Touring Canadian Maritime Provinces

[dafsr@aol.com]

We are considering strongly touring the Canadian Maritime Provinces next summer in July for 35 days with Fantasy RV leading the way for us and the other Coaches on this tour.

Has anyone out there toured this same route with Fantasy RV and what was your overall experience and comments please ???

[uechiyondan]

We took the Fantasy tour to Alaska last summer. We found Fantasy customer service to be a frustrating experience. Think of sucking dirty pond water through a straw would give you an idea of how we felt. The communications we did receive were confusing and contradictory. The tour itself did not offer anything we could not have done on our own at significant savings. One of the other participants actually ran the numbers based on what we paid and what we figured Fantasy was charged, and the mark up was significant. That would have been fine if Fantasy had actually added value, but other than the pre-trip route planning, we could see little added value. None of the places we went were exclusive, and in fact, many times anyone who showed up and paid the regular ticket price could and did join in with our group.

Because we were in a group we were also subjected to perpetual "hurry up and wait" syndrome. For example, while visiting Jasper part of the package included a tram ride to the top of the mountain with a "breakfast" at the cafe on the summit. We were instructed to meet at 9:00 AM when the tram opened so as to get to the top early. We all rushed over to get there by nine only to have to wait around in the gift shop for over an hour before our tickets were distributed for the ride up, all the while watching other trams leave while we waited. This happened over and over again throughout the trip. Some of the group dinners were at regular restaurants, and venues. The promotion materiel talks about the group activities, but we were often as not, seated elsewhere in the restaurants so we were by ourselves anyway.

As for the Canadian Maritimes, we have toured the area many times on our own, so I would say we are familiar with the area. It is a beautiful part of Canada and the locals are generally very welcoming. I attended the Fantasy presentation on the Canadian Maritimes tour at the FMCA rally in Florida this year. Based on the presentation, I was not impressed. The presenter ment well, and tried to do her best, but it was obvious that she had never been to the area. She made a big deal about walking on "the bottom of the ocean" at low tide in the Bay of Fundy. I suppose that if you are from the mid-west at had never seen a large tide, walking on the beach at low tide could be a big deal. Being from Maine, I guess the novelty was lost on me. The other featured highlights were some of the many other normal tourist attractions along the route. One of the problems you may face on a tour is that you will always be under a time constraint, so if you discover something interesting along the way there may not be time to stop and see it. Likewise if you want to spend more time a a particular stop, you may not be able to do so and still stay on schedule. You may also find yourself spending time at areas of little or no interest to you, further adding to your frustration, especially if you know you are missing something you really want to see because you are stuck waiting for the group.

There were a lot of other problems with the tour as well, these are just a few examples. As a result of our experience, I can not in good conscience recommend Fantasy RV Tours.

[wolfe10]

I will say, there are those who appreciate other doing all the planning and those who want to and know how to "do their own thing".

No problem with either.

[zorro2kita]

Well said Brett - we went with Fantasy to Alaska and Western Canada 2 summers ago for the 60 day tour - Best $$ and time ever spent - developed new friends for life!! Wagon Master and Tailgunner were outstanding!! Could not have asked for a better experience!!