Glory Tours -- Absolutely Outstanding

We were in Barbados last week (Wednesday 9/7/05) and we had booked Glory Tours for a group of 4 of us. While we were on the ship we met another couple who were on their first cruise and they were not having the best of times. We invited them to join us in Dominica, Barbados and Aruba on our excursions if there was room. In Dominica there was extra room on our tour bus so they just joined the group.

In Barbados we were disappointed when we heard that the bus for Glory Tours was full. The tour driver made a call to Sarah to see if there was anyway to accomodate us since I really didn't want to leave the other couple behind. There were a few logistical issues that could have been a problem. If we waited for another vehicle to come to the ship we would be cutting into our tour time and would probably need to miss something. I offered to let the tour bus go ahead without us to the first stop ( harrisons caves) and we would wait for Sarah to send another vehicle for our group. Sarah didn't want us to miss out on any of the tours attractions. Sarah had the perfect solution. The tour bus left for Harrisons Caves on time -- the extra couple took a taxi that followed the tour bus to Harrisons Caves on their own -- and at Harrisons Caves we entered the caves as one group. The caves were spectacular. When we came out of the caves not only was Sarah there to meet us, she had a second vehicle waiting for us. No time was lost waiting at the dock for a second vehicle, no attractions would need to be missed since we were in the caves while the second vehicle was on its way. We then split up the group into the two vehicles so the six of us were all together. Sarah did not have to do any of this, she could have simply told us at the dock that the tour was full -- but she didn't -- she went out of her way to accomodate the extra couple and for that I am very grateful.

The 2 vehicled followed each other and stopped for the same photo opportunities. Our driver (Vernon) was one of the best guides we've ever had on any excursion. No one saw or did anything that the other group missed.

Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We stopped at a lovely restaurant where we had our choice of beef stew, chicken or fish served with macaroni & cheese pie, rice & beans and a small salad. Excellent meal. Then came the most pleasant surprise - Sarah presented one of the other members of the group with a birthday cake. Seems when they were booking the tour they mentioned they would be celebrating a birthday and left it at that. They had no idea Sarah would make a note of that and surprise them with a birthday cake. This was a first class act!! After we ALL shared in a piece of birthday cake we left for the wildlife preserve.

There are signs posted that the monkeys are the only creatures that are not confined to the preserve and they are free to come and go as they please. Unfortunatelly we did not get to see any monkeys -but then again the monkeys don't punch a clock for our human benefit. This is nature at its finest. Even without seeing the monkeys, the wildlife preserve was still a fantastic experience. The other array of wildlife was beautiful.

Next up was the water portion of or tour. The first stop was the swim with the turtles. I've read on these boards (and common sense dictates) that your in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and these are wild creatures so there is no guartantee that you will see any turtles. Just like the monkeys, the turtles don't answer to us humans and they don't just show up on cue because we want them to so there is a chance that we may not see them, but Sarahs crew knew where they generally gather and he was right on the money. We saw more than a dozen turtles up close and personal. They were swimming right by us and we were able to reach out and touch them. A few even brushed by us as they were swimming.

Next stop was a snorkle over a ship wreck. It began to rain and the water was a little bit cloudy but we still saw the ship and had an excellent time. Mother Nature does as she wants too.

By the time we got back to the cruise ship we all agreed this was one of the most memorable excursions any of us had ever been on. We had a FULL day of activities --- Harrisons Caves, Sightseeing along the Barbados Coastline -- Lunch, The Wildlife Preserve, Snorkeling with the Turtles, Snorkling over a Shipwreck. EXCELLENT ! EXCELLENT1 EXCELLENT!

Sarah - Thank you again for going out of your way to accomodate the extra couple. Thank you for the extra little surprise - the birthday cake. Thank you for a wonderful time.

This truly was -THE BEST OF BARBADOS

Poppabear:

I am so glad you got to enjoy the Best of Barbados with Glory Tours. They sure do a good job and I agree with every thing you said. With the exception of the birthday cake and taxi, it sounded just like my tour. We had a wonderful day too!

Congratulations to Sarah and the group at Glory Tours.

You do a fantastic job!!!

Do you have the web site?

www.glorytours.org

I agree with all of the above- we will always cherish our memories from Barbados and Glory Tours made sure our day was fantastic!!!:)

The web site for Glory Tours is http://glorytours.org/Click on the TOURS link on the left hand column and you will see various tour options. Click on the LAND and SEA COMBO link.

The tour we took was called THE BEST OF BARBADOS.-- it's the first tour listed under this link.

Sarah and Glory Tours are the best tour guides in Barbados.

One of our favorite photos is the one with a turtle walking across my wifes feet in the wildlife preserve. She was standing there looking at a very, very young baby deer (it was no bigger than a small puppy) when a caravan of turtles (about 9) walked in front of her --actually OVER her. It was a Kodak moment.

Enjoy your trip to Barbados. With Glory Tours you definitely will. I wish I was back there now.

Great to hear that such a good time was had by all. I am bumping this up so all the bad stuff that has been said can be interjected with current.... very good stuff for Glory Tours.

Sounds like we would really like Best of Barbados but it does not occur on Thursday (when we will be there) according to the website...when did you all go? Would you suggest Taste of Barbados instead?

Just: We contacted Sarah and we are doing the Best of Barbados on a Saturday, it is all set up and paid for.

the best of barbados tour with glory tours was by far one of the greatest experiences of my life. it was amazing to see such beautiful landscapes and scenes and all of the wild life. definitely the thing to do when in barbados

Anyone else been with Glory Tours lately?

Anyone else been with Glory Tours lately?

i went the second week of August, if you're really interested in finding someone who has gone recently, go onto Destiny... Past, Present, Future and i'm sure you'll find one of two people there...

Anybody else have any comments about Glory Tours? Just need to know if the credit card problems got corrected for sure. Thanks.

Anybody else have any comments about Glory Tours? Just need to know if the credit card problems got corrected for sure. Thanks.

went in august and as far as i know, we had no problems with the credit card (bf didn't say anything about it)... the confirmation was wrong at first but it was corrected immediately by email...

Anybody else have any comments about Glory Tours? Just need to know if the credit card problems got corrected for sure. Thanks.

went in august and as far as i know, we had no problems with the credit card (bf didn't say anything about it)... the confirmation was wrong at first but it was corrected immediately by email...

Hi! I was wondering if there are any waterfalls in barbados? also, what is the best beach to go to? I will be there in february, and I think on a wednesday so the tour may not be available for us...we will be on the island from 12 noon-10pm, any suggestions? Thanks for the help!!!!!

Jen:D

Hi! I was wondering if there are any waterfalls in barbados? also, what is the best beach to go to? I will be there in february, and I think on a wednesday so the tour may not be available for us...we will be on the island from 12 noon-10pm, any suggestions? Thanks for the help!!!!!

 

Jen:D

double check the tours on their website, becuase if i remember correctly, we were in barbados on a wednesday...

OK... here is a great tip!!!

I discovered this while visiting Glory website..... http://www.glorytours.org/

They have the BEST MUSIC!!! I just open up the website, minimize it, and then go about my internet business.

Can you tell I AM IN THE MOOD.......2 1/2 weeks til we cruise again!!!!

Dancing my way through the mall!!! Dancing my way through housework!!

Dancing my way through work!!!

:) ;) :)

We just returned from our cruise and did the Best of Barbados tour with Glory Tours and had a great time. If you have a group, they will do the tour on the day you are in port.

I know they have had problems with credit card charges and I am waiting to see if my charges go through correctly. :) It is a shame that they have had so many discrepancies in the charges, because the tour is really excellent and a good value.

Liz

This tour sounds great but me and my wife have never snorkled and would pass on this activity at this point in time. Is it still worthwhile to do this tour without the snorkling part or would it be better to do another tour? Also, how much is this tour, how large are the groups usually and is there a beach stop?

Thanks!

The only beach they stopped at was the one where we got onto the snorkel boat. The boat had an area with a glass bottom...so even if you don't snorkel you can see a lot through the glass. The boat ride is nice too. If you left the tour before the snorkel you would have to make your own way back to the ship. You might want to contact Sarah and see if she offers a similar tour with a beach stop. We paid $76 p/p for our tour which we booked a while ago, but the price has gone up since then. You can check their website for current prices http://glorytours.org/

Liz

I don't snorkel either, but had a wonderful time on the boat sunning on the top deck, seeing the coral, fish, and shipwreck from the glass bottom, and I got to touch/feed the turtles as they came right up to you on the boat...

I'd highly recommend Glory Tours! :)

I sent a reservation to Glory Tours for the best of Barbados on Saturday. How long does it take to get a confirmation from them?

Can anyone tell me how long it took them to receive a confirmation. We had great communication with all the questions I had and then I finalized the booking via website. Received a note stating thank you and will send the tour passes by the next day. Now I keep sending emails asking what happened to my confirmation and no reply. Credit card payment was posted already. Just can't seem to get an email reply. I truly do not understand their method of doing business. I do want to go on the tour but getting concerned about this issue. I know those that have done it, had a great review. Then there are all those others that have had issues with communication and billing. I am questioning myself at this point. Thank you in advance for your replies.:confused:

Hi,

we booked with Glory Tours for our April Cruise on the Empress. The response time was mixed. I sent two e-mails with questions, the first e-mail was answerered rather quick, the second one, after reservation took two days. After booking on their homepage it took about a 4 days for the confirmation/tour pass to arrive by e-mail I think it depends on Sarahs schedule. I booked this tour mainly because of the reviews on this board. I too hope that the tour is great. But with so many positive reviews for the tour itself I still fell safe.

Hi,

we booked with Glory Tours for our April Cruise on the Empress. The response time was mixed. I sent two e-mails with questions, the first e-mail was answerered rather quick, the second one, after reservation took two days. After booking on their homepage it took about a 4 days for the confirmation/tour pass to arrive by e-mail I think it depends on Sarahs schedule. I booked this tour mainly because of the reviews on this board. I too hope that the tour is great. But with so many positive reviews for the tour itself I still fell safe.