Out tour guide, Muhsin, was very friendly and knowlegable. We got a very detailed tour of Greenwich and saw everything the tour advertised, including lunch! Our walking was a bit slow and Muhsin was most kind in moderating to meet our walking gait. Our questions and discussions were most interesting. I would recommend highly!
martinsM7619FB
18 May 2025
Certainly one of the two worst private tours we've been on. Over 5+ hours, the guide told exactly 3 interesting stories. We felt as though we were indulging a grandparent by taking part in this tour. Some example lines from our guide, which now cause us to laugh, "This is a painting of Burns. You know Burns? He's famous." "This wall is blue. It was white." "Cook. Famous for the islands. Sailor."
Whenever we approached another guide who was talking, our guide would hustle us along to prevent us from overhearing anything being said, as that might prove interesting. He was very interested in telling us what things cost, but in each instance unsure about each figure quoted. "This painting cost £13 millions, or was it something like that?" (Turns out it was £8.9M.) He also insisted we cut across the grass, "We will take a shortcut," but each time would begin sneezing and wheezing, complaining about the grass, "It must have just been cut, or they have sprayed it, or something."
After the Cook comment, I stepped in to give some history lessons, as I often do while on family travels. The guide couldn't stand it and would interrupt. "Imagine the cannonball bursting through the walls, killing and maiming all in its path. In a battle like this, half the men might be injured or killed. Ships like these with 500 or 600 men turn and sail into the fire of a row of enemy ships, getting close enough for the ideal shot..." "Excuse me, excuse me...this ship," referring to a nearby model, "had 600 or 700 men, not 500," while victoriously pointing to a sign. Before the interruption, the guide's only comment regarding Napoleonic sea battles had been something like, "Nelson was very popular, but he died at Trafalgar."
I don't believe our guide has watched a documentary, read a single book, or even the Wikipedia pages focused on the subject matter of this tour. If he has, he was unable to pass along any acquired expertise. As mentioned, he had three skin-deep sets of prepared comments, but mostly he liked to point at the signs underneath the displays and read phrases from them.
The tour of Greenwich was wonderful! I met with the guide on time at the specified location. The organization and structure of the tour was very efficient. We did not encounter any crowds even though it was Sunday, bc we started with most popular sites first. The tour was informative and well paced. The historical information was presented in a lively manner. The lunch was great and the time I spent in Greenwich was memorable.