Private Shore Excursions - Payment Ettiquette

[downundermatt]

Sorry to post this on the Celebrity Thread, but seems as good as place as any,

 

Am suddenly arranging a private excursion on my upcoming Cruise, and after being burnt last time, when a fellow organiser cancelled thru illness, was wondering if it is acceptable to accept full payment at the Cruise Critic get together (or at least a deposit)

 

Last time the late cancellation caused a lot of stress amongst the group, trying to find replacements, and I don't really want to go thru that again as it ruined a few days.

 

Just wondering if there is any standard protocol for accepting payment.

 

Many Thanks Matt

[cruzsnooze]

I have read on these boards that any type of organizing a private tour on board will get you in trouble. Why hasn't everyone directly contacted the private tour operator and given their own deposit?

[OldBoot]

If you connect with other private shore excursion participants at your Meet & Mingle, for example, make arrangements to meet with them privately after the fact. That way no etiquette is breached at an event where the cruise line has been gracious enough to offer time & space.

 

Sent from my HTC One X+ using Forums mobile app

[Waco]

Sorry to post this on the Celebrity Thread, but seems as good as place as any,

 

Am suddenly arranging a private excursion on my upcoming Cruise, and after being burnt last time, when a fellow organiser cancelled thru illness, was wondering if it is acceptable to accept full payment at the Cruise Critic get together (or at least a deposit)

 

Last time the late cancellation caused a lot of stress amongst the group, trying to find replacements, and I don't really want to go thru that again as it ruined a few days.

 

Just wondering if there is any standard protocol for accepting payment.

 

Many Thanks Matt

 

It all depends on the integrity of the cruiser. Those with integrity pay regardless if they partipate or not. It is up to them to get a replacement not the organizer.

[margeecruiser]

Don't collect money at any official meeting on board ship. We got into trouble last year for this. The ship staff can get testy. They are selling the same thing (excursions) and don't appreciate competition right in front of them. As long as you take care of the business privately or unobtrusively, you are OK. Sort of like going to Macy's and selling stuff from another store.

 

I agree each person should pay directly to the vendor themselves. We use PayPal. It is great, they even do the foreign conversion.

 

Margee

[jelayne]

Normally when I organize a tour I set the ground rules up front including if you canx for any reason after we board the ship you are expected to pay your share or find a replacement.

 

I try to find tours where we don't have to pay a deposit or make any payment before the day of the tour. But if a deposit is needed I use Pay Pal & have everyone pay their share.

 

I collect the monies on the day of the tour & pay the tour operator.

 

So far this has worked-however I also don't plan tours for more than 8.

[lucinjo]

Keeping the group small is important. I won't do more than 10 and prefer 6-8! I make sure I have full names, email addresses and cabin numbers. I always let people know upfront that they are responsible for payment even if they miss the excursion. I mention this when I confirm by email before the cruise.

I have never collected in advance, but have done excursions with those who do. Usually we meet for a drink early in the cruise. Makes it easy to give the organizer the money. Also, nice to get to know the group ahead.

[4774Papa]

I have organized many private tours on cc for cruises.

When at the meet and greet, I never ask for payment or solicit others to joint a tour. I do announce who I am so that people on my tours know what I look like and that facilitates meeting on the dock for the tour.

 

Most private excursions don't require advance payment, but occasionally they do. A problem for the organizer (usually me) comes when the tour company prices the tour in a lump sum, so I have to collect from everyone to pay the tour guide.

 

If someone cancels the individual tour price per person increases, with fewer persons. A couple of times this hit me on tours. Fortunately, on one case, the cancelled party was on other tours I had and he paid for his wife even though she didn't go on the tour.

 

I had another case where someone cancelled just before final payment, but I was able to recruit replacements.

 

Another issue is when people want to pay in a currency other than what the tour guide accepts. That can be difficult.

 

Still, most of the time the private tours work out pretty well. One of the other negatives about private tours is having to have all that cash to pay for the tours. That required you to carry a lot of cash sometimes.

Usually, when the price is lump sum, I collect the cash before we get on the bus or van.

[Kellie Poodle]

I have set up many private tours including one with 22 people where I was the one who got sick and missed the cruise. Fortunately someone took over and found a replacement for us. For tours captained by others, I alerted them as soon as possible and they found replacements. (I was diagnosed with cancer 6 weeks before sailing.)

 

This is how I handle private tours:

 

I first try to get the tour provider to accept separate deposits via Paypal. If that doesn't work, then I make the deposit (preferably via Paypal) and everyone sends me a check.

 

For final payment, everyone is responsible for their portion. I suggest that they use envelopes then they can add their gratuity to that if they wish. I have never collected the entire fee myself.

 

As long as it's a few weeks before the trip, one can usually find a replacement on the roll call, but on the ship, it's tough.

 

Since everyone is paying a share of the total cost, the price for those attending just gets higher. That's how it goes and there is no way that I can think of avoiding it. It's not really fair to make someone pay if they are too sick to go on the tour.

 

I would use the M&M to find a replacement, however. I've seen that done many times.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Many tour operators in Europe require advance payment. Fortunately, all the ones we worked with allowed participants to pay them directly. We did have one tour with a couple who didn't show. We spent a long time looking for them, calling their cabin, etc., but at least the rest of us weren't on the hook for their share of the cost.

 

In my view, if you've agreed to participate in a tour, you are responsible to pay (unless you get someone to take your place). Others have signed up with expectations of paying a certain price, based on the number of participants. If you are unable to go on the tour, seek reimbursement for your cost from your trip insurance.

 

I agree that it is not good to collect money at the connections party since that is being hosted by Celebrity. We arranged a gathering after the party in someone's cabin to collect the money for the tours we had arranged that weren't paid in advance.

[Doctor G]

Last year I arranged two tours, one in Ireland and one in Scotland. Both required a deposit, and the charge was a set fee for the tour, not per individual. I paid the deposit and then had the participants give me cash after we boarded the ship. I then paid the guide the total fee. I informed the group that I was not including a tip in the fee, so that was up to each couple/person. Fortunately, this worked out well, and I had no issue securing payment from the participants.

 

Carolyn

[Iamthesea]

It all depends on the integrity of the cruiser. Those with integrity pay regardless if they partipate or not. It is up to them to get a replacement not the organizer.

 

I had a tour set up last May with a group (several tours actually) and had one member not feeling well the day of the tour. Her DH went without her and graciously paid for his wife's share. That's really the only way to handle private excursions when you agree to join others. ;)

 

Keeping the group small is important. I won't do more than 10 and prefer 6-8! I make sure I have full names, email addresses and cabin numbers. I always let people know upfront that they are responsible for payment even if they miss the excursion. I mention this when I confirm by email before the cruise.

I have never collected in advance, but have done excursions with those who do. Usually we meet for a drink early in the cruise. Makes it easy to give the organizer the money. Also, nice to get to know the group ahead.

 

DITTO Good advice! :D

Edited April 19, 2014 by Iamthesea

[wwcruisers]

Many tour operators in Europe require advance payment. Fortunately, all the ones we worked with allowed participants to pay them directly. We did have one tour with a couple who didn't show. We spent a long time looking for them, calling their cabin, etc., but at least the rest of us weren't on the hook for their share of the cost.

 

In my view, if you've agreed to participate in a tour, you are responsible to pay (unless you get someone to take your place). Others have signed up with expectations of paying a certain price, based on the number of participants. If you are unable to go on the tour, seek reimbursement for your cost from your trip insurance.

 

I agree that it is not good to collect money at the connections party since that is being hosted by Celebrity. We arranged a gathering after the party in someone's cabin to collect the money for the tours we had arranged that weren't paid in advance.

 

Great advice (as always) Linda. :cool:

 

I'm just glad that we didn't pay a deposit to that BOZO tour operator in Grand Turk. I have a sneaking suspicion that he would have done exactly the same thing -- and then told us that we had forfeited our deposit, by being "late" (which we definitely were not)! :mad:

 

Guess the moral of the story is that, no matter how much homework you do for a shore excursion/tour -- the wheels can still come off anyway. ;)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Great advice (as always) Linda. :cool:

 

I'm just glad that we didn't pay a deposit to that BOZO tour operator in Grand Turk. I have a sneaking suspicion that he would have done exactly the same thing -- and then told us that we had forfeited our deposit, by being "late" (which we definitely were not)! :mad:

 

Guess the moral of the story is that, no matter how much homework you do for a shore excursion/tour -- the wheels can still come off anyway. ;)

 

Yes, I'll be eternally grateful that the bozo in Grand Turk couldn't get his website to accept money so we weren't on the hook to him. The good reviews he gets must come from folks he picks up on the beach who don't know if you reserve his tram he'll fill it up with others.

[Lois R]

I sailed to the Med in May 2012 and we had a wonderful cruisemate

who organized quite a few private tours. She dealt directly with the

tour operator about prices/what was included/etc. We had a certain

amount of people on each tour and she posted when each tour

was closed. The names, who was on each tour, etc....was posted

on the roll call.

 

As for payment, we all met each morning in Cafe Al Bacio before leaving

the ship and paid this person our share due. She then paid the tour

operator at the end of each tour.

I have to say, it was very well organized and I am very happy to have

been part of such a great group:):):)