Rare Azulann Posted September 19, 2015 #176 Share Posted September 19, 2015 thanks for your great review of your day tour after the end of your cruise. I have contacted BDT to do the tour to Montserrat for July 14 2016 when we dock in Barcelona. I am looking forward to it. If I cannot get more from my roll call then the two of us will do the tour with them. It will then be a private tour rather than a small group tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hun Posted September 24, 2015 #177 Share Posted September 24, 2015 We're booked for BDT for next month for the 4 hour your and I've always had a very prompt response from Anna - in fact emailed her a question this morning and got a reply within a couple of hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HACKT Posted October 1, 2015 #178 Share Posted October 1, 2015 We just got back from Allure cruise last week from Barcelona. We used BDT 3 times. First was the morning we flew in when they met us at airport at 8am and took us on 4 hr city tour and dropped us at our hotel. Inc "no wait" tkts at Park Guell. Next day we took their half day tour to Monserrat. Finally, we had them meet us departing the ship to take us to airport, no tour. We were 5 adults with 7 suitcases and they had a large comfortable van. Guides spoke good English and were great. Reserved all online a month prior. Highly recommend them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4myOpinion Posted October 22, 2015 #179 Share Posted October 22, 2015 We really enjoyed our semi-private 1/2 day tour of Barcelona including Parc Guell with BDT. The guide was very good and spoke excellent English. We were able to choose where we wanted to be dropped off at the end of the tour, which made the entire day go smoothly. Hope our experience helps someone else trying to plan a trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CradleRobber Posted October 23, 2015 #180 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Larry, You cannot go wrong with them. Take the day long tour which starts in Montserrat. Unforgettable. Guides speak great English, with a charming accent!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigosails Posted November 9, 2015 #181 Share Posted November 9, 2015 You absolutely cannot go wrong with Barcelona Day Tours. We used them for a second time this most recent trip (October 2015) because we were so pleased the first time three years ago. We asked for a private half-day tour with a drop-off at a restaurant near the Sagrada Familia. Our guide was very knowledgeable about EVERYthing, he put a lot of thought into the itinerary and timing, and the restaurant he suggested was perfect. We had a nice lunch then walked one block to Sagrada Familia for our afternoon guided tour. We also arranged for them to send someone to pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel because we weren't going directly to the cruise ship. It is so nice to see your name and a welcoming smile when you arrive travel-weary. This is a family company and they take a lot of pride in their service. Thank you for making our time in Barcelona special! Rian, Jim, Deborah and Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommui987 Posted November 12, 2015 #182 Share Posted November 12, 2015 We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam and had booked BDT for a tour of Monserrat for November 2, to be picked up at the Cruiseport and, after the tour, to be dropped off at our hotel. Stormy weather closed the port on November and we were literally at sea!. BDT assured us - and all the other people who had booked with them for that day - "no worries" and we could have refunds or credit for a tour the next day. BDT even had their cars/buses at the port on that November2nd with the hopes that the ship would eventually make port. We arranged for a tour - from the ship - to make the tour the next day. When we arrived at the port, the driver from BDT came and we were informed that the weather at Monserrat was questionable and so we changed the tour to one of Barcelona but not the usual one as we had been in Barcelona previously and also a day before the cruise. No problem! I would echo the favorable recommendations for BDT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelling8 Posted November 12, 2015 #183 Share Posted November 12, 2015 We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam and had booked BDT for a tour of Monserrat for November 2, to be picked up at the Cruiseport and, after the tour, to be dropped off at our hotel. Stormy weather closed the port on November and we were literally at sea!. BDT assured us - and all the other people who had booked with them for that day - "no worries" and we could have refunds or credit for a tour the next day. BDT even had their cars/buses at the port on that November2nd with the hopes that the ship would eventually make port. We arranged for a tour - from the ship - to make the tour the next day. When we arrived at the port, the driver from BDT came and we were informed that the weather at Monserrat was questionable and so we changed the tour to one of Barcelona but not the usual one as we had been in Barcelona previously and also a day before the cruise. No problem! I would echo the favorable recommendations for BDT! Wow! Talk about excellent service! We were very pleased with them too and would definitely recommend BDT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warriorking Posted November 14, 2015 #184 Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) Any Idea on their minimum amount of people per tour.. My brother and myself will be arriving in Barcelona at 9am in March and are interested in doing the 4 Hour city tour.. Cannot check into any hotels till at least 2pm.. Do they take bookings for just two or do they combine people arriving in the same time frame.. Either one is fine by me... Edited November 14, 2015 by warriorking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommui987 Posted November 14, 2015 #185 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Any Idea on their minimum amount of people per tour... No idea - but in our tour, there was only the three of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WrittenOnYourHeart Posted November 14, 2015 #186 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Any Idea on their minimum amount of people per tour..My brother and myself will be arriving in Barcelona at 9am in March and are interested in doing the 4 Hour city tour.. Cannot check into any hotels till at least 2pm.. Do they take bookings for just two or do they combine people arriving in the same time frame.. Either one is fine by me... I got a quote for just one. Ridiculous and I'm not doing it, but... Basically it's the same total price - so whatever people are saying per person for 4, add those numbers and divide by 2 for a rough idea of the per person cost (they'll happily give you a quote as well). I found another agency that is perfect for *me* but would not be for everyone (it's LGBTQ owned, operated, and oriented) which I am using the day after arrival. Reasonably priced and 100% PRIVATE tour (as in it is just me and the guide, though I've given the operator the ok to mesh me in with a group if they're open to it - he'd lower my price to whatever the per person would be as well) - definitely less than BDT. I figure arrival day I'll drop luggage if I can't check into the hotel yet and wander around on my own until check-in time IF the room isn't available. If it is, I'll drop the luggage in the room and... wander around on my own for a while, trying to stay up until about 8 at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azcruise Posted November 21, 2015 #187 Share Posted November 21, 2015 We just used BDT for their Montserrat / Cava tour. I can definitely recommend them for your tours in Barcelona. We had a group of 12, and our guide Gina was excellent. She made everyone welcome, and the small bus was very comfortable. We were all picked up at our hotel /ship, but Gina used the drive to give us information about the city as we drove. The Montserrat tour was nice, with nearly two hours on our own (we took the funicular to the top and walked around since the weather was perfect. The Cava tour at Artcava was excellent. So much better to visit a small Cava than a huge factory. It was a highlight of our week in Barcelona. I would book with them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_Cruise Posted December 28, 2015 #188 Share Posted December 28, 2015 We recently did the Montserrat/Cava Tour with BDT. The tour was excellent and everything (bus, guide, driver) exceeded our expectations. I highly recommend them. Tom HAL 50d Atlantic Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted February 16, 2016 #189 Share Posted February 16, 2016 We also had a good trip yesterday with BDT. Our tour guide was excellent. I would go into more detail about the whole experience but apparently you aren't allowed to post anything negative about a tour company on CC because it violates the rules and my thread ended up being deleted. I will just say that BDT turned my frown upside down. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted February 16, 2016 #190 Share Posted February 16, 2016 We also had a good trip yesterday with BDT. Our tour guide was excellent. I would go into more detail about the whole experience but apparently you aren't allowed to post anything negative about a tour company on CC because it violates the rules and my thread ended up being deleted. I will just say that BDT turned my frown upside down. :-) I'm confused, you say you had a good trip with BDT but then you say you're not allowed to post anything negative. :confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted February 16, 2016 #191 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Haha. Don't be confused. There were some problems before the tour but the thread in which I detailed them was deleted because apparently I was bad-mouthing the company and that isn't allowed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted February 16, 2016 #192 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Haha. Don't be confused. There were some problems before the tour but the thread in which I detailed them was deleted because apparently I was bad-mouthing the company and that isn't allowed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Can you elaborate on the problem you had with them, I have a tour booked with them on an upcoming TransAtlantic in April. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted February 16, 2016 #193 Share Posted February 16, 2016 No, if you contact me privately I can go into more detail, but as I said, apparently Cruise Critic doesn't allow negative reviews of companies running tours. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeyetlse Posted February 16, 2016 #194 Share Posted February 16, 2016 No, if you contact me privately I can go into more detail, but as I said, apparently Cruise Critic doesn't allow negative reviews of companies running tours.That is not true. You can post opinions and reviews in response to someone else's question (as in this thread). You cannot start a thread out of the blue to post any sort of review of a tour company (positive or negative). The rule is at the top of every page here and explained more fully in the rules on the front page of the sub-forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted February 16, 2016 #195 Share Posted February 16, 2016 No, if you contact me privately I can go into more detail, but as I said, apparently Cruise Critic doesn't allow negative reviews of companies running tours. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That is not true. You can post opinions and reviews in response to someone else's question (as in this thread). You cannot start a thread out of the blue to post any sort of review of a tour company (positive or negative). The rule is at the top of every page here and explained more fully in the rules on the front page of the sub-forum. wording is everything too ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted February 16, 2016 #196 Share Posted February 16, 2016 wording is everything too ;) Yup, I was pretty concise in my review and simply pointed out that we were put in a situation where the original plan was canceled and we were offered what we deemed an unacceptable alternative. In the end they did a GREAT job and we had a very nice tour of Barcelona. Management was swift in its response and we were very satisfied with our tour. You shouldn't have any worries when dealing with them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeyetlse Posted February 16, 2016 #197 Share Posted February 16, 2016 (edited) 1. Seems like a distinction without a difference, but okay. I'm not sure what you would do if you had a negative report to make and there were no previous threads to reply TO. The point I think is for a thread to at least start from a neutral position and to encourage discussion of several people's experiences, not just one person's good or bad report. There are other sites for posting reviews if you can't find a place for it here. In your case, this would be the right place for your review if you choose to repost it. But be prepared this time for people to read and react to what you write, not necessarily sympathetically. Edited February 16, 2016 by hawkeyetlse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted February 16, 2016 #198 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I'm not sure. I would have to check the original agreement which I don't have in front of me at this time. However, I will say that I will NEVER again agree to those kinds of conditions. We're talking about a difference between a €199 per person tour vs €149 for both of us. I felt blindsided by the last minute cancellation/alteration and since Barcelona is a city with MANY tour companies and options, I wouldn't do the same thing again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEBOY305 Posted February 16, 2016 #199 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I'm not sure. I would have to check the original agreement which I don't have in front of me at this time. However, I will say that I will NEVER again agree to those kinds of conditions. We're talking about a difference between a €199 per person tour vs €149 for both of us. I felt blindsided by the last minute cancellation/alteration and since Barcelona is a city with MANY tour companies and options, I wouldn't do the same thing again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Now that I know the story, I am so sorry this happened to you. But unfortunately is not an uncommon practice for tour companies to cancel if their minimum is not met. that being said I do have a private tour booked with them when we disembark in Barcelona next April. We did have to pay extra for 5 of us to go private but it is worth the additional cost to us and we don't need to worry about the minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted February 16, 2016 #200 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Essentially, this is what happened: I inquired about a tour of Barcelona through BDT and was told there were several options. They offered an 8-hour tour of Barcelona and Montserrat for €199 per person as a private tour or €99 per person if 4-6 people joined. They said that we'd get a free one-person tour if I agreed to be the group leader and 4 or more people booked. At the last minute, the other couple who had agreed to come along decided to change to a private tour (due to a change in their return flight schedule) so our tour was essentially cancelled at the last minute. They said they'd keep us on the schedule in case another couple decided to join but that seemed highly unlikely. They then offered us a 1/2 day tour for €199 total. I thought that was unfair (though apparently okay given the terms and conditions we'd agreed to), and I expressed my disappointment both to them and online at CC. In the end, they called and emailed me and apologized profusely and at length about how they'd handled the situation and offered us a 4-hour tour for free. We ended up doing that and having a great time. I was infuriated by some of the replies to my post to the effect that the last-minute cancellation was always a possibility and that essentially it was my tough luck and I should have been grateful that BDT offered me anything at all. Though I agree they were right in that this was a possibility, it wasn't one I had planned for (i.e. a last-minute cancellation/change of plans/increase in price) and therefore I won't make the same mistake twice. I will either do business with a different company altogether or I'll make sure the tour company is obligated to comply with the original terms no matter who cancels at the eleventh hour. I have been an international traveler since 1984 and have been overseas about 30 times. I'm no newbie and I don't like surprises like this. But I feel BDT did the right thing in the end. I even offered to pay them for our original agreement but they insisted on doing it for free. That is why I think they are a good company and people rate them so highly. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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