procedures have been implemented for the hiring of tourguides, unfortunately some tourguides as people have a different temperament.