Sharing Tours - Advice

[kare8ear]

Hi:

 

I am asking people to share tours with me...are there certain questions I should be asking them (age, current location)? Should I ask for their phone number?

 

What do you do when people are interested in joining you? I just don't want to get left "holding the bag" if they do not show up. I will not pay for their portion up front, but their absence could increase the price/person for others if they are no show.

 

TIA!

[Globaliser]

I don't know whether it will affect you, but you might want to read this CC announcement first.

[kare8ear]

Thanks Globaliser. I have tried that, but my roll call is dead.

 

Any advice on the logistics of tour sharing would be appreciated.

[wwinfl91]

What I have done during our last two cruises when I organized some private shore excursions was to try to make sure to get together with the people interested as soon as possible after we all got on the ship and got settled. That way we got to see each other eye to eye. I also asked people for their cabin numbers so I could contact them on the ship. Some people have offered to help with deposits that some tour operators require now but I haven't taken them up on their offers. I would also suggest staying in contact with the people prior to the cruise by a weekly email update just to make sure everyone is still interested.

 

Basically you are always taking a chance when you try to organize private shore excursions but we have found they are so much better than the big bus tours that the ship offers that the risk is worth the reward.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[rdcollis]

kare8ear,

 

I just went on a Mediterranean Cruise and booked 3 private tours. (they turned out better than expected)

 

If you email me, I'll give you some suggestions.

robertcollis@msn.com

[dbh62ark]

We cruised the Med on short notice last year and had no problems finding tour mates after we boarded the ship. We just asked everyone about their plans in the two ports where we were using private drivers, and the vans were full on the 2nd day (full day at sea). In fact, some passengers paid 10% cancellation fees to the shore ex department to go with us because they could see that our private tour itineraries were superior to the ship's offering. We found that a lot of passengers were open to it but just didn't know how to go about finding someone and booking on their own. We also gave out the names of some tour operators to others after our van was full, and they booked via e-mail prior to arriving in port.

 

Hope you have a great time and good luck,

Donna