Roatan resort Adventure Pkg Transportation Rip Off??

Hey Folks. Darleen here, cruising to Cozumel, Beleize and Roatan on the Carnival Breeze in September. My mom just booked the Roatan Resort Adventure Package advertised on Roatancruiseexcursions.com by Island Marketing Limited. All looked fine, until mom noticed that on the charges they have listed "5 person transportation fee- $60.00". :eek: It clearly states on their website page description of what's included in the excursion "Round trip transfer from the cruise ship dock". :confused: She has written them pointing that out and asked them to remove said charge. Anyone else experienced this??? I don't know what we can do about recouping her deposit if they insist on the taxi fee... it wasn't thru paypal. :mad: Anyone?

1) What does the site say about cancellation policy?

2) If paid by cc, you can always dispute the charges if they don't refund and you don't go.

3) If you do cancel, then look into something like Beachers or Bananarama which do include transportation in their costs and have other amenities as well.

Club Natale is another possibility, but not sure if there's transportation included.

Reviews of both on this board.

Links here:

http://bananarama.com/

http://www.beachersroatan.com/

http://www.resortforaday.com/product-p/rtronb-ep.htm

Thanks for your reply and suggestions, crewsweeper. The cancellation policy seems pretty strict. Here's the opening line: "the deposit you have placed to guarantee this excursion is non refundable for the exception of an inclement weather cancellation of the Tour by the Tour Operator, or due to your Ship not calling port during your cruise." it later states "PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT SHOWING UP FOR YOUR EXCURSIONS AND/OR LAST MINUTE CANCELLATIONS WILL RESULT IN A FULL CHARGE OF THE BALANCE AS PER THE TERMS OF YOUR RESERVATION. A doctor certificate for the cancelled tour must be presented and dated for the cancelled date in order to deviate from full balance charge."

I would then double check with the vendor to confirm if transportation is or is not included and ask about the fine print transportation charge.

Then look at the other places and determine which would be more economical; cancellation plus charges for other resort or excursion(including deposit) plus transportation fee. Looks like you'll probably have to eat something so better to act now and avoid having to pay double plus.

Hey Folks. Darleen here, cruising to Cozumel, Beleize and Roatan on the Carnival Breeze in September. My mom just booked the Roatan Resort Adventure Package advertised on Roatancruiseexcursions.com by Island Marketing Limited. All looked fine, until mom noticed that on the charges they have listed "5 person transportation fee- $60.00". :eek: It clearly states on their website page description of what's included in the excursion "Round trip transfer from the cruise ship dock". :confused: She has written them pointing that out and asked them to remove said charge. Anyone else experienced this??? I don't know what we can do about recouping her deposit if they insist on the taxi fee... it wasn't thru paypal. :mad: Anyone?

So this fee was on top of the deposit that you paid?

Well, mystery solved!

When Mom wrote and questioned the fee, the excursion seller responded that they showed the transportation fee in the break down of charges to help the tour operator. They suggested that she calculate her total, which she did. and realized that the transportation fee is included in the regular charges.

I'm sure they get it all the time- no one wants to be charged for something that is to be included! So glad that's all clear and we are ready to have fun on Fantasy Island! Thanks for your help here, much appreciated!

That is good news.

I am always curious why people choose one excursion over another. Why Fantasy Island?

Glad to hear the issue was resolved favorably.

Enjoy your stay! And your whole cruise!:)

1) What does the site say about cancellation policy?

2) If paid by cc, you can always dispute the charges if they don't refund and you don't go.

3) If you do cancel, then look into something like Beachers or Bananarama which do include transportation in their costs and have other amenities as well.

Club Natale is another possibility, but not sure if there's transportation included.

 

Reviews of both on this board.

Links here:

http://bananarama.com/

http://www.beachersroatan.com/

http://www.resortforaday.com/product-p/rtronb-ep.htm

Do you happen to know what the snorkelling is like at Club Natale?

snow bunny

That is good news.

 

I am always curious why people choose one excursion over another. Why Fantasy Island?

 

Guest2000- we chose Fantasy Island mostly for the price. It's $38 and includes transport from the cruise terminal, snorkeling; up to 2 hours kayaking and use of the resort's beach facilities. We were originally looking at a package thru Carnival for their private beach that included the snorke and kayak as well, but it sold out. Also got some negative reviews about being super crowded. Later I looked and the package was no longer sold out, as if they allowed more people to be added... I think we'll be happier with the Fantasy Island package, which should be less people. Also the Carnival pkg was limited to only 30 minutes. Plus Fantasy Island description talks about how they have monkeys that interact with he guests, and my Best Friend really wants to hold a monkey! Hope that helps...

Djdarleen, I have read mixed reviews on Fantasy Island. How was your experience? It sounds as if the people that actually stayed on the island weren't terribly impressed, however for those visiting for just a day enjoyed the facilities and the staff.

thank you for the info.

Minn55441: we had a pretty good time. We got to the resort early and there was only one couple on the beach. It was nice because we had the place to ourselves. It is gorgeous there, but the hotel only looked so-so, probably kinda iffy rooms, as it is a little dated. They have a lovely pool and sweet palapas to shade under all around the beach area. We did not purchase the buffet which was like $20 a piece, and they weren't serving until 12:30 local time. We ended up buying food at the snack bar, which was ok. The iced tea was terrible, but fries were great, club sandwich very good. The problems occurred when we went to the scuba shop to get our snorkel gear, which was included in the package. The fella at the shop said we had to get a note from the front desk saying that our gear was free. The girls at the desk insisted that the gear was not included. I had them pull up the operators website and showed them the tour package page that clearly states that the snorkel gear is included. After going back and forth for a good 30 minutes arguing with them my mom and I walked away, decided to go ahead and pay the rental fee and just have the operator reimburse us. My mom got really worked up and was very upset. We wasted nearly an hour between the arguing and walking back and forth between the scuba shop and the front desk. And the operator came to pick us up 30 minutes earlier than they said they would. As a result we only had maybe 15 minutes to snorkel. The folks who booked through the resort rolled in around noon or so and there were a lot of them. They had signs up saying not to feed or pet the monkeys that the resort would not be responsible for any monkey bites, so that was a bummer. All in all I would go back, but I don't know if I would book through that operator. The lady from the tour company did gripe out the desk girl who took me over to the dive shop to get our rent money back. The tour lady was telling her that the resort knows the snorkel gear is included, blah blah blah. As I said, it was beautiful and we did have fun, but I am sure my mother would not go back. The operator offered to comp us ONE $45 excursion if we book with them again. Don't think we will. We are actually going back to Roatan in April and I think we will do a snorkel excursion by boat, as the reef is out a ways from the island and you have to swim out quite a bit to get to it. -Darleen

Minn55441: we had a pretty good time. We got to the resort early and there was only one couple on the beach. It was nice because we had the place to ourselves. It is gorgeous there, but the hotel only looked so-so, probably kinda iffy rooms, as it is a little dated. They have a lovely pool and sweet palapas to shade under all around the beach area. We did not purchase the buffet which was like $20 a piece, and they weren't serving until 12:30 local time. We ended up buying food at the snack bar, which was ok. The iced tea was terrible, but fries were great, club sandwich very good. The problems occurred when we went to the scuba shop to get our snorkel gear, which was included in the package. The fella at the shop said we had to get a note from the front desk saying that our gear was free. The girls at the desk insisted that the gear was not included. I had them pull up the operators website and showed them the tour package page that clearly states that the snorkel gear is included. After going back and forth for a good 30 minutes arguing with them my mom and I walked away, decided to go ahead and pay the rental fee and just have the operator reimburse us. My mom got really worked up and was very upset. We wasted nearly an hour between the arguing and walking back and forth between the scuba shop and the front desk. And the operator came to pick us up 30 minutes earlier than they said they would. As a result we only had maybe 15 minutes to snorkel. The folks who booked through the resort rolled in around noon or so and there were a lot of them. They had signs up saying not to feed or pet the monkeys that the resort would not be responsible for any monkey bites, so that was a bummer. All in all I would go back, but I don't know if I would book through that operator. The lady from the tour company did gripe out the desk girl who took me over to the dive shop to get our rent money back. The tour lady was telling her that the resort knows the snorkel gear is included, blah blah blah. As I said, it was beautiful and we did have fun, but I am sure my mother would not go back. The operator offered to comp us ONE $45 excursion if we book with them again. Don't think we will. We are actually going back to Roatan in April and I think we will do a snorkel excursion by boat, as the reef is out a ways from the island and you have to swim out quite a bit to get to it. -Darleen

Darleen,

Thank you for the information. I appreciate your honest opinion.