FSUDAVE Posted January 28, 2020 #1 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Recently booked the Pinel Island tour with Bernards and paid the deposit online. Our ship, the Carnival Breeze, was unable to make port on the original scheduled date. Bernards will not refund my deposit as they stated we came 5 days later and they made a reservation for us on the new date. Never heard of a company not refunding when your ship does not make it to port on the original scheduled day. BEWARE of dealing with Bernards in St Maarten! Link to post Share on other sites
SnorkelAway Posted January 28, 2020 #2 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Many vendors have a policy of simply changing the date if they know that a ship has changed its itinerary and will be coming on a different day. I have no idea if Bernards Tours makes that clear on its website or otherwise - they should make it clear if they do not. Lesson for Bernard not to assume customers know that company simply changes date of reservation. When there is a change in itinerary, but still getting to port, if tour company does not initiate communication, cruisers should email or call and make sure both sides understand if tour still is scheduled on same terms but different day. Sorry that this happened to you. Lesson for all is always to communicate and confirm what the plan is. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Karysa Posted January 30, 2020 #3 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Nice of them to make a reservation for you for the day that your cruise finally made it to St. Maarten. They didn’t leave you hanging with nothing to do. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Podie Posted February 10, 2020 #4 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Bernards has been around a long time and in my opinion it is the best tour company on the island. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
bunnyette Posted February 16, 2020 #5 Share Posted February 16, 2020 When the ship changes the itinerary always contact the vendor and read the fine print... Link to post Share on other sites
jaxflygirl88 Posted February 21, 2020 #6 Share Posted February 21, 2020 On 2/9/2020 at 7:41 PM, Podie said: Bernards has been around a long time and in my opinion it is the best tour company on the island. agree! We've toured with Bernard many times. He is awesome! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
CruisingHogFan Posted February 23, 2020 #7 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I think it’s great they automatically rebooked you! Also, isn’t the deposit 10 dollars? Sounds like a lot of complaining over nothing.... Based on all the positive reviews I’m about to book them for our June Cruise 3 Link to post Share on other sites
BillOh Posted February 24, 2020 #8 Share Posted February 24, 2020 On 2/16/2020 at 12:38 PM, bunnyette said: When the ship changes the itinerary always contact the vendor and read the fine print... I would edit this to say contact the vendor before any itinerary change. After having 33% of my Royal excursions were canceled I started doing most of mine privately and 75% of them say on their websites whether or not they automatically cancel if your ship doesn't make port. If I don't see it, I ask. Most recently I was interested in Nachi Cocum in Cozumel and they say right on their website you are not charged if your ship doesn't come in. Link to post Share on other sites
BillOh Posted February 24, 2020 #9 Share Posted February 24, 2020 My experience with Bernard's was a good one, especially for first time visitors to the island. Never been to Pinel, so I might have to look up that tour. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Patty2005 Posted February 24, 2020 #10 Share Posted February 24, 2020 I just booked Bernard's based on these great reviews! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jaxflygirl88 Posted February 26, 2020 #11 Share Posted February 26, 2020 On 2/24/2020 at 5:10 PM, Patty2005 said: I just booked Bernard's based on these great reviews! Tell him Lisa from Jacksonville FL says HI!! Link to post Share on other sites
sandc4e Posted February 29, 2020 #12 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Love Bernards! Booked again for May, this time going to Pinel for the first time! Link to post Share on other sites
SpaceCowboy9 Posted April 20, 2020 #13 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Bernard's is awesome - toured with them each time to St Maarten. All I can say is probably a communication breakdown somewhere. If you are a Bernard's fan, pay for a tour right now, they are on lockdown until May 11 & could use the money - Bernard said that all he's been doing is fielding calls/emails from folks who wanted their $5 deposit back for all the cruises that were cancelled. Link to post Share on other sites
bigrednole Posted May 4, 2020 #14 Share Posted May 4, 2020 My opinion is they did the right thing. I can imagine this post if they did not move your reservation, you show up 5 days later, and don't have an excursion to go on. Link to post Share on other sites
Luckiestmanonearth Posted May 10, 2020 #15 Share Posted May 10, 2020 (edited) If you eventually made it to St Maarten on that itinerary, why wouldn’t you have gone on the same tour planned for the original stop ? PS - Bernards is #1 Edited May 10, 2020 by Luckiestmanonearth Link to post Share on other sites
TSUmom Posted May 27, 2020 #16 Share Posted May 27, 2020 We used Bernard's in the past and had a great time with them and are planning on using the service again in 2022 Link to post Share on other sites
Loucat Posted June 7, 2020 #17 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Sorry you had this experience. If your ship sailed to St. Maarten five days later, did you know they rebooked your tour? Sounds like a communication issue. Link to post Share on other sites
mets123 Posted June 16, 2020 #18 Share Posted June 16, 2020 My family has used him many times and never had any problems. He is very accommodating. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now