Mike the bus driver and Michelle the tour leader were very nice and did a good job. Overall the bus... read more
Mike the bus driver and Michelle the tour leader were very nice and did a good job. Overall the bus... read more
The Thanksgiving Parade in NYC was a great venture with Sunshine Tours. Though the parade day was... read more
My opinion of Sunshine Tours sure has changed. Totally the most unprofessional company I've ever seen. Had some constructive criticism and the owner, Paul Nester, was unwilling to even talk rationally about it. The owners wife, Lynn gave my wife the wrong phone number for the bus driver. They were on a field trip with special needs students and could not get a hold of the driver because they were given the drivers home number instead of cell number. Threatening the customer, cursing them and treating them that way is never the right thing to do! Totally shocked. And then to beat it all, the owner is such a coward he hung up during two different phone calls. Unwilling to rationally talk. Our family has used Sunshine numerous times throughout the years... never knew the owner was such a hothead and unwilling to talk about a mistake his wife had made. They sure didn't have a problem taking their money. A simple "I'm sorry it happened" would have gone a long way.
I recently took my special needs class on a trip to Gatlinburg, TN this past Friday. The only good thing that I have to say about the trip was that our drivers were kind and considerate. However, the rest of the experience was a train wreck at best. First, we had to send our itinerary multiple times, although we had been told it had been received and accepted, not to mention the numerous phone calls. The trip coordinator even threatened to cancel our trip two days before even though all paperwork, contracts, and payment had been cleared. Once on the trip we could not get a hold of our bus driver for pick up. When I called to company to ask for assistance, I was told the first time "I don't know what you want me to do about it from here" meanwhile all of my special needs students were standing outside waiting with a thunderstorm coming. I called back again to see if the company had any luck only to be told again " What the F%#@ do you want me to do about it!!!" I was mortified. As a professional this type of language was unacceptable. Our bus driver ended up calling me and after we compared notes it was NOT his fault at all because the coordinator gave us his HOME number not his cell. Upon returning I called the owner to let him know our dissatisfaction. I was told that our coordinator was his wife and to "be careful what I said". Before I could say anything he continued to say " we have discussed and and think it would be best not to do business again" and HUNG UP!! I don't know how this place continues to stay in business if this is the customer service that they give. I have been in education for more than 20 years and have planned and taken numerous field trips with several bus companies. This was by far the WORST experience that I have ever had with a touring company! I would rather pay twice the price than to do business with them again!!!
Mike the bus driver and Michelle the tour leader were very nice and did a good job. Overall the bus trip was ok. It felt very rushed and this lead to the 3 rating. We stopped for breakfast at McDonalds but were only given 15 minutes. The tour was suppose to return to Roanke at 10 pm. We were in Roanoke at 830. We were assured that we would have plenty of time to see and enjoy the Christmas Show Exhibit in Charlotte. We got there a little after 10 am and had to be back on the bus at 3 pm. This did not give us time to see and enjoy all that was offered. An extra hour would have helped immensely. I wouldn't take this trip again.
I had traveled last year with Sunshine and had a blast. Talked a friend into taking a trip to New England this summer.. it was absolutely the worst trip I have ever been on. The first day I was on the cramped buss for 17 1/2 hours with only 3 stops.. Tour guide had no interaction with us, just sat and talked with bus driver. We forgot two ladies, and had to turn around and go back to Lexington to get them. They had waited 3 hours past their pick up time. The hotels had separate issues including, dirty, rats and a very high crime area, homeless population outside the lobby in Boston. The friend I traveled with attempted to contact the owners to point out just how awful this trip was. She was informed that they had contacted everyone else on the bus and they advised that the trip was great. This is a BOLD face lie, you did not contact me or several others that also had complained of how unorganized and ill planned this trip was. I was willing to give sunshine the benefit of the doubt and figured they had an untrained guide, but to answer a complaint with a lie is not only unethical but tells me more then I ever needed to know about this company.
This company does a horrible job. It was the worst experience for me. The company clearly does not value their customer. Some experiences: 1) The bus we had to ride on was filthy, handles falling off seats/missing, no wifi, and very cramped. 2) The great breakfast they advertise was a 5 hr old greasy buscuit with warm OJ. 3) The majority of the hotels we stayed in were dirty and in high crime areas. One of the hotels actually had a swarm of rats outside the front door and many people standing on the sidewalk wanting drugs. See photos attached. At one hotel when we woke up the floor was actually flooded with water due to lack of maintenance of the AC unit. We were always late for every stop. Did not get tour guides we paid for, etc. The entire trip was nothing but caaos and disappointment. The schedule always changed without notice. Very little entertainment; we found ourselves always at the hotel. Most of our entertainment was FREE TO THE PUBLIC. It was very clear Sunshine took the cheapest route/hotels, etc. for their trip. When attempting to share this information with the office after the trip, they took no accountability and could not have cared less. SO, BUYER BEWARE!
Went on the tour of The Green Bank Observatory and a ride on the Cass railroad. The bus was 35 minutes late picking us up because of people being late at the pickups before us. This threw the entire day off and we were rushed through each stop. We didn't have enough time at either destination. Why should the people that are on time suffer because of those that are irresponsible for theirs. The rule should be the bus leaves with or without you at a certain time. The driver and guide did their best but were set with a handicap to begin with (time). Seemed very unorganized compared to another bus trip that we took with a different bus tour line.