2. The tour director (TD) should be advised to be more interested in her tour members rather than try to be putting on her own stand-up comedy show all the time. After seeing "Love, Janis" (Janis Joplin) in San Francisco, I decided that the TD was the Janis Joplin of tour directors - loud and abrasive. - An acquired taste. You either loved her or hated her.
3. A brief 2-hour visit to Grand Canyon! 3 days in Las Vegas! Something should be done to change the timing. In the 1990's this tour used to provide an overnight at Grand Canyon. It's a shame they no longer do this.
4. Yosemite visit was better because we were able to take the 2-hour tram ride through the park, narrated by a park ranger. It could have had even more time for people to do more exploring on their own before or after.
5. The optional excursion to Muir Woods and Sausalito from San Francisco was provided through a 3rd party tour company. Again, too little time at each destination. However, both places were well worth the visit.
6. The purchased shuttle service from LAX to the hotel in LA took over 2 hours because the shuttle circles the airport picking up passengers at all the terminals and then in drives to all the different drop-off locations. It would have been worth the money to take a taxi!
7. The LA hotel was passable and not well-located.
8. The Scottsdale hotel used to be the Amerisuites and is now Hyatt Place. Very nice! Too bad that Cosmos has not been renewed to use this property after 2006. Lovely, luxurious suites! The only thing missing was bathrobes.
9. The day we were to visit Grand Canyon, we didn't get there until after 3 p.m. which gave us nice views of the setting sun affecting the colours of the rocks. However, when you travel this far to see one of the Wonders of the World, it's sad that you only have 2 hours to spend there.
10. Hotel at Williams (near Grand Canyon) had a Denny's restaurant next door. Other than that, nothing nearby. It was nice that breakfast was free in the hotel breakfast room and computer available for free Internet access.
11. Las Vegas hotel is the Imperial Palace which is rumoured to be in the midst of renovations. Our rooms were not renovated and plumbing problems abounded. Various optional excursions were available. Most people who booked independently got better deals. A small group of us made a dinner reservation to eat at the Top of the World at the Stratosphere. We paid top dollars but it was a clear evening with glorious view. The food was delicious and the service delightful. Well worth the splurge.
12. Next night was at Fresno in a decent motel. Nothing nearby.
13. Sonora is a nice little town but we arrived there after they had rolled up the sidewalks.
Lots of restaurants within walking distance but you had to get there before 8:00 p.m.
14. At Sacramento we were dropped off at Old Sacramento - a tourist area near the water. Lots of candy stores and souvenir shops. It was pretty but we didn't need 2 hours there. The hotel was the Hawthorne Suites - lovely property with good facilities.
15. The Carlton Hotel in San Francisco is within breathing distance of the not-so-desirable Tenderloin district. The hotel itself is a boutique style hotel and I found it charming. My room was on a corner so had 2 windows in addition to the window in the decent bathroom. There was a walk-in closet and lots of storage space in the dresser. Rather than eat at the hotel restaurant I walked the 2 short blocks to Polk St. and had cappuccino and croissant at a coffee shop that also had cheap internet access.
16. While we were centrally located within San Francisco, the "iffy" location of the hotel made it slightly uncomfortable for singles to venture out on their own, especially after dark. Fortunately, our group was a friendly lot and that wasn't an issue.
17. The last night is in Solvang - a pretty, Scandinavian-style town with lots of shops. We arrived after they had closed. We were to leave at 10:00 a.m. the next morning and fortunately, most shops opened at 9:00 a.m. Once again, rush, rush! Lots of restaurants to choose from and the hotel was on the main street - at the opposite end from the best shops. But it's a small town and a short walk from one end to the other. We could have used another 2 hours to explore when the town was "open". .
18. On the last day we stopped at Monterey and Santa Barbara. At this point in the trip, most people were not unhappy that we only had about an hour at each place. The tour ended with a drop off at the airport for those leaving that day or a ride to the next hotel for those taking extensions.
19. We had fabulous weather throughout. The only rain was when we were at the Grand Canyon.
20. The group was composed mainly of people from Britain and Australia (age ranges from 20 - 75), 2 Americans and one Canadian. We all got along great and I'm sure there were some lifelong friendships formed.
21. Having done this trip before - about 14 years ago - I chose to spend my free time at independent activities rather than sign up for the options, all of which I had taken on my previous tour. Most people who did take the optionals seemed pleased.
I would not recommend taking this itinerary with Cosmos. I suggest people check out the other companies to see if they have better timing at any of the destinations and more centrally located hotels/motels. Trafalgar or Globus?
