The guide on each of my Rick Steves tours has made a point of warning us to be on time for the bus or risk getting left behind. I recall Rick's writing a similar warning and adding that having 30 people wait ten minutes for one person costs 300 minutes or five hours total. Can anyone find these rules in writing? I would like to send the rules along to my local tour operator. Cubs games are disheartening enough without waiting for tardy individuals.
Posted by
Ottawa
1446 posts
Cubs fan??... sounds like you have a bit of a rightful chip on your shoulder ;-) Try e-mailing the tours dept., I 'm sure they can send it to you:
tour@ricksteves.com
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2788 posts
I am not sure it is in writing. Having gone on 8 or 9 RS tours I can say that on every one of them the guide has made that very clear more than once at the beginning of the tour. On one tour we had a "shopping couple" that "snuck on accidentally" (a play on one of RS sayings) and after being late once, they were warned that the next time they would be left behind and to make sure that they had our hotel schedules with them. They were never late again. I did hear one story of a tour group leaving one younger fellow behind who was late more than once. Seems an older tour member choose to get off and wait for the younger fellow as he was afraid that the younger fellow would never figure out how to catch up. They both did catch up. Don't know if that was true or not but it does make a good point. I think that on all or most of my RS tours someone is late just a minute or two and the rest of the members let them know about it. Group pressure does wonders.
Posted by
Freedonia
15023 posts
This is SOP for all tours. In my entire tour career, I only had to leave one couple behind. It wasn't a fun thing to do especially since it was the first day of the tour. (And the rest of the group let me give them 30 minutes since it was the end of the first day and we had an hours drive ahead of us to get to our hotel.) But I couldn't hold up 40 people for the two missing. They did catch up to us later in the evening.
Posted by
Redlands, Ca, USA
358 posts
I have found no problem with people late for bus departures as no one wants to have to find their way back to the hotel or miss out on a day of touring. People on tours tend to be on time as a courtesy to others.
Posted by
Redlands, Ca, USA
358 posts
I have found no problem with people late for bus departures as no one wants to have to find their way back to the hotel or miss out on a day of touring. People on tours tend to be on time as a courtesy to others.
Posted by
Brangwin, Wa, USA
349 posts
I was a "tour" guide for a ski group our first trip I told the group to go to the back of the bus and look at it the next time they would see it was if they were 1 minute late --- no one was ever late.