Would you ever refuse to pay for a shared private tour excursion?

[Shooraq]

I have organized private tours on the last two European cruises I've been on. Tours as small as 4 and as large as 20 people. I have had no major problems and enjoy organizing them. Benefits include:

 

• saving money by booking a more affordable tour
  
• limiting group size to what is best for you
  
• structuring the itinerary to what you want
  
• making new friends to share cruise experiences with
  

 

Can stuff go wrong? Sure, just anything in life. You just have to be prepared for it. I take down room numbers of people touring with me so that I can contact them if they are running late or there's a change in plan. I give people my room number (with the suggestion of what times not to contact me, I know kung fu.. hehe) so that they can call me with a problem. Before the cruise, I confirm thru cruise critic forum and email the meeting time, place, cost, intinerary, etc. I collect the tour money (not the tip, that's each person's discretion) at the meeting spot before we leave the ship so that way I know everyone has paid. I keep an accordion file of the tour guide info, who's going, cost per person, etc. so there's no question.

 

All these things better ensure that my tours run as smoothly as possible. And it's been worth it. The people who joined my last tours on the Equinox seemed to enjoy them and I established new cruise friends that I'd like to cruise with again. So worth it! But it all depends on your comfort zone. I respect those who do ship-sponsored tours or private cabs of 2. Trust me, I started off that way for years before taking control. :D

[jconeil]

After a lot of good private tours, we had a very bad one in Lisbon (lots of standing around, guide who practically never explained anything, less time on tour and sights than what was offered, etc.).

I was sorely tempted not to pay the full amount and/or to complain. However DH and I decided to leave it and paid full amount so as not to cause trouble/embarrassment for the passenger who organized the tour for cc roll call members.

Exactly what we would do. Never had a bad private tour and we have done a lot as it is always nicer than the crowds from the ship tours, as well as tours not even offered by the ship.

Anyway, I think this is the classiest solution. A decision you will not regret.

[Jade13]

Well, I think taking the risk is worth it. We go on these trips to experience new places and new people. We always hope for the best but have a back up plan.

 

I feel the same way.

 

On a tour last year in Scotland a women on the tour with her Mom realized near the end that she could not pay in euros and did not have GBP (or had left them on the ship). Another couple covered her until we got back to the ship.

[Jade13]

we did 4 private tours with the same 8 people on a Med cruise.

4 of us were together, the other 2 couples were added from CC rollcall.

all went well 1st stop.

1 friend was sick 2nd stop - we all paid $10 more

another friend got a special invitation - at 3rd stop - we all paid $15 more.

no complaints.....had a great time.......however........

after 4th tour (all 8 made it)the other 2 couples decided they had overpaid all week and were not paying for this last tour - leaving me to pay the whole fare for them !

 

now when I organize tours, I collect before the tour.

 

That is unacceptable. So the couple went on the 4th tour and then resfused to pay after they took the tour? What did you say to them back on the ship? Even if they felt they had overed paid +$20.00 at the first stop and +$30.00 the second stop because of others who did not show up, what was their excuse for the rest above that $50.00 per couple??

 

How much were you out for these jerks?

[neoncandle]

I would never do this, but I am not sure that having people you dont know chip in when your friends miss due to illness or choice is a good idea. Certainly if one of us is sick, we still plan to pay our portion. That said, if they felt it was unfair they should have said something at the beginning.

 

Also, in regards to taking the ship excursions instead - we have wasted a lot of money on crappy RCCL excursions in the past - so you can lose a little money either way. Also, if you did the excursions without the extras you pay more. Id be willing to bet the vast majority of us are ahead money and happiness-wise for doing shared group excursions from our new friends on cruise critic. But if you dont like meeting new people, cant handle any risk and want to spend extra money and be taken around in giant buses then it would make sense to skip excursions with people from roll call.

[kyriecat]

Pinebro,

 

For the first and third tours, was it members of your party (your friends) that didn't show up and caused the other 2 couples to pay more for those tours? If so, I can understand them being upset about the situation, although refusing to pay anything for the last tour was a bit out of line.

 

I had a tour booked with some others in Alaska. My husband became sick (food poisoning onboard) and was unable to take the tour. I went on the tour without him but paid the full price for both of us. It was a fixed rate tour whether we had 5 people or 6. I didn't think it fair to the others who had budgeted a certain amount for the tour to have to pay more because of my husband's misfortune.

 

I've had both good and bad tours with others. If there is a fixed-itinerary tour and everyone in the group agrees to the itinerary, then there usually isn't a problem. Once we had a group of 10 of us that took an island tour that was supposed to end with a 2-hour beach stop. We had one couple who didn't want to go to the beach and they complained to the guide about it. Rather than taking us all to the beach and letting the couple who wanted to return to the ship take a cab back, the guide took all of us back to the ship. We were charged full price for the tour, even though it was cut 2 hours short.

 

I've shared tours in the past that weren't fixed itineraries. I don't do that anymore, particulary for places that I don't think I'll have the opportunity to visit again. We shared a car/driver with another couple once in Italy. We had agreed before the cruise on several sites that we wanted to see. However, we had not set time limits. We stopped for lunch and a little shopping in a village. The other couple was fascinated by the various antique shops and spent well over an hour longer than I expected looking around after lunch. Because they took so long at that stop, we didn't have enough time to visit a cathedral that I wanted to see.

 

For my next cruise, my husband and I are stopping in Israel and Egypt. Since I doubt that I will be able to visit those places again, we have arranged private tours for just the two of us. We wanted to be in control of what we see and how long we stay.

[negc]

We were part of a tour to Mont St. Michele from Cherbourg that was arranged by a fellow passenger. On the morning of the tour, one couple failed to show and our efforts to contact them were in vain. Fortunately we met another couple on the pier who were interested in taking their place and so it didn't end up costing us anything extra, but without them, we would have had to make up the difference. The tour was excellent and would have still been worth any added cost, but I know that the person who organized it was stressed when that first couple failed to appear and most relieved when a replacement couple turned up.:)

[Bridge Maven]

I guess we all have a different tolerance for risk. Like everything in life I consider the reward/risk factor, and don't feel the potential reward outweighs the potential risk because there are so many other ways to have a good shore excursion without any risk.

[Lois R]

I have organized private tours on the last two European cruises I've been on. Tours as small as 4 and as large as 20 people. I have had no major problems and enjoy organizing them. Benefits include:

 

• saving money by booking a more affordable tour
  
• limiting group size to what is best for you
  
• structuring the itinerary to what you want
  
• making new friends to share cruise experiences with
  

Can stuff go wrong? Sure, just anything in life. You just have to be prepared for it. I take down room numbers of people touring with me so that I can contact them if they are running late or there's a change in plan. I give people my room number (with the suggestion of what times not to contact me, I know kung fu.. hehe) so that they can call me with a problem. Before the cruise, I confirm thru cruise critic forum and email the meeting time, place, cost, intinerary, etc. I collect the tour money (not the tip, that's each person's discretion) at the meeting spot before we leave the ship so that way I know everyone has paid. I keep an accordion file of the tour guide info, who's going, cost per person, etc. so there's no question.

 

All these things better ensure that my tours run as smoothly as possible. And it's been worth it. The people who joined my last tours on the Equinox seemed to enjoy them and I established new cruise friends that I'd like to cruise with again. So worth it! But it all depends on your comfort zone. I respect those who do ship-sponsored tours or private cabs of 2. Trust me, I started off that way for years before taking control. :D

 

Hi Robyn, I am so glad you replied to this thread:D:):D because our tours were soooooooo fantastic!!!!!!!

[Moeve]

I have to admit we to have never come short over the many years. I also have no qualms in giving the organizer my real name per Mail and my cabin number so that they can contact me when ever they feel they need to once onboard and other wise they get my email and tel no.

[Shooraq]

Hi Robyn, I am so glad you replied to this thread:D:):D because our tours were soooooooo fantastic!!!!!!!

 

Thank you, Lois. That truly means a lot to me. It's why I keep doing it! I have 4 tours set up for British Isles and they are already full! :D

[constantcruiser]

Re the guy on our roll call who set up a private tour in St. Maarten and then didn't show: The tour operator was very courteous, and although they couldn't take all 18 of us on the boat tour he allegedly booked, they were able to accommodate us on a land tour and really did their best to make it special.

 

I have no idea whether the "tour organizer" was actually on the ship or not...all anyone knew was his screen name, so we couldn't call his cabin. And of course, none of us had ever met him, so we had no idea what he looked like. But everytime we ran into one of the others on the ship, we'd get a laugh by asking if they'd seen_____. We started coming up with funny places we'd "just spotted him"...on the top shelf in the library, hiding in the windmill on the mini-golf course, etc.

[cruisemom42]

I guess we all have a different tolerance for risk. Like everything in life I consider the reward/risk factor, and don't feel the potential reward outweighs the potential risk because there are so many other ways to have a good shore excursion without any risk.

 

Just curious what those ways might be that do not entail any risk? :rolleyes:

 

If you take a shore excursion offered by the ship, you have risks -- for example, getting a bad guide, not making it to all of the stops listed, getting accidentally left behind the group, etc. (The first two have certainly happened to me, and I know others who've been left behind.)

 

If you take a private tour on your own or if you just "do it yourself" (as I often do) you have risks -- for example, getting lost, not making it back to the ship on time, transportation strikes, etc.

[cruise kitty]

Reading this thread reaffirms the various reasons why I would never plan to take a private tour with strangers in cyberspace that I met on a roll call. There are too many other good options for taking tours to justify the risk.

 

I'm not discounting your opinion, but after seeing several folks in tears after their X cruise excursions in Istanbul, I don't think there is a "safe" option...

I've organized private tours with people on my roll call, & really enjoyed them, last time we met some really great guys who toured with us, people who we would not have met otherwise, I think on a long term roll call you can get a feel for people, we normally book europe or TA cruises the day they are available, it gives a good amount of time to read posts & see who you will click with, BTW, the women we met at the martini bar & the large group we met at the security check in Istanbul were so upset because it's not a bus or car friendly city, you can spend hours in traffic, & not spend much time at sites, while the public trams don't stop for traffic, I felt so bad for the the folks we met who had such a bad experience in the City & had to tour with huge crowds with limited time.

[Tara Jane]

Regarding the no shows and the sick who are unable to go on pre arranged private tours. Please dont be shy to speak to others on board as there may well be someone happy to step in their place. It doesnt hurt to stand at the end of the gangway for a few mins asking if anyone wants to join your group tour. I have joined a few groups as an add on last minute taker as I don't particularly like committing too far ahead as I have a few health issues that do make me very tired.

[theampres]

bump

[Christine Frances]

Already covered lol

[gelo7]

Has never happened to me but I think it is the risk you take for agreeing to take a shared excursion. The tour operator bases the per person price on the number of committed participants. If someone bails, the tour operator should not have to eat the loss. I believe this always to be the fair approach, but most certainly in more impoverished areas. My opinion.

 

I concur...

[Eddie's Girl]

we had sort of the opposite issue in st. Maarten years ago. One member of our roll call arranged a private boat tour, and about 20 of us signed up to go. He was very active on the roll call, gave us the tour operator's name, description of the tour, etc. And reconfirmed the list several times as more people signed up. He didn't attend the connections party, but it was at an inconvenient time and many didn't receive invitations, so we didn't think much about it.

 

The next morning everyone met at the designated point on the pier...everyone, that is, except for the guy who organized the tour. When we finally decided he wasn't going to show, one of the group phoned the tour operator and they'd never heard of him!

 

omg!

[TomMMD]

Two years ago, I was the organizer for two tours and my wake up in the middle of the night fear was that several people would not show up.

 

Didn't happen though.

 

Other than one couple who talked too much and another who was always late getting back all went well and we all got along famously.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[happy cruzer]

Booking a private tour is very like booking a cruise, you need to read your contract.

 

The tour I arranged clearly stated the cost was for the driver and van, one amount, no matter how many showed for the tour up to 8. If you only had two show up, you still paid the total, that was the organizers agreement up front with the tour company. I was very leery of booking it with online folks. I really wanted the tour so I knew bottom line that I might get stuck with the entire amount, as others have said it's a risk and you need to be realistic up front that it can happen. One could mitigate it by having the others pay you up front but that too can be troublesome. Happy to report all went well, but the organizer needs to know their liability up front.

[Tiggertastic]

My husband was ill one day when there were 12 of us sharing a tour - I immediately told everyone that I would pay his share and did.

 

On our last trip, the organiser met everyone on the first day at sea and collected in the money in so that she had it all before the actual trip took place. She posted her cabin number so if you could not make it you had other options. I placed the money in an envelope and watched as the steward placed in in the cabin. We were then left a message saying thank they had received it.

 

We have however had a couple not turn up for a dinner in a specialty that we booked through the roll call. We had lots of people signed up and I made special arrangements with the MaitreD before the cruise. I warned everyone that if you did not show, the ship would charge you. I was not willing to take the hit.

[vermonter16]

I can't remember a private tour I have done that EVER asked for payment until the tours' conclusion. What part of the world do you normally cruise where they want it up front?

 

In Belize. We had booked independently (just DH and I) and when we arrived, we went into the building (shack) and paid the amount. We had researched the tour ahead of time and it had great reviews so we didn't worry about it. In the end, the tour was even better than we thought it was going to be.

 

I'm sure that we have paid ahead of time for other tours as well. I believe we paid up front with David and Ivan to go see one of the Mayan sites. Again, researched and it turned out to be just a great, great tour.

[ghstudio]

Frankly, I've never focused on whether we pay when we start a one day tour..or at the end. We're committed either way, so there's really no difference. If the driver/guide are good, they get a nice tip...if not, they get a handshake.

 

When I arrange a tour, I always arrange to meet the others two days before the tour, somewhere on the ship. I also ask for real names and cabin numbers before we even get to the ship.

 

For tours that require a deposit, depending on the amount, sometimes I'll just pay it for everyone and trust them to repay me when we meet on the ship. If it's a large deposit, then I ask that it be paid either to me (check in the mail or paypal) or directly to the tour company by each person.

 

So far, no problems...and I've arranged lots of tours. This thread has been helpful because I should include in my arrangement emails that if they join the group, they are committing to pay, whether or not they take the excursion unless I can find a replacement. I've never thought that someone would just refuse to pay after agreeing to be a part of a group....I guess I'm too trusting....and there are apparently some with no ethics.

[Minoushka]

It would never occur to me to not pay nor have someone stiff me .truly that s despicable

Now i know if I organize tours i will ask for payment up front . i guess I am naive and would trust someones commitment and ultimate paying at the end the agreed amount

The worse story was of the one who got 20 people involved in a fictitious. Tour ...that was horrid When you are elsewhere you really look forward to organized outings I could imagine the disappointment if you counted on someone and they just did not show up or prepared a scam .....not nice ...how disappointing