Adding tour partners once on board

[joelmomma]

I was wondering, is it common to find people to share a tour (not through Az) once you are sailing? I have posted information on our roll call looking for people to share excursions, but so far no one has showed interest. Our trip leaves in 2 months. The excursions I have found are more inclusive than the ship's, and if 6 people share them, they are half the cost. I don't want to book them ahead of time and then find that we have no one to share them with and have to spend more than the ship's rate. Any ideas?:o

 

Jo

[Andy]

I was wondering, is it common to find people to share a tour (not through Az) once you are sailing? I have posted information on our roll call looking for people to share excursions, but so far no one has showed interest. Our trip leaves in 2 months. The excursions I have found are more inclusive than the ship's, and if 6 people share them, they are half the cost. I don't want to book them ahead of time and then find that we have no one to share them with and have to spend more than the ship's rate. Any ideas?:o

 

Jo

 

Hi Joelmomma !

 

As you are likely aware, the Roll Call is the best area to meet up with others. If you are not getting any interest, then I suppose the odds are not very good, as there may not be enough time to organize a group once onboard, unless it's very early in your Cruise. At that point, you would have to take pot luck, on the day of arrival. Personally, I would not care for that option.

 

I would probably ask on the roll call again, and if you do not have any success, I would book your tours through Azamara. Keep in mind, some tours sell out in advance, so you do not want to be shut out.

 

I wish I had a better answer for you. Perhaps some of our Cruise Critic friends will have a more creative suggestion. Enjoy your Cruise !

[Jancruz]

Hi Joelmomma !

 

As you are likely aware, the Roll Call is the best area to meet up with others. If you are not getting any interest, then I suppose the odds are not very good, as there may not be enough time to organize a group once onboard, unless it's very early in your Cruise. At that point, you would have to take pot luck, on the day of arrival. Personally, I would not care for that option.

 

I would probably ask on the roll call again, and if you do not have any success, I would book your tours through Azamara. Keep in mind, some tours sell out in advance, so you do not want to be shut out.

 

I wish I had a better answer for you. Perhaps some of our Cruise Critic friends will have a more creative suggestion. Enjoy your Cruise !

 

 

We have always found people to share once we get on the cruise..people that sit with us, at Breakfast ,lunch and dinner, people we talk to in line boarding, since we talk to everyone..it is easy to get people especially if it is a few days after you depart..

Jancruz1

[joelmomma]

Thanks so much for the input. The tours we are looking at aren't until the 10th and 13th days of our trip. I'll still try to drum up some interest on the roll call, but I am going to be optimistic that we can find some people once on board and even may have time to arrange the tours from the ship's internet.

 

Jo

[cs91]

Hi Jo. Don't panic yet. I waited 3-4 months to find people to share a tour with in St Petersburg and now we have more people than we know what to do with. It usually gets very active 1-2 months prior. Also, some of the tour operators have roll calls that you can potentially meet people to share with. Good luck.

(BTW, I'm from the suburbs of Chgo, too, but South.)

[tgg]

Hi Jo,

 

Two thoughts. On our last cruise, we found people to share a tour during the lifeboat drill. My husband and I were discussing the tour we had planned and the price (which was half the price of the ship's tour). The people standing behind us thought it sounded great, and asked it we had room for two more people. They had never heard of Cruise Critic.

 

Sometimes the tour operator will get inquiries from other people on the sailing who don't know about Cruise Critic. Why not let the tour operator know that you'll be willing to share with people who inquire separately (assuming that you ARE willing to do this).

 

Right now we are looking for two more couples to join us at the end of next month's cruise for transfers from Civitavecchia to Rome's airport. We counting on finding them during the cruise. The price is so reasonable that I have no doubt that we will.

[joelmomma]

You guys are just great with helpful information :D! Did you set the tours up before you left home, hoping that you would find people, or did you wait and finalize them while you were on the ship? My DH is concerned about penalties if we set up the tour from here and have to cancel it if for some reason we can't find anyone else to share. We are looking at using romeinlimo for the tours.

 

Jo

[joelmomma]

Right now we are looking for two more couples to join us at the end of next month's cruise for transfers from Civitavecchia to Rome's airport. We counting on finding them during the cruise. The price is so reasonable that I have no doubt that we will.

 

 

tgg,

 

Who are you using for the transfer? We are staying in Rome for a couple of days after the cruise and can't believe the prices I am seeing for transfers from the port. Not interested in using the train at all!

 

Jo

[Oceanurse]

Hi Jo. I think you will probably find people to share the tour once you are on board. Remember you can always book with Azamara in advance- they allow you to cancel up to 2 days in advance of the tour (while you're on the ship). We booked a tour in Florence and cancelled 2-3 days before when we found others doing an outside tour. If you can't generate any interst in your roll call you can always book with Azamara as a back up. I did quite a few excursions thru Azamara when we went to Europe and really enjoyed them. Have a great trip!

 

Cathy

[joelmomma]

Hi Cathy,

 

Thanks for the info. We didn't realize you could cancel Azamara tours that late! We will definitely take your advice and book them as a backup.

 

Thanks again,

Jo

[tgg]

Jo, we are using limoinrome. http://www.limoinrome.com/services.php?service=transfers

 

Their price for 4 people is 160 euros, 6 people 180 euros, 8 people 200 euros. We have 4 people right now, which makes a very expensive (in my mind) transfer. However, with 8 people, the price is quite reasonable.

 

We also have tours planned in Ukraine with people on our roll call. It took some time, but we have 8 people for one, 6 for another, and only 4 for the third. We expect to find another couple or two on the ship for the last one.

 

I agree that I would not want to book with a private guide without someone to share the experience and the expense. Don't give up on your roll call. Have you gotten suggested itineraries from various tour operators? Have you posted all the details about the tours as well as the price? Have you included links to the tour operators' web sites? Have you let people know how much the ship is charging for the same kind of tour?

 

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[joelmomma]

tgg, I will definitely keep their website in mind. I agree, for 4 it's expensive but quite a deal if you have 6 or 8 people. As for your suggestions about the roll call posting, I did all of your suggestions. I'm not giving up yet. I think we just have a somewhat quiet group so far. As a matter of fact, no one has even put up a post in a week! Hopefully after these past couple of holiday weekends, things will pick up and we will get something going. Thanks again for all your help. :)

 

Jo

[lonestarsteve]

tgg, I will definitely keep their website in mind. I agree, for 4 it's expensive but quite a deal if you have 6 or 8 people. As for your suggestions about the roll call posting, I did all of your suggestions. I'm not giving up yet. I think we just have a somewhat quiet group so far. As a matter of fact, no one has even put up a post in a week! Hopefully after these past couple of holiday weekends, things will pick up and we will get something going. Thanks again for all your help. :)

 

Jo

Hi Jo

Try the july26 roll call again. We are interested in outside tours and will communicate more after some research.

Hi to tgg hope you are doing well and maybe we will cross paths again on future Azamara trips.

Steve

[tgg]

Hi Steve,

 

Hope you and Kate are well. John and I are looking forward to a Black Sea cruise next month on the Quest. It would be great to see you both again.

 

Toni