Excursion Weight Restriction

[TeeRick]

12 hours ago, mauimary said:

We have been on small planes in Africa flying between camps. Our tour company asked everyone what their  weight was. They need to know as it is a safety thing.  Depending on weights it could mean the aircraft would have to take on less passengers. 

Often on small planes they balance the weight of the passengers front to back and side to side.

[TeeRick]

4 hours ago, Torfamm said:

I have seen people weighed for horseback riding and helicopter tours.

Could happen.

[TeeRick]

I am a fairly big guy >250 lbs (or >114 kg) and have never been asked my weight on an excursion.  I have never even seen a scale on an excursion.  

[PTC DAWG]

Like others have said, their excursion, their rules. 

Edited May 25 by PTC DAWG

[PTC DAWG]

3 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I am a fairly big guy >250 lbs (or >114 kg) and have never been asked my weight on an excursion.  I have never even seen a scale on an excursion.  

I have been weighed before slides on some ships..the ladies love that part. 🙂

[kearney]

I too suspect it is an insurance thing... perhaps Celebrity insists their tour operators have particular type of insurance and insurance companies have stipulations. I suspect 250lbs is a bit arbitrary .... perhaps it is relevant for one particular type of activity and they just end up applying it to most everything.. for simplicity. 

[Tom and Ingrid]

What this thread shows is "it's complicated".

 

Sadly but realistically, there must be a line in the sand and cut-off that is simple and straightforward and not highly subjective and time consuming and/or difficult to apply & explain.  The 250 lbs one seems to be what often is chosen (with Celebrity but also in other places beyond cruising).

 

My guess too, is that the "average" 250 lbs person is not 6'6"+ but rather closer to the 5'10" - 6' range (ie average height, above average weight), so while folks can always argue about the borderline cases, the rules are being set more for the more likely situations.

 

If there is no policy, then accommodating ALL folks becomes a huge challenge for the tour operators.  The "regulatory" and "safety" rules help with the things like helicopter and horseback rides, but the excursions beyond those become as much about shared customer experience as individual accommodation.  That balance is always a difficult blend to get right.

 

I'd much rather know ahead of time that a Celebrity excursion is NOT available for me, so that I could then look outside the ship's excursions for a tour that IS available for me.  In general, we do that anyway - ie shop for non-Celebrity excursions - and we also usually get way more "direct" communications with the tour company allowing us to understand all the rules and all the tour details in general (far more in depth than the relatively basic details on the Celebrity site).

[MikeMary4449]

16 hours ago, lifeisrealygood said:

Not weight related, but age related.  My wife & I are 77 years old, and really enjoy the Golden Eagle Catamaran in St Marten.  Probably have been on that catamaran a dozen times over the years.  But, alas, a few years ago, they set a 75 year old age limit on the excursion.  No way around it.  It is a Celebrity Shore Excursion, and they know our age, so when we go to book it, it just says "Sorry, you are too old".  It is really a bummer, but insurance sets the rules.  We love catamarans, and as of now, no other Caribbean island has an age limit on any of their catamarans, so we are good, except for the Golden Eagle in St Maarten which we really loved.  We are both in great shape, and excellent swimmers, but ........................Oh Well

Regarding AGE limitations:  Don't even think about trying to take A Celebrity BUS TOUR in Kotor, Montenegro, if you are over the age of 70!  You can't do it!

[depplep]

I was actually looking at these excursions for Aruba but my husband is over 6' tall and over 250lbs. We run up against this frequently. He couldn't do the race cars on NCL, they said the magnets running the cars can't accommodate the weight. I get it, but I would think a lot of men run more than 250lbs.

[SkystheLimit]

We were trying to book an excursion in Bonaire independently but Celebrity had booked the entire boat for a tour.  There was a weight restriction listed.  The next day when it was offered by the tour operator there was no weight restriction.  So, it appears this may be a Celebrity position.

[cruizingOmi]

On 5/24/2024 at 6:24 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Have been on many excursions as well both through the cruise line and private tours.  I have never, ever seen anyone weighed prior to an excursion, much less turned away.  We have a helicopter excursion booked for next week in Juneau.  There is an upcharge for passengers who exceed 250 lbs. but not an exclusion.  Again, not sure if they will actually make us step on a scale or if it's the honor system on the info. sheet.  If its the honor system, then I'm sure most people weigh 249lbs. or less.  I fully intend to declare my precruise weight....😎

They will make you step on scale as it's a Safety issue and more weight requires more fuel. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 minutes ago, cruizingOmi said:

They will make you step on scale as it's a Safety issue and more weight requires more fuel. 

I’ve read conflicting reports on this over on the excursions board. I’m good with it either way. 

[Banjo]

I been on Celebrity tours involving zip-lines. Listed a 250 weight limit in the brochure. They never asked.

[chemmo]

14 hours ago, cruizingOmi said:

They will make you step on scale as it's a Safety issue and more weight requires more fuel. 

We have done several helicopter excursions worldwide and always been weighed. In addition where you sit is also determined by what you weigh to keep the helicopter balanced. We did a Grand Canyon flight where my then young son and I were in the front going and my husband, a tall man and his equally big son were in the back. The tall man and his big son were cross that they couldn’t have the front seats coming back after the champagne breakfast. The pilot tried to explain the reasoning but they were not happy…

Edited May 26 by chemmo

[phoenix_dream]

I think a lot depends on the type of excursion as well, and as is true for all things Celebrity, there is consistent inconsistency.  For some excursions, such as helicopters as mentioned, it is really important to know the weights.  For others one wonders where/how they determine that number - either the insurance company, vendor, or Celebrity.  And sometimes they will weigh, you and other times not.  I suspect except for the helicopter type, they will only even consider weighing you if you look way over the limit.

 

I also am really bothered by the age restrictions.  Same comments apply.  I am over 70 but in good physical shape, better, actually than many 55 year olds.  But I can't go on some excursions because of that.  Frustrating.  But you can usually find similar local tours which are more reasonable in their requirements.

[OceanCruise]

We were just on a Celebrity small group van tour and there was a person of size half hanging over the hard seat armrest into the aisle because he could not fit in the seat. It looked extremely uncomfortable to be sitting like that for hours, plus there was no way a seat belt would fit. The weight limitation could be to ensure guest comfort and safety per the mode of transportation.

[daybrake]

On 5/24/2024 at 5:24 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Again, not sure if they will actually make us step on a scale or if it's the honor system on the info. sheet.  If its the honor system, then I'm sure most people weigh 249lbs. or less.  I fully intend to declare my precruise weight....😎

 

[daybrake]

We did a  helicopter tour from the Grand Canyon.  Everyone had to step on the scale holding their backpacks to show actual weight.  It is very important for the pilot to know where to place passengers in the seating arrangement for proper weight & balance of the aircraft when flying.

[hcat]

12 hours ago, OceanCruise said:

We were just on a Celebrity small group van tour and there was a person of size half hanging over the hard seat armrest into the aisle because he could not fit in the seat. It looked extremely uncomfortable to be sitting like that for hours, plus there was no way a seat belt would fit. The weight limitation could be to ensure guest comfort and safety per the mode of transportation.

that's  similar to what I posted about earlier in this thread.. On Grand Cayman, we were jammed into bench type seats on an open air  tram ( no seat belts) .. Some needed 2 spaces. No weight limit but should have been for comfort 

 

  We def prefer indiv bus seats.. although not petite we  fit in our seat.

 

We are now over certain age limits and.just pick somethibg else.

[Lastdance]

On 5/24/2024 at 8:11 PM, lifeisrealygood said:

Not weight related, but age related.  My wife & I are 77 years old, and really enjoy the Golden Eagle Catamaran in St Marten.  Probably have been on that catamaran a dozen times over the years.  But, alas, a few years ago, they set a 75 year old age limit on the excursion.  No way around it.  It is a Celebrity Shore Excursion, and they know our age, so when we go to book it, it just says "Sorry, you are too old".  It is really a bummer, but insurance sets the rules.  We love catamarans, and as of now, no other Caribbean island has an age limit on any of their catamarans, so we are good, except for the Golden Eagle in St Maarten which we really loved.  We are both in great shape, and excellent swimmers, but ........................Oh Well

I hear you loud and clear; this age limit thing is definitely a bummer.  “Sorry, you are too old,” would make my blood run cold, but we do not do Celebrity’s shore excursions.  I know all too well about insurance, but love it when the age goes up to 99!  So sorry that age has discriminated against your favorite catamaran excursion with an arbitrary number; however, you can still seize the day using other tours...it is very difficult for companies to get past the norms on insurance, but that will never stop us from doing everything we can to stay healthy!

[bigbenboys]

On 5/25/2024 at 5:12 AM, TeeRick said:

I am a fairly big guy >250 lbs (or >114 kg) and have never been asked my weight on an excursion.  I have never even seen a scale on an excursion.  

We did ziplining when my spouse was about 240 lbs. They put a different harness on him. He has lost the extra weigh and is now 155 lbs.

[Jim_Iain]

On 5/26/2024 at 8:28 AM, chemmo said:

We have done several helicopter excursions worldwide and always been weighed. In addition where you sit is also determined by what you weigh to keep the helicopter balanced. We did a Grand Canyon flight where my then young son and I were in the front going and my husband, a tall man and his equally big son were in the back. The tall man and his big son were cross that they couldn’t have the front seats coming back after the champagne breakfast. The pilot tried to explain the reasoning but they were not happy…

 

As a pilot one of the per-flight checks is to do a weight and balance calculation.   It's very important as if the plane isn't properly balance too much weight forward or aft could cause inability to take off or take off on too steep of angle causing the plane to stall.   Part of this plan is calculating the weight of the fuel, baggage and of course passengers.

 

I've been on a couple of commercial flights where they had to move some First Class Passengers AFT for take off but were returned to their seats after airborne. 

 

 

Edited May 27 by Jim_Iain

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

As a pilot one of the per-flight checks is to do a weight and balance calculation.   It's very important as if the plane isn't properly balance too much weight forward or aft could cause inability to take off or take off on too steep of angle causing the plane to stall.   Part of this plan is calculating the weight of the fuel, baggage and of course passengers.

 

I've been on a couple of commercial flights where they had to move some First Class Passengers AFT for take off but were returned to their seats after airborne. 

I've been on a few turboprops and (I think) at least one regional jet where some passengers had to move for weight balance reasons, so I understand what you're saying and also the concerns of the excursion company, the cruise line, and their insurers on trips that use flying equipment.

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 5/24/2024 at 5:24 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Have been on many excursions as well both through the cruise line and private tours.  I have never, ever seen anyone weighed prior to an excursion, much less turned away.  We have a helicopter excursion booked for next week in Juneau.  There is an upcharge for passengers who exceed 250 lbs. but not an exclusion.  Again, not sure if they will actually make us step on a scale or if it's the honor system on the info. sheet.  If its the honor system, then I'm sure most people weigh 249lbs. or less.  I fully intend to declare my precruise weight....😎

On our first cruise to Alaska (Solstice) we did a helicopter tour to the Glacier.  We *did* have to step on a scale! It was explained that it was necessary in order to help balance the load in the chopper, not as a restriction.