HAL Tours - Private Tour Operators

[Cruising-along]

I know that hurts, and it would hurt me too. However, I think you have to take that from whence it comes. I always try to stay positive on this board. It doesn't always work, and I know this doesn't sound very positive, but if they excluded you, chances are you would not have been very comfortable in their presence anyway.

Terri

 

A very kind and wise post, Terri.

Well said.

 

 

Indeed, very kind and wise.

[4friends]

Interesting topic. We haven't done a lot of cruising yet and I love all the info I get from reading these posts. We always have our own medical insurance so I hadn't thought to check with private operators. Probably a wise idea though.

 

Our first cruise we booked all HAL excursions....didn't know any better. We now do a lot of research using information from CC and Trip Advisor as well as other sources. With the research, we can ensure we see and do what is important. We travel with our long time friends and usually do private tours with just the four of us for reasons already mentioned by others. We still do some HAL excursions and have done a couple of group excursios organized on our roll call as well as DIY. It is great to have choices.

[VioletHorse]

I was recently on a cruise where all CC roll call activities were by exclusive invitation. That is not in the spirit of CC roll calls. It hurts to be excluded, it hurts to read on CC that people intend to ignore you and it hurts more to read on CC that the participants spent their time discussing members they don't like. I am looking forward to our next cruise where everyone is welcome but beyond that I have serious reservations about joining roll calls.

 

That happened to us a few years ago on a HAL roll call. We had joined the roll call when we booked the cruise, but it was only about 5 months before the cruise so we were relative newbies on the RC. Apparently plans were in process for a great shore ex that we would have enjoyed doing, but there was no actual mention of it on the RC. The only way we found out about it was after the cruise was completed, and RC members came back and raved about how great that shore ex had been.

 

I'd read the entire thread (which was very long) when we joined the RC, and went back and re-read the thread after the fact and still could not find a single post about this particular shore ex. It surely seemed like private invitations to participate had been sent outside of CC.

 

That said, this was the only roll call that disappointed us. We've participated in others and have not had anything like that happen. Invitations to join private shore ex have always been freely offered.

[sapper1]

That happened to us a few years ago on a HAL roll call. We had joined the roll call when we booked the cruise, but it was only about 5 months before the cruise so we were relative newbies on the RC. Apparently plans were in process for a great shore ex that we would have enjoyed doing, but there was no actual mention of it on the RC. The only way we found out about it was after the cruise was completed, and RC members came back and raved about how great that shore ex had been.

 

I'd read the entire thread (which was very long) when we joined the RC, and went back and re-read the thread after the fact and still could not find a single post about this particular shore ex. It surely seemed like private invitations to participate had been sent outside of CC.

 

That said, this was the only roll call that disappointed us. We've participated in others and have not had anything like that happen. Invitations to join private shore ex have always been freely offered.

 

I think I should have been clearer. Onboard CC gatherings and private tour organizing are two different things. Of course tour sizes are limited. That is the main purpose behind a private tour. Sign up is first come first served.

Edited December 29, 2014 by sapper1

[CowPrincess]

I think I should have been clearer. Onboard CC gatherings and private tour organizing are two different things. Of course tour sizes are limited. That is the main purpose behind a private tour. Sign up is first come first served.

 

That is what I understood you were saying, that you were intentionally snubbed regarding a roll call social gathering. Of course private tours are limited in size. I am very sorry that happened, as I stated previously. And I think you probably dodged a bullet (as I also said before).

[sammiedawg]

That happened to us a few years ago on a HAL roll call. We had joined the roll call when we booked the cruise, but it was only about 5 months before the cruise so we were relative newbies on the RC. Apparently plans were in process for a great shore ex that we would have enjoyed doing, but there was no actual mention of it on the RC. The only way we found out about it was after the cruise was completed, and RC members came back and raved about how great that shore ex had been.

 

I'd read the entire thread (which was very long) when we joined the RC, and went back and re-read the thread after the fact and still could not find a single post about this particular shore ex. It surely seemed like private invitations to participate had been sent outside of CC.

 

That said, this was the only roll call that disappointed us. We've participated in others and have not had anything like that happen. Invitations to join private shore ex have always been freely offered.

 

Tours get organized all the time behind the scenes of a roll call, especially when friends or family are traveling together. Many private tours only accommodate four or six people and the group may be formed before the organizer gets bids. Many organizers do not want or cannot accommodate large groups and there is no need to advertise for more people. I am still not understanding why someone took offense because the trips were not advertised on the roll call.

[Lizzie68]

Tours get organized all the time behind the scenes of a roll call, especially when friends or family are traveling together. Many private tours only accommodate four or six people and the group may be formed before the organizer gets bids. Many organizers do not want or cannot accommodate large groups and there is no need to advertise for more people. I am still not understanding why someone took offense because the trips were not advertised on the roll call.

 

I didn't read it that way at all. I believe the offence was taken because someone openly posted about a roll call event onboard the ship but it was not for all roll call members. Some were excluded.

[sail7seas]

I didn't read it that way at all. I believe the offence was taken because someone openly posted about a roll call event onboard the ship but it was not for all roll call members. Some were excluded.

 

We had reports of both situations.

 

Violet Horse had a situation where they were not informed there was a particular tour being organized as it was not mentioned on the Roll Call but it was a tour they would have enjoyed doing.

 

Sapper reported of a tour discussed on the Roll Call that excluded some member of the Roll Call. If I understood her post correctly, it was a situation of some were permitted to book it and others were not welcomed.

 

Edited December 29, 2014 by sail7seas

[sapper1]

We had reports of both situations.

 

Violet Horse had a situation where they were not informed there was a particular tour being organized as it was not mentioned on the Roll Call but it was a tour they would have enjoyed doing.

 

Sapper reported of a tour discussed on the Roll Call that excluded some member of the Roll Call. If I understood her post correctly, it was a situation of some were permitted to book it and others were not welcomed.

 

Sail, I made no mention of a tour. I was talking about onboard CC gatherings.

[sail7seas]

Sail, I made no mention of a tour. I was talking about onboard CC gatherings.

 

Thank you for correcting me.

Was the premise the same? Some on the Roll Call excluded others? They openly discussed plans but did not invite all to join in?

[Lizzie68]

Thank you for correcting me.

Was the premise the same? Some on the Roll Call excluded others? They openly discussed plans but did not invite all to join in?

 

Read post #57. It has been clarified several times.

[sammiedawg]

i just reread post 57. My guess is friends, family or former cruise mates joined forces and had enough people for the private tour group. I wasn't involved but I'm not sure I would take offense. Recently on an Oceania roll call someone recognized by name, we had toured together on another trip and she emailed me and asked us to join them in one port for a foursome private group. We accepted and her private tour is filled. There was nothing exclusionary about her invitation, she only needed two people and we knew each other.

[sapper1]

i just reread post 57. My guess is friends, family or former cruise mates joined forces and had enough people for the private tour group. I wasn't involved but I'm not sure I would take offense. Recently on an Oceania roll call someone recognized by name, we had toured together on another trip and she emailed me and asked us to join them in one port for a foursome private group. We accepted and her private tour is filled. There was nothing exclusionary about her invitation, she only needed two people and we knew each other.

 

If you re read number 57 you would have seen that no tour was mentioned or involved.

I will have nothing further to say on the subject.

[sail7seas]

i just reread post 57. My guess is friends, family or former cruise mates joined forces and had enough people for the private tour group. I wasn't involved but I'm not sure I would take offense. Recently on an Oceania roll call someone recognized by name, we had toured together on another trip and she emailed me and asked us to join them in one port for a foursome private group. We accepted and her private tour is filled. There was nothing exclusionary about her invitation, she only needed two people and we knew each other.

 

That is different from not being included in a Roll Call Meet and Greet, or Cabin Crawl, or Sailaway together in a public area on the ship...........

 

[RuthC]

I was recently on a cruise where all CC roll call activities were by exclusive invitation. That is not in the spirit of CC roll calls. It hurts to be excluded, it hurts to read on CC that people intend to ignore you and it hurts more to read on CC that the participants spent their time discussing members they don't like. I am looking forward to our next cruise where everyone is welcome but beyond that I have serious reservations about joining roll calls.

Not only is that not in the spirit of CC roll calls, it is against CC rules (not to mention very poor manners).

 

If people want to set up private parties, gatherings, meetings, whatever, by invitation only, fine. However, those things should actually be private, and not discussed "in front of others", which includes not discussed on a public forum open to all on that cruise.

 

Just disgraceful. But, I have to agree with Cow Princess' observation: you were lucky you weren't expected to join in with them.

[VioletHorse]

Tours get organized all the time behind the scenes of a roll call, especially when friends or family are traveling together. Many private tours only accommodate four or six people and the group may be formed before the organizer gets bids. Many organizers do not want or cannot accommodate large groups and there is no need to advertise for more people. I am still not understanding why someone took offense because the trips were not advertised on the roll call.

 

I have no issue with privately arranged tours. In this case, there were 16 participants, the cost was in the the $125-$150 pp range, and the participants were all roll call members, most of whom didn't know each other prior to that shore ex, based on their after-the-excursion posts (Hey XXX it was great meeting you and your wife on the tour). That's still ok, but what I found to be bad form on their part was to come back to the roll call and brag about it. I wasn't the only one on the roll call who was wondering how they pulled it off.

 

BTW this excursion was highly sought after and only offered by one vendor, and there were no comparable alternatives.

 

I respect every roll call organizer of private tours. It takes so much time and effort to research, plan and collect money, and hope that everyone who committed to the tour actually shows up. I know that tours are capacity controlled and that often there are more people than available spaces. My quibble is that the CC roll call thread seemed to have been used to circumvent a majority of roll call posters when setting up this excursion.

[kazu]

I have no issue with privately arranged tours. In this case, there were 16 participants, the cost was in the the $125-$150 pp range, and the participants were all roll call members, most of whom didn't know each other prior to that shore ex, based on their after-the-excursion posts (Hey XXX it was great meeting you and your wife on the tour). That's still ok, but what I found to be bad form on their part was to come back to the roll call and brag about it. I wasn't the only one on the roll call who was wondering how they pulled it off.

 

BTW this excursion was highly sought after and only offered by one vendor, and there were no comparable alternatives.

 

I respect every roll call organizer of private tours. It takes so much time and effort to research, plan and collect money, and hope that everyone who committed to the tour actually shows up. I know that tours are capacity controlled and that often there are more people than available spaces. My quibble is that the CC roll call thread seemed to have been used to circumvent a majority of roll call posters when setting up this excursion.

 

I am really bamboozled by this post. (your post is perfectly clear - it's the situation that confuses me).

 

It's one thing to contact people you know to join you on a private tour - especially if it is a small group, the organizer has friends on the cruise or there are the same people participating in all of the organizer's tours. It's another thing to contact "strangers" outside of the roll call. How the heck would the tour organizer have been able to do this if they were unknown? In that scenario I would have certainly expected a post of the tour on the roll call.

 

Very perplexing. Perhaps the tour organizer was the common denominator of the group and knew them all? That's the only explanation I can even think of.:confused:

[Mexfolkart]

Back to the original questions on this blog..

I usually prefer private tours and very often arrange them myself. I have never had anyone tell me afterwards that they were disappointed in one of my tours. I prefer to keep the tours to 6-8 people as that way we are more flexible. I like input from the participants as to what is most important for them to see and try to include that in any tour. Ships tours can't do that.

Small private tours take a shorter time for bathroom breaks, eating and just getting in and out of the van or the venue. (plus any shopping someone does do!) Its also much easier to have quality time with the guide.

I research each tour very thoroughly before committing. I recently cancelled a tour because a tour operator was being too confining for this particular tour.

I always keep in mind that I am not just SENDING 6 people out on any tour..they are going WITH me and count on my expertise for their one chance to see the sights. In return I expect everyone to always be on time and be polite.

We do also take ships tours..to unique places, far away places or if it seems it will be a smallish group. It is very disheartening to plan a ships tour on your one day in "Gorgeousland" and find out the day before that it was cancelled because of not enough participants.

Happy touring, all....Sherry (and Kimber)