toursaver book

[pizzalady1]

I would not like to buy this book and then find out that the coupons don't apply to my sailing dates / time in port. Could someone who has a book tell me about the Bearing Fisherman's Tour and the Whalewatching tour..which dates they are good for and what times? I hope this is not a difficult question. I just would hate to waste $100 as those are the ONLY two excursions we are interested in.

 

Bearing Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour: valid May 1- Sept 30, no times listed, buy one-get one, advanced reservations required

Alaska Whalewatching: valid May 1- Sept 30, no times listed, good for 2.5 hour tour, buy one-get one, advanced reservations required

[fieldmom35215]

[

quote=pizzalady1;18685218]Bearing Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour: valid May 1- Sept 30, no times listed, buy one-get one, advanced reservations required

Alaska Whalewatching: valid May 1- Sept 30, no times listed, good for 2.5 hour tour, buy one-get one, advanced reservations required[/quote

THANKS pizzalady. You're a gem! I would LOVE to get the BSCFT coupon but I was so hoping for a longer whale watching tour. I hear 2.5 hrs really pass quickly.

[Alaska05]

[

THANKS pizzalady. You're a gem! I would LOVE to get the BSCFT coupon but I was so hoping for a longer whale watching tour. I hear 2.5 hrs really pass quickly.

 

To be clear, you can't use any coupons that have been removed from the book. States it right on the coupons.

 

As far as the whale watching company, they are willing to apply the coupon towards their longer 3 hour tour (not that 30 minutes makes that much difference). When I booked with them I told them I was willing to do either one depending on what the others who book on our excursion want to do. It's just me and my husband, so they'll need to fill up the boat.

[lar63]

I have to agree that the Tour Saver books are awesome if you are traveling in the interior - but for cruising they may not be the best option. In my experience, due to the huge popularity of these books many tour operators in SE AK limit the number of tickets they sell to Tour Saver users. And many times the most popular tour times (usually the ones that correspond to when cruise ships are in town) are sold out right away when the books go on the market. I would reccomend that if you are cruising, and before you buy the book just becuase you want a voucher for a specific tour, you contact the operator and see if the tour is even available with Tour Saver tickets. Also, there are many tours that are only available through the cruise lines shore excursion program - before you think you can buy a book to get a cheaper price on a tour you have seen on the cruiseline's website, make sure it is not an exclusive tour that is not covered by the book.

[Lookingforfacts]

The book works as long as you can use one major coupon. I agree, call and make a reservation before you order the book.

 

My observation, many (most?) of the great deals are capacity controlled. Only a couple of coupons are accepted each day, frequently for a specific time. Some of the times may not work for customers on a cruise tour. As an example the Denali Deluxe Whitewater Float Trip honors one coupon per day, for the noon departure. Cruisetour passengers who have a TWT or Natural History Tour that morning can't plan on getting back in time to check in for the trip. Some tours stay two nights at Denali but cruisetour passengers aren't going to have time to take the Float Trip (at that time) on either travel day.

 

It may work great if you buy the book when it first comes out and plan your trip around the dates you can use the coupons.

[tiyana4]

I will admit that I was not impressed when I received the toursaver book. The best flightseeing coupons expire on 8/31 and our first stop is not until 9/1. Not a problem........there are other coupons, right? Well the first hotel (Inlet Tower) I attempted to book quoted us a price of $99/nt until I mentioned we had a toursaver coupon. Then the price jumped to $249/nt. Talk about bait and switch!

 

We were able to book the Microtel Inn at Eagle River. Although the reviews aren't spectacular, they are closer to Talkeetna where we plan to do sightseeing. At least they honored their going rate of $119/nt with one night free. If all works out, this will be our savings:

 

Tranfer to Anchorage - $57

Microtel Inn - $119.95

Kennel Tour - $35

Talkeetna Flightseeing - $0:(

 

Less $99 for the book and our savings are just over $100. I think it's great that others are seeing substantial savings. But for us, it's not worth it in my opinion.

[crusinwen]

Research is the key. Before we bought the Toursaver book we went to their website and saw which coupons they had in it, then we called each tour individually and asked them if they had availability using the coupon for that particular day. We called early enough that it worked out very well for us. Most of the tours do limit how many spots they have available using the coupons vs spots that they have to reserve to the cruise lines. We are using:

 

Renown Tours - Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise - $149.00

Bering Sea Crab Tour - $169.00

Girwood Tours - Whittier - Anchorage Transportation - $57.00

Alaska Sea Life Center - $20.00

**We might use another coupon in Talkeetna but are leaving that open for now***

We were going to use a coupon for the White Water Rafting but decided to go on a shorter Rafting trip but it would have saved us another $120.00!

 

We are pleased with our savings! To me if you can use it for even just 1 of the higher prices excursions its a win-win!

[pizzalady1]

Less $99 for the book and our savings are just over $100. I think it's great that others are seeing substantial savings. But for us, it's not worth it in my opinion.

 

I would take a free $100 anytime. My selections only saved me $117 but I knew that and had reservations before I ordered the book.

 

If you are unhappy with the book, they will refund your money if you send it back within 14 days. Also, last year there was hefty buying/selling of the books on ebay.

[paul8]

looks like Rosieo and I will be on the same Veendam to Alaska.

[Yukon]

...the first hotel (Inlet Tower) I attempted to book quoted us a price of $99/nt until I mentioned we had a toursaver coupon. Then the price jumped to $249/nt. Talk about bait and switch!

 

That's the sort of scam that Toursaver likes to hear about, because it hurts their reputation to have places like that in the book.

[Rosieo]

looks like Rosieo and I will be on the same Veendam to Alaska.

 

We will be on the Northbound leaving 6-14-09. So you are either right before us or right after us, you're southbound, right?

[tiyana4]

That's the sort of scam that Toursaver likes to hear about, because it hurts their reputation to have places like that in the book.

 

I wrote the manager two weeks ago and again yesterday before finally hearing back today. This is their response I received to my inquiries:

 

(From me)Good morning,

 

On 3/14 I called from the eastern United States to inquire about a room for two nights in September 2009. We will be visiting Alaska post-cruise and were looking for something in the Anchorage area. I priced the rooms online prior to contacting your hotel directly and found pricing of $99 per night for a Queen room - party of two. When I called the reservation desk, I was told the exact same price until I mentioned that we had a Tour Saver coupon which would entitle us to one night free. It was then the price jumped from $99 to $249.

 

I told the Inlet employee that this could not be correct as I was looking at the price online and it was less than half of what she now quoted. I was told that this is the "Tour Saver price." I asked for a manager and the young lady informed me that she was a supervisor. When I asked for her supervisor, she explained that XXXX was the night manager and I could speak with her after 11pm Alaska time or 3am EST. Needless to say, I could not stay awake until 3am to speak with a manager regarding this issue. As an aside, I secured a room for 2 nights under reservation# XXXXXX so that the $99 price is reflected as well as my intent to use the Tour Saver coupon in the comments section. However, we will not be staying if the price is $249/nt. I paid $99 for this Tour Saver coupon book and I have to say, thus far I have been thoroughly disappointed in the responses from this book. It does not give tourism in Alaska a good name. I have heard from one other party who will be visiting Inlet who stated they had no problems booking with the Tour Saver coupon so I expect the reservation desk I spoke with is simply misinformed. I am looking for a definitive answer on which is correct.

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance

tiyana4

 

 

2nd Request - 3/30:

 

Two weeks ago, I sent the attached request to the attention of the current manager. To date, I have not heard a response from your property. Please respond at your earliest convenience. Thank you.

 

(Their response)Good Morning,

 

I looked at your e-mail and I am responding to it now. My Front Desk Girl was right if you use the coupon you must pay the rack rate and that is $249 at that time. The second night would be free, if you would like that $99 you need to book it on line. So if you would like the rate of the $99 a night you need to book it as soon as possible before there are no more rooms at that rate since this is a special.

 

Thank You,

 

XXXX

Front Office Manager

 

Needless to say I have cancelled my backup reservation at $99/nt. I wouldn't stay here now if it were free or not.

[Lookingforfacts]

Any BOGO hotel offer is based on rack rate. Entertainment rate will generally give you a small % off the best available rate if that gives you a better deal. Frequently a hotel will offer a special deal that's better then 50% off rack rate.

 

The only thing the hotel did wrong was not gracefully volunteering the fact that the online special is better then the toursaver deal.

 

The problem with the toursaver book is many of the better deals are capacity controlled, only one or two coupons accepted per day. Makes sense, a flightseeing company won't make money if they fill their flights with customers paying half price. Anyone who buys the book but waits to use it may be very disappointed.

 

Your complaint is with the toursaver company. They gave you unrealistic expectations.

 

edited to add

Call the Talkeetna company. One of the companies is offering a 20% discount to toursaver customers after the maximum number of coupons have been reserved or if the customer wants to reserve a different time. See whatever discounts are being offered. It's possible any customer can get a 20% discount during the non-peak time.

[tiyana4]

Any BOGO hotel offer is based on rack rate. Entertainment rate will generally give you a small % off the best available rate if that gives you a better deal. Frequently a hotel will offer a special deal that's better then 50% off rack rate.

 

The only thing the hotel did wrong was not gracefully volunteering the fact that the online special is better then the toursaver deal.

 

The problem with the toursaver book is many of the better deals are capacity controlled, only one or two coupons accepted per day. Makes sense, a flightseeing company won't make money if they fill their flights with customers paying half price. Anyone who buys the book but waits to use it may be very disappointed.

 

Your complaint is with the toursaver company. They gave you unrealistic expectations.

 

edited to add

Call the Talkeetna company. One of the companies is offering a 20% discount to toursaver customers after the maximum number of coupons have been reserved or if the customer wants to reserve a different time. See whatever discounts are being offered. It's possible any customer can get a 20% discount during the non-peak time.

 

I do plan to touch base with the Toursaver company. However, I fault both Toursaver and the Inlet Hotel. It should be disclosed on the coupon that it is for rack rate only. It just says it can't be coupled with any other discount. So while we were waiting for a response from Inlet, I made reservations at the Microtel Inn and they honored their coupon at the online rate of only $119 with the BOGO for 2 nts. I think their rack rate is in the $169 range. So not really an unrealistic expectation, Inlet Tower just chose not to honor it - which is in their right. I just won't be staying there at the rack rate -BOGO or not.

 

Edited to add: Thanks for the tip on Talkeetna. I did hear back from Talkeetna and they pretty much said the same thing...20% off. We will probably just skip the flightseeing and stick closer to Anchorage and send the book back.

[PK4SC]

I have saved in excess of 1K no doubt about it. Granted, I am doing more than I probably would have done without the saver book. I am very thrilled with the book.

[PK4SC]

The book works as long as you can use one major coupon. I agree, call and make a reservation before you order the book.

 

My observation, many (most?) of the great deals are capacity controlled. Only a couple of coupons are accepted each day, frequently for a specific time. Some of the times may not work for customers on a cruise tour. As an example the Denali Deluxe Whitewater Float Trip honors one coupon per day, for the noon departure. Cruisetour passengers who have a TWT or Natural History Tour that morning can't plan on getting back in time to check in for the trip. Some tours stay two nights at Denali but cruisetour passengers aren't going to have time to take the Float Trip (at that time) on either travel day.

 

It may work great if you buy the book when it first comes out and plan your trip around the dates you can use the coupons.

 

 

I have not been turned down once and I have booked a lot using tour saver. Not even an attitude. :)

[Rosieo]

I am thrilled with the book. So far for our cruise and land tour we have saved $1194 and that is on things we already planned on doing. Everyone we called and talked to were more than accommodating. This book is a great value, just be sure to book early.

[tentimecruiser]

We also saved well over $1000 with the toursaver coupon book. On land: Flightseeing and River rafting in Talkeetna, Hotel in Anchorage, Portage Glacier tour, Kenai Fjords National Park tour, and Allyeska tram. While on the cruise we are using coupons for a whale watch tour, glacier gardens and Mt. Roberts tram in Juneau and the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman trip and totem tour in Ketchikan. We would have used even more coupons if we had had more time. We were a little nervous about the reception we would receive booking with coupons but everyone has been very nice and we weren't turned down once. We are going early in June which I'm sure helps with availability and one tour had to be taken at a particular time. Great deal for us!

[smitty3000]

Last summer I paid $60.00 on ebay for the tour book. That includes shipping. I would have resold it again but we came back in September. It saved us alot of money. :)

[Tom/Nancy]

I booked two July nights at HoJo in Anchorage using Toursaver and was told rack rate applied $269. By using Toursaver I saved $6 in total. I also have concerns over a couple of the excursions we booked as to whether they will honor Toursaver when we show up. Another fear is that the economy is getting tight - don't know how the people up there will react.

[Choozin Croozin]

I also have concerns over a couple of the excursions we booked as to whether they will honor Toursaver when we show up. .

 

You need to tell them ahead of time that you have a Toursaver coupon when you make the reservation. They only allow so many per tour. If you do that you SHOULD be okay.

[Lookingforfacts]

I never got an attitude but a couple of vendors told me they already had reservations equalling their quota of toursaver reservations for date I wanted.

 

The Denali whitewater rafting accepts one coupon per day. Some of the flightseeing places only accept one or two coupons, on one specific flight, per day. At least some vendors will offer a 20% toursaver discount if there aren't any BOGO slots left for your date.

 

PP is correct you must tell the vendor you're using the toursaver coupon. You'd hate to find out a customer that booked after you grabbed the last reservation eligible to use the coupon.

[lawahoo2001]

FYI, I haven't heard about quotas when booking tours using the northern lights coupons.

[Lookingforfacts]

Northern light coupons may not be subject to a quota but some of the offers are for a 20% discount, not BOGO. Some of the coupons have blackout dates. The Denali Raft offer isn't valid 6/11 to 8/31 for example.

 

Vendors aren't going to offer unlimited BOGO deals during peak dates.

[jer_l]

We've booked whale watching in Juneau with the Toursaver coupon. The only caveat is that they only do the tours if they have at least four passengers. Hopefully they will book more before our cruise so that we can use the coupon.

 

We also plan to use coupons for the Glacier Gardens and the Mt. Roberts Tramway in Juneau and the Sea Life Center in Seward. Do any of these limit the number of coupons?

 

I've already arranged to sell the book through a Craig's List contact for $50 when I return so it will be a small savings for us.