Any Sicily Tour Co that Doesn't Demand Full Pay Guarantee

I have contacted 4 tour companies in Sicily, primarily for tours from Catania and/or Messina & requested that each roll call member pay separately. I have received essentially this response from each:

"Thank you for contacting our company.

Unfortunately we don’t sale the tour per person but we offer the disposal of the vehicle so the person in charged for the booking would be the guarantee for the full amount. We are sorry we cannot accommodate you."

I can't think of another location where this has been true.

Any suggested tour guides / companies that do NOT require one person provide their credit card as a guarantee for no-show roll call participants?

I have contacted 4 tour companies in Sicily, primarily for tours from Catania and/or Messina & requested that each roll call member pay separately. I have received essentially this response from each:

 

"Thank you for contacting our company.

 

Unfortunately we don’t sale the tour per person but we offer the disposal of the vehicle so the person in charged for the booking would be the guarantee for the full amount. We are sorry we cannot accommodate you."

 

I can't think of another location where this has been true.

 

Any suggested tour guides / companies that do NOT require one person provide their credit card as a guarantee for no-show roll call participants?

There are companies who put together "tour share" tours….but not in Sicily that I know of. Even with those you do not have control over the day but follow a set tour itinerary.

What you are wanting is a private tour for a number of people but don't want to be responsible if someone is a no show. The only way I can see that working with a guarantee is to have those wanting to join you pay ahead of time. Not an ideal way to do it - but perhaps the only way you are guaranteed you don't get stood up and stuck with the extra costs.

Good luck.

have you tried Mario Astone? toured with him and his brother a few years back and did not have to pre pay. not sure if that has changed or not. had wonderful exciting tour that day:)

Texan -

I arranged multiple tours from 4 - 23 people in Asia recently & there was no problem with individuals being responsible for their own payments. Each either did the requested down-payment or paid-in-full as requested by the tour company.

In those instances passport, date of birth etc was often requested & I chose not to handle the private information of anyone else either - it was never a problem.

I have also found the tour companies of other locations on this up-coming B2B cruise to not have a problem with that arrangement so I've been surprised by the responses I'd received recently.

However, I have now found 1 company in Sicily that will allow each individual to pay separately (via paypal): Sicily Shore Tours.

Vacation -

Thanks for the tip - hopefully I will have equally wonderful results.

have you tried Mario Astone? toured with him and his brother a few years back and did not have to pre pay. not sure if that has changed or not. had wonderful exciting tour that day:)

Texan -

 

I arranged multiple tours from 4 - 23 people in Asia recently & there was no problem with individuals being responsible for their own payments. Each either did the requested down-payment or paid-in-full as requested by the tour company.

 

In those instances passport, date of birth etc was often requested & I chose not to handle the private information of anyone else either - it was never a problem.

 

I have also found the tour companies of other locations on this up-coming B2B cruise to not have a problem with that arrangement so I've been surprised by the responses I'd received recently.

 

However, I have now found 1 company in Sicily that will allow each individual to pay separately (via paypal): Sicily Shore Tours.

The op is not asking about having to PREPAY, but rather having to put up a credit card to GUARANTEE the reservation. Payment will be made at the time of the tour.

The OP does not want to put up his/her credit card ONLY which would make him/her responsible for the entire cost if everyone else is a no-show.

There is no question that everyone can pay their own costs once the tour is over …… that is not the issue.

I know of no tour company that will take multiple credit cards to GUARANTEE the reservation.

Again, the only way for the OP to not get stuck with the whole bill if someone doesn't show is to ask them to pay their share to them up front. This could be done like 2 weeks ahead of the cruise (or thereabouts) since that would still give the OP (person in charge of the tour) time to change the reservation with the tour company.

NOW, the Paypal plan sounds like the perfect solution if everyone wants to PREPAY. Many people do not. The important thing in this plan is to be sure you understand the CANCELLATION POLICY !!!!! I have read many posts from those who did not and either did not get a full refund or only received a partial refund.

Texan -

Here is what the response was from Sicily Shore Tours (Simon Biglieri) :

"Once you posted the itinerary on Cruisecritic, you could ask the participants to contact me and we will send a paypal link where to send a deposit or full payment.

We often arrange little groups and with great results."

A 7hr tour w/ 8 participants was equal to $62.00 US per person which was much less than an agency I saw that actually forms excursion groups from various tourists. This is a much preferred option for me & is similar to what was done on the Asia trip (Vietnam guide required full payment but most others only the deposits).

Will ask for specifics of their cancellation policy for everyone as well.

I can also recommend Mario Astone. Our tour last year was 45€ pp, payed at the end of the tour.

I can also recommend Mario Astone. Our tour last year was 45€ pp, payed at the end of the tour.

Just a FYI. I booked our Nov 4th tour from Messina with Mario today and did have to use paypal for the required 50 euros refundable deposit. Our tour group is small and only includes our travel friends so this was not a problem for me. I didn't read the refund conditions but since Mario comes so highly regarded I don't expect either a problem with the tour or us cancelling. Deborah

OP, glad you found a company that you can work with. (We'll be in Sicily next fall.)

The following didn't happen in Sicily, but may help others reading this thread. This summer, we joined a tour that held been held by one person's credit card and everyone was to pay their share in cash on the day of the tour. The booking was originally for six people for the vehicle so everyone had already committed to an amount. When my husband and I joined the group (now eight people), everyone would have paid less as the cost of the vehicle was the same. We had one couple who couldn't make the cruise so I thought that we'd all need to pay more (back to what the original six people had agreed to in the first place). Meanwhile, one person in our group found a replacement couple (just happened to meet them and offered them spots) who took the absent couple's place so we all paid the reduced amount (back to eight people).

I've been on other private tours, where the tour/vehicle was a set price, where there was an understanding that someone who missed the tour would be still responsible for their share, on their honour, unless they could find a replacement to take their place. I've been on some private tours where either the husband or wife was sick and the spouse simply paid for their missing spouse.

This week I'm reserving two private tours for next fall with 'SpainDayTours'. One person contacted them to initiate the tour and the company is requiring individuals to email them directly to join the tour, with their credit card numbers, to guarantee the reservation. In this way, the company is controlling the size of the group. This is the first time I've seen this happen.

I have booked an excursion from Florence with Shareashoreexcursionitaly. They were recommended on another thread here on Cruise Critic and they have everyone sign up individually on their website so you are not responsible for "no shows". They do have tours available in Sicily too.

http://www.shareashoreexcursioninitaly.com/excursion

You can determine the size of group you want and set a minimum and maximum limit, They have been excellent with communications so far.

This time I am keeping tours small (max 8) but last year in China I had a group of 23 - who all paid individually. Another member of my tour had booked a group tour in Taiwan where a couple was a 'no show' & she paid the difference on her CC. For her, the 'understanding' did not pan out. All tours I've set up always were able to be paid individually so I was surprised at the responses I got here.

Cruisemuse - I did look at shareshoreexcursions, but thought their prices were high in comparison. But then they provide an additional service.

Adventures - The company in Sicily is doing the same as your Spain tour - each couple / individual will be emailed in order to pay via Paypal. In Asia, much more info was required: passport info, dob's etc. I didn't want to be involved in handling others personal info or their payments.

I booked a shore excusion with http://www.sicilywithmario.com. We arrived in Messina, were picked up at the port and had a wonderful day. We did the Godfather and Taormina tour. Mario, himself, guided and drove. This tour was a high point of our cruise. We made our reservation on line and didn't have to send a credit card to secure. We were 8 people and all of us paid individually. I understand Mario and his brother do all of Sicily. One interesting thing about Mario is that he speaks Danish as well as English. He does shore excursions and multi day tours.I would give him my highest recommendation!