Worst Trip Everrrr
It has taken me a few days to recover from the Diamond Tours New Orleans trip. I am very displeased with the entire experience. The ONLY good thing about the trip was the bus driver and the people on the bus.
This was the WORST TRIP EVER! I WILL NEVER do a bus tour again! The hotels were sub-par, at best, with TERRIBLE continental breakfasts (cold coffee, taco meat for breakfast, cold, watery eggs 🤮) the hotel kept running out of food and we had to literally knock on a door for someone to come out and replenish. The restaurant stops were also sub-par. The quality of food was poor (Sicily Italian, Picadilly's, Landry's). Some of the staff at each of the restaurants were rude and uninviting.
The bus leaked water drops over one passenger's head. The bathroom had a very putrid smell upon flushing, leaving the entire bus with a foul odor. The driver finally rectified the problem, but it took more than one attempt.
There was a room mix-up with guests at the Sonesta ES Suites (WILL NEVER STAY HERE AGAIN). One of the rooms had bugs. This made me research reviews, and during my research, I discovered that there were SEVERAL reviews with bed bugs! 😫
As a tour guide, I found Toni Johnston to be unenthused, impersonal, and with no real sense of humor. Her lack of enthusiasm made the itinerary stops even more unappealing. The guided tour was awful...no one was paying attention, people were on their phones because the tour lacked excitement. She seemed to be doing the job for the sake of doing the job.
I found it interesting that Diamond Tours target travelers who are retired senior citizens, however, several of the itinerary stops were not supportive of physically challenged travelers. 🤔
The RiverWalk Mall was very difficult for some physically challenged travelers to maneuver. The food court was soooo far inside that they had to stop numerous times to rest before continuing their journey (this should have been prefaced in an overview BEFORE people exited the bus).
Mardi Gras World and the World War ll Museum required wayyyy too much walking. They need to do a better job of choosing itineraries that are best suited to support physically challenged individuals and that are also interesting enough for people to want to be there for more than 2 hours. Mardi Gras World was really THE ONLY itinerary that immersed us in New Orlean culture.
Again...WORST TRIP I HAVE EVER TAKEN AND I WOULD NEVER recommend this company to ANYONE! I am submitting this as a review on several sites so people can make a more informed decision when choosing a tour bus company and pre-packaged itineraries that have nothing to do with the culture of the destination.
Personally, I will be opting to pay the extra money for a quality vacation in the future. This was the WORST EXPERIENCE on a bus I have everrrrr had, a total waste of money, annnnd 0 out of 10... 🗣 🗣🗣 DO NOT RECOMMEND! BUYER BEWARE...DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY...RUNNNN in the opposite direction.