Diamond Tours Anmeldelser 

Perhaps I didn’t do my due diligence in researching this bus tour; I probably would have given it a shot and booked it anyway. Looking back on our 11 day journey to South Dakota from New England and back, I am glad I did it. We saw a lot of amazing sites! I could live with the less than great meals, accommodations were mostly good. But I found the seating on the bus very tight and at 5’2 if my knees were touching the seat in front of me - that’s not exactly roomy. For spending so much time traveling, more comfort would have made a big difference. My other point of contention was the itinerary; the days were just way too long. We got up at 6:30 every morning, packed in touring all day and didn’t return to our hotel til 9 - sometimes even 10 pm. We had virtually no down time to relax; we all dropped into bed every night. This was our first bus tour of this type; several travelers expressed disappointment in our leader; while I had nothing to compare her to, I realize now she definitely could have been more informative, more engaging with bus games like trivia or bingo instead of just popping in a movie to keep “ the kids occupied”.
So would I recommend a bus tour? I say just do your research. Perhaps you just get what you pay for. I say - spend a little more.

If getting off the bus for 15 minutes to take a picture of a Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard landmark after 4 days on a bus is your dream vacation, if 8 hours on a bus with one pit stop and no dinner stop is your idea of a great way to travel, if a scheduled 2 hr museum stop turns into 30 minutes because “no one is interested” sounds fun, if eating dinner 2.5 hrs after you eat lunch works for your digestive system (because experiencing the museum is wasted time), if not doing a headcount after a meal and leaving tour participants behind at the restaurant is an adventure you’d like to experience, then the Diamond Tours to Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard out of Hattiesburg MS on 6/5/26 would have been your ideal trip! For someone who has been on multiple Diamond Tours, this was the absolute worst experience ever! Tour Leader and spouse held the entire itinerary hostage, changing it every day and giving us virtually no time for Martha’s Vineyard or Cape landmarks. Could have taken an early ferry to MV island, but leader opted for later one with no chance to book an island tour (total island time 3 hrs included getting lunch). Called to complain to Diamond-their response: “tour leaders are not Diamond employees, so there’s nothing we can do other than to log your dissatisfaction.” Do yourself a favor and avoid all Diamond trips out of Hattiesburg in case you get stuck with these charlatans! It is not worth your time, money, or frustration.

Buyer Beware! This was the worst trip I have ever experienced. The Wyndham Hotel in New Orleans, LA, was unacceptable. The doors did not lock properly when closed. You had to pull the door shut to ensure it locked, which is a significant security issue. Someone from our group saw a large cockroach on the stairs.
The hotel staff did not clean the rooms automatically; you had to request cleaning, but they don’t inform you of this in advance.

When I asked for extra soap, the man at the hotel counter gave me attitude and only provided one bar. I inquired about how DoorDash deliveries were handled and was told that I had to place orders at my own risk, as there was no guarantee they could get them to me. Many services on Instacart indicated they would not deliver to this hotel due to strict parking rules.

To top it all off, we were late for EVERY tour we booked. The tours used National Trail Bus, and our bus driver was consistently late!

I traveled with the Seniors in Motion group from Detroit to Louisiana from June 7th to June 13th. Clarence Guyton was our bus driver on Bus #1, #24668. He was very personable and helpful to passengers as they disembarked. However, I have some suggestions for improvement regarding Clarence's performance.

On June 7th, Clarence was supposed to pick us up at 8:00 a.m., but he arrived over an hour late. This forced the seniors to stand and wait for him. Additionally, the bus was not clean when it arrived, so we had to return to the bus yard for cleaning. This delay extended our trip by three hours, and we did not depart until after 12:00 p.m. I suggest that when a bus driver arrives for a pickup, they should inspect the bus. If it is not clean, they should report it and ensure it is cleaned before departure.

During our journey, we made a stop in Ohio. Clarence instructed us to return to the bus by 2:45 p.m., but when I got back, the bus was locked. He didn’t return for over an hour, forcing the seniors to wait outside in the hot sun. I noticed that the driver of Bus #2, Annerion Lewis, kept her bus open for passengers. When she went to get food, she promptly returned to keep her bus accessible, showing thoughtful consideration for her senior passengers.

On June 9th, we were scheduled to visit Mardi Gras World, and the Seniors in Motion director reminded Clarence about the importance of being on time for our tour. However, Clarence arrived an hour late again, showing up without any apology. He delivered an emotional monologue about needing to prioritize his rest because of a past car accident that resulted in 34 pins in his body. While his story may have been sincere, it felt unprofessional to play on the seniors’ emotions, especially given that he was late again the next day. Because of his lateness, we lost an hour of our scheduled time at Mardi Gras World, which was unfair to us as paying customers.

At Boomtown Casino, Clarence was supposed to pick us up at 8:00 p.m. to return us to our hotel. He stayed inside the casino while all the seniors waited outside. After 30 minutes, he finally arrived to open the bus at 8:30 p.m.

On June 10th, despite being reminded once more that he needed to be on time for a tour at the Free People of Color Museum, Clarence was still 30 minutes late picking us up. He would always make excuses for his tardiness rather than offer apologies. This caused additional disappointment, as tour guides at various locations commented on our lateness and mentioned that we would miss parts of the tour. The presenter at the Free People of Color Museum had to cut her presentation short, and we only received 30 minutes of a tour that we had paid for, which was supposed to last an hour. After her presentation, we only had 5 minutes to view the artwork in the museum, which was not enough time.

On a more positive note, I want to commend Annerion Lewis, the driver of Bus #2. She was incredible and consistently thoughtful. She kept her bus open, ensuring the seniors wouldn’t have to wait outside in the heat. Annerion went above and beyond by providing water for her passengers and even assisted those who were not on her bus, including my mom. Everyone praised her professionalism and attentiveness. She truly provided top-notch service and made the trip more enjoyable for the seniors.

Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, etc. May 16th to May 27th.
I have traveled with several tour companies. This was without a doubt the worst trip I have ever been on. I will try to explain some of the reasons why.
The morning we left, John Roberts (group leader) was late, then he unloaded the refreshments and snacks. Left and was gone for about 30 minutes. We could not even get seated on the bus because he had the seating assignments.
The 1st nights lodging at Holiday Inn, Aurora North. Was very run down and dirty. I heard a couple of other people say that their rooms smelled like vomit. Most hotels were sub-standard.
We were scheduled to stop in Chamberlain, S.Dak to see the Divinity Statue. We did not stop. John said that he was on the phone and missed it.
Food at theColonial House restaurant was barely eatable.
On Friday our evening meal was at Pizza Ranch, food was pretty good. On Saturday we were supposed to have dinner on our own. John Roberts told us that due to this being a holiday weekend there were no restaurants that could handle this many people. He ordered pizza with his own money. I didn’t want pizza that late because of gastric problems, so he ordered me a salad.
Prepaid meal at Ruby Tuesdays, my and my friend started to sit down with a couple of friends, John told us to sit somewhere else. He and the driver ended up sitting there. I thought that was very rude of him.the food was very disappointing, not like the normal food at Ruby Tuesdays. The ice cream for desert was not even a tablespoon full. Everyone was laughing about it,
The guide at Yellowstone on our bus, ended up mostly talking about herself, her dog, her father, etc. I was very surprised that we did not stop at the Grand Prismatic Spring the largest spring in the USA. The guide said there was no parking for buses there. I’m almost sure I saw spots marked for buses.
At Yellowstone before we departed the bus, we were told to be back on the bus at 1:30pm, Which was only about one hour and fifteen minutes. We rushed to eat and see what we could. We ran into John a little after one, he said the time was changed after we got off the bus to 2:30pm. He blamed the guide. It should have been settled before we left the bus.
Prepaid buffet at Best Western Ramkoda was a joke, we were herded in like cattle and again the food was sub par.
Last day coming home, John was asked by some people to stop at Cracker Barrel for lunch. He said he would try. At lunch time I noticed he passed up 2 exits that had Cracker Barrel’s. We ate at Hardee’s.
One big problem we had was eating lunch late and then 2 or 3 hours having supper. This happened two or three times.
It seems like the whole trip was handled poorly, very disorganized.

It has taken me a few days to recover from the Diamond Tours New Orleans trip. I am very displeased with the entire experience. The ONLY good thing about the trip was the bus driver and the people on the bus.

This was the WORST TRIP EVER! I WILL NEVER do a bus tour again! The hotels were sub-par, at best, with TERRIBLE continental breakfasts (cold coffee, taco meat for breakfast, cold, watery eggs 🤮) the hotel kept running out of food and we had to literally knock on a door for someone to come out and replenish. The restaurant stops were also sub-par. The quality of food was poor (Sicily Italian, Picadilly's, Landry's). Some of the staff at each of the restaurants were rude and uninviting.

The bus leaked water drops over one passenger's head. The bathroom had a very putrid smell upon flushing, leaving the entire bus with a foul odor. The driver finally rectified the problem, but it took more than one attempt.

There was a room mix-up with guests at the Sonesta ES Suites (WILL NEVER STAY HERE AGAIN). One of the rooms had bugs. This made me research reviews, and during my research, I discovered that there were SEVERAL reviews with bed bugs! 😫

As a tour guide, I found Toni Johnston to be unenthused, impersonal, and with no real sense of humor. Her lack of enthusiasm made the itinerary stops even more unappealing. The guided tour was awful...no one was paying attention, people were on their phones because the tour lacked excitement. She seemed to be doing the job for the sake of doing the job.

I found it interesting that Diamond Tours target travelers who are retired senior citizens, however, several of the itinerary stops were not supportive of physically challenged travelers. 🤔
The RiverWalk Mall was very difficult for some physically challenged travelers to maneuver. The food court was soooo far inside that they had to stop numerous times to rest before continuing their journey (this should have been prefaced in an overview BEFORE people exited the bus).

Mardi Gras World and the World War ll Museum required wayyyy too much walking. They need to do a better job of choosing itineraries that are best suited to support physically challenged individuals and that are also interesting enough for people to want to be there for more than 2 hours. Mardi Gras World was really THE ONLY itinerary that immersed us in New Orlean culture.

Again...WORST TRIP I HAVE EVER TAKEN AND I WOULD NEVER recommend this company to ANYONE! I am submitting this as a review on several sites so people can make a more informed decision when choosing a tour bus company and pre-packaged itineraries that have nothing to do with the culture of the destination.

Personally, I will be opting to pay the extra money for a quality vacation in the future. This was the WORST EXPERIENCE on a bus I have everrrrr had, a total waste of money, annnnd 0 out of 10... 🗣 🗣🗣 DO NOT RECOMMEND! BUYER BEWARE...DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY...RUNNNN in the opposite direction.