shore excursion operators

[Roz]

On 6/9/2021 at 12:58 PM, ontheweb said:

Also, I remember reading posts on these boards where someone has contacted a local company and been told that the cruise line has bought all their tours and they are prohibited from selling private tours.

 

That has been my experience.

 

[ontheweb]

14 minutes ago, Roz said:

 

That has been my experience.

 

If you don't mind, could you let us all know in what port this happened, and for what excursion?

[Roz]

17 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

If you don't mind, could you let us all know in what port this happened, and for what excursion?

 

It was in Grand Cayman and I don't remember the excursion.  Possibly an underwater vessel where you get to see the reefs, shipwrecks, fish, etc.

[Cruisen Elf]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

If you don't mind, could you let us all know in what port this happened, and for what excursion?

 

I found this to be the case for several tours in Alaska.  When I tried booking directly through the tour provider, I found I could not do so, but had to book the tour through Princess.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Cruisen Elf said:

 

I found this to be the case for several tours in Alaska.  When I tried booking directly through the tour provider, I found I could not do so, but had to book the tour through Princess.

I was not sure, but I thought I had read about this happening in Alaska. Thank you for confirming that.

[John Bull]

15 hours ago, ontheweb said:

If you don't mind, could you let us all know in what port this happened, and for what excursion?

 

For dates & time that fit a cruise schedule the St Kitts sugar train can only be booked via the cruise line. 

Some St Petersburg operators decline private bookings for folks on ships which use them for ship's tours - but still plenty of operators to choose from.

Plenty of other examples around the world, but no big worries - they affect only a tiny tiny proportion of tours.🙂

 

JB 🙂

Edited June 13, 2021 by John Bull

[dogs4fun]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Some St Petersburg operators decline private bookings for folks on ships which use them for ship's tours - but still plenty of operators to choose from.

Arctur provides St. Petersburg tours for many of the mega ships. I thought that I read (on the CC forum) of a person who booked through them (independently) a few years ago?

But I agree - there are plenty of operators from which to choose.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

Arctur provides St. Petersburg tours for many of the mega ships. I thought that I read (on the CC forum) of a person who booked through them (independently) a few years ago?

But I agree - there are plenty of operators from which to choose.

Well, we all hope post pandemic that there will still be plenty of operators to choose from.

[dogs4fun]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Well, we all hope post pandemic that there will still be plenty of operators to choose from.

Right - Russia is still not open to tourism from cruise ships. I hope that the independent operators can survive. 

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

Arctur provides St. Petersburg tours for many of the mega ships. I thought that I read (on the CC forum) of a person who booked through them (independently) a few years ago?

But I agree - there are plenty of operators from which to choose.

 

The line I know about was P&O, and IIRC the operator was DenRus.

But P&O passengers can choose between a dozen or more other local operators - all with excellent reputations.

 

JB 🙂

[dogs4fun]

1 minute ago, John Bull said:

The line I know about was P&O, and IIRC the operator was DenRus.

Ah, I was thinking of Princess, RCL, and some others.

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 6/12/2021 at 5:22 PM, Cruisen Elf said:

 

I found this to be the case for several tours in Alaska.  When I tried booking directly through the tour provider, I found I could not do so, but had to book the tour through Princess.

This is especially true in Icy Strait Point

[Hlitner]

A few have mentioned problems trying to book direct with a local tour operator who also provides services to the cruise line.  The story is more complicated then capacity.  When a local tour operator contract with a cruise line (of the 3rd party company that handles cruise line excursions) the terms of their contract will often include a clause that prohibits them from knowingly selling a similar tour directly to a cruiser.  In a sense it is a no compete clause.  In Puerto Vallarta, where we live part of the year, the major tour operator is bound by such an agreement.  They will sell tours directly to locals and those of us who stay in the area, but they will usually ask for some kind of proof that we live there and are not on a cruise.  If we book direct the cost might be less then what you pay on a ship, but other times it is about the same price.

 

Hank

[George C]

We like TripAdvisor and also fellow roll call passengers, we did a great European cruise almost all private excursions between 6 and ten , much more pleasant and much cheaper than ships tours. 

[Markanddonna]

On 6/11/2021 at 9:16 AM, Markanddonna said:

Have you ever searched the forums on Tripadvisor?  I'm sure not all ports have them, but these people are vetted by Tripadvisor to give impartial info. I use them quite a bit in Europe for preplanning and then on the ground:  (Where's the best restaurant to get _____?" )  I often get my answer within hours.  Here is a link to Europe's boards.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ListForums-g4-i11-Europe.html

Some one asked which people were vetted. If you dig into these forums, you will see individuals listed as experts on that town. I have found their advice sound, very helpful, and relatively non biased. They are called Destination experts and are found usually to the right of each port or city's forum.

Edited June 17, 2021 by Markanddonna