How to leave feedback on Holland's EXC tours?

[ottahand7]

We were on the Konigsdam in September and took the Porto tour and Port tasting.   Our bus had horrible audio, our guide did not share where the elevator was or the rest rooms at the Stock Exchange and advised guests that wanted to stay in town to not board the bus to go back to the ship.  She said take a taxi back to the ship.  This was in the midst of a taxi strike in Portugal.  We watched about 50 people arrive after departure time because they couldn't get back to the ship.    I want to leave feedback on this tour and also very positive feedback for the horseback riding in Malaga and the Andalusian horse farm in Cartagena.   The level of activity for Gibraltar needed to be commented on also as the climb up the hill from the bus was extremely steep.    How can I go back and provide feedback for others who want to book these tours?  The help we got from Holland on ship was very poor.   Others complained about the audio when getting off the bus we weren't the only ones that couldn't hear our guide.  

[OlsSalt]

Went looking for this former feature and it appears they have turned it off - not even seeing any reviews but they still have the ghost stars included - just not filled in. One more work in progress for the new website I suspect. EXC (trademark) appears to me to be a confusing jumble, going off in too many directions and satisfying few with self-explanatory branding.

 

Case in point - on our recent first EXC InDepth voyage on the Maasdam,  at the last minute we were informed there would be a shuttle available in Lima Peru - a city we had been previously warned by ship's information as very dangerous especially around the port entrance.

 

Naturally we wanted to know where the shuttle dropped passengers off since there was a museum we wanted to visit in town (Lorca Museum). EXC Central desk told us where it would drop off at shopping mall which they claimed was close by and walkable to the Lorca Museum. Looked good, so we booked it online.

 

Then when we re-confirmed this with the EXC shore excursion staff, they told us a very different downtown location was the shuttle drop-off that did not work at all.  Consequently we canceled the shuttle reservation, and had to re-book a tour to get to the Lorca museum.

 

EXC Central also assured us this area was "walkable" and had lots to see close by  at this. shopping mall outside of the downtown area. Both EXC desks on the Maasdam were only a few feet from each other but did not apparently talk to each other about a major, oft visited port like Lima. 

 

Turned out once we saw the area and the distance on our EXC tour to the Lorca Museum (BTW - fabulous excursion with lunch in a beautiful setting), it would have been very bad advice to recommend walking this distance nor were their "lots of things to see" around the shopping mall.  

 

Long story - but point is do a lot of your own homework while EXC works to get its act together and at least coordinates the advice they give passengers onboard at the same time..... a few feet away from each other - EXC Central and EXC Shore Excursions.

Edited November 1, 2018 by OlsSalt

[DaveOKC]

I hate to hear this.  I rely on the comments of others when looking at the excursions as they generally are spot on and very often point out issues that we may want to avoid.

[PSR]

8 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Went looking for this former feature and it appears they have turned it off - not even seeing any reviews but they still have the ghost stars included - just not filled in. One more work in progress for the new website I suspect. EXC (trademark) appears to me to be a confusing jumble, going off in too many directions and satisfying few with self-explanatory branding...

 

 

 

This probably explains why if I DO see reviews on some of the excursions they are usually from 2016 or earlier. Not very helpful.

[Loreto]

I looked for a way to write a review after our August 14 day Alaska Zaandam cruise and couldn't find any information this time.  I always write reviews and rely on reviews to make excursion selections.  I always research carefully, too and don't let negative reviews deter me.  I guess I will have to call HAL and inquire as to how to do reviews now.

 

OP: shame on that Porto guide for the bad advice!  We did that excursion 2 years ago and found it to be a fascinating city.  By contrast, on the same cruise, we had a horrible guide for our all day "Best of Seville" excursion.  I let Shore Ex desk know, and I wrote a negative review.

Karen

[newtocruiseinblue]

Just wanted to post a positive note on EXC tours - we recently took a Med 12 day cruise in September and we can’t  say enough nice things about the EXE tours that we took. They really made our cruise an amazing experience. I was so happy we chose he EXC tours and wish I could leave feedback on my positive experience.

 

 You should still get feedback on your Portugal experience directly to EXC tours So that they could look into your tour guide.

 

Best wishes!

[ottahand7]

We left feedback to our guide on poor audio on the Porto tour as did another gentleman complaining about the audio.  I went right to the Holland Feedback page on the free wifi and left a long review.  I heard right away from EXC tours.  They blamed my elderly friend for signing up for the tour.  Not much comment other than letting the tour company know.  They should have pointed all guests to the elevator to the only upstairs restrooms at the stock exchange rather than us walking hither and yon trying to find it and miss the tour. It was totally accessible if the elevator (hidden) location was shared.   Sad we couldn't warn others.  Love this site though because we can use CC to share misadventures.