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Ho Chi Minh with Zoom


snoozecruise
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We booked a tour with Zoom for 15 people in our CC group. The bus was fine, and the trip itself was quite good, but our guide's English was not very good, and she just kept repeating the same things, so we didn't really learn too much about the city. We were disappointed that we didn't have "Zoom" himself as our guide. The moral of my story is that you should stress that you want Mr. Zoom himself as your guide.

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I've heard that all too often. If someone books a tour and requests Zoom you should get him. There is nothing you can do once you pay for the tour and arrive at the port and there is another guide. I have heard wonderful things about Zoom and have been told he is the best. Now I hesitate.

I have received several emails from tour guides in Viet Nam and am going to see what they have to offer.

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I think Zoom likes to take the largest tour, if there are multiples on that day. We booked with him first (as far as I know) on our ship, and had 15 people, then I passed on his name to someone else on the cruise, but she only wanted 8 in her group. When we arrived in HCMC, we saw her group at the Chinese temple - Zoom was leading, but I counted 21 people with him, so he had put a number of groups together, and taken them himself. For our group of 15, we only paid $58 each, and that included coffee at the Rex Hotel and lunch at Pho 2000. Maybe the other groups, being smaller, had paid more per person! Oh, well, we'll know better next time...

 

I meant to say, we had good luck with Smile Tours (Mrs. Thi) in Halong Bay and Danang. Excellent tours and guides.

Edited by Vict0riann
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I think Zoom likes to take the largest tour, if there are multiples on that day. We booked with him first (as far as I know) on our ship, and had 15 people, then I passed on his name to someone else on the cruise, but she only wanted 8 in her group. When we arrived in HCMC, we saw her group at the Chinese temple - Zoom was leading, but I counted 21 people with him, so he had put a number of groups together, and taken them himself. For our group of 15, we only paid $58 each, and that included coffee at the Rex Hotel and lunch at Pho 2000. Maybe the other groups, being smaller, had paid more per person! Oh, well, we'll know better next time...

 

I meant to say, we had good luck with Smile Tours (Mrs. Thi) in Halong Bay and Danang. Excellent tours and guides.

I have a different story with Zoom.

I contacted Zoom for a city your in HCM from the Celebrity next March. Our group is 4 people. He advised us to group 10 or 15 or agree to join into 10 or 15 pax group and he will be our guide instead of using affiliate guides. The prices he sent for 10 and 15-pax group are much lower, $58 and $49 per person. I think he avoids using affiliates by asking people to join or make a bigger group of 10 or 15. And he will go with our 4-pax group if by next March there are no more participants.

Edited by seasicklover
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I have a different story with Zoom.

I contacted Zoom for a city your in HCM from the Celebrity next March. Our group is 4 people. He advised us to group 10 or 15 or agree to join into 10 or 15 pax group and he will be our guide instead of using affiliate guides. The prices he sent for 10 and 15-pax group are much lower, $58 and $49 per person. I think he avoids using affiliates by asking people to join or make a bigger group of 10 or 15. And he will go with our 4-pax group if by next March there are no more participants.

Good for you. You'll have him despite of group size. PP prices for 10-pax and 15-pax GRP are lower.

He showed us thru the war and social changes related to the "winning and losing sides" in different mindset from which arises the value of being guided by a person born and brought up in VN war.

Edited by Calisense
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  • 2 weeks later...

I also had a dreadful experience. He assured us of a great tour and we had a girl who was a very poor guide and ruined a trip for us. It was so bad we made up stories of monuments etc we passed to liven our tour up. Very poor and he refused a refund. The place we ate was very poor also.

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I also had a dreadful experience. He assured us of a great tour and we had a girl who was a very poor guide and ruined a trip for us. It was so bad we made up stories of monuments etc we passed to liven our tour up. Very poor and he refused a refund. The place we ate was very poor also.

Yesterday Sunday May 18 I mailed Zoom but did not get his reply till end of the day. Visiting his Facebook I saw so many clips about people's demonstration in the street voicing support for national sovereignty in a conflict with a neighboring country. Later in the day Zoom confirmed my thoughts by saying he was on Facebook fighting in citizen's duty for national unity thru pictures, clips, texts...highlighting nation's appeals.

Asked about your case he said he was so sorry for using not good guides and that he has changed, never use affiliate guides again. He also said he never refused to make refund.

I suppose a man voluntarily fighting for his country from his position is a good man. Misunderstanding could be the reason. You should mail him again for refund.

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I am in the process of booking with Zoom for a roll call group. He sure is quick to respond! I think he is very aware of negative posts, and he has assured me he will be our guide next year. I'll give a review next year. For what it's worth, I did receive quotes from other tour companies, they were higher for basically the same tour. Again, there is no guarantee with the other companies who will show up to guide your tour.

 

This is just what I have encountered so far.

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I have several quotes from different tour companies including Zoom. If anyone is interested is sharing tours throughout Viet Nam please contact me at: joshienana@hotmail.com.

 

Also, one of the tours does include a hotel in Hanoi as it's very far from the ship to the city and this would save many hours of travel time.

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We did 3 tours with Zoom. He was our guide in Saigon last month with 15 and it was great.

I think we paid $58. The closest similar tour on the ship was I think $150.

The Princess tour was not able to get into the Rex because the Prime Minster of Cambodia showed up and they locked everyone out, but we were already inside and had a great time. Also all they could do was look at Pho 2000. We got there early because Zoom knew we had to be there early to get a table as it was totally packed about 10 minutes after we got there, and had a great lunch.

 

It was one of the best tours on the cruise.

Edited by gvre
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If anyone wants an updated price list, I'd be glad to share. Email me at bmcculloch217 at me dot com. To be clear, I have just booked the tour for 10-14 , haven't taken it yet, but considering all the good reviews here, and from recommendations from those who have taken the tour this year., I anticipate a great two day tour.

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I too have organised a tour with Zoom for a roll call. I was wondering how people felt about giving their full names and passport details over to guides? Is there a risk of identity theft if given by email? I am wary! Advice please?

Cheryl

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I too have organised a tour with Zoom for a roll call. I was wondering how people felt about giving their full names and passport details over to guides? Is there a risk of identity theft if given by email? I am wary! Advice please?

Cheryl

 

People on our roll call worried about this, too, so I sent the information divided into two emails. The tour guides seemed to have no problem with this.

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People on our roll call worried about this, too, so I sent the information divided into two emails. The tour guides seemed to have no problem with this.

 

Ann

Thank you, that's a good idea, didn't even think of that!

Cheryl

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I too have organised a tour with Zoom for a roll call. I was wondering how people felt about giving their full names and passport details over to guides? Is there a risk of identity theft if given by email? I am wary! Advice please?

Cheryl

 

Cheryl, this is required in Vietnam so that the guide can enter the port to pick you up and drop you off. There is a lot of paperwork that must be submitted by the tour guide.

 

Keith

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Cheryl, this is required in Vietnam so that the guide can enter the port to pick you up and drop you off. There is a lot of paperwork that must be submitted by the tour guide.

 

Keith

 

Thanks Keith

I appreciate everyone's comments on this as it is reassuring!

Cheryl

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  • 9 months later...

Does anyone know the website for Zoom? Roughly how much can we expect to pay for two people for one day? We will try to organise a bigger group closer to the date. Thanks :)

Edited by Cimbom
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Does anyone know the website for Zoom? Roughly how much can we expect to pay for two people for one day? We will try to organise a bigger group closer to the date. Thanks :)

 

We didn't book with Zoom. We wanted a private tour for 6 people. We used

My Way Travel info@mywaytravel.com. They were fantastic to work with and put together a tour with what we wanted to see. I corresponded with Stephen, who is a gentleman. The tour guides were wonderful and made it very interesting.

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Does anyone know the website for Zoom? Roughly how much can we expect to pay for two people for one day? We will try to organise a bigger group closer to the date. Thanks :)

You can contact him through his facebook page .... Dung Zoom ... Click on 'about' and look for his email address or send him a message on facebook messenger. It's best to book him early as he's in demand. I'm not sure what he charges for 2 people as I organised small bus.

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  • 1 month later...
Yesterday Sunday May 18 I mailed Zoom but did not get his reply till end of the day. Visiting his Facebook I saw so many clips about people's demonstration in the street voicing support for national sovereignty in a conflict with a neighboring country. Later in the day Zoom confirmed my thoughts by saying he was on Facebook fighting in citizen's duty for national unity thru pictures, clips, texts...highlighting nation's appeals.

Asked about your case he said he was so sorry for using not good guides and that he has changed, never use affiliate guides again. He also said he never refused to make refund.

I suppose a man voluntarily fighting for his country from his position is a good man. Misunderstanding could be the reason. You should mail him again for refund.

 

Connection between a peace lover and a true guide of conscience I never thought of but I suppose it's true.

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We had a full day tour of Ho Chi Minh City with Zoom on March 29, 2015. The cost was very reasonable, $132 per couple for 4 couples. Zoom was waiting for us when we got off the cruise ship, and the ride into the city was very comfortable in an A/C mini-van. Zoom provided interesting information, and paced our stops so that we were able to see all the places on our itinerary. He is very active on social media, posting pictures of our group on FB throughout the day. Everyone in our group was impressed with Zoom, and if we are ever back in Vietnam, we will definitely hire him again. As mentioned above, you can find him on FB under Dung Zoom. There is also information at http://saigonprivatetour.com.

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