Weight Surcharge for Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour and Guided Walk

[richart]

A while back I paid for the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour and Guided Walk for my wife and I. Recently while reviewing the excursion details I noticed something that I missed before. It is a weight surcharge for those weighing over 250 lbs which I do. The description seems to indicate that maybe I should have reserved an extra seat but I can't do that now because the excursion is sold out. And I didn't see anything at all where you could reserve an 'extra surcharge ticket'. On their crazy website the link for the Alaska Cruisetours FAQ just takes me back to the same spot. Has anyone taken this excursion and faced this situation before that may can shed more light for me?
 

Special Notes:

 Weight surcharge ($200) may apply on this flight. Due to weight and balance limitations, as well as passenger safety and comfort, the helicopter companies have advised that guests weighing 250 lbs. or more (fully clothed) will be assessed the weight surcharge to reserve adequate space onboard the helicopter. Guests weighing 250 lbs. or more should reserve an extra surcharge ticket and, once onboard, go to the Tour Office to have the ticket charge adjusted down to the surcharge amount. Refer to the FAQ section for important information about flightseeing.

[Potstech]

Not to be mean or anything but there is another obvious solution.  I had to use it in order to ride the mules down the Grand Canyon,  The ride has a 200 lb weight limit and I weighed 225 when we reserved this trip. When I climbed on the cargo scales they read 197. Yes it was tough but I got to take that fantastic ride of a lifetime.  

[cr8tiv1]

It is critical to weight balance a helicopter.  I would call the tour company and ask what you should do now that the excursion is paid for and sold out.  You may need to cancel your reservation.

 

I made reservations with a helicopter tour in Kauai.  I made sure to let them know that I needed to be on the equipment with "Ernie" as recommended by another office.  I was assured that I would be booked with him.  Got to the terminal...and inquired again.  Yes and we were all put on a bus out to the helicopter.  On the way out, I asked the bus driver and he said...NO...

 

To "fix" this, they took my entire group and exchanged helicopter so that I could fly with "Ernie".  The group was balanced.

 

Not the same as your situation, but hopefully you can either keep checking the excursions, call Princess and have them note the account, get on board the ship and check in with the excursion desk, and/or hope someone cancelled.  You should have time once on board to cancel unless Juneau is your first port stop and you don't have enough hours to cancel.

 

Good Luck.

[NavyVeteran]

Is this excursion from Juneau as a cruise port on an Alaska cruise? If so, the Alaska CruiseTours FAQ would not be applicable. The CruiseTours FAQ only describe the pre-cruise or post-cruise land tour - not the cruise itself or any excursions from the ship. The correct reference would be to the Shore Excursions FAQ.

The description of the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter & Guided Walk clearly describes the weight surcharge. It clearly states that you are required to purchase two tickets in advance and that you will receive a refund onboard for the difference between the full cost of the second ticket and the weight surcharge amount. However, the website does not allow you to purchase the second ticket. I am looking at that specific excursion on a booked Alaska cruise. It has two places for me to check "Guests you can book" for DW and me - it does not provide any way to purchase a third ticket for the two of us. You could try calling Princess, selecting the book shore excursions option on the phone, and hoping you get someone on the phone who knows what they're doing (Good luck).

The Special Notes and the Shore Excursions FAQ both say "Helicopter excursions are not refundable unless cancelled by 12:00pm on the day after embarkation." If you haven't resolved this issue before then, you will need to go to the Shore Excursion desk onboard as soon as you board to resolve this before the cancellation deadline. 

[richart]

NavyVeteran, thanks for your response. This cruise leaves Vancouver on Saturday, at sea on Sunday and is in Juneau on Monday. The Shore Excursion FAQ had no information at all. As you mention there is no way to book a third ticket online. I called Princess and the operator told me I could pay the surcharge when I am onboard. Still sounds a little squirrely to me since you would think that is something the tour operator would want to know up front. I'll wait until I'm onboard on Saturday and visit the shore excursion desk and see if I can get this straightened out. If I can't that will give me time to cancel. I hope everything works out because this is our 50th anniversary trip and my wife really wants to walk on a glacier. So far the communications I have had with Princess are not very satisfactory. I hope the cruise turns out better.

[Donwoods123]

2 hours ago, richart said:

NavyVeteran, thanks for your response. This cruise leaves Vancouver on Saturday, at sea on Sunday and is in Juneau on Monday. The Shore Excursion FAQ had no information at all. As you mention there is no way to book a third ticket online. I called Princess and the operator told me I could pay the surcharge when I am onboard. Still sounds a little squirrely to me since you would think that is something the tour operator would want to know up front. I'll wait until I'm onboard on Saturday and visit the shore excursion desk and see if I can get this straightened out. If I can't that will give me time to cancel. I hope everything works out because this is our 50th anniversary trip and my wife really wants to walk on a glacier. So far the communications I have had with Princess are not very satisfactory. I hope the cruise turns out better.

I hope it works out for you. 

 

When we were in Juneau one time, we took a Princess excursion that was a canoe ride to the Mendenhall glacier and walked on the glacier.  It was a pretty good tour.  It may be a good substitute for you if you have to cancel.

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

I am just thinking out loud.  Would the surcharge be for an extra seat?  Or would it be for fuel and other expenses.  Example, if they place you in the front seat next to the pilot, they wouldn't necessarily "lose" a revenue seat.

[LyssaWorthy]

I think the helicopter tour to walk on the glacier might be my favorite tour of all time.  I still remember the taste of the glacier water.  We brought a small bottle, 4 oz, with us and filled it with the icy blue water.  

[Torfamm]

On 3/3/2024 at 10:35 PM, Potstech said:

Not to be mean or anything but there is another obvious solution.  I had to use it in order to ride the mules down the Grand Canyon,  The ride has a 200 lb weight limit and I weighed 225 when we reserved this trip. When I climbed on the cargo scales they read 197. Yes it was tough but I got to take that fantastic ride of a lifetime.  

Good for you! I tried booking that trip with the overnight stay at the bottom of the canyon a year in advance in hopes that my first grader would grow enough to meet the height minimum. He ended up a centimeter too short. He’s 35 now, but I’m still a little wistful about it 😂

[mtnesterz]

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I am just thinking out loud.  Would the surcharge be for an extra seat?  Or would it be for fuel and other expenses.  Example, if they place you in the front seat next to the pilot, they wouldn't necessarily "lose" a revenue seat.

The excursion is sold out anyway, but it's not about the seat. It's about weight and balance; what will fly. Same for a sailplane, in my case. You wouldn't want to put a lot of weight forward, but more centered. Put a smaller person up front.

[richart]

15 hours ago, Donwoods123 said:

I hope it works out for you. 

 

When we were in Juneau one time, we took a Princess excursion that was a canoe ride to the Mendenhall glacier and walked on the glacier.  It was a pretty good tour.  It may be a good substitute for you if you have to cancel.

 

 

Thank you! Good alternative.

[richart]

On 3/12/2024 at 11:12 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

I am just thinking out loud.  Would the surcharge be for an extra seat?  Or would it be for fuel and other expenses.  Example, if they place you in the front seat next to the pilot, they wouldn't necessarily "lose" a revenue seat.

Who knows? Nothing in the Princess FAQ, telephone customer service seemed unsure and just said to pay when onboard, and an email to customer service goes unanswered.

[wolfie11]

The charge is not for an extra seat per se.  Say the helicopter, after subtracting fuel and the pilot, can carry five passengers or 1200 pounds.  If the passengers are 260, 270, 140, 190, and 170, the total weight will be 1030, which is fine.  However, if the passengers are 260, 270, 240, 245, and 230, the total weight is 1245, which would be over, so they may only be able to take four people even though two people paid for an extra seat.  The charge is more to offset extra fuel costs for more weight carried.  They never used to make you reserve an “extra seat” when you booked, but just weighed you before you got on and charged extra if you were over.

[richart]

I finally had a response from Princess today after sending an email to their customer service a week ago. Hira acknowledged the problem with their website in not providing a way to pay the surcharge or providing any instructions on how to do so. However all their seats for this excursion are booked and they are not able to manually add a surcharge to guarantee the excursion. Following three phone calls from them the final result was they offered to keep the excursion booked and would call me if there were a cancellation and they would also provide an on board credit of $400. In the end I accepted the $400 credit and asked them to cancel the excursion and refund my payment. Hira was very understanding and apologetic throughout the process and took the time to make inquiries with their excursion department in an attempt to resolve the problem.  In the meanwhile I was able to find an excursion of the same type direct with Coastal Helicopters in Juneau and was able to book the trip with them.  

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 hour ago, richart said:

I finally had a response from Princess today after sending an email to their customer service a week ago. Hira acknowledged the problem with their website in not providing a way to pay the surcharge or providing any instructions on how to do so. However all their seats for this excursion are booked and they are not able to manually add a surcharge to guarantee the excursion. Following three phone calls from them the final result was they offered to keep the excursion booked and would call me if there were a cancellation and they would also provide an on board credit of $400. In the end I accepted the $400 credit and asked them to cancel the excursion and refund my payment. Hira was very understanding and apologetic throughout the process and took the time to make inquiries with their excursion department in an attempt to resolve the problem.  In the meanwhile I was able to find an excursion of the same type direct with Coastal Helicopters in Juneau and was able to book the trip with them.  

Glad you were able to sort things out.  As one who has organized tours for some 25 years I always suggest it is lotsxfaster and less stressful to sort things after boarding.  Book if available and cancel if it doesn't work out.  I also absolutely suggest booking direct.   An internet search will usually find a couple alternatives that are cheaper.  Just make sure the operator will refund if the port is cancelled or if weather cancels the tour.  A rain check is not much good to a cruise passenger.