Cruise Line Tours can be beneficial

[Shiraz49]

We all too often criticise the cost of cruise line organised tours, let's face it there ARE pricey compared to organising your own.

 

One passenger we got to know quite well on our lsat cruise (Oosterdam

Sth Pacific) was glad they took the ships tour ......

 

Poor hubby had a bad fall and broke his ankle (would you believe 1st cruise and 1st port of call) ..... anyway they were convinced they'd be up for a small fortune even though they had travel insurance. Turns out HAL met ALL costs, no charges whatsoever.

 

Not sure if that's always the case with HAL (or other cruise lines)?

 

Will still find it difficult to bring myself to paying their prices.

Cheers Tom

[Krazy Kruizers]

Feel sorry for that man and the accident he had.

Glad HAL took care of everything.

[HokiePoq]

That was great! I wonder if it was the travel insurance or insurance HAL or its tour provider had in place that covered the cost.

We were very glad one time in Belize we were on a HAL ship's excursion. We were in the jungle tire deep in mud on a 4x4 trip when one of the vehicles lost its transmission. There we all sat. They did solve the problem in time, but it was reassuring to know that we'd be waited for.

Also in Belize with another line's tour, one person did not follow directions and was left at Lamanai. Our group waited over an hour late at the last tender while the tour company went and retrieved him.

[paganwoman]

We had a similar experience. We were on a HAL tour of Florence Italy. As you know it is about an hour drive from the city to the port each way. We were ready to leave and everyone gathered at the meeting place except one gentleman. We waited and waited. The tour operator didn't want to leave him obviously and called the ship to notify them. Finally after about an hour and us breaking out into mini search parties to look for him, the ship called the tour operator. He just returned (by himself). Got tired of Florence so found his own way back but didn't think he needed to tell anyone.......:( We were over an hour late getting back. Yes the ship waited. Apparently the Captain had a few words with the gentleman involved......We use ship tours a lot. Yes they may be more money but most times I think they are worth it.

[Roz]

As a solo female cruiser, I almost always book the ship's excursions for security and safety. I'm willing to pay the premium price.

 

Roz

[Himself]

If you are on a tour through the cruise line and the tour is delayed, the ship will wait. If you are on your own and you are delayed then "into every life a rain must fall." The ship will not wait for you.

[summersigh]

If you are on a tour through the cruise line and the tour is delayed, the ship will wait. If you are on your own and you are delayed then "into every life a rain must fall." The ship will not wait for you.

We've found this to be true - in particular on a Carnival ship's excursion to the rain forest and Mayan ruins in Belize. We were caught in "rush hour" traffic in downtown Belize City at the time the ship was supposed to be sailing. The guide stayed in contact with a ship's rep at the tender dock and we were assured there was a tender waiting for us. That relief alone was worth the extra dollars. :)

 

DH can no longer walk distances longer that 1/2 a block or so without stopping to rest so for us the ship's excursions work well (especially in ports we've never been to before). We tend to book "island bus tour" kind of thigies the first time at a port getting the overall picture and usually a lot of good history. The convenience makes the price difference worth it for us. Coming back to a port for the 2nd time we'd be more likely to take a taxi or book privately having seen the lay of the land so to speak.

 

I like to save a buck like most folks but on a cruise, being able to easily afford a verandah, I don't sweat the "small stuff" like the difference in ship's tours and self-booked tours or an extra scotch at bedtime or extra cash tips for extra good service. In my mind it's all just part of the cruise fare that we pay on the ship instead of ahead of time.

[Shiraz49]

Think everyone was aware of the fact that the cruise line will wait or get you back onboard somehow when using their tours but had never come across them meeting the cost of medical expenses for accidents on their tours .... guess there must be an insurance component in the tour cost ... anyone ever read the fine print? (I don't/haven't to date).

[travelnap]

As a solo female cruiser, I almost always book the ship's excursions for security and safety. I'm willing to pay the premium price.

 

Roz

 

Roz, I am a male solo traveler and I also almost always book the ship's tours as well. The price difference is well worth it for the convenience and security.

[hawkeye3d]

If you are on a tour through the cruise line and the tour is delayed, the ship will wait. If you are on your own and you are delayed then "into every life a rain must fall." The ship will not wait for you.

 

To wait, or not to wait is at the captains discretion. On another cruise line we, with another couple, got stuck in rush hour traffic in Amsterdam. When we got in sight of the ship there she was with a tug. Tugs cost around $5k per hour but they had waited for us, the guide called the ship as this was not a ship’s tour. They rushed us aboard, no security checks, and from there on our mantra has been “remember Amsterdam” when planning our own tours we try to get back at least 1 hour before the all aboard time.

 

Bob

[kazu]

Think everyone was aware of the fact that the cruise line will wait or get you back onboard somehow when using their tours but had never come across them meeting the cost of medical expenses for accidents on their tours .... guess there must be an insurance component in the tour cost ... anyone ever read the fine print? (I don't/haven't to date).

 

The fine print seems to read totally differently - freeing HAL of any obligation or liability. I suspect the tour operators carry insurance as those that operate most private tours do. and, perhaps there is co-ordination with HAL?

Edited December 27, 2014 by kazu

[cbr663]

To the OP, am glad that things worked out well for you in the end. I guess in this case, the "value" of the cruise purchased excursion was great. Like others have stated, we most often book ship excursions for the security provided in addition to the tour offered. A sort of insurance plan, and at times we find great value in it.

[whogo]

If you are on a tour through the cruise line and the tour is delayed, the ship will wait. If you are on your own and you are delayed then "into every life a rain must fall." The ship will not wait for you.

This may not always be true. I would bet that Holland America would weigh the cost of waiting against the cost of transporting excursion guests to the next port. Tides, harbor pilots, tug availability, weather forecasts, labor problems, local authorities, and other factors may come into play.

[Lizzie68]

This may not always be true. I would bet that Holland America would weigh the cost of waiting against the cost of transporting excursion guests to the next port. Tides, harbor pilots, tug availability, weather forecasts, labor problems, local authorities, and other factors may come into play.

 

Weather can be a huge factor. A while ago there was a HAL ship that left a HAL excursion behind in Alaska when the excursion was delayed by weather and the captain decided to put out to sea. I recall the husband of one of the passengers left behind was very unhappy about the way HAL handled getting those passengers taken care of, and posted on here about it.

[lazey1]

If you are on a tour through the cruise line and the tour is delayed, the ship will wait. If you are on your own and you are delayed then "into every life a rain must fall." The ship will not wait for you.

 

I remember reading on cruise critic that a HAL tour in Norway got stuck in the snow. The cruise ship couldn't wait because the Harbormaster made them leave. HAL paid for them to meet the ship at the next port. Sorry my memory fails when it comes to who posted :o this but it was definitely one of the cruise critic regulars.

[sail7seas]

There are times when ship's tour was perfect for us, times when private tour guide worked and times when we went off on our own. Everyone decides their limitations, their risks, their comfort zone. Those factors vary from port to port, cruise to cruise.

 

OP, thanks for posting about all of the costs for the gentleman's care were met by HAL and/or the tour operator. You are right that many may never have heard of that happening. It is likely their travel insurance would have paid but at least they did not have to stress about it to find out.

 

 

 

[cruz chic]

I would rather be on a hal excursion in the rare case I'd be left behind. I would not want to be left alone in a strange place to fend on my own. Saving a couple of bucks and doing a carbon copy of a hal tour doesn't appeal to me. If that does appeal, more power to you.

[take us away]

The fine print seems to read totally differently - freeing HAL of any obligation or liability. I suspect the tour operators carry insurance as those that operate most private tours do. and, perhaps there is co-ordination with HAL?

 

You are correct Kazu: one of the shore ex people used to be a tour operator/owner in Hawaii and when asked if he ever did HAL tours, his comments was "No - would have loved to but I could not afford them". Of course I had to know why as the tours are pricey for passengers and his explanation was "because HAL requires $2M in insurance to cover accidents."

[kazu]

You are correct Kazu: one of the shore ex people used to be a tour operator/owner in Hawaii and when asked if he ever did HAL tours, his comments was "No - would have loved to but I could not afford them". Of course I had to know why as the tours are pricey for passengers and his explanation was "because HAL requires $2M in insurance to cover accidents."

 

thanks and interesting. I ask my private operators about insurance. Like others I have done HAL tours, but other than a few which I gave rave reviews on and don't hesitate to recommend, we have been somewhat disappointed. We prefer private tours in most cases and other than one incident for one passenger (which was taken care of by the tour operator) we have had no incidents. I think any responsible guide helps out whether through HAL or on your own as long as you have done the research.

[ski ww]

We do both private / HAL tours. We love the private because they are mostly smaller and it's not as scripted. We also do the HAL ones when we do not feel as comfortable in some of our ports of call.

Allan & Marlane

[summersigh]

On our last cruise - RCCL to Bermuda - we found another reason to feel more comfortable booking cruise line excursions.

 

DH has good days and then (infrequently) he has days he just doesn't feel good enough to go on a multi-hour excursion. On the RCCL cruise they refunded the amount of his fare for the island tour and I felt safe going off with the tour group knowing that they'd get me back to the ship in good time and safely.

 

I let the tour guide know I was on my own and he made sure I was in the van before he left each stop. That alone was enough peace of mind to make the few $$ extra we paid well worth it.

[BJzink]

We were on the "Gaudi" tour in Barcelona - knew there would be problems when the tour guide boarded the bus & apologized. She said she usually gave tours in French or Italian, not much English. Well, we aren't fluent in anything except English, but we do expect that we could at least communicate with a tour guide. The first problem was that she elected to change the order of the tour, was supposed to be the cathedral, then Buell Park, then the Gaudi apartment downtown. She completely reversed the order, too much walking at the apartment & park. So many of the tour people were pretty tired and hungry by the time we reached the cathedral. By the time we got to the cathedral it was hot and very crowded, she had to go to the ticket office, wasted another 30 minutes. My husband said he didn't want to walk anymore to the cathedral; she directed him to a small park across the street from it to wait & said the bus would pick us up there when they were done. She didn't have any audio equipment for headphones for us so unless we were within 10 feet of her, we couldn't hear anything she explained about the structure inside. When we were done, I told her I would go get my husband and we would wait on the sidewalk around the building for the bus. She said "Yes, we will come get you". Short story there, we waited 55 minutes for the bus to round the corner to get us, never came. So we hailed a cab to bring us back to the port.

We weren't concerned about the ship leaving since we were back several hours prior to that, but we were out about $20.00 for the cab fare, plus being exhausted from standing & waiting for the bus. We went to customer service & complained loudly (the tour desk was unmanned). Several of the passengers who were on the tour with us were relieved to see that we made it back. They told the guide that we weren't on the bus, but she said that the bus couldn't go around the block & pick anyone else up. We got a credit on our OBC for the cab, and a bottle of wine which was nice, but........... I hope we can get back to Barcelona sometime to just do the cathedral & enjoy it.

[Cruzin Terri]

I usually do not book HAL tours unless there is no other way to do what I want to do. On our upcoming South America cruise we are taking the HAL tour to Torres del Paines National Park in Chile. If we don't we will not see it.

I usually find that with a private tour, aside from the cost considerations (and sometimes they cost more) I can go where I want to go, see what I want to see and do not have to spend time waiting for 50 people to board a bus. I have researched each tour provider and feel that I have made good choices and have never feared for my safety.

 

As for HAL tours being safe, in 2012 we were in Guayaquil, Ecuador and those who were on a HAL tour bus had the scare of their lives. I was not on this tour, but heard about it from many sources, including the concierge in the Neptune Lounge. Three men boarded the HAL tour bus and proceeded to pull earrings off one woman's ears and a necklace from another woman. Both had injuries from that event.

Exactly how that happened I am not sure.

I know that at the next stop in Manta we were warned over and over not to wear jewelry of any kind in port in the interest of safety.

Terri

[cruz chic]

I guess I'm really lucky. I've never been pushed to the ground or robbed on any cruise line tour I've taken.

[Hlitner]

We really encourage everyone to book HAL (or other cruise line) excursions for a few reasons. Since we seldom to ever book any excursion, the more who book those things the easier it is for us to do "our own thing" in ports. We also encourage the use of cruise line excursions because we own stock in CCL....and excursions are a very nice contributor to the bottom line.

 

But in a more serious vein, the excursions are indeed perfect for many folks. However, some of us do prefer avoiding large groups, do what we want when we want, and often enjoy long lunches in some fabulous places that are generally not visited by large groups. As to piece of mind, in over forty years of extensive independent travel we have enjoyed doing our own thing without having to wait around for others who decide to go shopping, get lost, etc. When we decide to venture far from the cruise port (on trains, rental cars, local buses, etc) we usually have a "Plan B" in case we would accidently miss the ship (this has never happened in hundreds of port days). In a few ports we have actually intentionally missed the ship because it is advantageous to do some land travel and catch the ship the following day.

 

One other factor, which has become a bigger issue in recent years, are the high cost of many excursions. In fact, it can sometimes be ridiculous. For example, if in Civitavecchia one can purchase a BIRG ticket for about 12 Euros which gives you round trip train transportation to Rome plus unlimited use of all Rome's Metro and bus system. Most cruise lines are now charging over $100 for a simple transfer to Rome (which does not include any local transport). The irony is that by using the train we can be in Rome before the cruise ship "on your own" tours. It is the same in many ports and we often will save thousands of dollars by avoiding excursions, and generally see and do more then the excursions.

 

Hank

Edited December 27, 2014 by Hlitner