Godfrey Tours VS. Sunny Listen Tours

[kattchatt]

I was so undecided about Sonny and Godfrey but decided to do Godfrey based on much positive feedback...

The tour was just OK...First he was 40 minutes late picking us up from the pier (no apology either), Papa Bear from Air Force One who was at the pier early for his tour kept calling Godfrey telling him to get to the pier that we were waiting, claimed he was stuck in traffic but no other tours were late...Papa Bear said he doesn't like to get up but he's a "good" guy...Also said he should give us a discount for the wait...Well, that never happened!!!Said we could have some water later during the tour...He dropped us off in town for 90 minutes of shopping (supposed to be 2 1/2 hours) He was 15 minutes LATE picking us up from downtown (not good) Finally, the sightseeing began almost 30 minutes late, we were only in port until 4:00PM ...Most of what we saw we had seen before but this was our daughter and her boyfriends first time on the island...I think much ofour displeasure comes from the comparison to the tour we did on St. Martin with Bernard Tours, A+ just the day before...Godfrey was an OK guy but sort of boring......When he wasn't talking which was whenever we were driving mostly, it was silent which equals boring...We never felt like he went above and beyond to make this an exciting tour for us, kind of like:blah, blah blah...I guess I was expecting him to be interactive with his passengers but it was all business...He never got to know us and we never got to kow much about him...Nevr any chit chat...Just a very different experience from Bernard...Couldn't wait for the tour to end...After we paid and he left we all stood around talking and agreeing this was not a Great tour...!!!

[Name Of The Game]

I agree that Bernard is terrific!

 

I don't like all the singing on Sonny's but boring isn't fun either. There's got to be someone like Bernard in St. Thomas who's "just right".

[burrma]

I was so undecided about Sonny and Godfrey but decided to do Godfrey based on much positive feedback...

The tour was just OK...First he was 40 minutes late picking us up from the pier (no apology either), Papa Bear from Air Force One who was at the pier early for his tour kept calling Godfrey telling him to get to the pier that we were waiting, claimed he was stuck in traffic but no other tours were late...Papa Bear said he doesn't like to get up but he's a "good" guy...Also said he should give us a discount for the wait...Well, that never happened!!!Said we could have some water later during the tour...He dropped us off in town for 90 minutes of shopping (supposed to be 2 1/2 hours) He was 15 minutes LATE picking us up from downtown (not good) Finally, the sightseeing began almost 30 minutes late, we were only in port until 4:00PM ...Most of what we saw we had seen before but this was our daughter and her boyfriends first time on the island...I think much ofour displeasure comes from the comparison to the tour we did on St. Martin with Bernard Tours, A+ just the day before...Godfrey was an OK guy but sort of boring......When he wasn't talking which was whenever we were driving mostly, it was silent which equals boring...We never felt like he went above and beyond to make this an exciting tour for us, kind of like:blah, blah blah...I guess I was expecting him to be interactive with his passengers but it was all business...He never got to know us and we never got to kow much about him...Nevr any chit chat...Just a very different experience from Bernard...Couldn't wait for the tour to end...After we paid and he left we all stood around talking and agreeing this was not a Great tour...!!!

 

Too bad you chose Godrey over Sunny. I know I've been with Sonny many times and he's had to rescue people that had been waiting for Godrey to show up. Guess he has a tendency to be late. I would have been SOOO mad!

That's one thing about Sunny; in all the years I have used him; he's always waiting at pier for us when we arrive and between singing and having fun with the music, he's always telling you so much about the island.There's never a dull moment. He always goes above and beyound what we expected.

[reno3]

I was so undecided about Sonny and Godfrey but decided to do Godfrey based on much positive feedback...

The tour was just OK...First he was 40 minutes late picking us up from the pier (no apology either), Papa Bear from Air Force One who was at the pier early for his tour kept calling Godfrey telling him to get to the pier that we were waiting, claimed he was stuck in traffic but no other tours were late...Papa Bear said he doesn't like to get up but he's a "good" guy...Also said he should give us a discount for the wait...Well, that never happened!!!Said we could have some water later during the tour...He dropped us off in town for 90 minutes of shopping (supposed to be 2 1/2 hours) He was 15 minutes LATE picking us up from downtown (not good) Finally, the sightseeing began almost 30 minutes late, we were only in port until 4:00PM ...Most of what we saw we had seen before but this was our daughter and her boyfriends first time on the island...I think much ofour displeasure comes from the comparison to the tour we did on St. Martin with Bernard Tours, A+ just the day before...Godfrey was an OK guy but sort of boring......When he wasn't talking which was whenever we were driving mostly, it was silent which equals boring...We never felt like he went above and beyond to make this an exciting tour for us, kind of like:blah, blah blah...I guess I was expecting him to be interactive with his passengers but it was all business...He never got to know us and we never got to kow much about him...Nevr any chit chat...Just a very different experience from Bernard...Couldn't wait for the tour to end...After we paid and he left we all stood around talking and agreeing this was not a Great tour...!!!

Hi fellow Rhode Islander:)

I have been trying to decide between Godfrey and Sunny:confused:

I think I may go with Sunny and hope I get him for a driver.

Sorry your excursion was not up to par:(

[oriongal]

Too bad you chose Godrey over Sunny. I know I've been with Sonny many times and he's had to rescue people that had been waiting for Godrey to show up. Guess he has a tendency to be late. I would have been SOOO mad!

That's one thing about Sunny; in all the years I have used him; he's always waiting at pier for us when we arrive and between singing and having fun with the music, he's always telling you so much about the island.There's never a dull moment. He always goes above and beyound what we expected.

 

I have Sunny booked for our Dream Cruise next month and can't wait!!!! Does Sunny bring beverages on his tours?

[burrma]

As of last year, he didn't but this could have changed; ask him.

[kattchatt]

I would try someone other then Godfrey next time...Air Force One also had terrific reviews...We live and learn...I agree that too much rowdiness isn't always good BUT boring isn't much better.....Being late and now hearing he has a reutation for being late doesn't sit well with me...You have a limited amount of time on the island and he should care about that!!!!!

[sousak78]

Uh oh, I'm booked with Godfrey when I go next month and I've just convinced my parents and their cousins to go with me (currently checking if there is room for them.....) :confused:!

 

Should I reconsider and try and rebook with either Sunny or Papa Bear??? These recent reviews are making me a little nervous now.... maybe I should check Godfrey's cancellation policy, though I would feel really bad about cancelling less than a month before I am scheduled to go....

[kattchatt]

You pay Godfrey at the end of the tour so its not that much of a big deal...But I would cancel rather then just not showing up...It's funny because I researched this for months before my cruise and now some of the negatives are coming to the surface which I never saw any before when searching...I was also surprised at the small number of people that book these tours on their own...I think there were 15 of us in total from NCL's Epic, that was it and the ship holds over 4,200 guest...

[sousak78]

Thanks for the advice - I've emailed Sunny to see if he has space on his Sightseeing & Shopping Tour. If he does, then I'll cancel Godfrey. I'll feel bad canceling at the last minute but for the short time I am on the island, I'd like to know that we will be picked up on time and have a friendly guide. Plus, I think my relatives might like the singing and interaction on Sunny's tour.....

 

If Sunny doesn't have space for the six of us, then we'll just stick with Godfrey and hope for the best (Air Force One doesn't offer just the sightseeing & shopping option, which is what we are looking for - we get plenty of beach time at home :cool:).

[burrma]

Thanks for the advice - I've emailed Sunny to see if he has space on his Sightseeing & Shopping Tour. If he does, then I'll cancel Godfrey. I'll feel bad canceling at the last minute but for the short time I am on the island, I'd like to know that we will be picked up on time and have a friendly guide. Plus, I think my relatives might like the singing and interaction on Sunny's tour.....

 

If Sunny doesn't have space for the six of us, then we'll just stick with Godfrey and hope for the best (Air Force One doesn't offer just the sightseeing & shopping option, which is what we are looking for - we get plenty of beach time at home :cool:).

 

Sunny is quick to answer; I'm sure you will hear from him tonight and also sure you will have a great time.

[kattchatt]

Let me know how you make out...It'll be interesting to get your opinion of either tour....

[goodtoglow]

What is the largest amount of people that a bus can fit on it?? I'm hoping to get 20-30 people on a bus if at all possible!

[burrma]

What is the largest amount of people that a bus can fit on it?? I'm hoping to get 20-30 people on a bus if at all possible!

Write him but I think he can easily take that many . I've had many more than that with him but somteimes both his wife and him drive one behind each other. If my memory is right, I think about 30 per bus

[LPLRN]

Thanks for the advice - I've emailed Sunny to see if he has space on his Sightseeing & Shopping Tour. If he does, then I'll cancel Godfrey. I'll feel bad canceling at the last minute but for the short time I am on the island, I'd like to know that we will be picked up on time and have a friendly guide. Plus, I think my relatives might like the singing and interaction on Sunny's tour.....

 

If Sunny doesn't have space for the six of us, then we'll just stick with Godfrey and hope for the best (Air Force One doesn't offer just the sightseeing & shopping option, which is what we are looking for - we get plenty of beach time at home :cool:).

 

Air force one is dropping us off for shopping after the tour instead of going to the beach. Just thought you would like to know

[Propellor1969]

I was so undecided about Sonny and Godfrey but decided to do Godfrey based on much positive feedback...

The tour was just OK...First he was 40 minutes late picking us up from the pier (no apology either), Papa Bear from Air Force One who was at the pier early for his tour kept calling Godfrey telling him to get to the pier that we were waiting, claimed he was stuck in traffic but no other tours were late...Papa Bear said he doesn't like to get up but he's a "good" guy...Also said he should give us a discount for the wait...Well, that never happened!!!Said we could have some water later during the tour...He dropped us off in town for 90 minutes of shopping (supposed to be 2 1/2 hours) He was 15 minutes LATE picking us up from downtown (not good) Finally, the sightseeing began almost 30 minutes late, we were only in port until 4:00PM ...Most of what we saw we had seen before but this was our daughter and her boyfriends first time on the island...I think much ofour displeasure comes from the comparison to the tour we did on St. Martin with Bernard Tours, A+ just the day before...Godfrey was an OK guy but sort of boring......When he wasn't talking which was whenever we were driving mostly, it was silent which equals boring...We never felt like he went above and beyond to make this an exciting tour for us, kind of like:blah, blah blah...I guess I was expecting him to be interactive with his passengers but it was all business...He never got to know us and we never got to kow much about him...Nevr any chit chat...Just a very different experience from Bernard...Couldn't wait for the tour to end...After we paid and he left we all stood around talking and agreeing this was not a Great tour...!!!

 

Don't mean to start a lot of trouble, but we just had the tour with Godfrey on the same day that you posted this. He knew exactly what was discussed, and said that he was late, but not 40 minutes late, and that he did apologize and Papa Bear overheard him apologize. I wasn't there, so have no idea which is true. I don't understand why you would tip him an extra $20 if you were this unhappy with his service though. :confused:

 

Our experience with Godfrey was the opposite. He was always early to meet us, was extremely friendly, and talked the whole time--especially when his van/vehicle was travelling.

 

I will also say that bc of the recent events with the shooting on the way to Coki beach, I was very hesitant to do the beach part. Unfortunately, Magen's Bay was closed due to the storms--you could see the muddy water coming into the bay when we stopped at a lookout point. So, Godfrey took us to Coki--and it was absolutely beautiful. He had a friend there that he introduced us to, and he personally walked us to the beach and made sure I felt safe before he left us.

 

Godfrey is still a class act in my book. I can't imagine that he wouldn't have tried to fix the problem if you had notified him that you were unhappy, but a $20 tip doesn't signify that at all.

[sousak78]

Well, I'm back from my trip. I did do the tour with Sunny. Our driver was Gie Gie and she was a darling - she has such an infectious laugh. GieGie and Sunny were some of the nicest people I have ever met - seems like nothing can phase them.

 

More people in our group decided they wanted to join in on this tour at the last minute and they kindly accommodated them (I wouldn't recommend doing this - we just happened to luck out that they had extra spaces available).

 

Some suggestions if you want to do this tour:

 

1. When they say the tour leaves at 12pm sharp, they really mean it leaves at 12pm sharp (my father decided to go back to one of the jewellery shops as we were waiting to board the vehicles and was left behind! It's his own fault, I don't blame Sunny and Gie Gie at all, no matter how much my father whined after - but that's another story).

 

2. You will be packed onto the buses - 5 to a row. If the weather looks iffy and you're sat in the middle near the front, bring rain gear. I got rained on a little thanks to a passing shower.

 

3. The tour is what you make of it. If you happily join in and sing, it will be fun, if you don't, you won't enjoy it - GieGie and Sunny will try to get the fun going but it's up to you to keep it going. My relatives loved the tour - took them a while to warm up to the singing but Gie Gie kept encouraging them and soon enough, they were singing and having a great time.

 

4. To me, the tour was okay. I had been hoping for a little more detail and info about the island (I'm a bit of an info junkie) but due to the large numbers of people who we kept meeting up with at the places we stopped on the tour, I was never able to get close enough to Sunny to hear what he was saying. We did catch up with Godfrey at one stopping point on the tour and, from what I heard of his speech, his tour seemed to give more info. Never did run into Papa Bear, which leads me to believe his tour goes off the beaten path.

 

5. All in all, if you're looking to see the sights and sing and laugh while doing it, go with Sunny. If you are looking for something more informative, go with Sunny on a day when there aren't too many people in port so you can actually hear what he's saying (we were on Oasis and there were 2 other ships with us so we seemed to run into a number of tour buses wherever we stopped) or choose another operator like Godfrey or Papa Bear who won't follow the same route. If I went again, this is what I would do.

 

Hope this helps people decide since there are so many tours to pick from. I would recommend Sunny's tour to anyone.

[Davey Wavey]

Have to say, we LOVED Sunny! Tour was great and the music and singing puts you in a great mood. My daughter still sings "Everyday of the Week". I guess it all depends on your personality, different strokes and all. Have fun!

Candy

 

You keep on askin

How much I love you baby

How much I care about you now.

Keeps growing by the minute

In my heart I can feel it

I'm gonna let you know right now

I love you baby

[Chorus]

I love you baby

[Chorus]

My one forever

Uh huh...uh huh...uh huh

 

There is no other

You are my one and only

In my heart love will keep for you

Keeps growing by the hour

My love keeps getting stronger

I'll never ever make you blue.

[Chorus]

I love you baby

[Chorus]

My one forever

Uh huh...uh huh...uh huh

[instrumental]

[spoken]

Girl you keep askin me questions

But you know, haha, how could I love another?

When you make me feel so good.

You keep on askin

How much I love you baby

How much I care about you now.

Keeps growing by the hour

My love keeps getting stronger

I'll never ever make you blue.

[Chorus]

 

Chorus:

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday too.

On a Thursday, Friday, Saturday

I love you baby,

Everyday of the week

Everyday of the week

[GinDon]

Oh.. My.. Gosh ! Now that I read through the lyrics, I have that song stuck in my head AGAIN! I swear, it's worse than the "It's a Small World" song.

Going with Sunny again in about three weeks. Bringing 10 relatives with us this time. Can't wait!