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Clients Letters & Testimonials - 2011
Contact: EMAIL or Inquiry Form
Paul & Jane Manning - Bermuda - December 2011
What an absolutely amazing holiday! AND much of it was due to you!!!! The seat selection, the plane flights, the hotels,everything was fantastic. We highly recommend Bermuda to anyone and New York ~ well NY is NY ~ what can you say?
Wishing you a healthy, happy and laughter filled Christmas and holiday!
We look forward to connecting in the New Year!
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Richard Knight - December 2011
Roy and I both wish you and yours a very special and delightful Holiday Season filled with wonderful surprises, peace of mind, contentment, prosperity, joy, and lots of love. We assure you that when we are in a position to venture forth you have our future business without fail. The Cosmos tours we had in Europe were spectacular and we sincerely appreciate all the hurdles you overcame in seeing to it we personally met up in London and returned safely to our locations at the tours end. We will not hesitate to use your services or refer them to friends.
I realize the best deals are time sensitive and that holidays obviously play a large part as well as black out dates for certain areas etc. With the above in mind any and all suggestions you could make would be much appreciated.
Best Wishes for this Holiday Season.
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Leanne Ellis - June 2011 reported December 2011
Carol helped us design the most perfect holiday for Egypt and Jordan, we saw the most amazing sights in both countries.
In Cairo we met with Avril, Dr Khalad and family for a special dinner and catch up at their home, this has never happened to us before and we felt very special indeed.
Everything from when we landed to departure was as much as we could expect and more. Our memories of our vacation will last with us forever and would not have been possible without the
constant correspondence and information provided before our journey.
At all times we felt safe with our 9 year old, wherever our Driver and Guild took us.
It was lovely to have and email from Carol waiting for us when we finally arrived home.
In our opinion this team of consultants are experts when it comes to Egypt and made it possible to see the amazing Egypt like no other.
I would only recommend A-Z Tours, in fact we are now talking to Nicole about our America holiday.
Ellis Family, June/July 2011
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Nayana & Ash Shirolkar - Thailand - December 2011
Hope you are having a great holiday season with your family. We have had a fantastic vacation in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The guides, Mr Thari and Mr Dangorn, respectively, took great care of us and made sure we were comfortable. They even took us around the buffets to ensure we did not accidently select any dishes with shrimps.
Rimping village and Novotel fenix ploenchit are really good both in terms of service and room quality. RIMPING DESERVES A SPECIAL MENTION AS ITS STAFF ARE EXCEPTIONAL AND WE WILL BE RETURING THERE.
Overall, though the B'kok and Chiang Mai parts of the holiday were certainly well organised.
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Lisa Ten Heggeler - November 2011
I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know how much we enjoyed our recent group trip with Swiss Travel from Nov 5 - 11.
Monica was unbelievably organized and planned everything perfectly. She went above and beyond to make sure every detail was taken care of and even planned some things for us to do short notice when we had free time. Our group really loved her and she's now a forever friend for us. She is so wonderful and made sure we all had a true Costa Rican experience.
Gabriel our driver was amazing. What a great person and what an excellent driver. As you know, the roads in Costa Rica can get a little scary but Gabriel (Gabby) made sure we were safe. He would help us out of the bus and make sure our beverages were cold and our stuff in the bus was safe at all times. Just a true gentlemen.
Cesar did such a great job with our group showing and telling us everything there was to know about Costa Rica, the plants, the animals, the way the Costa Ricans cared for the environment and Costa Rican history. He is so knowledgeable and is really good at his job. He was very patient with us as some of us were not in the best shape for the hiking. He is a fine example of a Tico.
Also the rafting company on the Balsa River did an excellent job. They were great guides and safety was first and foremost for them. They took us to a sustainable farm for lunch and we pressed sugar cane which was really fun. The entire group was so impressed with all of them. The guides at the zip lines were great as well. What a top notch operation they have. Everyone loved every minute of that even though they may have been a bit scared, they felt safe.
We all were sad to leave your beautiful country but I know we'll all be back soon. I would definitely recommend Swiss Travel to family and friends for any future travel.
On behalf of the group of 25 of us, thank you again for an awesome trip.
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Ashima Basu - Jordan - November 2011
Everything went well at Jordan. We were very pleased with the service provided and would certainly recommend you to our friends.
Wishing you Happy Holidays
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Tim & Joan Paine - India - October 2011
I tried to scan our answers to the evaluation form, but the answers didn't come through. Below are the answers. We had a great trip, with hardly any problems. Thank you.
1: I realized the day before we left that we didn't have vouchers, airline reservations, etc. I e-mailed you & you e-mailed them that day.
2: Always met on time, never any problems.
3: MGM Resort was quite mediocre. Other hotels were fine. The royal Plaza in Delhi was outstanding!!
4: We really enjoyed the Kerala guide. Confusion with the Mysore guide as to what attractions we paid for. We were later reimbursed in Kerala for something we paid for. There is no 2000 yr. old temple on Chamudi Hill in Mysore. The Chennai guide went out of his way to make arrangements for us to see the Govt. School of Sculpture even though it was on holiday.
5: Food was satisfactory, but not excellent.
6: None of the people solicited tips, although of course we gave them tips.
7: The pace of the tour was excellent.
8: We had thought a ride from the Delhi airport to the hotel was included. The dancers on Oct. 24 in Kochi didn't really do a complete dance. However, the little museum there was very interesting. And a girl did several dances at the hotel so we didn't miss anything.
9: An excellent tour & an enjoyable trip.
10: We would use you again.
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Frommers
Sept 2011: We traveled with A-Z tours international and found them to be great company and very professional..The canadian agent named Carol and she is wonderful and very professional.We had Zach as guide and he is the BEST thing. His wife not working any more since she has 2 young kids.
Since they are North American company registered with BBB this is a big asset and am sure you will have faboulous time.
Hi Sing1975. Since I posted this question, we have booked a group trip with A-Z Tours and so far they have been very good to work with. Very prompt, informative, and flexible in being able to adapt our trip to Egypt for our group. When are you planning on going?
3. Re: A-Z Tours International
Feb 26, 2009, 7:40 PM
Yes, I have been working with Carol and she has been very prompt and informative. I am a single traveler so I just want to make sure everything is OK before I book it. I am planning on going from mid May to beginning of June. How about you? How did you pay for your trip? I am a little leery about doing the cashier's check/western union thing and rather put it on my credit card, but they charge 3-5% interest. I did call a travel store today and the girl said she heard of A-Z tours and that someone who came in her store said that they used them for their tour (not sure if it was Egypt) but that they liked it. I think I am going to book in a couple of days.
4. Re: A-Z Tours International
Mar 07, 2009, 12:58 AM
I am also planning a solo travel to Egypt and looking at a few tour companies and A-Z Tours is one of them. Likewise I am not keen on the cashier's check and 4% add-on to the credit card thingy. The package that looks best for me is Grand Egypt Tour and I am going in July (real hot but thats the only time I can get away).
If I can find any reviews A-Z I will post back here.
Good luck to both of you and I hope you will post your experience after your trip.
Safe travel!
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Trevor - November 2011
Thanks. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.
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Ellis Family - Egypt - October 2011
We did enjoy our entire trip and thank you for putting it all together for us. There was a couple of things we didn't get to see, and our time was very short at the Museum. It was lovely to be invited to meet Avril and Khaled and their family, the meal was delicious.
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Bob & Carolyn - South Pacific Cruise & Australia Tour - October - 2011
Thought I would give you my thoughts on the hotel and trip for future reference.
The hotel is lovely and about a 15min walk from the Circle Quay so very central. The extra we paid for the executive class was well worth it and the only way to go.. We were on the 33rd floor and the Horizon lounge provided cont breakfast from 6.00Am to 10.00 incl. scrambled eggs, bacon , sausage, grilled tomatoes, toast, buns, Danish porridge, fruit cheese & sausage as well as juice, tea & coffee.
Tea was served from 3:00 to 5:00 with sweet rolls etc and drinks and substantial hordeuves from 6-8. If too tired to go out for dinner this would more than suffice which we did on more than one occasion. Free internet and computer access as well as free use of the health club. Service was superb and very friendly.
For transit, we bought two one week passes for $40.00 each and this allowed us full access to all ferries, buses, and trains in the system and was both a bargain and trouble free as could get off and on at our leisure without having to ask fares etc. The ferry system is something else again. We would take a ferry to the end of its line and then take a bus in so got to see quite a bit.
Restaurants are very expensive and you Brits would have a bird at paying $28.50 for fish and chips. Also a lot of bar type restaurants where you order at the bar and they bring it to your table. Actually everything in Australia is pretty expensive so no real shopping bargains to be had.
Cruise was good and the South Pacific ports interesting and quite small. Weather so so with lots of overcast skies but fairly warm and humid which I understand is somewhat the norm at least for this part of the year. Ran into rough seas off the coast of Australia and aborted our stop at Edan as it required tendering and Captain said it wouldn't be possible so we arrived in Sydney a day early but couldn't debark until scheduled due to customs clearance so everyone was happy to get an extra day in Sydney .
All in all, a good trip but glad to be home. OH, should add that the A/C Boeing 777[their newest] was a delightful plane with lots of leg room and good service. Food service included hot lunch, snack, and hot breakfast with all wine and drinks complimentary so had a good sleep and the 13hour flight went by surprisingly quickly.
Thanks for all your help in arranging our trip.
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Steve - Adventure Tour Groups - 2011
We have been very, very busy people since our adventure to Egypt (still one of if not the BEST trips we have ever done!) And A-Z is still the BEST company we have ever worked with!
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Mari Favire - British Isles - October 2011
I had a great time it makes me want to go back and explore more than what I saw. Thanks again for all your help I did have a great time met many great people.
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Keith Emerton Ndlovu - Egypt - October 2011
I'd like to say thank you for your commitment for inspiring me that it was gonna be a good trip. This was amazing it was beyond my imagination.
When I got to Cairo everything went smooth no visa required. When I arrived in Sharm El Shiek I found Mina waiting for me .He was amazing he made me feel at home.
I got to Daniela the room was great. Mina came to fetch me for a ride to the mountain at 12.30 am it was amazing its one of the best moments of my life. Everyone
so friendly. They picked me up to Sharm at around 11.00 .when I got there the hotel was stunning the service they gave me was amazing. I went to the beach
had fun swimming with fish. When the time came for me to leave I had to extend extra 6hrs because of fun I was having.
All went well until I got to Cairo and found that Air traffic controllers went on strike so we were stranded for 20hrs with no information. But that does not affect the enjoyment I had I will be back .. Thank you again for giving me a ring that day I was shocked you are doing a great job u made me feel welcome. That I can say a leader without a title.
Thank you for organising this trip for me I will be back for some more fun I really appreciate it.
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Eugenia Thomas - Previous Egypt Client - October 2011
Three of us did a trip to EGYPT with your agency and I must say we had a very nice time especially on the resort island of Hurghada , Egypt . I'll like to know if your agency work with BRAZIL because I'm planning a trip to Brazil , please let me know. Thank you.
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Donna & Calvin - October 2011
Thank you for all the trouble that you went through to see that we had a good trip. I must say it was great, My party and I had a good time on board and on land through the entire cruise. Only thing is that we did not go to the last island because of the storm,and went to Jamaica instead, an island which I had visited on many occasions. But all in all I must say thank you.
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Crystal Fournier - David Bradshaw's Trip to Las Vegas - October 2011
All I can say is that you are AMAZING Joy! We really appreciate your efforts!
Just wanted to let you know that David was very pleased with the seat selections he was given both to and from Las Vegas . He appreciated be on the "Exit" rows with the added leg room etc.
Thanks again for all your hard work and effort on the guys' travel.
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Sharon Price - Nova Scotia & PEI - October 2011
I am just home now after three months in the States and Canada . I did enjoy the tour -it was the first organised tour I have ever taken.
There were many great highlights -it is a beautiful part of the world; the participants were very pleasant; the driver, Murray, was a total gem and everyone loved him. We did see some stunning sights and I made some new friends that plan to visit me here in Australia and with whom I will visit when next in the States.
Thanks for all you did to facilitate my participation -I appreciate your assistance and professionalism.
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Terri Polet - Atlantic Canada Vacation Planning Service - September 2011
Overall it was a wonderful time and all that we wanted to do was achieved. So we do thank you for all you did to make our driving trip memorable. We definitely will recommend others to use A-Z Tours!
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Linda Reickard - Nova Scotia & PEI - September 2011
We had a wonderful trip & loved our tour guide. He was terrific!
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Sharon Billings - Nova Scotia & PEI - September 2011
This was a wonderful tour! We enjoyed every minute of it. Great bus driver and tour guide. We would recommend your company for any trips / tours!
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Louise Barr - Nova Scotia & PEI - September 2011
We had a wonderful time in Nova Scotia , trip was wonderful as was tour director. made the trip very pleasurable.
A true value - Thanks - Chris and Louise - Phoenix
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Melissa Lassiter & Kim Hall - Egypt & Jordan - September 2011
I just wanted to take a minute to tell you what a fantastic trip we had. Not one problem occurred, everything went off without a hitch, and we left not WANTING to leave. Thank you all for everything you all did to make sure it was a trip of a lifetime. Both Kim and I were sad to leave and could have stayed another two weeks. So much more to do!
The guides we received were amazing. Randa was a bit hard to understand at times but other than that both her and Heba were fantastic. They conveyed information to us curious girls and respected the knowledge I had on Ancient Egypt (I studied it in school), and communicated facts that were unknown and made seeing spots like where the Statue of Khafre was found at the Sphinx exciting when we saw that statue AT the museum.
Both gave us different special experiences in each area and took really good care of us. They sure know where to take the good posing pictures, hahaha! It was also nice to see such personal touches with Mr. Mohammad and his concerns for how we were faring (relayed through our guides *GRIN*) but also for trying to get us to special places before we left, so thank you for working out a way for us to add in Abu Simbel, you were right, it wouldn't have been the same to have left the country without seeing it!
The hotels, even in economy for Jordan, were great and just exactly what we needed, since we didn't need fancy (course the fancy in Egypt didn't hurt) and that we were able to have a hotel with that view of the pyramids, well, thank you :)
We just wanted to take a minute and share with you our thanks. Because of you all we didn't worry about a thing, and just focused on what we were experiencing and left any concerns or questions in the hands of our guides and they at times went above and beyond to answer them for us.
Just a moment to talk about the Jordan side:
Our driver and our guide for the Jordan side were spectacular. We couldn't have asked for better and feel we were lucky to have been assigned to them. Nasser (i am afraid I don't know his last name but i am sure the company knows who was assigned to us) was so knowledgeable, his English exceptional and his courtesy was an example to others, in fact, everyone that knew him randomly at places we stopped took the time to greet him excitedly like a long lost friend and would make sure we knew we had the best guide! It was great to see the respect he gained from others shows his worth.
Wesam Ahmad and he too went above and beyond to make us comfortable and took great care of us. Both were exceptional and we wanted everyone to know. Because of them we fell more in love with Jordan . They were able to point out things and suggest others that now, we have to plan a whole other trip and come back :)
Thank you again for such a well planned and executed trip. If we every desire a tour again we will be sure to talk to you :) (I typically don't do tours lol) please feel free to use any of this in your testimonials.
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W.Kirt Nichols, MD, MHA - Greece - September 2011
Greece was so great and fun with bro and sis and Keegan.
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Kamalodeen Mohammed - Southern England - September 2011
All in all, the tour was fantastic, will definitely use you guys again in the very near future....
Thanks for everything
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Ruth Vogele - Maritime’s Adventure - September 2011
I'm sorry I won't get to meet you in person to thank you for your assistance. Just a little aside... I booked into a B&B in Toronto and upon arriving met a couple from Perth Australia (which is on the west coast and I live on the east coast of the country) and they were telling me about a tour from Halifax that they were about to do that they had booked with this 'great Travel Company called A-Z Tours'!!! coincidence!!!
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Marie Ivanda - Europe - September 2011
What a fantastic trip! Yet another well planned and perfectly executed trip by Cosmos. . Rest stops, hotels, transportation, guides, food....everything was just excellent!
Our guide Sofia, was superb. Highlight of the whole trip for everyone was Budapest . Prague , Nurnburg, Salzberg and Vienna were great, but Budapest was really quite stunning.
Thanks again Theresa for once again, arranging another great travel experience for me.
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Kathryn Miller - Nova Scotia & PEI - September 2011
It was the BEST! My mom was the "darling of the coach"! we had a wonderful Guide and driver. All the our fellow passengers were great! Sent in the survey - can't wait for the next trip! Canadian Rockies with our spouses this time in 2013! Thanks again it was the trip of our dreams!
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Kim - August 2011
You two have accomplished great things in the travel business probably because you could see farther than the rest of the people in Nova Scotia Tourism put together. Lynn Perry and I had lunch a while ago and we spent half the time talking about you and the tourism shows of the '90's, many of them long before I met you: Sea Sell, ITB, etc.
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Susan Stevenson - Iceland - August 2011
Iceland is a wildly beautiful country and we enjoyed seeing it [and want to go back].
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Lynn Freeston - Atlantic Canada Vacation Planning Service - August 2011
We both still feel recharged from our holiday, however, which is a sure sign of a great holiday.
Your itinerary, route and accommodations were all perfect. We absolutely loved NS and the people everywhere were so friendly. The sun even followed us wherever we went. The prize for best accommodation was Driftwood Park Retreat in Advocate Harbour . The chalet was right on the beach, and was very clean and well appointed. The owners, Su and John, were lovely and helpful without being in any way intrusive. Amazingly, the best restaurant was also in Advocate Harbour . We ate well everywhere and spent a lot of money in good restaurants but the best cooking and value for money was the Wild Caraway.
We had a memorable close encounter with 3 humpback whales in Digby, visited the beautiful and tranquil Gampo Abbey Buddhist monastery in Pleasant Bay , went sea kayaking in Chignecto, and hiked on amazing trails on Cape Breton , Digby Neck and the two gorgeous Provincial Parks on the North shore of Fundy .
When we arrived back at Halifax Airport at the end of our adventure, having said the holiday couldn't have been better in a single respect, we had an unexpected final treat. We bumped into Margaret Atwood (we are both mega-fans) and had our photo taken with her.
So thanks to you, and to Glen who is copied in on this email (Glen generously spent a hour with me on the phone before putting me in touch with you last February), for your contributions to what was probably the best, healthiest and most relaxing holiday I've ever had.
We took hundreds of photos, but how to choose one to send to you? I've selected a photo taken from the balcony of our chalet at Driftwood Park Retreat, and another of us in the back of a truck en route to our sea kayaking adventure. Sophie and I are standing up, and I'm the short one with bleached hair.
If I can help you by providing reviews of any of the other accommodations or in any other way, let me know.
We'll be back to Nova Scotia , for sure!
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Carol Patmore - Nova Scotia & PEI - July 2011
We had a wonderful trip.
Thank you very much for all your help. It was very difficult to contact the tour operator direct so you were a great help.
The tour was excellent. The tour guide (Blair Beed) was very knowledgeable and also had a great sense of humour. The driver Alex was wonderful and was also very good company. The hotels were very good and everything was handled very smoothly. We were also very lucky to be with a great group of people.
I will be recommending the Maritimes and your services to all my friends. I actually lived in Halifax and Dartmouth in 1962 so it was a real trip down memory lane for me.
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Lynn Freeston - Atlantic Canada Vacation Planning Service - August 2011
This is completely brilliant. Thank you Nicole.
I'll be sure to drop you a line after the holiday to tell you how it went, and what we thought of the accommodations. And wherever we go, I'll be sure to recommend you and your service to fellow NS travellers.
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Pamela Littmann - British Isles - August 2011
I did return safe and sound and exhausted. Enjoyed the trip, however it was a whirlwind of activity. I took over 2,000 photos and met a lot of great people.
Thanks again for your planning of this trip.
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Dennis & Anne Donohue - Atlantic Canada Vacation Planning Service - July 2011
Just get back from our trip and wanted to write to you to tell you what a wonderful time we had. All of the lodging was excellent and the itinerary was well spaced and enjoyable. D'Arcy and Anne in Turo are wonderful people and their B&B was just what we needed after arriving. The Sonata Inn was located very near places that we went to in Charlottetown and the Silver Dart and Waverley Inn were excellent choices as well.
Thanks so much for putting this package together. We will certainly recommend you and A-Z Travels to any of our friends visiting Canada .
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Linda Rounds-Nichols - British Isles - July 2011
Hello from your novice travelers.... we are now a week into the British Isles In-Depth tour -- arrived in Ireland this afternoon - and are having a wonderful time!
Thank you! We had a wonderful time - saw so many things we have heard about all of our lives. Our tour guide was Mickey Brady, and he was full of information and had a great sense of humor. Our driver was Lee, and he got us through some really narrow streets! I was surprised that the shower plumbing in each hotel was just a little different - this, actually, became a topic of conversation among the group!
I think you'll find this funny --- as you well know, we are newbees at this -- and your patience with my many questions was greatly appreciated -- anyway, the flight attendant on our Houston to Albuquerque flight was very interested in our tour. It was a tiny plane, and she was right beside us, so had all sorts of questions, as she is thinking of taking her mother (82) to England next year. Phil and I became the experts on what sort of trip she should plan! Funny!
Thank you, again, for all of your help!
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Sue Awcock - UK to Eastern Canada - July 2011
I'm back in the UK after a fabulous time in Eastern Canada. The weather was great when it needed to be and I've experienced your atlantic coast thunderstorms too! The tour lived upto expectations.
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Sherry Measom - Greece & the Aegean - July 2011
We had a wonderful time. Cosmos is a class act and Marianna and our driver (can't remember or spell his name) did a spectacular job. I would recommend them to anyone and would use Cosmos again in the future.
The cruise was a let down. Ship Louis Majesty was old and had some wear and tear. Cruise workers were friendly and helpful. Had some problems with running things smoothly and without long lines. Dinning rooms were very crowded.
The itinerary could have also been better on the cruise. We just did not have enough time in the ports except in Rhodes . Some days we hit two ports in one day. Would liked to have had time to do a tour and spend time at the beach. In most cases we had to choose to do one or the other. Weather was in the40 to 45 celsus range so it was hot. We walked a lot but had a marvelous time.
Thanks for all of your help.
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Raffaelle Mungioli - Canadian Train Odyssey with Victoria extension - June 2011
Organizing a couple of fotos in as soon as I settle back to reality.
Wonderful trip-Yes
home safe- Yes
Trip enjoyed- Yes.
Wll get to you soon.
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Jeanne Mitcho - Canadian Maritimes - June 2011
We returned quite safe and sound AND rested. The tour was fabulous. We really enjoyed the pampering from Tauck. We would definitely consider another Tauck Tour and we've been telling all our friends how well treated we were. My one "complaint" would be there was way too much food!! Several of us commented that we could have done with buffet lunches that would have given us more time for touring. But then that's hardly a complaint.
Photos!! Are you kidding! That's my passion. Enjoy!!
Thanks so much Nicole! You've been great! You followed up on every question. Great customer service....something not found much anymore!
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Oliver - Egypt - June 2011
Now that I am back in Canada , a chance to say thanks for all your help in Egypt . You can be sure, that if I know of anyone who thinks of going to Egypt , I will certainly give them your contact details.
I would also like to say a special thank you to you and Avril for having me to dinner at your apartment. It was very special to come to your home and it was occasions like these that made the trip truly memorable.
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Roger Page - Greece & Turkey - June 2011
Let me start by saying that our Globus tour director (Beverley) was out standing & truly made the trip worth while. Excursions went very well & aside from an unforseeable cancelled flight home by U.S. Air, we had a good time. The "fly in the ointment" was with Louis Cruise Lines. Although being on a smaller ship of 1100 would seem to have an advantage over a ship of 3000 or more, a number of people understandably complained about a number of things. Here are a few:
1. Not being able to throw toilet paper into the toilet.
2. Not having coffee, water, tea, or hot chocolate available 24/7 free, but instead having to pay for it--the only other cruise Trudy & I were on had it free.
In addition, we personally had a few things happen: We went to the lounge during "Happy Hour" for an advertised drink of the day special (3.95 Euros, "two for the price of one during happy hour) only to find it was misleading--it was two for the ORIGINAL price of the drink, not two for 3.95!
I would suggest that Globus look into the possibility of another cruise line, or maybe include the cost of water, coffee, etc. into the price of the cruise--we really did hear alot of people complain about being "nickeled and dimed to death" by Louis! Overall though, we still had a good time and had no complaints with Globus. Roger
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W. Kirt Nichols MD.MHA. - Greece & Turkey - June 2011
Thanks Theresa. It is comforting to travel after working with you. I always feel the "i"s are dotted and the "t"s are crossed
The sights were beyond my comprehension. A bit different than prior tour groups where the tour director actually "ran" the show almost entirely. Here Beverly did the nuts and bolts but all the "stops" done by local guides. She was great and funny. Connected well with virtually everyone. The hostess on arrival could have done a bit more re: things to do and places to see the Thursday afternoon and Friday AM before sailing.
I thought the boat was good but others we traveled with in our group grumbled a lot about the nickel and dime(ing) of everything on the boat. It even cost to go up on the bridge ( E7 for kids and E15 for adults). Other boats I've been on that was gratis. Food was good and also plentiful. Crew was good and accommodating and very pleasant. The DeVani Palace Acropolis hotel was excellent with excellent service, breakfast etc
You did us well in my opinion. Only thing now is to decide what's next. Still planning to do trip with my kids Dec 2012
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Yvonne Arnowitz - Maritime Sampler Tour - June 2011
I had a wonderful time on the Ambassatours Maritime Sampler tour. The tour guide and bus driver were just wonderful, and the group was great as well.
I would say the highlights for me were Halifax, Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, Hopewell Rocks and Green Gables, and the yummy Cows Ice Cream in PEI ! The Maritimers are very friendly and welcoming, and I would travel there again in a heartbeat!
I've attached some photos - Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg and me at Hopewell Rocks.
Thanks for all your help with my trip.
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Kisha Bennett - Scenic Europe and Bernina Express - June 2011
I only just arrived home on Friday June 3rd. I live on Roatan so it takes a bit of time to return to the island. Yes, the trip was very nice and we enjoyed seeing places that we had never seen before. On top of that we had an excellent guide and an excellent driver which contributed greatly to our enjoyment of the tour. The Berenina Express was lovely and those Swiss mountains were beyond impressive.
On the dull side both me and my sister got sick due to the altitude and change in climate but that had nothing to do with the tour itself. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our new surroundings and would gladly visit a few places again sometime in the future. I signed up for the Cosmos raffle...perhaps we will win the tour! You never know.
Well then thanks for inquiring and take care.
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Teresa Ryan - May 2011
We're in Shanghai , the last leg of our journey. It has been a good trip. I'll tell you all about it over the glass of wine/martini.
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Terry Cobb - Canadian Rockies - May 2011
Wanted to let you know that the trip was wonderful. The trip went off without a hitch. The tour guide was excellent, the motor coach was comfortable and the driver was always on time, the train ride was good, and the weather was perfect. The only time it rained was when we drove into Calgary . By then the vacation had just about ended. The hotels were clean and staff friendly, food on the tour was high quality, and each Fairfield Inn Hotel had their distinct personality and uniqueness. If and when we take another tour we will use Collette Tours again. The couples on the tour, most seasoned travelers, said that Collette Tours was one of the best.
Thank you for all your assistance in getting our Canadian Tour package together and making sure it was an enjoyable experience.
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Stella Quan - Prague Vienna & Budapest - May 2011
All went well. A VERY long flight. Other than that, we had a good time. There were 46 people on the tour and we happened to coming across a family we know. What a small world!
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Delmar Bogner - May 2011
We had a fine trip and tour, thanks to Cosmos Tours.
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Richard & Margaret Shurack - April 2011
Our trip went wonderfully.
No Problems.
Train travel was easy and comfortable.
The hotels were excellent.
Location of all was good. Very easy to get to all the sights.
Both Weimar and Berlin were very well situated and convenient.
Both guides were excellent.
Thanks for all your help.
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Tracey Reid - India - April 2011
My trip was absolutely phenomenal and definitely unforgettable!!! The tour with Tauck was amazing. I stayed in the most spectacular hotels. A lot of us agreed that the hotels we stay in now will never measure up. The tour guide was excellent. There is no way that I could have done that trip without him. He made sure that all of the connections were made and made it all totally seamless. There were a few days when I just stayed at the hotels because I was either sick or just wanted to enjoy their beauty and he had no problem with that at all. The fact that he was Indian helped a lot since he could translate for us when we needed it. He asked us all what our favourite place was and there was no way I could answer that. I REALLY liked all of the places. They were SO different!!!
It really is nice to be home again though : )
Thank you and everyone at A-Z for making this so easy for me. I had NO problem transferring everything from going to Egypt to India instead. Everything was handled so well.
Thank you so much again!!
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Jaren & Luke Folden - Egypt - April 2011
Thanks for checking in. the trip was great. we had been told before hand everything was open, but turned out the museum in Alexandria and one of the temples wasn't, so that was a little disappointing. Thanks for everything.
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Julie Millis - Atlantic Canada Vacation Planning Service - for September 2011
You have "wowed" us with the itinerary! We and the Birches are anxiously awaiting September!
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Denise C. Douglas - Response to the Action Travel Newsletter - April 2011
Wonderful Newsletter! Thanks for the recipe for Salad Nicoise, one of my favourites during the summer, and I was looking for a truly traditional recipe and now I have it!
I enjoyed reading the rituals and I think I do all of them! LOL I also did the quiz and came out a very mixed traveler! 2 "B" making me a Sophisticate, 1 "C" making me a Bonder and 2 "E" that did not have an explanation: LOL
Anyway thoroughly enjoyed your newsletter and look forward to next month!
Have a great day!
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Ian Osborn - Greece on the Ancient Lands - April 2011
We had a great time, and really enjoyed ourselves... the folks from Trafalgar tours were wonderful...
Let me take this opportunity to provide you with some constructive feedback...
The detailed itineraries that were provided gave us a very good description of the various tours and trips that would take place once you reached shore.
However, none of them are included. They are all optional and cost extra; perhaps for the next tours you might want to mention this.
Thanks again.
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Diane Sahakian - March 2011
Thanks very much for the note! We had a terrific time and got home without a hitch. Brussels had protests which caused some problems. The airport driver on Saturday showed up at 6am as planned and he was very nice. So, it went well but you know, it is very good to be home. Thanks for your help! Take care
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Mindy & Joel Skapinker - Egypt - March 2011
Very glad to hear from you. We were just dropped in Aqaba this morning where we will spend 3 days. Everything went wonderfully smoothly and I want to particularly pass on our complements about our guide Nasr whom we were told at the border by another guide that he was "the best". And so it proved...extremely knowledgeable, thoughtful considerate, well-informed. The driver Reat was also wonderful; it is he who brought us from Petra to Aqaba today and told us too how lucky we were to have had Nasr. So....all good, thank you. I know you'll pass this on to Avril. I'm glad things worked out...things Are expensive here in Jordan .
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Lynn Giantomaso - Ezines from Avril - March 2011
The articles are interesting and well written.
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John Marshall - Ezines Review
I have reviewed a number of articles and I liked them. They are easy to read, contain good information, and are on a wide variety of topics.
They also provide good visibility for companies, especially with your tag line after each article.
Well done
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Tony Burns - Playa del Carmen - February 2011
Good morning. Every thing as far as flying with west Jet was great, on time smooth flights. The Hotel its self was nice the room was nice and the people working there was great. The food on the other hand was not great. We had better food at a 3 star in Guyabetos los cocos.
Playa is awesome I know for sure when we go back and we will be going back we will stay at the Puerto Real as the food there was exceptional, for example the beach club and bar had burgers fries nachos with guacamole, we never saw anything like that. At one time we had to buy our own fresh bananas for making our drinks and give them to the bar. We should have taken the third upgrade and would advise anyone that it would be well worth it.
The walk from the hotel was only 12 minutes to the beach and is a nice clean safe walk as most places were there. Only issue was again the food we spent most of our money eating out every other day. Keep in mind its not real expensive to eat out and have a couple of drinks but not expected when you go all inclusive. We are going to put some comments on trip advisor mostly good about certain staff.
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Gary and Belinda Schrik - Holland - February 2011
Thank you for the welcome home. Everything went well. We thank you for your help. It sounds like for the next couple of years we will have to make several trips a year. KLM is an awesome company to fly with. The service is fantastic. Thank you again.
PS. We will contact you again when we fly again.
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Tim and Joan Paine - Egypt & Jordan - February 2011
I thought you might be interested in our experiences on the trip you arranged for us in Jordan & Egypt from Dec. 3-19. (We were always picked up on time which we were grateful for.)
Jordan - Basically everything went well.
We didn't tour the handicraft center at Kan Zaman. Don't even know what that was. However, later we did one of Queen Noor's centers which we enjoyed. We didn't like the King's Highway Hotel quite a ways from the town Petra is in. Not even a desk in the room plus it was so far away there was nothing around it so we couldn't even walk to some stores. Because we wouldn't have caught our plane in time we couldn't have an outdoor lunch in a tent campsite. But we had lunch someplace else, but I was looking forward to the outdoor lunch. We were much too rushed on the last day plus it is a long drive back to Amman.
However, we greatly enjoyed Hassen (who was excellent) & the tour.
One last comment about Jordan. The dinner the guide suggested for the 1st night was wonderful--we just had trouble understanding the difference between what was listed on the tour & what he suggested. It was an excellent suggestion. He was a wonderful, knowledgable guide. I would definitely recommend him.
Egypt - All the guides were fine. Especially the one we had in Luxor--he went out of his way to take us to some additional places.
We went to the Solar Boat Museum which should be added to the tour. Too many shopping places in Cairo--papyrus, perfumery, bazaar.
Taking the sleeper train to Aswan was fine because in the morning we could watch people out in the fields. However, I would suggest you tell people that taking it both ways is not desirable. I would have preferred to fly back to Cairo.
In Aswan we asked to go to the Nubian Museum after we finished the other touring. We're glad we stayed the extra days in Cairo--time to relax & see a couple of other things that weren't on the tour.
Thank you for arranging the tour. We are glad we did it & we're glad we aren't there now!!
Thanks again for a wonderful trip!
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Jacquelyn Johnston M.Ed. RCRT - Egypt - February 2011
Thank you for the fascinating presentation on Saturday. You are a fund of information, and I learnt more from an hour with you than in all the reading I have done on Egypt.
Your insights on current events were more revealing than any newsreel. Thank you very much for the education.
It was a great Open House. I wish you and you continued success with your Travel Agency. I am sure that after things calm down more people than ever before are going to want to visit Egypt.
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Peter Klos - Egypt - January 2011
I just wanted to briefly reach out to you given the unrest in Egypt. My wife and I were thinking back to our trip (and how much we enjoyed it) and to our guide for most of the trip, Khalid. I am not sure if you are in touch with him at all but if you are, my wife (Cathy) and I would like to wish him well as we really enjoyed his company and insights throughout our vacation.
He is an excellent guide and a genuinely nice person and I hope he is OK. Thanks again for your help throughout the vacation process as we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Africa this past summer.
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Patty Hoffman - Sydney/Bangkok/Tokyo - January 2011
Thanks so much for all you do, Joy!
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Beverly Berg - Egypt - January 2011
I am back from Egypt. Personally I had a great time. The sites which were new to me and less "on the beaten track" were wonderful, including Kalabsha Temple, the Khnum and Satet temples with new restorations on Elephantine Island and San Simeon Monastery, all in Aswan, Esna temple which I hadn't seen for many years, the open air museum at Karnak, Amarna, and Beni Hassan.
We had a very good guide, Khaled Fangary, who was quite knowledgeable and really worked overtime to satisfy the complainers. We had about three of those, which I guess is not bad for a group of 17, but you may get some vitriolic feedback from the whiners. I think everyone was happy with the guide, the sites, the food, and the weather, and by and large people remained healthy. Some were disappointed in the hotels in Aswan and El Minya. They were not very good, although both had excellent locations, and I tried to tell people they were typical of Egyptian moderately-priced accommodations.
The Akhenaten in El Minya had some dirt in the corridors. I myself had to change rooms because my first room had a malfunctioning lock, and I received a poor room in exchange, which often happens. But my guidebook describes it as "the best of the budget options" so perhaps you had no other choice in our price range. I consider all of this minor, and I understand that you did the best you could with the train reservation problems.
We were extremely lucky in our 2008-9 group, where everyone remained cheerful, although a number had some health problems, but you can't expect that every time. Thanks for all the work you put into this program--I consider it to have been a success. I'm very glad I finally got to see Amarna, and lots of participants found it fascinating and liked being out in the countryside that day and the next.
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Dr. Udaya Liyanage - Egypt - January 2011
Thank you Carol. I and my family enjoyed the trip immensely. I will write you an email later regarding the whole trip. Some of my experience might help future travelers.
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Denise T. Means - Egypt - January 2011
Just a short note to let you know what a wonderful time I am having in Egypt!!!!! Thank you for helping me achieve a trip of a lifetime!!!!! Everything worked out really well. All the hotels were great, the tour guides were professional, friendly, well versed and timely. I do not have the email address for the contact here in Egypt, but could you please copy him and let him know that I am very pleased with my vacation thus far and happy that I booked with your company.
Just wanted to thank you for assisting me with my recent vacation to Egypt. I can't say enough good things about the service I received in Egypt from your company. The guides, transportation, food, lodging were excellent. I was thoroughly taken care of and it enabled me to relax and enjoy my vacation. I appreciate all the efforts that each person made in making my dream come true.
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Raj Bud - Egypt - December 2010
I'm having a great time so far. Eqypt trip was awesome and very educative. Kudos to your staff and organizers in Cairo. Everything went well just like clockwork. The early morning flight to Luxor just left the entire group whining as we all had to get up between 1 and 2 am. I found Cairo and Luxor very interesting but found Aswan a bit of a drag. Hotel Delta Pyramids and Cleopatra Aswan are 3rd class hotels and not recommended for your clientele unless they are on a shoestring budget.
Mr Ahmed is a great tourist guide and extremely helpful. He even arranged a local SIM card for my mobile so I could communicate long distance. Please convey my thanks to Dr. Khaled for upgrading my hotel stay and arranging for your staff in Cairo to arrange personal transfers to hotels and Airport.
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Ashesh & Rindu Banerjea - Egypt - December 2010
We very much enjoyed our trip, thanks to you, For the most part, everything went well. I would suggest a few things that I believe will make things even better.
Reception at the airport: Please ask your agent to have a much bigger sign (and perhaps a muti-colored one) so that it is visible from a distance. The reception area is quite crowded and it was almost impossible to see him.
Also, in your instructions, please be very specific and ask your tourists to actually exit the baggage claim area to get to your agent. One of our touring companions waited for a very long time inside baggage claim. We hung around at the airport for a very long time waiting for her after a long and grueling flight.
Hotels: The hotel had 4/5 star amenities, but the rooms were substandard and the restaurants in the hotel complex were mediocre. The worst part was the location. It was so far away from everything, we felt like we were "stuck" in the hotel during our mornings or afternoons off. Perhaps you can ask your clients about their preferred locations and limitations beforehand. Also, I think chain European and American hotels have comparable standards based on their ratings, but Egyptian owned hotels are arbitrarily rated. I will admit that this is something you had warned us ahead of time.
Cruise: The food on the ship was really tasteless. I understand that they are trying to cater to all kinds of taste buds, but simple food can be tasty as well. Besides, who wants to go to Egypt and eat Continental food every day? I know you have no control over this, but perhaps you can pass on this feedback to the cruise company. Everyone in our group felt the same way, so we are not alone in this assessment.
As I said at the outset, overall our trip was very enjoyable, and our group was just fabulous and we made really good friends which is more than most people bargain for.
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