Where is Tour Feedback please?

Home page, click on tours, click on tour you're interested in and scroll down. There is a section called 'Reviews'.

pat,

Hopefully the poster will find some relevant information in the tour reviews. I find that the information provided in this "new" format is somewhat limited, and nowhere near as comprehensive as it used to be. Information used to be provided on Performance of Guide, Performance of Driver, favourite "Wow" moments and several other things. These days they only seem to provide a one paragraph summary, which provides much less detail.

thanks guys.. found them !

Ken-
I agree with you about the Review section. It has always been an excellent source of information for me when preparing for a RS tour - what to expect in terms of hotels, things people did in their free time( often mentioned in the wow moments), and just a general sense of the tour itself. Now this new format hardly gives enough information and sometimes only list one person's response from a tour when I know there must have been many. Hope someone's listening...

I sent an email to "contact us" about a week ago because, like you folks, I really appreciated reading the trip reviews. Someone sent a response saying they would pass along my message. After reading Kate's posting, I now understand that they are a small department and may not get to this right away. However, since there are certain aspects of each tour that are individualized, I read the reviews looking for tips. These new reviews look more like enticements for future travelers rather than info. I am hoping we can get the old format back.

And, if they choose to re-do the format, I would like to add a section, " what piece of advice would you give future travelers?". I can dream.

I've used the reviews for planning purposes before going on tours for years and I also miss them. To me, the new format for reviews is simply a marketing tool and it's of no use in planning. I've brought this up to the RS office several times to no avail. What I'd really like (and I've suggested this to the office and to RS himself) is a section on the website where past and future tour members could discuss any questions or thoughts about various tours. To me, this would be a wonderful resource. Meanwhile, my small protest will be to no longer fill out tour evaluations.

I agree that the "new" tour reviews seem more like a marketing tool. They're nowhere near as interesting or useful for those considering taking a tour. I'm also wondering whether I'll even bother filling one out next time.

I'm with those that think the new format leaves much to be desired. I'm leaving tomorrow to go on a tour and for the first time I haven't been able to get the kind of insight I've gotten in the past. If my tour evaluation prompts for information in the new format, I probably won't submit one. In the past I've taken a lot of notes and have even been inspired to a particular tour because of the evaluations. Not so this time.

"Reviews" offers meager (being charitable) content. The former tour feedback offered decent information if you read any comments carefully. Very disappointed in a visually pleasing marketing ploy with virtually no substance.

Try checking out this website, it looks like you can still find past evaluations, including the "wow factor" ones.

https://tours.ricksteves.com/evaluation/publicevals/

Hi Everyone,

I agree that I'm really disappointed in the new feedback section. I do remember Webmaster Andrew stating though that several of the questions asked at the end of the tours were changed last year, so that may impact what we see also.

I must say I hate the 5-star rating. I don't mind that they want you to rate them, but 5 stars in relation to what? I've takes 3 tours so far - do I rate them all 5 stars or do I rate my favorite one a 5 and all the others a 4, for example? What is the meaning behind the score? II also noticed some people put, say, 3 stars and then complained they decided they were more of an independent traveler, rather than a tour person. So, in reality, the ratings done by that person didn't reflect the actual tour, but their personal travel style.

Oh well, I'm glad someone found the old link at least because I agree, I often used them to plan my next tour. For example, on the Eastern Europe tour, I noticed several people complained about the Schindler museum - not that it shouldn't be seen, but rather it wasn't conducive to large groups - there were narrow hallways, etc. so, I might plan something else at that time if I go on that tour and then do that museum on my own time. With the new ways the feedback is listed, it's almost pointless in even looking at it.

Hopefully after they fix all the bugs, they can look at this again.