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Super disappointed in Blue Flag Taxi Tour


mygreyhound66
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Greetings, I am sharing/posting my truly awful taxi tour last week. I had read some recommendations here and on cruise critic and made arrangements for a 5 hour taxi tour (blue flag) of Bermuda for 6 people.

Wednesday, 5/23 at 10am we met pierside and it was Robert, taxi plate T1421. I introduced our group, myself and my husband with many, many trips to Bermuda (but never a blue flag tour), the next couple, on their 3rd trip to Bermuda and the others, their first time to Bermuda. I was explicit about us, because I wanted to ensure that we received lots of information and knowledge. Since we are all young 'seniors' we felt a tour would be comfortable, informative and a good use of our full day on the island.

I wanted to start the tour by heading out to St. Georges first, Robert was reluctant to do this, but didn't give a valid reason, so he finally agreed to do so upon my pressing.

As we headed out of dockyard, we asked about the America's Cup buildings (future plans etc), part of his answer insisted that the Cup race was held in 2016, hmmmmm, thinks me. As we traverse, Robert gives some information but it is rather sparse.

We come into Hamilton and a local on a scooter, taps the pax window and informs Robert that he is riding on a flat tyre. So Robert goes around behind the bus depot to a tyre shop and it is replaced - obviously we all vacate the vehicle and just stand around waiting.

We head on to St. George and I ask to be driven past Tobacco Bay, SCF etc, as we approach the Cut, I had to ask for us to stop to have some photo ops. We then head into St. George and we disembark and I have us all go to see the enactment. Robert has not even mentioned that this is on at this time.

At this time, I am muttering to my husband of my dissatisfaction with Robert - Robert pointed out NOTHING of history/interest in Hamilton, except the spot where he will sitting in the park to enjoy Bermuda Day Races. Robert has pointed out NOTHING of history/interest in St. Georges, including the replica ship and the statue, he had not even mentioned about the re-enactment.

Robert has not given any decent information on Bermuda only to mention about his daughters' birthday dinner the previous evening,(several times) his own rise to fame in the Bermuda restaurants, and sadly the demise of his son (for which we all offered very heartfelt sympathies). He also showed us his favourite home colours! As a major point, as a tour guide, I do believe that if you are to identify something of interest, it would make sense to say "on your left is........, Robert would merely say 'over there is......, so we were never quite sure of which way he meant us to look.

We carry on from St. George and we are just bypassing everything briefly, Robert does not know the price of a round of golf (when questioned), he did not volunteer any interesting stories or tidbits about the places/sites we were seeing. There are interesting stories abounding in Bermuda, the way the caves were found, the original sea-glass beach, the convicts burial ground, the birdcage, the important buildings in Hamilton, the gas-light church, so many things to be shared, but not by Robert.

As we are coming along towards the round-about near Hamilton/South Shore Beaches, Robert feels that the vehicle is not quite right - so he finds a full service station and again we disembark to wait around, this time Robert replaces yet another flat tyre with the donut from the trunk. 2 flat tyres in one day? Clearly, our faith in this vehicle is down to zero, in fact I am disgusted and feel that we are not safe. Robert is not even speaking, so his minimal tour guide discourse is now down to zero.

We stopped (at my request again) to have a photo op of the south shore beaches, and then informed Robert to take us back to the ship. As a group, we felt that we should not have to pay for the full 5 hours since an hour was spent waiting on his repairs. This was broached and Robert reluctantly agreed to deduct 1/2 hour from his services. We paid him, and we tipped him (15%).

My husband and I know Bermuda well - we love it, we wanted to share our love of the island, and the people with our friends. We were anxious to show off this beautiful slice of paradise to our friends. Needless to say, I was completely underwhelmed by Robert and his poorly maintained vehicle. In fact, I was angry at the lack of a tour, I knew so many great tid-bits, but I didn't want to say anything and look like a 'know-it-all' - we were supposed to have had a professional tour, so all this great information should have been imparted by the tour guide.

The next day, we all took the shuttle service to Warwick Long Bay to do the walk thru the beaches and dunes to Horseshoe, the shuttle driver Dean, was an absolute pleasure and in that short trip from Dockyard to Warwick he imparted way more information than Robert did in the 5 hours. On our return from Horseshoe we took a taxi (after carefully looking at the tyres) and the driver Kevin, was super affable and again informative. We explained our miserable tour of the day before, and Kevin spent much time aghast and very apologetic on behalf of Robert.

I realize that this is a long report - however, I feel very strongly about the incredibly poor tour offering by Robert. So not only did Robert give a sub-standard vehicle and tour, he robbed us. This was our vacation, and we cannot get that day back in time.

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Sorry you had a bad time, but if the driver "robbed you" why did you give him a 15% tip?

 

I have a brand new car...under 3,000 miles and yesterday I had to replace a tire because a large chunk of metal implanted itself . The tire couldn't be repaired. A few months earlier I got a flat on a different well-maintained car with good tires. Flats happen. Debris on the road causes them. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the car or the driver.

 

And your observations about his lack of commentary might be valid...he very well may not be the best tour guide, but to complain about a taxi driver not knowing the price of a round of golf? Really? It smacks of someone just looking to complain about minutia .

Edited by njhorseman
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Where did you get the recommendation? If it was from a thread, then I suggest you also post on that thread of your experience because others may only look at that thread in getting tour guide recommendations. I have used blue flag tour guides recommended on this forum twice and had a great time on each tour, so your experience is unfortunate. But thanks for posting of your experience so others can consider that with this guide.

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Sorry you had a bad time, but if the driver "robbed you" why did you give him a 15% tip?

 

I have a brand new car...under 3,000 miles and yesterday I had to replace a tire because a large chunk of metal implanted itself . The tire couldn't be repaired. A few months earlier I got a flat on a different well-maintained car with good tires. Flats happen. Debris on the road causes them. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the car or the driver.

 

And your observations about his lack of commentary might be valid...he very well may not be the best tour guide, but to complain about a taxi driver not knowing the price of a round of golf? Really? It smacks of someone just looking to complain about minutia .

 

NJhorseman - i tipped the man because my friends wanted to do so, and i didn't want to cause a fuss with them. If it was up to me, I would not have tipped him a penny.

I paid for a tour guide - not a taxi driver - and as such, on an island famous for its golf - I would expect that this is a frequent question, and I would expect a tour guide to know the answer to that.

Two flats within 2 hours?

I don't feel as though I am looking to complain about minutia - quite frankly, your comment is undeserved and rather impolite.

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I would like to read the recommendation you had about him and read other reviews of him. I don’t recall reading other reviews of that person or the name mentioned. I don’t doubt he did not meet your expectations but I don’t see how you got robbed and still tipped 15%. Could be a matter of some people having higher expectations than others. Can you point us to the recommendation?

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When I say robbed - I assume everyone understands that I am referring to my time, my day. I cannot get back that vacation day - it was given in good faith with the expectation of a tour, by a professional.

 

Utter silence by a tour guide, is not a good tour - it is reasonable to expect some discourse, some history of the island. I don't feel that my expectations were unreasonable - of course, you were not there, so you can take my word for it, or continue to vilify.

 

As to the recommendation, yes I can refer to it, I am going to wait a couple of days. I have sent my review to the company and will give them a chance to respond first. I feel that that would be the fair thing to do. I will update when I can.........

 

Many thanks......

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When I say robbed - I assume everyone understands that I am referring to my time, my day. I cannot get back that vacation day - it was given in good faith with the expectation of a tour, by a professional.

 

 

 

Utter silence by a tour guide, is not a good tour - it is reasonable to expect some discourse, some history of the island. I don't feel that my expectations were unreasonable - of course, you were not there, so you can take my word for it, or continue to vilify.

 

 

 

As to the recommendation, yes I can refer to it, I am going to wait a couple of days. I have sent my review to the company and will give them a chance to respond first. I feel that that would be the fair thing to do. I will update when I can.........

 

 

 

Many thanks......

 

 

A good tour can be subjective. That is why I try to read multiple reviews and not judge by one review.

 

If I was on the tour even if it was great I would not pay for five hours if I only got four. It does not matter whose fault it was the tires failed. Likely it was a pothole that took out both, the second just had a slower leak. You got a half an hour adjustment. I would have insisted on an hour adjustment. As for the tip, my understanding is that the standard tip in Bermuda is 10%. Others might have a different understanding. A higher tip would be for service above and beyond. Not saying you should have done a zero tip, as you say I was not there but don’t tip 15% when you are unhappy with what was provided.

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NJhorseman - i tipped the man because my friends wanted to do so, and i didn't want to cause a fuss with them. If it was up to me, I would not have tipped him a penny.

I paid for a tour guide - not a taxi driver - and as such, on an island famous for its golf - I would expect that this is a frequent question, and I would expect a tour guide to know the answer to that.

Two flats within 2 hours?

I don't feel as though I am looking to complain about minutia - quite frankly, your comment is undeserved and rather impolite.

 

I guess you missed the part where I said "he very well may not be the best tour guide". That doesn't sound like I'm disagreeing with you on an overall basis, does it?

My comment on complaining about minutia refers specifically to your complaint about the driver not knowing the cost of a round of golf. There are multiple golf courses in Bermuda, all with different prices which can vary by day of the week and season. I think your complaint about that is just way out of bounds.

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When I say robbed - I assume everyone understands that I am referring to my time, my day. I cannot get back that vacation day - it was given in good faith with the expectation of a tour, by a professional.

 

Utter silence by a tour guide, is not a good tour - it is reasonable to expect some discourse, some history of the island. I don't feel that my expectations were unreasonable - of course, you were not there, so you can take my word for it, or continue to vilify.

 

As to the recommendation, yes I can refer to it, I am going to wait a couple of days. I have sent my review to the company and will give them a chance to respond first. I feel that that would be the fair thing to do. I will update when I can.........

 

Many thanks......

 

Your statement "I have sent my review to the company" is interesting because Blue Flag taxi tour drivers are normally independent owner/drivers who don't work for anyone but themselves. While a driver with a Blue Flag certificate could certainly take a job working for a tour company it's not that common as far as I know. That could explain why the driver's name is so unfamiliar.

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I realize that this is a long report - however, I feel very strongly about the incredibly poor tour offering by Robert. So not only did Robert give a sub-standard vehicle and tour, he robbed us. This was our vacation, and we cannot get that day back in time.

 

I am really sorry that your trip to Bermuda was not as your wanted. While I agree with you that Robert severely underperformed, it baffles me when adults complain and complain after the fact. You could have gotten out of the taxi (at the first populated spot you came across), tossed Robert $10 and told him he was not living up to your expectations. But people seem to be afraid to offend or embarrass their friends. ??? Like you said, it is your and their vacation! Salvage it ASAP.

 

He didn't rob you. You paid him AND tipped him. That is your doing. He didn't rob you of any time. You STAYED with him and let your day go poorly.

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OP wanted to take the tour their way, taking the driver out of his routine. When taken out of a routine, some people have a hard time performing. That being said, the op felt the tour was not up to par, and told us why. OP's opinion was, the driver wasn't very informative. Op didn't want to tip, the others did. Could op have handled this post with a little more subtlety......yes. "Being robbed" in this case was used as a figure of speech. A little over the top, or harsh......maybe. But come on people......lighten up. lol

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Greetings, I am sharing/posting my truly awful taxi tour last week. I had read some recommendations here and on cruise critic and made arrangements for a 5 hour taxi tour (blue flag) of Bermuda for 6 people.

 

Wednesday, 5/23 at 10am we met pierside and it was Robert, taxi plate T1421. I introduced our group, myself and my husband with many, many trips to Bermuda (but never a blue flag tour), the next couple, on their 3rd trip to Bermuda and the others, their first time to Bermuda. I was explicit about us, because I wanted to ensure that we received lots of information and knowledge. Since we are all young 'seniors' we felt a tour would be comfortable, informative and a good use of our full day on the island.

 

I wanted to start the tour by heading out to St. Georges first, Robert was reluctant to do this, but didn't give a valid reason, so he finally agreed to do so upon my pressing.

 

As we headed out of dockyard, we asked about the America's Cup buildings (future plans etc), part of his answer insisted that the Cup race was held in 2016, hmmmmm, thinks me. As we traverse, Robert gives some information but it is rather sparse.

 

We come into Hamilton and a local on a scooter, taps the pax window and informs Robert that he is riding on a flat tyre. So Robert goes around behind the bus depot to a tyre shop and it is replaced - obviously we all vacate the vehicle and just stand around waiting.

 

We head on to St. George and I ask to be driven past Tobacco Bay, SCF etc, as we approach the Cut, I had to ask for us to stop to have some photo ops. We then head into St. George and we disembark and I have us all go to see the enactment. Robert has not even mentioned that this is on at this time.

 

At this time, I am muttering to my husband of my dissatisfaction with Robert - Robert pointed out NOTHING of history/interest in Hamilton, except the spot where he will sitting in the park to enjoy Bermuda Day Races. Robert has pointed out NOTHING of history/interest in St. Georges, including the replica ship and the statue, he had not even mentioned about the re-enactment.

 

Robert has not given any decent information on Bermuda only to mention about his daughters' birthday dinner the previous evening,(several times) his own rise to fame in the Bermuda restaurants, and sadly the demise of his son (for which we all offered very heartfelt sympathies). He also showed us his favourite home colours! As a major point, as a tour guide, I do believe that if you are to identify something of interest, it would make sense to say "on your left is........, Robert would merely say 'over there is......, so we were never quite sure of which way he meant us to look.

 

We carry on from St. George and we are just bypassing everything briefly, Robert does not know the price of a round of golf (when questioned), he did not volunteer any interesting stories or tidbits about the places/sites we were seeing. There are interesting stories abounding in Bermuda, the way the caves were found, the original sea-glass beach, the convicts burial ground, the birdcage, the important buildings in Hamilton, the gas-light church, so many things to be shared, but not by Robert.

 

As we are coming along towards the round-about near Hamilton/South Shore Beaches, Robert feels that the vehicle is not quite right - so he finds a full service station and again we disembark to wait around, this time Robert replaces yet another flat tyre with the donut from the trunk. 2 flat tyres in one day? Clearly, our faith in this vehicle is down to zero, in fact I am disgusted and feel that we are not safe. Robert is not even speaking, so his minimal tour guide discourse is now down to zero.

 

We stopped (at my request again) to have a photo op of the south shore beaches, and then informed Robert to take us back to the ship. As a group, we felt that we should not have to pay for the full 5 hours since an hour was spent waiting on his repairs. This was broached and Robert reluctantly agreed to deduct 1/2 hour from his services. We paid him, and we tipped him (15%).

 

My husband and I know Bermuda well - we love it, we wanted to share our love of the island, and the people with our friends. We were anxious to show off this beautiful slice of paradise to our friends. Needless to say, I was completely underwhelmed by Robert and his poorly maintained vehicle. In fact, I was angry at the lack of a tour, I knew so many great tid-bits, but I didn't want to say anything and look like a 'know-it-all' - we were supposed to have had a professional tour, so all this great information should have been imparted by the tour guide.

 

The next day, we all took the shuttle service to Warwick Long Bay to do the walk thru the beaches and dunes to Horseshoe, the shuttle driver Dean, was an absolute pleasure and in that short trip from Dockyard to Warwick he imparted way more information than Robert did in the 5 hours. On our return from Horseshoe we took a taxi (after carefully looking at the tyres) and the driver Kevin, was super affable and again informative. We explained our miserable tour of the day before, and Kevin spent much time aghast and very apologetic on behalf of Robert.

 

I realize that this is a long report - however, I feel very strongly about the incredibly poor tour offering by Robert. So not only did Robert give a sub-standard vehicle and tour, he robbed us. This was our vacation, and we cannot get that day back in time.

Well your experience fits your tag line perfectly then.

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OP, I am not sure why some people are giving you such a hard time. I would have been very disappointed, as well. I don't think it would have occurred to me to get out and cancel the rest of the tour, but that is a good idea if it happens to any of us in the future. It sounds like a total bust as a "tour" of the island. I hope the rest of your vacation was fun.

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The next day, we all took the shuttle service to Warwick Long Bay to do the walk thru the beaches and dunes to Horseshoe, the shuttle driver Dean, was an absolute pleasure and in that short trip from Dockyard to Warwick he imparted way more information than Robert did in the 5 hours. On our return from Horseshoe we took a taxi (after carefully looking at the tyres) and the driver Kevin, was super affable and again informative. We explained our miserable tour of the day before, and Kevin spent much time aghast and very apologetic on behalf of Robert.

I'm interested in this part of your trip. Did you have to book the shuttle to Warwick Bay in advance? How much was it? How much to get the tax back? Was the taxi easy to find? Thank you!

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I'm interested in this part of your trip. Did you have to book the shuttle to Warwick Bay in advance? How much was it? How much to get the tax back? Was the taxi easy to find? Thank you!

 

Mini-buses are readily available at the Dockyard. Fare should be about $8p/p. Taxi fare from Horseshoe Bay to the Dockyard is about $34 plus tip for 4 paxs, Mon. to Sat. travel. Taxis are readily available at HSB.

 

SBtS

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I'm interested in this part of your trip. Did you have to book the shuttle to Warwick Bay in advance? How much was it? How much to get the tax back? Was the taxi easy to find? Thank you!

 

 

 

Greetings. The mini bus shuttles were almost always available at the dockyard. In fact, they do go more places than just to the beach. There is a board posted there that shows all the routes and prices. I am sorry that I didn’t think to take a pic of the board bit do recall mentioning that I felt the fares were quite reasonable. I hope this helps.

 

 

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OP, I am not sure why some people are giving you such a hard time. I would have been very disappointed, as well. I don't think it would have occurred to me to get out and cancel the rest of the tour, but that is a good idea if it happens to any of us in the future. It sounds like a total bust as a "tour" of the island. I hope the rest of your vacation was fun.

 

 

 

Hi and thanks for being pleasant! Yes, it never occurred to us that we should get out and move on with someone else. Again, we were 3 couples so there was more than 1 opinion to be considered.

 

I posted in earnestness and was very disappointed in the unkindness of several posters.

We love Bermuda and will return next year!

 

 

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Greetings. The mini bus shuttles were almost always available at the dockyard. In fact, they do go more places than just to the beach. There is a board posted there that shows all the routes and prices. I am sorry that I didn’t think to take a pic of the board bit do recall mentioning that I felt the fares were quite reasonable. I hope this helps.

 

 

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They will go other places if there is a minimum of seven. Also many have been willing drop off at Warwick on the same run since it is close to Horseshoe. Talk to the driver. Here a photo I took of the minibus sign.

 

15ea629d9c1f9619f1cadf21352cfe02.jpg

 

 

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Thank you Charles for the picture, it will be most helpful to others, and again, I am sorry I didn't take a picture of it.

 

Also, as a note to those that may decide to take the walk along the beaches/dunes from Warwick to Horseshoe. Do yourself a favor and start at Warwick, since the shuttles and taxis are plentiful at Horseshoe and not necessarily so at Warwick!

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Also, as a note to those that may decide to take the walk along the beaches/dunes from Warwick to Horseshoe. Do yourself a favor and start at Warwick, since the shuttles and taxis are plentiful at Horseshoe and not necessarily so at Warwick!

Good advice; thanks! Do you have to ask the shuttle drive for a specific drop-off at Warwick?

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Good advice; thanks! Do you have to ask the shuttle drive for a specific drop-off at Warwick?

 

Yes, you would have to ask the driver to drop you off at Warwick. The driver may ask for a higher fare ($8).

Warwick is not part of the normal route (Dockyard<>HSB).

 

SBtS

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Greetings,

I was there last week (6/6/18) and took at Blue Flag Tour on Wednesday morning immediately after they started letting passengers off of the Escape. (8 am ish) Our guide was Ernest (One Leg) Cann. We enjoyed our tour so much that we went out again on Friday morning and specifically sought out Ernest. All in all, I believe that we spent 9 hours with One Leg last week and enjoyed every minute. This fella took us all over the island including many off-road adventures. He was extremely knowledgeable and shared his knowledge freely. I will endeavor to write a review on this in a few days. I just wanted to share that your truly negative experience should not reflect negatively on all Blue Flag drivers in Bermuda. Ours was top notch!

Edited by mbrown572097
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Good advice; thanks! Do you have to ask the shuttle drive for a specific drop-off at Warwick?

 

 

 

Greetings no specific location since Warwick has the one road leading down to it. For the optimal try to go as early as possible this way you can get super pictures with only you in them!

 

 

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Greetings no specific location since Warwick has the one road leading down to it. For the optimal try to go as early as possible this way you can get super pictures with only you in them!

 

 

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That is the main entrance but there is another entrance at the east end. The beach begins at the east end. Take your pick.

 

 

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