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I agree with Sally's comments entirely - with the proviso that all included dinners, whether in the hotel or at a restaurant must be good quality.

All the best,

Bob

I agree with you Paul and had already brought this point up and also that on my trip last year, every-one appeared to be more than happy with the food provided by the hotel.  

Actually, no-one ever suggested eating out.

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

Marie

'sallyc' wrote:

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!!)

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.
I would take the opposite view,not having a lot of included dinners.The odd one is alright,but,in most cases the complete restaurant menu is usually not available,understandably the restaurant has to cook the meals and so only a few dishes are available for groups to select from.

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.

I would not mind 'cooking' on a holiday if I was learning a new skill!

Regards

Jaya

Having completed 20 JY trips I have experienced a mixture of tours, some with all meals included, others without.

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

I too have done the Rocky Mountaineer trip and the only time we had a problem with meals was in Vancouver! There was SO much choice of good restaurants!! By that time though most people had formed into groups of likeminded and it was just a case of "meet us in foyer around 7" and then everyone eventually scattered and found a restaurant of their choice and likewise "meet us in such a bar for drinks around 9" meant everyone ate where they wanted and afterwards all had a drink together, giving a chance to "bond". One evening our tour leader booked a restaurant for most of the group and only a few people turned up which led to bad feeling!!! I can see arguments for both sides. In Mijas last year a few of us ate out a couple of nights, again as there was such a choice of good restaurants in the village and we even gave feedback that a group meal out on at least one evening would be great as the hotel food eventually became quite boring! I always thinks its good to have a choice. Some people are adventurous foodies and some are not. There is no way to please everyone but a willingness to compromise goes a long way.....there are even some people (not me!) who like to be alone in the evenings after being with a party of people in a coach/train all day.....others dont want a full meal at night...yes I have come across them all! Just go with the flow I say...
When no evening meal is provided, there is a pattern where a great rigmarole unravels on the coach, of menus being passed round, clockwise and anti-clockwise, with menus being tapped on the head of the person in front, or waved in the face of those behind. This is time consuming and is irritating. Also can result in a great loss of enjoyment of scenery in places we may not ever pass through again. My conclusion is that JY include evening meals. T
Hi Paul,

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