Cosmos Tour Reviews
The 1984 Cosmos Tour reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have traveled with Cosmos. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
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5 Star
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1 Star
An enjoyable time overall 3
Elizabeth Bowman, Australia, Jul 2014
We had an enjoyable time overall. Just made a mistake with booking the tour excursions to Mt Titlis as it was raining the day we went and did not see much up there. Our tour director Claudia did excellently considering there were a few difficult people on the tour, some with mobility problems and some noisy people who kept talking while she was giving read more some information. Some hotels could have been better we miss the coffee facilities, hair dryer and iron but it was explained why European hotels don't include them in the hotel rooms. Maybe one thing that can be improved is the availability of laundromats. In our experience, doing laundry gets in the way of our tour excursions that although we managed to still get back in time for dinner/show, we looked a big mess as we didn't have enough time to refresh and get changed. Perhaps including hotels with laundromats inside or even just around the corner would be a great help for people like us who joined most of the tour excursions. In summary, this tour was a good choice. We saw 14 countries in 27 days and got immersed in the culture of each country we visited. (Ed. Itinerary amended slightly and name changed from European Masterpiece to All About Europe in 2019)
One of the best two weeks I have ever spent 1
Western Canada by Rail
Peter & Kay Kayne, Australia, Jul 2014
The tour from start to finish just got better and better the further it went. Gerry the drivers jokes even got better. Darcey the tour directer was always there and willing to help in any way. His knowledge was extremely good in all areas. With the weather and the scenery getting better every day it was just amazing. And then with the optional excursions read more it was truly one of the best two weeks I have ever spent. Thank you very much.
Cannot rate highly enough 4
Canadian Masterpiece with Rocky Mountaineer & Alaska Cruise
Roslyn Newlands, Australia, Jul 2014
I cannot rate the Canadian and Alaskan Masterpiece tour highly enough. The scenery was the best I have every experienced and I have travelled to many places in my time. I often read comments about your trips and people mention matters like the accommodation was a little out of town or not upmarket enough. People must remember that Cosmos never intends read more to give 5 star service. In fact, that's why I choose it. If I am staying in a place for a while, then I'm a 5 star girl, but not when I'm on the go constantly. We arrived at most places early evening, looking for a comfortable place to crash and without fail, every bed was super comfortable and the room always had great showers. Isn't that all that is needed? There were always plenty of places to eat or within walking distance, to obtain meals. A short walk into town is always great after sitting all day. I love the fact that no meals are included, because there's nothing worse than being 'mustered' into a reserved area of a restaurant and handed 'the set menu'. If I was travelling through a third world country, then I would definitely upgrade, but I cannot fault Cosmos. This is our second tour and I have nothing but praise for Cosmos and for Global Journeys. One thing I would comment on, is that when we were sent the red book with our itinerary, it was easy to miss the details of the cruise on the inner front page. We had to log on to the Holland America site and register. Many people did not see this and failed to do it. Perhaps draw future clients' attention to this. Well done Georgie. I would travel with you tomorrow if $ allowed it. I/we will be back.
We enjoyed the tour very much 2
Focus on Scandinavia
Anne Derwin & Ellen Daniel, Australia, Jul 2014
We enjoyed the tour very much. Our guide and bus driver were well organised, caring and made the trip so easy and educative for us. Michelle made the organisation of our trip easy and we appreciated her getting back to us quickly when we had queries/ dilemmas.
We had a wonderful tour director. Linda was run off her feet trying to meet the needs of the passengers on the overcrowded coach. Every seat including the one next to her in the front and the 2 dicky seats down the back were taken. Our first day started off badly when the coach to take us around LA would not start. Linda made some compensations read more which appeared to satisfy most of the travellers and from there on everything went reasonably well and we finished off having a really great holiday.
Extremely satisfying and well managed coach tour 1
Ontario & French Canada
Mario Sallecchia, Australia, Jul 2014
This was an extremely satisfying and well managed coach tour and would be the best we have ever done. The sites & cities visited were very interesting and diverse, the pace of the tour was very good, giving everyone ample time for personal exploration and/or reflection. The optional activities and dinners provided flexibility for travellers. Above all read more we had an extremely intelligent, friendly and helpful tour director (Peter) with lots of local knowledge who added a very personal touch and experience to the tour - he gave his all to ensure that everyone's needs were addressed (we would rate him 10/10). It would be difficult to find a negative aspect of this tour ... it would be up there with the best.
Coach driver added to the overall pleasure of the tour 2
Irish Discovery
David Odell, Australia , Jul 2014
I suggested to Tom (our tour guide) that a preliminary 'breaking the ice' session would have been helpful but even so we got to know each other on the tour quite well and personally I found everyone courteous and helpful. Due to flight bookings I missed the first tour of Dublin but found that accommodation at the Regency had been booked for the previous read more night (of which I was unaware) as this hadn't been made clear to me when the booking commenced. Due to my later arrival I also missed out on the Cosmos transit bus but was able to get a local bus for E3.20 instead of a taxi - perhaps you can add that to your choices. After the visit to Muckross House we were able to enjoy a quiet drink and soak in the scenery - just a little relief from the pace of the tour. We all expressed admiration for Gregory the coach driver for his expertise and unflappable courteousness and this added to the overall pleasure of the tour. One female tourist wouldn't give up her window seat which caused a 'compulsory' (but very pleasant) introduction to new travelling companions. Tom was a very knowledgeable guide but his 'Irish' humour sometimes wasn't understood but he handled difficult situations very professionally. The hotels were first class but I found that showers in the bath very challenging - the food plentiful with a good variety.
Everything went like clockwork, enjoyed the whole trip 2
The British Isles in Depth
Mick & Monika Riley, Australia, Jul 2014
We both had a wonderful time, the itinerary included most of the things we wanted to see and we thought the accommodation was great with the exception of the pre and post hotel. (Kensington Close) This place was very expensive and the room was smaller than a cabin on a boat. We had to take turns sitting on the bed to squeeze through to the bathroom. read more They wanted ten pounds per night for WiFi were all the other hotels were free. Our Earls Ct hotel in comparison was roomy and a third of the price per night, free WIFi and great breakfasts. I would like to highly commend our tour guide Katherine. She was a fund of knowledge (amazing) with a wicked sense of humour and just good fun or 'Craic' as she called it. Everything went like clockwork and we enjoyed the whole trip. Thanks for your assistance and we will be in touch in the future to do a tour through Germany.
This was a really great tour. The tour guide Oki was excellent - there was nothing that was too much trouble. Accommodation was quite adequate. The very early starts were very tiring. It was quite a full on tour for only 6 days on the road.
Good itinerary and beautiful countryside 2
England, Scotland & Wales
Donald Angus, Australia, Jul 2014
Enjoyable tour. Good itinerary and beautiful countryside. Tour guide was brilliant. Accommodation and meals generally good but a few could have been better. Everything went smoothly and we enjoyed it. Value for money we had just done a Baltic Cruise which was cheaper on a per night basis and included all meals and entertainment. Thanks for your part read more in helping us with the booking and other details. We were very happy with Michelle's assistance.
Can't praise our tour director (Jason) and driver (Chuck) enough. A great tour and Jason and Chuck went out of their way to make sure we had a great experience. The tour was a blend of cities, natural wonders and experiences that had something to suit everyone. Jason made sure we had enough information at every town/inclusion to ensure that we all read more had plenty to do and not get lost!! The best tour I have been on and will use Cosmos again in the future.
An amazing time 1
Alpine Adventure, Bernina & Glacier Express
Christine & Graham Beven, Australia, Jul 2014
We had an amazing time on the alpine adventures tour, the only downside was the 'optional tours'. The first tour was cancelled as only 13 instead of 15 (min. no. as required by Cosmos!) requested to go. I found this very disappointing as when we booked we are told they are 'our' optional tours, not the companies! We always go on all the tours to make read more sure we get as much out of our trip as possible and I think Cosmos should re think this policy. If they do not want to run the coach for lesser numbers they should make other arrangements for us to be able to go as a small group. Luckily a couple of other tours went ahead anyway, or there would have been a few disgruntled customers and complaints.
Lots of memories and good friends made on the tour 1
The Best of Europe with London
Pete & Marian Zeeman, Australia, Jul 2014
Wow, wow, wow, that is the only way to describe our holiday. Thank you so much Global Journeys and especially Georgie for everything - being our first trip to Europe the planning and organisation was fantastic - from the minute we arrived at our hotel in London to the tour itself and beyond everything was organised and never once did we encounter any read more problems. Our tour guide Atilla was fantastic and Carlo our bus driver as well. Pete and I loved every minute and cannot find fault with anything. We will definitely recommend Global Journeys to our friends and are already planning our next trip with you guys. Thank you once again for a fantastic holiday, lots of memories and to good friends made on the tour.
Took us to cities that we had dreamed about visiting 1
Highlights of Germany
Lorraine Wilson, Australia, Jul 2014
A great tour that took us to cities that we had dreamed about visiting. Perhaps may not choose some of the optional tours next time as we missed out on some free time that we may have put to better use. Some of the local guides were excellent but others spent far too much time talking and the pace of the tour was drawn out. Hotels were Ok but not central read more enough totals the most of free time especially in the evenings. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
What a magnificent trip! 1
Canadian Masterpiece with Rocky Mountaineer & Alaska Cruise
Robin & Lynne Lerch, Australia, Jul 2014
What a magnificent trip! This was our 3rd trip with Cosmos & once again we loved it! Our tour director Vedrana & bus driver Gunther were so nice, so helpful & so good at their jobs. Saw some spectacular scenery & some beautiful towns. The Rocky Mountaineer train trip is a bit long because of delays with freight trains but still all good. The Vollandame read more boat trip was great!! Well done Cosmos & Michelle from Global Journeys.
I was more than pleased and enjoyed a wonderful experience 1
Golden West Adventure
Karl Parkes, Australia, Jul 2014
What a great result. I had never travelled with Cosmos before so had an open mind as to what to expect. Well,I was more than pleased and enjoyed a wonderful experience. I had booked as a 'twin share' but there wasnt any other starter in that category so I enjoyed a single room by myself at no extra cost. The tour guide/director, Linda Perez was fantastic read more and gave us information all the time as to where we were and the local history. She was passionate in her job and took care of us all. Our driver, Piroshka, was brilliant in driving a big coach and gave a troublefree comfortable drive for the 15 days on the road. There were 35 of us on the coach, mainly Australians and NZ'ers with three Poms and two Germans, so a bit of international flavour. We all got along well and nobody was ever late for morning takeoff which was welcome. The choice of hotels was good and all were comfortable and I had a good nights sleep everywhere. As for the western US where we travelled, the scenery was something else, especially at the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park. Many other scenic points where also interesting. Im looking forward to going on other tours with Cosmos and can thoroughly recommend them and Global Journeys for their professionalism. All in all - 5 stars out of 5 and thats hard to beat.
We really enjoyed the slower pace of this tour. Spending 3 nights in each city gave us time to explore without rushing. We thought our tour leader, Simona, was excellent. Her warm friendly personality made her very approachable & nothing seemed to be too much trouble. We particularly enjoyed our stay in the Bellevue hotel in Vienna. It seemed to capture read more the old world charm of the city. It would be great if there were more 'slow' trips to enjoy. (Ed: Review based on slightly different itinerary. Trip name and itinerary updated this season)
I really enjoyed my tour, however a few 'hiccups' during the tour, caused unnecessary stress. I was a single female sharing with a stranger, however, I was not advised of who I was sharing with and only found out as we were both searching for keys at reception at the 1st night's accommodation. The accommodation in most locations was pretty good, however, read more in 2 hotels (toward the end of the tour) I found the bedding arrangement unsatisfactory - as I am a tall person, I found sleeping on a pull out sofa-bed difficult and unacceptable. I felt that the tour guide did his best, however, general 'housekeeping' information was not explained - he was more enthusiastic about the historical aspects of locations.
Fast paced overview of the UK and good value 3
The British Isles in Depth
Heather Kent, Australia, Jun 2014
Overall the tour was a good overview of the United Kingdom, we enjoyed it and we found it to be good value. Hotel standards and service were generally good and better than expected considering the price of the tour, although there were a couple of exceptions. Generally optional excursions were excellent. Tour director was very well informed and flexible read more where possible within the parameters of the tour and dealt very well with unexpected contingencies. We would recommend inclusion of Chester in the tour as it is an iconic town. We went to Chester because one of our excursions was cancelled due to industrial action in Wales. Bus drivers were excellent, including relief drivers. Went to numerous locations in a relatively short period of time and would have liked more stops with photo opportunities rather than just seeing some things from a distance. Would have liked more time to explore towns but realize the time frame of the tour does not allow this. We describe the tour as a fast paced overview of the UK and would recommend it as good value.
A good itinerary but there was too much free time 2
The Magic of the Italian Lakes
Alan Farley, Australia, Jun 2014
This Cosmos tour had a good itinerary but there was too much unguided free time in some places where there was not enough to do. We would have done more homework ourselves on the destinations beforehand if we'd known how many hours we'd have to fill in for ourselves. The tour guide had a pleasant personality but her generally 'couldn't care less' attitude read more didn't add anything positive to the experience - this was in direct contrast to our previous Globus tour in 2011 where the tour guide was excellent. The accommodation was variable in standard and some people were allocated much better rooms than others. However, the accommodation, food and service at Lake Garda Resort in Lake Garda (where we spent two nights) was simply unacceptable. The service was chaotically slow and the food below par. The out of town location made it very difficult to go elsewhere and it was too dangerous to walk anywhere as the roads didn't have footpaths. It's unsuitable for a coach tour of this type.
