I am recently back from a 14 day 13 night tour of The UK with CIE Tour Company. CIE Tour Company has it's office in Cedarknolls, NJ and has been in business for 90 years. I've taken tours before with Insight Vacations and would rate their tours (Ireland and Scotland, and Italy) over CIE. The accommodations and meals were substandard, IMHO. I did a review of the tour on yelp, and wish I had seen the reviews before booking. There are 22 reviews counting mine and the average rating is only a 2.5 out of 5. There were 7 people who gave the company a rating of 5, and 10 people who gave it a rating of 1. My rating was a 2. Interestingly CIE's webpage indicates they have a 95% satisfaction rate which seems not to match the reviews on yelp.
My friend and I choose this tour, as it's one of a few that included Wales. We choose the month of August in order to attend the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh. We covered a lot of miles as you can see. One of the pluses of the tour was only having a single night once, and the bulk of the time spending two consecutive nights in the same lodging.
The tour started in Windsor, which I really enjoyed. The tour ended in London.
We added an extra night at the front of the tour to give us time to adjust a bit to the 5 hour difference, and to give us a buffer should there be any problems with flights etc. You really just never know. Travel nowadays can present some difficulties.
The quality of the tour usually relies on the tour guide and the luck of the days during the trip.
ReplyDeleteOur tour guide was ok, not as good as the two I had with Insight Vacations; but the quality of the hotels and food I think is more the problem of the tour company.
DeleteIt would be such an interesting place to visit. I'm sorry it wasn't as good as anticipated!
ReplyDeleteThere were many interesting places to visit and learn about. Wish I could remember it all.
DeleteSuch a shame that the accomodations and meals weren't up to par. You certainly covered a good bit of the country. Looking forward to hearing more about the trip.
ReplyDeleteWe really did cover a lot. I should try to figure out how many miles we traveled in those 14 days. Thanks for the visit.
DeleteThat is disappointing, but I’m glad you got to go! So many flight problems these days, as well as horrible weather, fires, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I got to go as well, and still enjoyed myself; but somethings could have been better. You're right about so many flight problems and bad weather etc.
DeleteThat's a real shame that the tour didn't meet the standards that they advertised or the tourists expected.
ReplyDeleteIt really was, don't think they needed to do much to improve it. Some easy fixes I would think with changing hotels etc.
DeleteSo disappointing. I love the idea of a tour of Britain, but I've come to dislike moving around so much. You did get to some great places. When I went to England in the spring we left two days early "just in case."
ReplyDeleteThe moving around is indeed tiring and stressful. You want to be sure you don't leave something behind. But, you get to see so much, more than you could on your own I think.
Deletehow wonderful it looks, and comfortable. I'd love to go on that tour, and prosecco is so good...
ReplyDeleteyou'll love the book Irish boarding house... lovely accents
LeeAnna
Thanks for the follow up on the book. When I finish the current book I'm listening to, going to see if I can get it from the library. I also love prosecco, so light and refreshing. Our seats were comfy.
DeleteYes, we did have a very good time, traveled lots of miles, saw a lot, and learned more than we could possibly remember.
ReplyDeleteA rating of 1 and 2 isn't good at all. What a shame. If you go by yourself you usually do far better.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous weekend. ♥
I prefer tours over traveling by yourself. I like someone else to do the driving and be responsible for stuff, particularly outside the US. We saw a lot and had fun, but this company just wasn't up to the standards I had with Insight Vacations that I've toured with twice. Live and learn, I guess.
DeleteVery nice write up
ReplyDeleteLove your blog
Thank you.
DeleteSo near and yet so far from us!
ReplyDeleteWaving hi!
DeleteI've been to England, but it was way back in 1985 with a college trip (7 countries in a month). Sorry your trip didn't meet up with your expectations. I'd love to do the British Isles one day.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a fun trip, sounds like you covered quite a lot of territory. Hope you get to the British Isles.
DeleteI have never been on one of these package tours, so I am unable to rank one company against another. When I travel I am in search of wildlife and nature writ large, and a I always tap into the local naturalists community. Fabulous success in many countries has been the result. I have stayed in people’s home and have reciprocated, and when we have made overnight journeys with them they already have their favourite places to stay and eat and I have never been disappointed.
ReplyDeleteYou are indeed well traveled. Glad you've had such good experiences, though don't believe I would want to stay at someone's home. I'm already beginning to plan the next European adventure for next year, looking like it will be Sicily; but definitely not with the same tour company.
DeleteSorry for the problems however you visited wonderful places. I went many times to Scotland, Ireland and Wales; I like them a lot.
ReplyDeleteNext year I will come back to Scotland with my son and my grandson (15 y.o.).
It's always nice to have a trip to look forward to.
DeleteIt's a shame you weren't happy with your trip.
ReplyDeleteI've never traveled with a travel agency before... we always plan everything ourselves and have had very good experiences with them.
I wish you much success in planning your next trip... we currently have the most beautiful sunshine with wonderful foliage coloring. Pure enjoyment.
Happy greetings to you from Viola
We've got the next trip scheduled and am looking forward to it, it will be Sicily with a different tour group. Next time it will be Collette.
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