YMT VACATIONS - The Best of France and Switzerland was not the best!!
Let me start by saying that my husband and I have taken ocean cruises and other river cruisesOur experience with YMT was riddled with incomplete, inaccurate and misleading informationThe travel experience was our worst ever!
We did our research on line and then called YMT to book the reservationTheir web site indicated to "click here to see deck plans"Prior to finalizing the booking we explored the deck plans to determine a cabin categoryOn the deck plan page was information stating that "all *** *** cruises include the following" and went on to list gratuities, wine with meals, side trips and several other itemsThis was what we had experienced on our other river cruises so we felt we had confirmation that the perks would be the sameWe booked the trip based on this informationImagine our surprise when we received our travel documents days prior to departure stating a suggested amount for gratuities, side trips we could pay extra for and recommending that if we wanted more than water and coffee with meals we would need to purchase a beverage package for $a person! I immediately called and questioned the misinformation on the web siteI was told by a supervisor that the deck plan page I had been directed to was in fact not a YMT web site and therefore did not pertain to our tripNo where on the link did the words "you are now leaving the YMT web site appearI expressed my concern that this was bait and switchI was told that another supervisor would call me back to discuss the miscommunication - I am still waiting
The documentation we received was full of incorrect information - the hotel in Bern, Switzerland was listed as being in the Czech Republic - which is countries away from SwitzerlandThe last line of the travel documents stated "We are looking forward to greeting you in beautiful Germany." The trip was the Best of France and Switzerland - we never set foot in Germany! We did not embark on our trip with a very good feeling about YMT
The tour directors were very nice but not well preparedOn previous river cruises the tour guides had maps of the city and pamphlets for all of the sights that we would be seeing prior to arrivalAll we had was one map that the tour guide passed through the bus so everyone could glance at it prior to arrivalWe were then given directions to the Tourist Information office in each town so we could get our own maps and pamphletsNot very professional I will say that in several cities, the tour guide at least walked with us to the Tourist Information cityAlthough the bus drivers were skilled at navigating the narrow streets, they weren't always well prepared to find our final destinationThe day we arrived in Lyon to board the boat, we drove around Lyon for minutes trying to find the access ramp to get to the boatWe could see the boat, but the driver could not find the rampAgain, not very professionalThis trip ended up being very much self guided which is not what we thought we were signing up for
This was a 50th wedding anniversary tripOur travel confirmation stated that factAt no time during the trip was there any acknowledgement of our special occasion - very disappointingEven cruise ships deliver a cake to your table when you have note a special event!
The internet is not existentI paid for access on board, as did most of the passengersMany days, no one could get on lineWe were told that we could go into town and access WiFi at *** Unfortunately, *** as well as the small towns that have city WiFi require that you register your phone number and they will send you an access code by textNone of the passengers had cell phone voice or text therefore, we could not get access codesThe good news was that all of the hotels had free WiFi so for the day trip there were only about days that we had not accessThe ship staff acknowledged that their internet was extremely poorThe passengers could pick up signals from all the river cruise boats we past but not for the boat we were on and paying for WiFi access
We had air line miles so we booked our own air which meant we were on our own for transfers to and from the airportsWhen we booked our trip, we were told that based on what the YMT agent was seeing, there was a shuttle from our final hotel to the airportWhen we checked in to our hotel in Zurich we asked about booking the shuttle and were told they did not have a shuttleOnly their airport hotel had a shuttleApparently, the YMT agent was not looking at the correct Holiday Inn and therefore gave us incorrect informationYet another surprise!
We cannot recommend YMT due to misinformation, lack of information, poorly informed staff and poorly prepared drivers and guides
YMT VACATIONS - The Best of France and Switzerland was not the best!!
Let me start by saying that my husband and I have taken ocean cruises and other river cruisesOur experience with YMT was riddled with incomplete, inaccurate and misleading informationThe travel experience was our worst ever!
We did our research on line and then called YMT to book the reservationTheir web site indicated to "click here to see deck plans"Prior to finalizing the booking we explored the deck plans to determine a cabin categoryOn the deck plan page was information stating that "all *** *** cruises include the following" and went on to list gratuities, wine with meals, side trips and several other itemsThis was what we had experienced on our other river cruises so we felt we had confirmation that the perks would be the sameWe booked the trip based on this informationImagine our surprise when we received our travel documents days prior to departure stating a suggested amount for gratuities, side trips we could pay extra for and recommending that if we wanted more than water and coffee with meals we would need to purchase a beverage package for $a person! I immediately called and questioned the misinformation on the web siteI was told by a supervisor that the deck plan page I had been directed to was in fact not a YMT web site and therefore did not pertain to our tripNo where on the link did the words "you are now leaving the YMT web site appearI expressed my concern that this was bait and switchI was told that another supervisor would call me back to discuss the miscommunication - I am still waiting
The documentation we received was full of incorrect information - the hotel in Bern, Switzerland was listed as being in the Czech Republic - which is countries away from SwitzerlandThe last line of the travel documents stated "We are looking forward to greeting you in beautiful Germany." The trip was the Best of France and Switzerland - we never set foot in Germany! We did not embark on our trip with a very good feeling about YMT
The tour directors were very nice but not well preparedOn previous river cruises the tour guides had maps of the city and pamphlets for all of the sights that we would be seeing prior to arrivalAll we had was one map that the tour guide passed through the bus so everyone could glance at it prior to arrivalWe were then given directions to the Tourist Information office in each town so we could get our own maps and pamphletsNot very professional I will say that in several cities, the tour guide at least walked with us to the Tourist Information cityAlthough the bus drivers were skilled at navigating the narrow streets, they weren't always well prepared to find our final destinationThe day we arrived in Lyon to board the boat, we drove around Lyon for minutes trying to find the access ramp to get to the boatWe could see the boat, but the driver could not find the rampAgain, not very professionalThis trip ended up being very much self guided which is not what we thought we were signing up for
This was a 50th wedding anniversary tripOur travel confirmation stated that factAt no time during the trip was there any acknowledgement of our special occasion - very disappointingEven cruise ships deliver a cake to your table when you have note a special event!
The internet is not existentI paid for access on board, as did most of the passengersMany days, no one could get on lineWe were told that we could go into town and access WiFi at *** Unfortunately, *** as well as the small towns that have city WiFi require that you register your phone number and they will send you an access code by textNone of the passengers had cell phone voice or text therefore, we could not get access codesThe good news was that all of the hotels had free WiFi so for the day trip there were only about days that we had not accessThe ship staff acknowledged that their internet was extremely poorThe passengers could pick up signals from all the river cruise boats we past but not for the boat we were on and paying for WiFi access
We had air line miles so we booked our own air which meant we were on our own for transfers to and from the airportsWhen we booked our trip, we were told that based on what the YMT agent was seeing, there was a shuttle from our final hotel to the airportWhen we checked in to our hotel in Zurich we asked about booking the shuttle and were told they did not have a shuttleOnly their airport hotel had a shuttleApparently, the YMT agent was not looking at the correct Holiday Inn and therefore gave us incorrect informationYet another surprise!
We cannot recommend YMT due to misinformation, lack of information, poorly informed staff and poorly prepared drivers and guides