SinoramaBus.com Reviews 8

We went to NY it was an amazing Tour the tour guide Tao was so good joked around and the driver was equally great.everything was as scheduled would Highly recommend Sinorama.

I booked this Sinorama trip through Wagjag for 3 days to Boston from Sept 3-5/2016 & my friends & I were looking forward to a nice little get away. We were supposed to be picked up from Pacific Mall by 4am but the bus driver from the chartered bus company clock alarm did not work so we had to wait till 6:15 am before we got a replacement driver to come. Out tour guide did not inform us as a group as to what was happening and we had to keep asking him what was going on. He was on the phone for almost the whole time trying go resolve this problem. We still had to make 2 pick ups and those people were really upset that he did not call them & let them know what was going on. 4 people from that group did not pay the $27 service fee which was not fair to the tour guide since it was the bus company that caused this problem in the first place. Sinorama should have their own buses like Taipan & Safeway Tours.
We were constantly rushed on our bathroom stops & on our lunch & dinner stops. We Aldo went to 2 Chinese buffets which were the greatest but we could opt out of the meal plans, which I would recommend. We were told not to use the bathroom on the bus unless it was an emergency..why bother having a bathroom if you can't use it? The DVD player was not working properly an dthen the tour guide checked the plug on the machine and it was loose but it took 2 days to figure that out. Our tour guide Leo, was nice but English was not his first language but he was very attentive and tried to please everyone. I don'the think I will use Sinorama again.

I booked this trip because i thought the price was decent for my buget as a single mother of a 16 years old daughter. I read reviwes that were not favourable, but I thought that a as long Asa I do not have to drive and I have a decent place to sleep, we were going to be ok. So I did not put my hopes to high. The trip was for April 29 to May 1, 2016, leaving from the Pacific Mall in Markham. I drove there and parked my car in the Malls parking lot for the three day. The bus was very good, free Wifi, clean bathroom and people in that group, we're considerate enough to use it only for emegencies, as there was reasonable number of breaks on the way. Anyways, I just want to say that we were impressed! It was a great experience or guide, Jerry worked very hard to make our trip a great experience and he succeeded! He was always on time, very focused in our comfort, caring for all of us, trying to accommodate all our requests, just amazing! The driver, James, was great as well! Great skills, very careful driving manner but fast as well. I did not know what to expect where accommodatin was concerned since the reviews that i read were bad, but there was a pleasant surprise there as well! We were accommodated at Hampton Inn stuck to the Hitlon somewhere in New Jersey! Beautiful rooms, VERY clean beds, I loved the comforters, very comfortable mattresses. We just loved the whole experience! The only thing that I would not recommend would be Lunch at the Chineze Buffet in Albany, so on our return we opted out of Dinner. You can also opt in or out of the proposed activities, the bus was always there at the pickup spot, and for. What I heard fro the people in the group, they had a great experience with the group activities. All in all, it was a great experience and I am already thinking about doing this again, maybe the 4 day Trip to NY or Washington. Two thumbs up for Jerry's and the Company's efforts to make this a great experience!

Here's a look at our complaint letter sent in to Sinorama after our August 2015 trip to NYC.

Complaint sent and basically ignored by company ... ridiculed in replies and simply laughed at for demanding a refund. Never again will i purchase anything from them. BUYER BEWARE!

Hello,

I would like to register a formal complaint regarding the NYC Freedom bus tour i purchased and travelled with last weekend.

My Order Id is [...] and Receipt NO [...].

In chronological order for time sensitive reference:

Firstly, i had bought and ordered a trip from Ottawa to NYC from Sinorama. Nowhere did it ever stipulate that a third party(JBC Travel) was to be involved, nor that we would need to transfer at any point and time. This unfortunately was the case. Being so, departure time was changed without notice from 1:30am(written in my order confirmation) to 2:30am, and thankfully i found out after having contacted you myself for confirmation. Leaving in the middle of the night and having to worry about not knowing what our departure time is ... less than ideal. Also, we had paid for a "BUS" tour ... and were met with a mini van for transport from Ottawa to Montreal by this third party JBC Travel. Not what we paid for, and much less than ideal.

Secondly, although very friendly, our tour guide stumbled frequently in both English and French languages and was extremely difficult to understand in her directions and information. Not the worst part, but not impressed to say the least. We live in a bilingual country. Services should be offered as such.

Thirdly, and this is the worst part, on our return back from NYC, we were all(all passengers) appalled to find out that the bus's cistern had not been emptied in New York and thus resulted in it overflowing and fouling up the bus for the entirety of the trip back home. The smell was so bad that many passengers ended up being sick and vomiting in bags and containers because of the stench. Throughout the entire weekend trip, your guide was practically begging passengers NOT to use the onboard toilet, but to hold it in until the next drop off to use public facilities. While i understand quantities onboard are limited, that is one of the perks of taking a bus for extended trips like so. Passengers should NOT be dissuaded from using what they rightfully paid for. Now ... the only justifiable reason i can think of that the tank had not been emptied while in the city must be because your company wanted to save on paying the fees associated to emptying it out. SHAME ON YOU! For an extended period of 3-4 hours we all had to tolerate the foul smells emanating from the cabin. Not to mention we had no resort left for emergencies as the bathroom had to be condemned as it was overflowing. When confronted, your guide kept diverting responsibility to the driver, but this was not the drivers fault, but your own for cheaping out on paying the drainage fees. Finally, at a pit stop to the duty free shop, passengers DEMANDED that something be done about the smell. Not being able(or allowed) to empty the tank just anywhere, the bus driver did what he could and put in some deodorizers into the cistern. While this helped with the smell somewhat, if did not completely remove the foul odours, nor did it solve the issue of passengers not having a toilet to use for the remainder of the trip(what they rightfully paid for).

And lastly(and this touches on point #1), not only did we have a horrible ride back with the profound stench the whole ride back, and a flat tire along the way(the one thing we can't blame your company for), but we are told that we will be dropped off at the Greyhound bus station in Montreal to trade in a voucher for the remainder of the trip home to Ottawa. WE DID NOT PURCHASE A TRIP THROUGH GREYHOUND. YET ANOTHER THIRD PARTY! If i wanted to ride a Greyhound bus, i would have purchased the trip from them! Granted it did end up getting us home without having to deal with that disgusting smell any longer, but we had to wait in the terminal for an added two and a half hours to embark on the next bus available. Had you had a bus from your company as promised by the purchase of YOUR SERVICES to drive us home, we would have already been back home by the time this other Greyhound bus even left.

I'm left with a serious disgust of your company and operating methods, and feel like you run a fly by night operation to take our monies and cut corners and cheap out on your responsibilities as much as possible without any regards towards your passengers.

I demand a complete & full refund(including taxes and driver/guide fees of $42USD) for the horrible experience my spouse and I had to deal with this past weekend. Failing this, I will make it my mission to advertise my story on any & all review message boards and forums Google searches provide me with the name Sinorama as well as contact local Montreal, Ottawa & Toronto newspapers to see who would be willing to print out a travel review.

TERRIBLE trip with Sinorama from TO to NYC on Aug 29-31. Bus was a no-name charter company (definitely NOT luxury as they claimed). It broke down twice(!) stranding us 7+ hours on side of highway with our luggage; missed 1st night out in NYC. Tour guide refused to tell passengers & bus driver which hotel until several hours before arrival; turned out to be a crappy MOTEL, not the nice class hotel they promised (bad online reviews; bullet proof glass @ reception desk; police at front entrance interrogating suspects!) Management offered a free boat ride; instructed the tour guide to hide phone & email info of the Managers. Claimed NO RESPONSIBILITY for the bus because they don't own it!!

Just like it!

The driver was excellent, very punctual, polite and helpful and very professional: respected person.