HAL Shore Excursions

[cruiseplease]

I just read some recent HAL reviews and read of people having problems with the shore excursions that were booked through HAL. DH and I are taking our first cruise to Alaska this summer and due to short port times booked our excursions through HAL....don't want to miss the boat our first time!!!:eek: Now I am starting to worry that we have wasted our money/should have gone through recommended independent tours. We leave in a month so it would be difficult and possibly more expensive to change at this late date. Can anyone out there reassure me, or provide information on their experiences with HAL shore excursions? I'd love to hear positive reviews, but details of problems are also appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

[RuthC]

I haven't been to Alaska in a long time, but will be returning this summer. I booked all my shore excursions with HAL. I expect everything to be fine.
Remember, it's the beginning of a new season there. It takes a bit of time to work the bugs out, break in new land-based people, get the rhythm going. By the time you get there everything will have settled-in nicely.

[lougee1043]

wherever possible i book tours on my own --they are generally cheaper and less crowded then hal tours--------you must remember to allow extra time in getting back to the ship for the unexpected flat tire etc----other then that no problem

[dosperegrinos]

We will be leaving on our sixth cruise, our third with HAL, in September. On the previous cruises with HAL we booked through them,no problem. Yesterday I booked all of our excursions for the Sept cruise, online with HAL. HAL is a top notch cruise line with a long history of excellence. If you booked online with them and read all the info you will remember that they have a set way of returning your money to you should a tour cancel. Go to their web site and track this info down under "excursions". I feel very secure in booking with them, they only deal with the most reliable companies. However, things do happen - things do cancel, so reread the info on their site about refunds etc. Hope you will feel better about your booking.

[Travelbug 2]

We have always booked shore ex's with HAL. Peace of mind is worth a lot. However there are some people who always like to go with private companies ---- to each his own -------- We have never been disappointed and have always felt safe and secure.
You will have a great time.

[lougee1043]

" I feel very secure in booking with them, they only deal with the most reliable companies. However, things do happen -

the companies that hal deals with and problems do occur -- specifically the plane excursion to one of the mayan sites

[cruiseplease]

Thank you for helping to allay some of my fears.:o It's nice to know that others have booked through HAL and had good experiences. I was worried about the reviews that said excursions did not go where had been advertised, required additional fees once you were there, and didn't spend the time that was promised. Obviously there will always be circumstances that require changes to be made, but I think Ruth C was right when she brought up the fact that it is still the beginning of the season and kinks are being worked out. Of course people often share only the problems, and you don't hear about the ones that go according to plan:rolleyes:. In the end, I think a lot of it is the attitude that your vacation is what you make it:) ! We are looking forward to a great vacation and appreciate all the help we've gotten from this board. Thanks again!

[Jemima]

We've booked lots of HAL's shore excursions and have never had an unsatisfactory excursion nor have we had problems after booking. Not sure what recent reviews you've read that indicate problems.
The excursions have always been generally as described or better.

There are those who prefer to book HAL's excursions, those who prefer to book independently, and those who go off on their own.

We are most comfortable with the cruiseline's excursions. They have ranged from satisfactory to excellent, but never poor. We always read up on ports before booking the excursions and also read the excursion descriptions carefully.

[cruznon]

One reason we book with HAL is never having to worry about missing the ship in case of a problem /tour delay. If a HAL tour runs late/a problemetc. the ship waits for you!

[Krazy Kruizers]

You didn't mention specifically what Alaskan tours you have booked. Had you, maybe some of us could have told you something about them.

We have always booked HAL's tours in Alaska and never have we been disappointed. In fact we have 4 booked for June.

[wowzo]

We book HAL excursions especially the first time in a port and take the one that shows us the most of the area. They have been as promised.

Our only problem has been occasionally with the passengers. The ones who should never have taken the tour (cannot manage the steps on & off the bus) and the ones who dawdle at the shopping areas. In fact, we have voted to leave people who were way too long after the agreed upon time. (They made their way back with another tour bus or taxi).

And in one case, we signed up for a boat tour, I didn't like the looks of the embarking area (didn't look safe to me), and we left the tour before it ever began. Took my ticket to the shore ex. people, told them why, and before the tour came back - I had a refund.:)

Good times !!! MaryAnn

[dakrewser]

There really is no "best" strategy, just what works best for you. WE've been on cruises where all the tours were booked through the line, all booked independently, and all not booked at all. On our next cruise (16 days in the Baltic, very port intensive) we've got a couple booked through HAL, 3 days booked with independents, one port where we'll rent a car and drive about, and 6 stops where we'll just got off the ship and wander around the town (with a good guidebook in hand, of course).

Make good use of the Ports of Call boards, returning cruisers on your Roll Call and the wonderful experience available right here on the HAL board and you should do just fine.

[KeyDoctor]

As far as HAL and Alaska are concerned, NOTE that HAL holds the GRAY LINE TOUR franchise for Alaska and Seattle. I assume that all the Alaska shore excursions by HAL are handled by their GRAY LINE division.
I booked in early April, a three hour Anchorage City Tour for four persons with GRAY LINE for a total cost of $ 188.00. When I received notice (not from the cruise line or my TA) but from Cruise Critic that our cruise had been cancelled I called and FAXed GRAY LINE to inform them of the cancellation. They said as I had not cancelled 30 days or more in advance I would receive NO REFUND. I let them know as soon as Cruise Critic's weekly E-mail news
allerted me to the cruise cancellation. NOTE: WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A THREE HOUR CITY TOUR not a round the world cruise. I do not believe that a company that cared about their customers would screw them out of $ 188.00 having been given ten days notice of cancellation even though they admit it wasn't my fault. I guess it is good to know who you are dealing with

[Randyk47]

We've booked mostly HAL excursions and been very pleased. We did go with a private company at Lougee's recommendation in Grand Cayman and, as he pointed out, not only saved considerable money but had a less crowded and super tour. Interestingly we booked an excursion through HAL on our cruise this past February and it turned out to be cheaper through HAL than if we'd gone directly to the company and booked as an individual. Maybe it's not always cheaper to go it alone??? :) Will say we have one "rule".....if the tour times are anywhere even close to the arrival/departure times of the ship we stay with the ship's tours to build in some comfort that we won't be left high and dry if the tour runs late.

[HALOnlyCruiser]

We have done both in Alaska, and our experience has been that some are definitely worth booking through HAL because either the tour operator is doing ship tours exclusively; or the tour is very popular and sells out 'way before cruise time (i.e. Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest in Sitka). Other things, like city walking tours, the salmon bake, Mt. Roberts Tram, and whale-watching with Captain Larry in Juneau are very "walk-uppable" (not a word, I know:)) at the various and many kiosks on the pier. A good rule of thumb is this: if the tour you would like to go on is very "stop-intensive", (visits more than about two venues), and/or the ending time posted on the tour info is pretty close to "All Aboard" time, it would be better to book through the ship. Reason being, as Crusnon and Wowzo point out, delays do happen due to dawdlers and traffic. If you are on a ship sponsored tour, they do have to wait for your return. Otherwise, you get to wave bye to the ship and are on your own to get to the next port. Happy cruise!

[tnkrbell13]

Chiming in because I had a different problem, our Boat was actually late getting into port and caused us to miss a private excursion time. I had never thought about that being an issue. I only heard about what happens if you are late returning from an excursion.
I was worried, but the front office let us call our company and explain, luckily we were booked privately with the same tour company HAL uses, so they were great about getting all of us in at later times. I do wonder what might have happened had it not been the same company, it was an expensive excurison and I kept thinking we were going to lose our $$$.
Something to think about.

[lougee1043]

Will say we have one "rule".....if the tour times are anywhere even close to the arrival/departure times of the ship we stay with the ship's tours to build in some comfort that we won't be left high and dry if the tour runs late.

that is the major rule you must be aware of when booking on your own -- you must leave enough time for the unexpected like a flat or two

if the ship sails at5pm i personally would not book a private tour that ended at 3pm -- the window is too close for my comfort -- considering they want you on board approx 45 min prior to sailing -------------------have a tour booked for pv that starts at 11am and is about 3 hrs long --the ship sails at 10pm---no problem booking with them at all ---even have time for margartias and tacos

[cruiseplease]

Thank you for all of your experiences. As I mentioned our port times for our Alaska cruise are very short. For example we leave Ketchikan at 1:00. On the ports board Island Wings was highly recommended as an independent Misty Fjord Flightseeing Tour. However the only departure they had available is at 10:30. After a two hour trip that would get us back into port 30 minutes before the ship sails. Not a lot of time to board, and no wiggle room for the unexpected :eek: . In Sitka, we want to go sea kayaking. I didn't get a lot of response to my posts on this topic so we decided to again go with HAL excursions, since they left right when we get into to port. Since Sitka is a tender port I figured we should at least be able to get one of the first tenders since we're going with HAL and by doing so we would have more time later for the Raptor Center, lunch, shopping, and whatever. My original post was in response to the problems another reviewer had with the "Best of Juneau" HAL tour. We picked this tour because it allows us to maximize our port time (whale-watching, Mendenhall Glacier, and Salmon Bake) and takes care of transportation to the different venues, and again gets us back to the ship on time.

Hmmm I don't think anyone needs a degree in psychology to figure out that my biggest fear is missing the ship :rolleyes: LOL.

Anyway, I wanted to share my thought process. Being NEW TO EVERYTHING (cruising, booking excursions, and this board) I appreciate those of you with more experience taking the time to share your knowledge and help us make the most informed decisions possible.

[HALOnlyCruiser]

You are so very welcome! That's what this board is all about: helpful advice and the benefit of other cruisers' experiences. I wish this board had been around when we started to cruise. It would have saved a lot of "learning the hard way":). All Aboard is 30 minutes before sailing. That's not to say they won't let you onboard if you show up 25 minutes before sailing, but they really like everyone to be on board 30 minutes before. If someone comes up missing, they announce the name over the PA with ".....please come to the Front Office." That's a good indication that someone didn't make it back, or their card didn't scan correctly. As with you, my worst nightmare is missing the ship!
I know you'll have a great cruise and a wonderful week.
IMO, Alaska is a spectacular cruise destination. Just the scenery is worth the price of the trip. Alaska shore excursions tend to cost a little more, but are worth it. There will be glitches in plans, etc., but try not to take it personally (as some do...) and remind yourself that you could be at home doing chores! Bon Voyage!

[SteveinPhilly]

We leave tomorrow for HAl Meditarrean but did Alaska (Volendam) last June.

We booked three HALs this time because the ports are so big that you need to travel somewhere to find local ones.

In Alaska we only booked one (the Yukon) and it was a disaster. Unsafe bus with fogged up windows and the lunch was ckicken legs instaed of promised Salmon. I complained but it did no good. We loved everything else about cruise. This was the ONLY problem.

Unless you are doing the expensive things like flying or whale watching, the City tours are easily booked for a lot less after you get off. And HAL ships are small enoughh that they drop you off RIGHT in Town!

Steve in Philly