All the best,

Bob

Actually, no-one ever suggested eating out.

I was thinking of returning next year, since I enjoyed it so much.

Marie

My personal opinion is that one centre holidays where you stay in the one hotel all week would benefit from a few nights eating out to give variety from the same hotel food all the time however a touring holiday when you are in a different place each night needs a pre-booked restaurant where you can all eat together and not waste time wandering around trying to find somewhere to eat.

Sally,

I agree completely with your comments.

Regards,

Roger.

P S off to Kenya tomorrow (all meals included!!)

Recently, on the American Music Heritage Tour In May, we stayed at the Marriott near Muscle Shoals, most people decided to eat in the hotel restaurant as the hotel was a bit isolated.Steak was one of the choices, and along with several others,I found mine inedible,in addition the service was awful,it took a long time for any food to arrive, including starters.As Marriott is a big chain,I have eaten at several,it really was bad.The service and the food was much better the next morning at breakfast. I know where we were there wasn’t much choice,but,the bar snacks, burgers etc,although they came from the same kitchen,seemed better and came more promptly.This was nothing to do with the TM, it was entirely the hotel’s fault,they came up with the excuse that they were training their kitchen and wait staff.

Regards

Jaya

Personally I prefer all meals to be included, however on the majority of trips where they are not all included the tour manager has good knowledge of the area and will suggest options and also arrange an option for those who want to to meet at a given time to go to a particular restaurant and these have generally worked with restaurants being able to cope with a group of 20 wanting individual bills.

I think some of it should depend on how full on the trip is, where there's a busy itinerary it is far easier not to have to worry about dining arrangements and just know be ready for a set time to meet for dinner, for lunches I am OK having to fend for myself and given we generally get the chance for a good breakfast so I am not always in need of lunch. My last trip to Burma worked well for lunches in that we tended to go out early and come back to the hotel and relax by the pool for a snack, but eveing meals I'd definitely prefer it to be included.

On the topic of eating what you cook, in Japan I really enjoyed the chance to cook and eat okynokiyama it was part of the experience, but like others have said in other posts, I cook enough at home so don't necessarily want to cook while on holiday unless it is going to add to my experience of the trip.

Tim

Customers can have the included meals, or going out to eat locally, they have the choice to do that on all our trips 🙂

Regarding holiday prices, there are many factors we need to consider when pricing our tours, some which are impacted by aspects outside of our control. These include the cost of flights, hotel prices and inflation.

We always aim to provide incredible value for money, which is why so much is included on our trips, such as all breakfasts, flights, hotels, excursions and Tour Managers. However, if costs increase elsewhere then the price of our tours may need to be adjusted. We’ve worked hard to hold several 2018 tours at the same price for 2019, but some have increased due to other cost factors.

We listen to and value what you tell us, and a common theme has been that you want more flexibility and freedom around meals and excursions. There are lots of ways we receive your feedback, from Customer Satisfaction Questionnaires, speaking to travel agents, our live chat facility, on the phone, social media and on the Just You Community Forum.

So, for 2019 we’ve reduced a small number of meals and trips from some of our tours and we look forward to hearing your feedback about them too, so we can continue to offer unforgettable holidays for everyone.

Our Tour Managers have also been fully informed about the tours that have fewer meals, so they’ll be ready to show you all the local places you can discover.

Many thanks,

Vickie