Princess not letting outside excursions onto the docks now?

[cutetrill]

Hey,

 

I just got my confirmation letter from Harv and Marv whale watch for our Cruise in May, and they told me that they didn't know where the meeting place was going to be yet as they were just told by Princess that there was a new rule not allowing outside excursions onto the Princess docks. Anyone else know anything about this? Sounds like Princess is trying to be difficult. :P

[Astro Flyer]

Hey,

 

I just got my confirmation letter from Harv and Marv whale watch for our Cruise in May, and they told me that they didn't know where the meeting place was going to be yet as they were just told by Princess that there was a new rule not allowing outside excursions onto the Princess docks. Anyone else know anything about this? Sounds like Princess is trying to be difficult. :P

I've never experienced this and I'm skeptical that there is more to this story than what they are telling you...what dock?

[msmoger]

Exactly, there really wasn't a dock when we were in Juneau in 2008. You left the ship on what I guess would be considered a dock (more like a street), turned left, walked the equivalent of a couple blocks and came to the building where you would board the Mt. Roberts Tram (I think I got the name right). There was a circular drive there and that is where the Harv and Marv van picked us up. This area had nothing to do with the ship.

[blazerjan]

When setting up a private rain forest tour in Costa Rica with Oscar Brown tours, we were instructed to meet the guide outside the gate as they were no longer allowed to go inside the pier area "as the ship and the big companies have been giving them a lot of problem" (their words).....

 

So it appears this has been going on for some time......

[cole]

Exactly, there really wasn't a dock when we were in Juneau in 2008. You left the ship on what I guess would be considered a dock (more like a street), turned left, walked the equivalent of a couple blocks and came to the building where you would board the Mt. Roberts Tram (I think I got the name right). There was a circular drive there and that is where the Harv and Marv van picked us up. This area had nothing to do with the ship.

 

Correct - Princess (or any other cruise company) doesn't own the dock! :)

[capriccio]

Here are the meeting instructions from this past summer:

 

Note from Harv & Marv's Outback Alaska

FKL – Franklin Street Dock – Disembark your ship and follow the dock to the pavement where the parking lot begins. At that point, directly on your right you will see the shore excursions booth, and directly in front of that you will see tour guide representatives holding signs. Our representative, who will be wearing orange, will have a blue sign that says; Harv and Marv's Outback Alaska Whale Watching Adventure

[cutetrill]

Here are the meeting instructions from this past summer:

 

Note from Harv & Marv's Outback Alaska

FKL – Franklin Street Dock – Disembark your ship and follow the dock to the pavement where the parking lot begins. At that point, directly on your right you will see the shore excursions booth, and directly in front of that you will see tour guide representatives holding signs. Our representative, who will be wearing orange, will have a blue sign that says; Harv and Marv's Outback Alaska Whale Watching Adventure

 

 

Yup, that was what I was originally told by them, now I get this:

 

"We do not have a specific pick up spot just yet. We were just informed of a new rule that prohibits outside excursions from coming up to the dock area of Princess ships. We will be providing you with a detailed description of the new pick up area as quickly as we can."

[Pam in CA]

That sounds right but it probably depends on the port. Some port dock areas aren't very big and it can get very confusing for passengers who book either a ship's or independent tour and someone at the pier has a sign similar or the same as the other. Experienced cruisers know what to look for but new cruisers don't.

 

You're probably going to exit the dock area anyway so for most ports, it's moot whether you meet at the gangway or outside the gate. When I took an independent tour in Belize a couple of weeks ago, I met them outside the gate. It wasn't a big deal.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I'm sure for some of the ports there aRe security measures to keep out anyone who is not a passenger, crew or employee of the dock, Personally, that is fine with me. The more people allowed to mill about the ships, the more chance for a problem. if I am doing a private tour, I don't mind a short walk to a designated meeting spot.

[Loonbeam]

The port controls dock access, not the cruise line (that said, the cruise line can certainly make requests). Sometimes this leads to inequities. For example, in Naples (RCCL), the buses chartered by the cruise line were in one location closer to the ship, the private tours had to hike through the terminal with no signage to help. The driver said this was a port issue, not RCCL, they charge the cruise line a fee for every bus/van that clears security but private drivers just pay 1 euro to park there.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

As a general rule I think the less folks get access close to the ship with a vehicle the better,

 

can not recall the port but it was in Europe they were installing giant concerte blocks around cruise dock,

 

to stop car bombs being driven into the ships, or lines of passengers.

 

yours Shogun

[Colo Cruiser]

Lots of docks/piers/ports restrict who is allowed in.

In St Thomas there was a big fight with taxi's/tour operators etc authorized and not when Crown Bay first opened along with some violence happening.

 

Princess has nothing to do with port restrictions.

[Thrak]

In one of our Hawaiian ports when I came back with the rental car to drop off my wife and son (he's in a wheelchair) before returning the car we had to show ID proving we were passengers on the ship in order to gain access to the dock area with the car to drop them off. (There was really no other good place to drop them.) I think it was in Kauai (Nawiliwili).

[Coral]

Princess had a part in building the Franklin dock. When docked there, their ships hook up to Juneau's electricity which saves money - is more green as opposed to using the ship's electricity when docked.

 

I am not sure what the financials were but these docks were built with Princess in mind. This is why Princess always uses this dock for at least one of their ships. I think the AJ dock has the same setup.

 

So Princess may have some influence at the Franklin dock?

[Ronnieslady]

When setting up a private rain forest tour in Costa Rica with Oscar Brown tours, we were instructed to meet the guide outside the gate as they were no longer allowed to go inside the pier area "as the ship and the big companies have been giving them a lot of problem" (their words).....

 

So it appears this has been going on for some time......

Our tour guys told us the same thing in Costa Rica in late September. We also met them outside the gate. We were on the Coral

[iceleven]

We had a bit of a problem with our pick up with Harv and Marv last August in Juneau. There was a lot of traffic and a lot of people just outside of the pier. Not sure what the problem was as we were exactly where we were told to be and even got there a half-hour early. Fortunately we had our cell phone on us and was able to call them and the problem was corrected. They did have another pick up at another pier with another Princess ship, perhaps that was the source of the confusion for the driver.

 

I just highly recommend that you give them the cell phone number that you will be taking with you on your cruise. (Assuming that you will be taking it) If my husband had failed to bring it with us for the excursion, we would have missed our pick-up altogether. Make sure you have a printed copy of your excursion with you, as well, as it has their phone number on it.

 

Harv and Marv is wonderful, safe, friendly and efficient group. They will not disappoint you.

[Putterdude]

It really depends upon the port. In some cases CCL (Princess) has a lock on the cruise terminal and restricts access by independent operators, which is understandable. However in others independent operators do have reasonable access to the terminal.

[satxdiver]

I am using a private tour operator in Belize for the second time. I have to meet him outside the gate of the enclosed area for the tour just like I did 8 years ago. There are no signs directing you to the gate either so it took some hunting the first time. You really cannot expect the cruise lines to allow independent operators near the pier that they are renting ($$$$) anymore than you can open a kiosk outside the door of a walmart on their property selling goods in competition. If you want to use an independent tour operator, then expect some inconvenience.

[Red Hat Cruise Cat]

Exactly, there really wasn't a dock when we were in Juneau in 2008. You left the ship on what I guess would be considered a dock (more like a street), turned left, walked the equivalent of a couple blocks and came to the building where you would board the Mt. Roberts Tram (I think I got the name right). There was a circular drive there and that is where the Harv and Marv van picked us up. This area had nothing to do with the ship.

 

That is exactly waht we did for our Harv and Marv tour as well.

[Pam in CA]

I am using a private tour operator in Belize for the second time. I have to meet him outside the gate of the enclosed area for the tour just like I did 8 years ago. There are no signs directing you to the gate either so it took some hunting the first time.

It's far more built up than it used to be in Belize. When you disembark the tender, turn left, walk as far as you can and go through the gate, turn right and walk through the bus drop-off area to the street. The independent tours meet there.