Ever shared a private tour with other passengers on the ship?

[C_Worthy]

My wife and I are cruising on the Mariner in June, and I have my eye on a private tour. For 2 people, the price of the tour is $650 total. For 4 people, it is only $700. It sure is tempting to find another couple on the ship and decrease the cost to $350 per couple.

Has anyone ever done this? Disasters? Success stories? If I posted the request on this board, it would be difficult to connect without giving out an e-mail, which seems risky. Any advice on how to make the connection?

[tallship]

We have done this with great success in Morocco and Amalfi Coast. Both times perfect. You can hook up with other cruisers on the Roll Call.

[journeyfan]

We've tried it twice with very good results. In both cases we've met wonderful people whom we are still in contact with. The way to do it is to go into the Rollcall section for the Mariner (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=557) and see if someone has already started a threat for your particular cruise and if not, start one. Then ask if anyone is interested in sharing a tour with you. If there's any interest, after a few public exchanges you may decide you want to initiate something. At that time you could list an e-mail address....maybe a new address that you establish just for that purpose.

[RachelG]

Absolutely have done this a couple of times with great success. In fact, we are friends now with another couple we met this way and are now cruising buddies. If you go to the roll call, you can perhaps find someone who would like to join you.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We did it for one cruise on another line and there were 10 of us on 12 tours. We had a wonderful time. They are all booking cruises together - all at times we can't go but we see and talk to them since they're all retired and we are not. It was one of the best experiences we've had. We have other people we have done that with as well that are dear friends we see regularly.

On the flip side we did share a tour with a couple where we agreed to be back at the cab at a specific time, and they kept us waiting for 45 minutes with so much as barely an apology.

[C_Worthy]

Thanks for all of the positive responses and ideas!

At that time you could list an e-mail address....maybe a new address that you establish just for that purpose.

Great idea to create a dummy e-mail address. Thanks!

[Dolebludger]

We shared a limo tour of Rome with two other onboard guests. It made the excursion more economical and enjoyable.

[Island Cruiser]

We regularly plan private tours with other couples we know. We've not done it spontaneously while on board the ship. We have certain tour preferences that others don't share e.g. short lunches to see more, no shopping stops etc. So we are very candid about our preferences in making these arrangements. And our private tours have been immensely satisfying and successful and economical. This is the main reason we hate the new tours included policy. When we plan private tours we are now simultaneously paying for the included tour we skipped.

[ebobh]

I don't necessarily agree with Will Rogers that strangers are just friends you haven't met; however, if you want to add new folks into a private tour, you should have success more often than not.

We just returned from 17 days on the Oceania Marina, and I arranged 4 private tours, using this board to locate other couples to join us (max size 6-8 for each of them). We also joined two other private groups. All of them were pretty successful, and two in particular were more fun because we got to know some new people while on the tour.

Recommendation would be to provide desired demographics re who you are looking for (activity level, willingness to walk and move, etc.) and be specific about the cost and means of payment (you might be surprised at what people can think if you don't). Also, be mindful that you are only a facilitator of getting the group together, not the guarantor of a good time...

On Oceania, many people do private tours, so finding partners is pretty easy if you wish. We're on Regent in October from Ft Lauderdale to Bermuda and back, and are most likely going to use the ship's (free to us) tours, plus some added taxi time if we want to go anywhere else. It could be more difficult to locate partners on the boards IMHO due to less activity on Regent's boards that Oceania, for example.

Best Regards, Bob H

[tombo]

We have found that sometimes, when using Regent Air, they tend to transfer early arrivals to a reserved meeting room at an airport hotel while everyone waits to be transported to the pier en masse prior to the embarkation time. It is sometimes possible to find another couple or two who are willing to share a taxi to the pier, where they invariably let you board and check in early, avoiding the chaos of the mass arrival and enjoying a liesurely lunch before your cabin is ready.