Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

 5

Whitney is excellent.

Tour Guides

Command of English

 5

No guide so far spoke better English than Mr Famous

Knowledge of Subjects

 5

Ability of Explain

 5

Attitude

 5

Flexibility

 5

Drivers and Cars

 4

Plenty of rooms as bus is large.

Hotels

Location

 5

Comfort

 5

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

 5

Meet Your Interests?

5 

Too Tight or Too Loose?

 5

Meals

 4

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

not applicable

Any Other Aspect

Overall Score of the Whole Package

 5

Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

5

I was impressed by the flexibility and response times from Kate about the trip.  I also realize we high expectations and gave little time to ensure they were met.  In that regard, we were very satisfied.

Tour Guides

Command of English

4

Oded was great.  No problem with the English language.

Knowledge of Subjects

4

Oded presented excellent information about the sites we visited and the various topics that were addressed.

Ability of Explain

5

Oded had no problem explaining what he understood as valuable information.

Attitude

5

Oded was humble and witty.  We enjoyed our time with him greatly.

Flexibility

5

Oded was very flexible, modifying the schedule as needed by changes of events.

Drivers and Cars

3

Oded drove during our guided tour. He did a good job and was cautious to make us feel safe.

The driver who picked us up from the airport and brought us to Tel Aviv was good, but the vehicle was much older and appeared to be a personal vehicle.  The driver who brought us back to the airport at the end of the trip was very professional and had a nice vehicle, although his English was very limited.  (This was not the same driver who picked us up originally.)

Hotels

Location

3

The locations were excellent. Right where we needed to be.

Comfort

3

When staying in Tel Aviv and Tiberius, we enjoyed the hotels greatly. The Fattal hotel chain appears to be top notch.  The food was good, and the rooms were all updated.

The Dan Boutique in Jerusalem left much to be desired. It was very dated. I had a cockroach in my room on the last day of the trip. The food was okay, but not great. The hospitality was only acceptable.

Upon researching the hotels in Jerusalem, I talked with my friends who were touring at the same time and the Hotel Grand Court – Jerusalem was much better priced, and the rooms were much larger than our hotel. They also had a package for and dinner in their pricing.  I didn’t remember until they reminded me but we stayed at that hotel in 2017 and were very satisfied with the accommodations and the food.  I’m sure the pricing would have been comparable to what we paid for the Dan Boutique.

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

4

Since I (Rick Ponzo) was the one who created the site list, I was very happy with the sites we visited.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to tour the En Gedi Nature Reserve which is one of my favorite places in all of Israel because we were 10 minutes late for the entry.  The people manning the station were very argumentative and unreasonable.  I will be writing to the tourism ministry about our encounter there.

Meet Your Interests?

4

Most of our interests were met with the exception of En Gedi.  

Too Tight or Too Loose?

5

Flexibility was more important than too tight or too loose.

Meals

3

We ate out on the town for most of our meals, having breakfast at the hosting hotels.  As mentioned previously, the Fattal chain offered the best meals, while the Dan Boutique was adequate, but sometimes rude.

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

4

We only took 1 taxi while in Israel on our free day, and it will be something we remember forever as we fit 5 adult men into a smaller Toyota vehicle.

Any Other Aspect

4

Overall, the trip was very good. We were initially surprised by the cost of food in the local restaurants, but realized that we were in Israel, and should expect it.

Overall Score of the Whole Package

4

The overall cost was higher than expected, especially when presented with the lower level of quality of the hotel in Jerusalem. My room had an uncomfortable desk chair, and no other place to sit except the bed, and a small ottoman. Derek and Joel had the best room, but it still had the feel that we were back in the 1970’s.  Michael and William had a room with 1 chair, and nowhere else to sit.

The Dan Boutique also told us the breakfast was at 7:00 a.m., but found out it actually opened at 6:30 a.m.  It would have been nice to know earlier so we could begin our tour earlier.

I appreciate Kate keeping in contact with me throughout the trip.  

Aspect

Mark (1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

4

Tour Guides

Command of English

3

Two of the guides were excellent, but one, Mr. Chen, had difficulty

Knowledge of Subjects

4

Two of the guides were excellent, but one, Mr. Chen, had difficulty

Ability of Explain

4

I think the issue of Pearl Harbor was a result from Mr. Chen being unable to explain what we needed to do.

Attitude

5

Everyone was willing to help

Flexibility

5

Very willing to go to additional locations I had not mentioned

Drivers and Cars

5

Hotels

Location

N/A

Comfort

N/A

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

5

Meet Your Interests?

5

More than and the guides were able to suggest areas and added my suggestions

Too Tight or Too Loose?

5

Just right and gave me time for an explore.

Meals

N/A

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

3

The flight to Hawaii being cancelled was a big issue but the cruise dinner was nice.

Any Other Aspect

Overall Score of the Whole Package

47

Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

 5

Fast and responsive

Able to suggest activities that would appeal to us

Tour Guides

Command of English

 4

 Decent. 

Knowledge of Subjects

 4 

 Good. The locals tend to be more interesting given that they are able to tell us more about the local way of life/interesting facts. Natsuko for the Takayama tour was great.

Ability of Explain

 4

Attitude

 5

Flexibility

 5

Drivers and Cars

 4

Cars were comfortable and spacious. Driver for the first day (airport arrival transfer) was slightly delayed - had to wait around 15 minutes for him to arrive at the waiting point. 

Hotels

Location

 5 

Comfort

 5

 Really enjoyed the ryokan stay

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

 4

Meet Your Interests?

 5

Too Tight or Too Loose?

 3

Felt slightly too packed/chaperoned in the end, next time we may cut down on the number of days of guided tours. May opt for more free and easy days.

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

 5

 Fuss free, all details mapped out for us which we appreciated

Any Other Aspect

Overall Score of the Whole Package

 4.5

Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

Tour Guides

Command of English

 NONE,Chinese-speaking driver

Knowledge of Subjects

 5

Ability of Explain

 5

Attitude

 5

Good driving skill, friendly and helpful!

Flexibility

 5

Drivers and Cars

 5

A big and comfortable car for 5 of us. The driver cleaned the car everyday.

Hotels

Location

 5

Due to budget and late booking, we were satisfied with the accommodation.

Comfort

 5

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

 4

Meet Your Interests?

 4

Too Tight or Too Loose?

 4

Some places with activities, such as the theme park can have more time in with less other sights within a day.

Meals

 4

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

 Nil

Any Other Aspect

 5

The process of finalized the plan was pleasant. Joanna is helpful and responsive. 

Overall Score of the Whole Package

 5

Without the hazel of logistics, we enjoyed the trip!Will consider to have Novaland again in next family trip!

Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

 Kumiko Aizawa

Fantastic

Tour Guides

Command of English

 4

Knowledge of Subjects

 5

Ability of Explain

 5

Attitude

 5

Flexibility

 5

Drivers and Cars

 4

Hotels

Location

 5

Comfort

 5

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

 5

Meet Your Interests?

 5

Too Tight or Too Loose?

 5

Meals

 5

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

 5

Any Other Aspect

5

 See below

Overall Score of the Whole Package

5