Private tours

Personally seen it happen twice;

#1 Livorno, Italy; Noordam, 2015 - group of six private tour People's Republic of China nationals

#2 Bridgetown, Barbados; Maasdam, 2014 - group of five U.S. nationals on a private tour

Captain will wait until he can't wait any more and he's got to go! In both these incidents, there was no communication with the driver of the respective vans, so no one could provide us with an ETA of their return to the ship...................It does happen, whether you think it's lies or scare tactics by the cruise line, or not!

I think that was his hyperbolic way of saying that it's really rare. Which seems true.

Two times out of how many ports over time?

I think that was his hyperbolic way of saying that it's really rare. Which seems true.

 

Two times out of how many ports over time?

What does this mean to you?

"Yes - it is possible but it will not happen"

Personally seen it happen twice;

#1 Livorno, Italy; Noordam, 2015 - group of six private tour People's Republic of China nationals

#2 Bridgetown, Barbados; Maasdam, 2014 - group of five U.S. nationals on a private tour

Captain will wait until he can't wait any more and he's got to go! In both these incidents, there was no communication with the driver of the respective vans, so no one could provide us with an ETA of their return to the ship...................It does happen, whether you think it's lies or scare tactics by the cruise line, or not!

You know everyone on a tour especially the organizer (at least I feel that way if it is my tour) has an obligation to keep an eye on the watch, have the info for the port at hand and a cell phone.

We have done probablly 50+ private tours and never missed the ship nor been close.

We have seen others running/walking to make it. Most of those were HAL tours.

We aim to be back 1 hour before and all my guides have cell phones, back up cars, assistance, etc.

And, we have sat in port for 2 hours extra waiting for the HAL tours to return.

I have seen the ship sail without people on board. They were on a HAL tour. Of course they were transported free of charge to the next port. ;)

So far, we have never missed the boat ever, nor been close, been on pins and needles but the people on the tour need to have some awareness of time, communication with the guide, etc.

Assuming that you are on a HAL tour does not mean that the ship does not sail. Prinsendam picked up 400 passengers from the N Amsterdam when it could not hold anchor. They were lucky we were in port with them.

Alaska had HAL tours left and reported here.

it can happen, no question but not just to private tours. Most on the Monte Carlo port where the passengers were picked up were on HAL tours. And, I have to say, the P'dam got some crowded ;)

My best excursions have been private excursions. Found some recommendations on cruise critic and other sites. Found an all day trip in St. Kitts that toured the island, the forts, parks etc, for $65 pp. included, lunch, drinks, entry to the parks and the tour guide even took us by his house. Great experience for my sons. Loved Royston. Pray he is still doing well.

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It is easy to say latecomers were on private tours but often they are explorIng on their own and they lose track of time. Or back from a ship tour and dong a little port shopping and losing track of time. Or at the local watering hole losing track of time. Or out and about and they don't have the correct all aboard time. We've seen all of these happen as we like to sit outside and watch people come in. I've even heard a late person say "we thought we didn't have to be back until 6".

Never saw a private tour come in late. Never been on a private tour that came in late. Private tours guides err on the side of caution to get back early. Every private tour operator we've used has a reputation to protect on TA, CC and other online sites.

On a private tour you will see twice as much as a ship tour. Generally for half the price if you share but even if we go it alone it is money well spent.

Full disclosure, I did get a discount on my independent flight in Ketchikan, AK - because I paid in full in October 2016 for a July 2017 flight. (100% refundable - bad weather = can't fly or if the ship can't dock...)

Sammiedawg pretty much summed it up. Plus, in Alaska one time we left 60 behind on a HAL tour in Skagway. As we missed our last port of Ketchikan they eventually had to be flown back to Vancouver, losing several days of the cruise.

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What does this mean to you?

 

"Yes - it is possible but it will not happen"

Copper! Welcome Back!

Copper! Welcome Back!

Evenin' Always good to be back! 😀

Personally seen it happen twice;

#1 Livorno, Italy; Noordam, 2015 - group of six private tour People's Republic of China nationals

#2 Bridgetown, Barbados; Maasdam, 2014 - group of five U.S. nationals on a private tour

Captain will wait until he can't wait any more and he's got to go! In both these incidents, there was no communication with the driver of the respective vans, so no one could provide us with an ETA of their return to the ship...................It does happen, whether you think it's lies or scare tactics by the cruise line, or not!

We've also seen it happen! Twice!.. Once couple was running down the dock as the ship ship was pulling out.. The Captain did not come back for them, but the couple hired a boat to take them out to the ship.. I think it was one of the pilot boats, but not sure.. Another time I saw a couple being left at the dock & they hopped on the bus to take them back to the port when they missed the ship..:cool:

Question for all you private tour fans; Does the small group/private tour "organizer" receive any kind of discount from the tour operator for organizing said tour, i.e, filling up said van? Gracias! :D

Sometimes for me, it turns out to be the opposite. For example, last year I booked a private tour out of Belfast during our 'Celtic Explorer' cruise. The tour was for a max of 6 and the true per person prize came out a $72.65 or there about. In order to make the it easier on board for payment I requested only $70 per person. And since we only got 5 people total, mine and the wifes share actually came out a bit more.

That was no big deal, I booked and paid for the tour before we left on the cruise, at a value I consider as ok, even if it was just the wife and I. And it was a wonderful tour too. Our 8 hour tour of the Antrim Coast lasted 11.5 hours. Even was very pleased.

Cheers,

You can be assured that the

You can be assured that the tour organizers who get their tour free will not be posting here.

Human nature is a strange beast.

That said, I have not booked a tour through any of the cruise lines I have sailed in nearly 30 years, and I have not even come close to missing a ship.

I book with taxi or van drivers at the docks and we agree on the price, time, and the things we want to do.

If others want to join us, that is OK, but the only time I plan ahead is if traveling with family or friends.

I use private tours for the following reasons:

 

1) customize the tour to exactly what I want to see...NO shopping stops

2) beat the large buses to the stops so it's usually less crowded

3) usually it is customizable as you go so if there is something you want to stop and see as you are going, they will stop and if u loose interest at a stop, you can leave early

 

The biggest reason

4) maximize time in port....on a ship tour it often leaves an hour or 2 after you arrive in port and is back a few hours before your ship leaves. That is wasted time to me. If i leave on a private tour as soon as the ship docks, I still have 3-4hrs available at the end of the tour to go to the beach or do something else and I still got to see the same things if not more than the ship tour

I agree with you very well said.

What does this mean to you?

 

"Yes - it is possible but it will not happen"

I just know the way this poster tends to post. ;)

One could say a lightning strike is possible but it will not happen -- as a way of suggesting the odds are pretty darn low.

I just know the way this poster tends to post. ;)

 

One could say a lightning strike is possible but it will not happen -- as a way of suggesting the odds are pretty darn low.

Fair enough; have a good night ;)

We've also seen it happen! Twice!.. Once couple was running down the dock as the ship ship was pulling out.. The Captain did not come back for them, but the couple hired a boat to take them out to the ship.. I think it was one of the pilot boats, but not sure.. Another time I saw a couple being left at the dock & they hopped on the bus to take them back to the port when they missed the ship..:cool:

People miss the ship with some frequency. But we don't know that they were on a private tour. As mentioned upthread, most common reasons for missing the ship involve individuals losing track of the time (whether drinking, shopping or whatever) -- not as a result of taking a private tour.

We've also seen it happen! Twice!.. Once couple was running down the dock as the ship ship was pulling out.. The Captain did not come back for them, but the couple hired a boat to take them out to the ship.. I think it was one of the pilot boats, but not sure.. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.:cool:

Not sure how long ago that one occurred. Getting back on the ship via pilot boat used to be a semi-regular thing for "late comers" It involves climbing a Jacob's ladder aka rope ladder to, usually, the ship's mid-ship Marshaling Area (the area where the pilot boards from his/her boat). Coming aboard the ship this way is not always a day at the beach, and involves the person doing it, possessing a fair amount of coordination, flexibility, stamina and, yes, upper body strength. In addition, it is completely weather/sea state dependent

HAL prohibited allowing passengers to come aboard this way some time back

It is easy to say latecomers were on private tours but often they are explorIng on their own and they lose track of time. Or back from a ship tour and dong a little port shopping and losing track of time. Or at the local watering hole losing track of time. Or out and about and they don't have the correct all aboard time. We've seen all of these happen as we like to sit outside and watch people come in. I've even heard a late person say "we thought we didn't have to be back until 6".

Never saw a private tour come in late. Never been on a private tour that came in late. Private tours guides err on the side of caution to get back early. Every private tour operator we've used has a reputation to protect on TA, CC and other online sites.

 

On a private tour you will see twice as much as a ship tour. Generally for half the price if you share but even if we go it alone it is money well spent.

All our private tours in various places in the world were always great, small groups, small vans, excellent local guides etc.

In wintertime we are in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and from time to time we hear problems of passengers returning late. Not only because they wondered around by themselves but in many cases shiptime is different from local time, which of course is very confusing.

Thanks all for advancing the conversation, it has been informative!

(I forgot about a private Aruba tour that a CC member arranged - It worked out well for all involved. I have no idea if the organizer got a deal or not & frankly don't care. They did a better job than we would have.)

Question for all you private tour fans; Does the small group/private tour "organizer" receive any kind of discount from the tour operator for organizing said tour, i.e, filling up said van? Gracias! :D

We did private tours,and my roommate organized several of them,and no quid pro quo. She paid her share of the trip which was the same as the others

Terri

We made a personal "rule" for excursions in case a problem with the transportation arises.

--If we want to go to a location where we can get a taxi back to the ship fairly easily we look for a private tour or a taxi.

--If it's to a location out of town in the boonies we book with the ship.

A couple of years ago I was on a ship tour in Belize - a rainforest boat ride and the Mayan ruins. The ship was set to sail at 5pm. At 5pm our bus was stuck in gridlocked town traffic. It was so nice to see the tour guide put her phone down and inform us that we could relax - there was a cruise line rep and tender waiting for us at the docks.

We made a personal "rule" for excursions in case a problem with the transportation arises.

--If we want to go to a location where we can get a taxi back to the ship fairly easily we look for a private tour or a taxi.

--If it's to a location out of town in the boonies we book with the ship.

 

A couple of years ago I was on a ship tour in Belize - a rainforest boat ride and the Mayan ruins. The ship was set to sail at 5pm. At 5pm our bus was stuck in gridlocked town traffic. It was so nice to see the tour guide put her phone down and inform us that we could relax - there was a cruise line rep and tender waiting for us at the docks.

That is a very good recommendation. And you got me thinking about our own HAL tour choices. We rarely, if ever, take the in town tours either. I guess our general happiness with HAL tours comes from the fact most of them have been the long distance ones.

We like seeing as much of the countryside as possible. And longer tours often provide very candid and engaging insights about local life from our guides, who have the time to develop more personal relationships with the like-minded group of passengers during the longer drives.

Luckily those long-distance choices for us have also never included the dreaded tour group malingerers. Everyone has been so respectful of other tour members time. I have long given accolades for this common courtesy HAL tour group members have shown on the excursions we have chosen.

Plus the longer excursions get one well beyond the port-tourist impacts. We have such good memories from our HAL trips. And surprisingly deep insights about the visited country gained in even these short visits when much of the input is anecdotal at best, but some times anecdote reveals as much as a prepared in-depth report.

Our guide's candor in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine expressed volumes, right before they voted to remain part of Russia. Another guide on the long trip in to Luxor from the Suez Canal gave deep personal insights about the state of her country, and the very next day there was the political overthrow in Cairo. Myanmar, China India .. so many most likely "unofficial" comments expressed by the guides that went well beyond any mandated party line. Those have been precious moments for us. Thank you HAL.

Can anyone recommend a private tour operator for an excursion to the Vatican from Civitavecchia?

Can anyone recommend a private tour operator for an excursion to the Vatican from Civitavecchia?

If you look at the Italy 'ports of call' board you will find many referrals to "Rome in limo." We have used them and concur they are most reliable and provide a great tour.