A Great Way to see London (The Original London Sightseeing Tour)

Member Name: Brooke3

Product:	The Original London Sightseeing Tour
Date:	21/05/09 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting tours

Disadvantages: Smoking on the bus and boat

In September I am going to be moving away from London and a couple of months ago I realised that although I've been living in London for a year and a half I haven't seen much of London. My first step to fix this problem was to take a bus tour around London. I love to learn about history so the tour seemed like the perfect day out.

-Buying the Tickets-
We bought the tickets at Visitors Centre in Trafalgar Square. We did have some difficulty finding the visitors centre, but this is my own fault entirely as I didn't bother to look for directions, I just turned up in Trafalgar Square and hoped that I would be able to see it! Fortunately the building is very noticeable with big, bright window displays.

The service we received at the Visitors Centre was excellent. The woman who served us was really friendly and helpful. She explained what the tour would include and where we could get the buses and boats from. Throughout the whole conversation she remained incredibly cheerful and she was constantly smiling. If I was working with her it would really annoy me but as a customer it was quite nice to actually get friendly service in London!
The staff at the Visitors Centre seem to be consistently cheerful. While we were waiting for our tickets to print off I watched the other person who was working there selling tickets to a family. He was chatting with the children, making jokes and generally being very friendly and helpful.
I can think of a number of places in London that could do with recruiting from wherever the Original London Sightseeing Tour recruit!

There was a lot of information on display at the Visitors Centre but we didn't stick around to look at it all. The woman gave us our tickets, a map and some advice about making the most of our tickets and then we went on our way to enjoy what I hoped would be an educational day out in London.

-Tickets-
Discounts are available online but if you buy tickets from the Visitors Centre the costs are:
Adult: £24
Child: £12
(Read the rest of this review and you can get 20% discount.)

The tickets include:
-The Bus Tour. There are three different routes and you can hop on and off of the bus at designated bus stops around London for 24 hours. The buses don't actually run for 24 hours but the tickets are valid for that time.
-Walking Tours
-The Thames River Cruise

I think that this is actually really good value for money, considering what you could be paying to do all three things. If you want to make the most of your ticket you will need to get up early and spend the day doing the tours.

-My Experience-

*Bus Tour*
As soon as we left the Visitors Centre a bus pulled up to the stop and we hopped on it. I thought this was great because I hate waiting. Unfortunately the bus was not one of the buses with an actual person giving the tour, this was entirely my own fault though. I was quite aware that some buses had people giving the tour and others had pre-recorded information but I was so impatient to get on the tour that I didn't bother to check.

Although I had wanted a live tour I was quite pleased with the pre-recorded one. We were given those little earpiece things, I can't remember what they're called! Anyway, you plug them into the wall next to the seats which is not ideal because I had to sit next to a stranger and it was awkward leaning over him to plug them in. It would be much better if the plug was in the middle of the two people.

The tour was fantastic. It was wonderful being able to go around London and take the time to actually see things. Most of what we passed I had seen many times, some things I walk by regularly and just never look at. Some of the views, particularly of the Thames were beautiful.

The best thing for me though, and the main reason why I decided to take the tour, was all of the information that was provided. The information was very basic. It would tell you what things were and maybe a few interesting facts about attractions but it didn't go into nearly as much depth as I would have liked. It has inspired me to actually visit a lot of the places that we passed by which is a good thing but I do wish that they had given us more information. However, the information that was provided was very interesting and probably just enough for most people to take in without getting bored.

The buses were comfortable enough, pretty much the same as any bus. There were people smoking on the top of the bus but you can't really blame that on the company. There were clear no smoking signs but obviously no one to enforce the rules. I hate smoking so this did ruin my enjoyment slightly but like I said, it's not the fault of the company.

Unfortunately I was only able to do the one bus route so I can't comment on the live commentary.

*Thames Cruise*
My first impression of the Thames Cruise was not a good one. The woman who greeted us and gave us directions to the boat was really rude. She answered our questions but she did so in one word answers without once smiling and rarely making eye contact. She didn't say please or thank you when she asked for our tickets.

However, the cruise was lovely. We travelled from Westminster to Greenwich.

Downstairs there are a number of chairs and tables and the room is surrounded by windows so you can look outside. The view from the bottom deck is not very good, it's too low down to really see anything but it is nice being able to see the river. I found it too hot to sit on this level and it felt quite suffocating. They do have toilets and a bar on this level. The drinks are quite expensive, I can't remember the exact cost but it was something like £1.50 for a bottle of water so I would recommend bringing your own. The toilets were disgusting. They were dark and while they weren't exactly dirty they were very messy. There was water on the floor in front of the sinks and toilet roll on the floor of the cubicles.

The top deck is just row after row of chairs and the view from here is wonderful. You can see so much from this deck and the views are absolutely breath taking. The weather was lovely the day that we visited, which of course makes a big difference. There would be absolutely no point in doing this tour if you couldn't sit on the top deck.

The people who work on the cruise are not professional tour guides but I think they should be. They were so amusing and knew so much about the buildings along the banks of the Thames and about the history of London. They delivered it all with a huge dose of humour that had me laughing throughout most of the cruise. You can hear this throughout the boat, even in the toilets!

We spent some time in Greenwich before getting back on the boat and going back to London Bridge. On the way back they didn't give any information, which is understandable, you wouldn't want to hear the same thing twice. On the way back we sat on the top deck again, even though it was getting cooler and the sun was going down. I did have cause to complain when some of the customers asked the man who was working if they could have a cigarette. He responded that they could as long as they gave him a cigarette. I was very annoyed, I hate smoking.

I did make a complaint about the smoking to the bus tour company. They responded asking for a copy of my ticket, so I sent them a copy. They didn't respond for almost a month so I emailed them again earlier this week. They finally responded saying:
"We provide the complimentary river cruise tickets in order to enhance our customers visit to London and we are sorry to hear that people were smoking on the boat. Please be assured that your comments will be passed onto the River Cruise supplier City Cruises." (The Original Tour)

They did offer me, my friends and my family 20% discount if we book online. As everyone I don't know is just a friend I have yet to meet I am passing on this discount code to you.

"I would like to offer you a promotional code for future bookings with The Original Tour. Just book via our website www.theoriginaltour.com, or over the phone (020 8877 2120) and use the promotional code 'relations' you will receive a 20% discount off your tickets. This promotional code can be used as often as you like, and can be passed on to family and friends."

Although it took them a long time to respond to my complaint and they only responded when I prompted them I was quite pleased with how they did deal with my complaint. All I wanted was an apology and to know that my complaints would be passed onto the relevant people. I thought the discount was a nice gesture, although more likely just a way for them to ensure that I would spend more money with them.

-Conclusion-
I did enjoy the tour and thought that the tickets were really good value for money. I felt that the information provided on the tour was interesting but didn't go into enough detail for me personally, for many people it may be a sufficient amount of information. I guess it depends entirely on if you take the tour just to see London, or if you really want to learn about the city as I did.
The cruise was also very informative, amusing and the views from the boat were beautiful.
I wish I had had time to do the walking tour but unfortunately your tickets give you access to so much that you will never have enough time to do it all.

For more information visit: http://www.theoriginaltour.com/

Summary: A very interesting day out