Are private tour cancellation policies in Asia different if the ship fails to dock?

[bennybear]

This is our first trip to The orient. I have planned many tours in Europe and we have always paid after the tour without a deposit. I am finding that some guides want a deposit for Japan, China, Taiwan etc. I have also found some are unwilling to refund if the ship fails to dock. As I know this can be an issue particularly in Shanghai with the tides. And there have been numerous itinerary changes as well.

 

Wondering what other people's experiences have been? I much prefer private tours but hate to risk losing money.

[linanles]

We've just returned from a cruise on Diamond Princess and we missed one port. Koh Samui was to be a tender port and we anchored there but the captain advised that we wouldn't be going ashore due to heavy monsoonal rain and sever flooding the day before. The water was very brown and contained a lot of rubbish due to the runoff and the choppy sea would have made tendering unpleasant.

We had booked a tour including elephant trekking with Koh Samui Tours and paid a deposit which we thought we would have lost as the tour was cancelled in less than 24 hours. To our surprise when we returned home we received an email advising that our deposit would be credited back to our Paypal account which it was. Obviously a good company to deal with. Keep them in mind if going to Koh Samui.

[Level six]

We were on the NCL star that had engine problems and we missed 3 ports. Many people lost their total amount of the tour, some lost the deposit and some got a refund. It just depends on the company, I would just be sure to get in writing what the policy is. There were several unhappy people about this, among other things, on our ship. Always check.

[bennybear]

We were on the NCL star that had engine problems and we missed 3 ports. Many people lost their total amount of the tour, some lost the deposit and some got a refund. It just depends on the company, I would just be sure to get in writing what the policy is. There were several unhappy people about this, among other things, on our ship. Always check.

 

Yikes! That is what I was worried about! I will make sure we are clear.

[kjets]

We missed Nha Trang as it was a tender port as the day was just awful. The captain said that it was too dangerous to tender so we moved on to the next port.

So many people were out of pocket for their private tours.

 

Since then we have always taken out travel insurance where cancelled tours, which are out of our control, are rebateable.

Edited January 1, 2017 by kjets

[NantahalaCruiser]

This is our first trip to The orient. I have planned many tours in Europe and we have always paid after the tour without a deposit. I am finding that some guides want a deposit for Japan, China, Taiwan etc. I have also found some are unwilling to refund if the ship fails to dock. As I know this can be an issue particularly in Shanghai with the tides. And there have been numerous itinerary changes as well.

 

Wondering what other people's experiences have been? I much prefer private tours but hate to risk losing money.

 

I am sure that cancellation policies vary for different tour companies. We used toursbylocals for a day and a half tour in Kyoto (took a train from Kobe to Kyoto). This tour company's policy is 100% refund for a shore excursion if the ship misses the port. Although our tour was not listed on their website as a shore excursion, when I contacted their home office and explained that I was arriving by cruiseship at the port of Kobe, they were pleased to classify it as a shore excursion with 100% refund if the port was skipped.

 

Larry