Tips for organizing private shore tours

[mexico8]

I'm not sure I would want to organize this for people beyond my own family. It would be effort.

 

We had one couple who were a no-show at the last minute for a tour arranged in Turkey and we were a group of 16 in two vans. The van where there was only 6 people felt it was unfair for them to have to pay for the couple who did not show up so the group all chipped in to cover the cost. The no-shows said they were sick and that they would pay us back but they never did pay anyone their share.

 

On another occasion in Thailand we waited outside the ship for 4 people who were supposed to share the cost of a van to the city and they were about one hour late. Lots of stress and tension when that happens and everyone involved is waiting and not knowing what to do. We finally got 4 other people to join us and found out later that one of the no shows had lost their passport and the others stayed on the ship to try to find the passport. (That was their story and they stuck to it). Did not explain why one of them didn't come out to tell us why they were not coming.

 

:eek::eek:

[LUDOSHADOW]

Hi looking in the fedora guide it seems that a lot of Greek Islands are easy to see on your own. Can anybody tell me of any companies that they might have used in Greece.

[donaldsc]

Some things I have found helpful:

 

1. Be honest and upfront in your description of the tour and what it entails. If you want to have "no shopping stops", or if it's a strenuous tour with lots of walking, be sure that everyone knows it. Point them in the direction of the guide/agency website and also to any good reviews for that particular guide or tour.

 

2. Once people sign up, make sure they understand that they need to let you personally know by email if their plans change and they no longer want to be on your tour.

 

3. Set a cut-off date after which anyone still signed up for the tour agrees to be responsible for their portion. It's unpleasant and difficult when people back out at the last minute and you may not be able to fill their spots. (It's up to you to decide what that cut-off point should be.)

 

4. Check in pleasantly with your fellow tour goers every so often. Maybe forward them an email with links to more information about where you are going on the tour.

 

5. Make sure everyone on the tour knows where to meet on the day of the tour. Reconfirm it onboard ship if you can with everyone. (People are excited; they forget...)

 

6. Decide how to handle the guide's tip (if any) -- will everyone tip on their own, etc? This may seem too detailed but trust me, people will ask you.

 

7. Don't try to make a profit on a tour. Split the costs evenly with everyone. (Believe it or not, some do this.)

 

Aside from these things, which should set a pleasant stage where everyone knows what to expect, you really shouldn't need to do much on the tour itself.

 

Oh and if something goes wrong, despite your doing all your due diligence, cultivate the ability to shrug it off. It helps. ;)

 

I would add 2 things to this excellent list -

 

8. You must be mobile without a walker.

 

9. You must not smoke.

 

DON

[CaveDiving]

I would add 2 things to this excellent list -

 

8. You must be mobile without a walker.

 

9. You must not smoke.

 

DON

 

Only if you're prejudiced against handicapped people and smokers.

 

Scott & Karen

[donaldsc]

Only if you're prejudiced against handicapped people and smokers.

 

Scott & Karen

 

I am totally prejudiced against smokers. Can't stand the smell of smoke or the smell of smoke on a person's clothing or body.

 

With regard to handicapped people, I am not prejudiced again them but I do not want my tour to be held up by someone who can not keep up. It is a matter of logistics, not prejudice.

 

DON

[AlwaysReadyToSail]

Cruisemom gave some fantastic tips.

 

On my last cruise I organized the tours for a group of five couples that toured together at most of the ports, on another trip I organized a few tours as well.

 

A tip if you are the organizer. Ask everyone to have their portion of the trip in exact cash for each tour planned, and anticipated tip separately. As the organizer I found it very beneficial to have a lot of small bills to make change for people, because inevitably someone would always forget to have the exact amount.

 

And def meet on the ship. On one of mine before we tried to meet at the dock and wasted about 15 minutes locating everyone who thought they were in the right place. Everyone is familiar with the ship (for the most part) but each port is different and makes it harder to stay on the same page.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Arubababe52]

I know everyone is different when it comes to tipping, but what is the norm for guide and/or driver?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[donaldsc]

I know everyone is different when it comes to tipping, but what is the norm for guide and/or driver?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Totally depends upon what country you are in. There is no simple answer. In some countries, tips are expected. In some, tips are accepted but not expected. In some, tips are insulting.

 

I did a 14 day land tour in Australia once where most of the people on the the tour were Australians. I asked them what a reasonable tip for the tour was. All of them said and emphasized that no tip was expected so none was given. In the US, you would have your foot run over by the bus driver if you did that.

 

 

DON

[Arubababe52]

I will be in the Mediterranean, mostly Italy for the tours

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

do not prey pay you might skip that port ..

[downsmead]

For Europe, there are a number of tour operators that have very good reviews on TripAdvisor and the Ports of Call section on CC. Using these, there is minimal chance of things going wrong. Most you pay at the end of the tour. This year I organised a couple of tours. I 'reserved' them using my credit card but nothing was taken off the card at the time of booking. On one tour, each couple/party paid the guide in full at the end of the tour and each tipped the guide what they thought was appropriate. Another one then took the deposit of my credit card once the tour was completed. Each couple/party paid the guide their portion and then gave me 5 euros each to cover the deposit (5326jan I didn't think of using the deposit to cover our payment :o). Each tour consisted of 8 - 10 people and I have posted really good reviews of the companies on TA. We also went on private tours organised by others. For some tours we met up at a pre-arranged place on board ship, others we met on the dockside where the tour operator suggested.

We have met so many fabulous people on the trips we have done, I enjoy organising them and never have been let down by either the tour operator or the people on the tour.