Private Excursions and Worried Passengers

[cruisemom42]

We have always done our own thing until St Petersburg last year ... We went with a group from the roll call and I hated every minute of it! I hate being shepherded around like a school kid and walking at a snails pace whilst being told I couldn't go in the hermitage gift shop in case I got lost!

 

I have learnt from that one ...never again !! :rolleyes:

 

I have that same issue; it's one reason I really prefer doing things using public transportation and my own timetable. I blame it on having done a lot of tours when younger where I was very frustrated by not being able to decide which things I wanted to spend more time with, and which I'd just as soon skip. :o

 

 

 

 

Ironically, because we get going before the ship's tours, we skip a lot of the rush and have been back long before the ship's tours and watched them come in from our verandah (they were often late ;) ).

 

I've had the same experience. In fact, I remember on my Westerdam cruise to Israel and Egypt, I'd usually be back on board and would have already showered, dressed, and be in the Pinnacle Bar having a martini when the ship tours came rolling in. ;) I think the private tours I took in Israel and Egypt were some of the best I've had. (Two of them were arranged just and only for me. :))

[bUU]

When anyone asks about private tours, I tell them that it depends on their level of comfort. The tour operators are trying to make a living. They aren't going to be able to do that if they are not safe & don't get you back to the ship on time.

While that's true, they're human and cannot control every variable. And as any business does, they play the odds. If they miss the ship once every four or five years (let's say), it isn't going to adversely affect their business significantly.

[TheCalicoCat]

Someone on my Amsterdam Roll call just offered up a CC tour. ;) Timing, eh?

[kazu]

While that's true, they're human and cannot control every variable. And as any business does, they play the odds. If they miss the ship once every four or five years (let's say), it isn't going to adversely affect their business significantly.

 

Want to make a bet? One miss and it would be all over the ports boards and trip advisor.

 

A very well known company in Italy missed a port many years ago (probably over a decade now) due to extraneous circumstances. (It was the only time they have ever missed the ship that I am aware of.) They put their tour passengers up in a hotel, fed them, got toiletries etc., contacted the ship and drove them to the next port to meet up with the ship - all at the tour company's expense.

 

An expensive proposition, but rather than have the missed port hurt their reputation, it was solidified because of their actions and they are without question, the most used company for Rome and other key spots in Italy.

[summersigh]

With his issues DH can't tour in the mornings. Something I'm learning is that many tour companies that do ship's tours in the morning will do private tours in the afternoon with much the same itinerary for not much more in $$ than the ship tour was.

 

I look at the descriptions of the ship excursions then I search googled private descriptions for similar wording - they're often identical. When I find one we're interested in I email the provider with my dilemma and what I want to do. On all 3 islands I've tried this method I've been successful. (St Maarten, St Kitts, and Aruba)

[cruisemom42]

While that's true, they're human and cannot control every variable. And as any business does, they play the odds. If they miss the ship once every four or five years (let's say), it isn't going to adversely affect their business significantly.

 

Depends on the circumstances. If the someone who gets left is hooked into social media and the various cruise/travel sites, I bet they will post far and wide about what happened. (Which can be fine if the company handled it well, or not...)

 

I know that I am very reluctant to book a tour with any agency if I read even one review saying they failed to get pax back to the ship on time.

[kazu]

Depends on the circumstances. If the someone who gets left is hooked into social media and the various cruise/travel sites, I bet they will post far and wide about what happened. (Which can be fine if the company handled it well, or not...)

 

I know that I am very reluctant to book a tour with any agency if I read even one review saying they failed to get pax back to the ship on time.

 

Bolding is mine. Totally agree. I'm with you :)

[Cindy]

I know that I am very reluctant to book a tour with any agency if I read even one review saying they failed to get pax back to the ship on time.

 

 

 

Bolding is mine. Totally agree. I'm with you :)

 

 

I agree. There would have to be extenuating circumstances for me to overlook a company failing to get pax back to the ship on time for departure.

 

 

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[RDC1]

Want to make a bet? One miss and it would be all over the ports boards and trip advisor.

 

A very well known company in Italy missed a port many years ago (probably over a decade now) due to extraneous circumstances. (It was the only time they have ever missed the ship that I am aware of.) They put their tour passengers up in a hotel, fed them, got toiletries etc., contacted the ship and drove them to the next port to meet up with the ship - all at the tour company's expense.

 

An expensive proposition, but rather than have the missed port hurt their reputation, it was solidified because of their actions and they are without question, the most used company for Rome and other key spots in Italy.

 

Keep in mind that when a private tour does not make it back to the ship, the people in that tour often do not post on cruise critic. I have been on three separate cruises where people on private tours missed the ship. Not once did I see any of those folks post on CC about the miss, even though at least two of the groups were made up of folks that post on CC and were organized through cruise roll calls.

[kazu]

Keep in mind that when a private tour does not make it back to the ship, the people in that tour often do not post on cruise critic. I have been on three separate cruises where people on private tours missed the ship. Not once did I see any of those folks post on CC about the miss, even though at least two of the groups were made up of folks that post on CC and were organized through cruise roll calls.

 

Interesting. I can assure you if I "missed the boat" I would certainly be posting not just here, but on the ports boards, trip advisor, and wherever else was applicable.

 

Now, if the tour company did a good job getting us to the next port, I would be doing the same posting to the same places but with a thumbs up ;)

 

I am surprised by this as more people complain than compliment. Could it be they insisted on going somewhere too far that was ill advised? Stopped too long?

 

enlightening. I can understand why they wouldn't post here. People would ask the same questions I just did. :eek: I would think that a regular poster would share their experience, especially on the ports boards (which I do follow) even if they chose not to post here.

[RDC1]

Interesting. I can assure you if I "missed the boat" I would certainly be posting not just here, but on the ports boards, trip advisor, and wherever else was applicable.

 

Now, if the tour company did a good job getting us to the next port, I would be doing the same posting to the same places but with a thumbs up ;)

 

I am surprised by this as more people complain than compliment. Could it be they insisted on going somewhere too far that was ill advised? Stopped too long?

 

enlightening. I can understand why they wouldn't post here. People would ask the same questions I just did. :eek: I would think that a regular poster would share their experience, especially on the ports boards (which I do follow) even if they chose not to post here.

 

Not sure why. Here is the most recent example. Last March I was on a cruise from BA around South America to LA. There was a ships excursion to Machu Picchu. Some other made the trip on their own. One was a group put together by CC participants of 10-15 people booked with local tour company, there were also two couples (one booked through American express, the other I do not know how they booked the arrangements). These were in addition to a couple of hundred that had booked the Princess excursion. On the way back the people were on two different planes. The CC group and the two couples along with about half of the Princess folks were on the second plane. On take off it experienced an major engine failure and had to abort. The plane skidded off of the runway and came to a halt. No one was injured but the airport was closed for the rest of the day. The ship waited past departure time in Lima. The Captain announced that the ship had to leave the port, but was going to wait outside of the port. Once it was clear that noone was going to be able to make it to Lima the ship left and headed north. An unscheduled stop was made in Manta, Ecuador where the Princess excursion passengers rejoined the ship. The two couples also was able to rejoin there. The CC group was not able to rejoin until the normal stop in Costa Rica a few days later.

 

I heard that Princess did an very good job is taking care of travel arrangements, providing hotels and getting the people to the ship. Have not been able to find out if the tour company used by the CC group covered any expenses or provided any major assistance.

 

I expected an incident like this would generate comments on CC, but other then a couple of times I have mentioned the incident I have not seen it mentioned. If something this major doesn't generate comments, not sure why one would expect others to.

 

Another incident was a number of years ago on a Celebrity cruise. A group of 8 was doing an tour in Rome. Traveling to/from the port to Rome by train, meeting their guide at the Rome train station. All went well until it came time to return. All train service halted due to an unexpected strike. They were unable to make it back to port before the ship left. They did rejoin the next day during the ships scheduled stop in Naples.

Edited January 25, 2017 by RDC1

[cruisemom42]

 

Another incident was a number of years ago on a Celebrity cruise. A group of 8 was doing an tour in Rome. Traveling to/from the port to Rome by train, meeting their guide at the Rome train station. All went well until it came time to return. All train service halted due to an unexpected strike. They were unable to make it back to port before the ship left. They did rejoin the next day during the ships scheduled stop in Naples.

 

I wouldn't blame this one on the tour operator. When you travel independently, you are taking the responsibility on yourself to get back in time, including having (and researching) a "Plan B" for when things go wrong. If these passengers had carried the name of a taxi service or private driver with them, they might have made it back... Having said that, an evening in Rome and a slightly more than 1-hour train ride to Naples isn't terrible, in my books.

 

And one last quibble -- very, very, very few train strikes in Italy are unannounced; it's easy to check online for any that are planned for a specific date. So while it may have been 'unexpected', it probably wasn't 'unplanned.'

 

I can imagine why the posters involved wouldn't come back and post. ;)

[RDC1]

I wouldn't blame this one on the tour operator. When you travel independently, you are taking the responsibility on yourself to get back in time, including having (and researching) a "Plan B" for when things go wrong. If these passengers had carried the name of a taxi service or private driver with them, they might have made it back... Having said that, an evening in Rome and a slightly more than 1-hour train ride to Naples isn't terrible, in my books.

 

And one last quibble -- very, very, very few train strikes in Italy are unannounced; it's easy to check online for any that are planned for a specific date. So while it may have been 'unexpected', it probably wasn't 'unplanned.'

 

I can imagine why the posters involved wouldn't come back and post. ;)

 

Never said that they were the result of the tour operator.

 

The point was that issues happen, people do miss the ship, and that such incidents are often not reported in public forums such as CC.

[RDC1]

I wouldn't blame this one on the tour operator. When you travel independently, you are taking the responsibility on yourself to get back in time, including having (and researching) a "Plan B" for when things go wrong. If these passengers had carried the name of a taxi service or private driver with them, they might have made it back... Having said that, an evening in Rome and a slightly more than 1-hour train ride to Naples isn't terrible, in my books.

 

And one last quibble -- very, very, very few train strikes in Italy are unannounced; it's easy to check online for any that are planned for a specific date. So while it may have been 'unexpected', it probably wasn't 'unplanned.'

 

I can imagine why the posters involved wouldn't come back and post. ;)

 

This one was neither planned or announced. Do not remember the exact details, but there was some announcement from the Italian Government concerning the railways in the morning. The train crews walked off about an hour later. Trains remained stopped for about 24 hours. Not sure how wide spread, but the route through Ladispoli was one of the ones that were stopped.

[cruisemom42]

Never said that they were the result of the tour operator.

 

The point was that issues happen, people do miss the ship, and that such incidents are often not reported in public forums such as CC.

 

Sorry; thought the discussion was focused on reporting private tour operators who get passengers back late to the ship. :cool:

[Cindy]

Sorry; thought the discussion was focused on reporting private tour operators who get passengers back late to the ship. :cool:

 

 

As did I. I write reviews (good or bad) of tour operators for Cruise Critic, Facebook, Trip Advisor, etc. If I missed a ship due to circumstances out of an operator's control I would probably post it on Cruise Critic as part of the story of my travels, but that wouldn't have any bearing on my assessment of the tour provider.

 

 

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[mnasf]

So for those of you booking your own tours, if I see the ship is in port 8-4, what would you schedule your private tour for? I'm not really sure how long it takes to get off and on. Thanks!

 

I am sure this will be moved as I don't know where to post this item.

 

People usually book private excursions due to cost factors, better tours, etc. For those of you who are so worried that you will not make it back to the ship in time I suggest you do NOT book anything but through your cruiseline which guarantees the ship will not leave.

[GradUT]

So for those of you booking your own tours, if I see the ship is in port 8-4, what would you schedule your private tour for? I'm not really sure how long it takes to get off and on. Thanks!

 

It depends on the port. Do you have to go through a strict passport control (e.g. St. Petersburg)? Do you have to tender (e.g. Bar Harbor)?

 

If the ship docks at the port itself and there's no strict passport control requirements, then you are generally safe in starting your tour within an hour after docking. Most ships require you be back on board within an hour to 30 minutes before departure. So in the case of 8am - 4pm, I'd say you could do your excursion from 9am to 3pm.

 

If it's a tender port, all bets are off. You have no idea when you will get off the ship (or how long it will take to get back on board.)

[Cindy]

So for those of you booking your own tours, if I see the ship is in port 8-4, what would you schedule your private tour for? I'm not really sure how long it takes to get off and on. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

I set tours up to return to the ship at least an hour before the all-aboard time.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

I set tours up to return to the ship at least an hour before the all-aboard time.

 

 

 

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I do the same. that's my minimum return time ;)

 

Haven't had a problem yet and although I don't keep track, I have done at least 40 private tours.

[mnasf]

Thanks everyone. We're doing stops in Scotland, Iceland, and Norway. This helps a lot. Thanks!

 

I do the same. that's my minimum return time ;)

 

Haven't had a problem yet and although I don't keep track, I have done at least 40 private tours.

[jabcruiser]

We had a private whale watch tour scheduled in HI at about 1:00. Plenty of time as ship to dock around 8:00 am. We were renting a car and driving to catch the tour which we figured would take about an hour including getting rental car as we were Hertz Gold. Oops! Due to bad storm at sea arrival delayed and ship didn't dock until 12:30. By the time disembarked and got car it was after our excursion left. We lost our money paid for the excursion. At least we got to see

whales right in harbor where docked on several of the other islands!

Jane

Edited February 5, 2017 by jabcruiser

[cruisemom42]

We had a private whale watch tour scheduled in HI at about 1:00. Plenty of time as ship to dock around 8:00 am. We were renting a car and driving to catch the tour which we figured would take about an hour including getting rental car as we were Hertz Gold. Oops! Due to bad storm at sea arrival delayed and ship didn't dock until 12:30. By the time disembarked and got car it was after our excursion left. We lost our money paid for the excursion. At least we got to see

whales right in harbor where docked on several of the other islands!

Jane

 

Another good point. Most tour providers that I have arranged with do not require payment in advance. If they do request a credit card to 'hold' (like a hotel) against a no-show, I carefully go over the terms of the agreement. Several tour providers I've dealt with have exceptions for ship delays or last minute changes (e.g., the ship is unable to dock), and will not charge the passengers in those cases.

 

Edited to add: Of course, if you buy tickets in advance on a regular (non-private) tour, or for a museum, or a train ticket, you're going to be out of luck if the ship is late or doesn't dock. It's a good thing to keep in mind.

[jabcruiser]

Another good point. Most tour providers that I have arranged with do not require payment in advance. If they do request a credit card to 'hold' (like a hotel) against a no-show, I carefully go over the terms of the agreement. Several tour providers I've dealt with have exceptions for ship delays or last minute changes (e.g., the ship is unable to dock), and will not charge the passengers in those cases.

 

Edited to add: Of course, if you buy tickets in advance on a regular (non-private) tour, or for a museum, or a train ticket, you're going to be out of luck if the ship is late or doesn't dock. It's a good thing to keep in mind.

Agree, always check payment/refund policy when booking private tours. This particular excursion in HI was not geared toward cruise ship passengers, prepayment required and if you didn't show no refund. They did call to see where we were, but too far away for them to wait.

Jane

[bennybear]

I too prefer the size and flexibility of private tours. I find it really important to clarify the rules re cancellations if a ship doesn't dock or arrives late. I have not had a problem in Europe paying after the tour. In Asia it seems deposits are needed but in some cases there is no refund. so I chose to book with those agencies who refund due to ship not docking.

 

I have never collected money upfront for tours. In Asia, many seem to want a PayPal deposit which seems reasonable.

 

Has anyone had issues paying an individual on board in full prior to an excursion?