roll calls and adding people to excursions

[Cruise Junky]

I don't cruise to contribute the the line's bottom line. I cruise to see places. I can do that 10x better with a private tour - especially in the Med. Everyone has a comfort level and should stick with what they're comfortable with.

[caribill]

And another aspect of booking ships tours is that the cruise line makes more money.

 

The cruise line usually does get, I assume, a discount from the vendor.

 

But it is not all profit. There can be four or five full time people on the ship who take care of all the work required on board for the ship's tours. There is also no doubt a staff at HQ that arranges for all the Princess tours world wide.

 

So while Princess will make money on their excursions, it may not be as much as you may think.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The cruise line usually does get, I assume, a discount from the vendor.

 

But it is not all profit. There can be four or five full time people on the ship who take care of all the work required on board for the ship's tours. There is also no doubt a staff at HQ that arranges for all the Princess tours world wide.

 

So while Princess will make money on their excursions, it may not be as much as you may think.

Vendors have told us that Princess keeps 50% of what passengers pay. The shore ex staff on the ship is making normal one stripe officer wages and handling huge volume (compared to, say, spa treatments or photos). I suspect shore ex is one of the most profitable revenue streams on a ship (along with drinks and casino).

[Colo Cruiser]

Of course they are, right behind photos.

[OCruisers]

That's another reason I book excursions through the ship!

 

Agree with you on this! We either book an excursion with the ship or take a taxi to where we want to go on our own. :)

 

AKman ... We have been on at least one roll call/cruise together.

Were you on the roll call when someone was organizing a private tour for 5 couples and turned out the organizer kept adding more and more people and going to additional places?

What started out as small turned into large and many got really mad and sort of ruined the roll call ... :(

 

LuLu

[rdsqrl]

As she said, she works full time but is fortunate to be able to cruise often. She has enough on her plate and likes to explore and share her tours with others but has no time to deal with extra paper work. She has stayed away from the roll call for a week now because she doesn't want to respond to this person. I have someone on one of my upcoming cruises that I was on several excursions with on a former cruise and she drove everyone nuts. My friends agreed that we wouldn't go on another tour if we know she is on it. She is kind of doing the same thing on one of my cruises.

 

My friend also said this new person sounds very demanding and pushy. she is also afraid she may end up taking over once the tour starts. Several are tours where the route will be decided once they get in the van.

I totally lost track in your first paragraph -- too many shes and hers and this persons . . . It all sounds like middle school drama. Tell your friend to post that since she didn't expressly say she was keeping a waitlist, the obvious logical conclusion for any reasonably intelligent reader should have been that any subsequent openings would be first-come, first-served. What's the complainer going to do, say, "Well, I'm not reasonably intelligent, so drop lurker and pick me"? Rat the organizer out to the captain?

 

In my experience, lurkers who never join roll calls and come out from nowhere at the mention of a private shore excursion, should not take the spot of the original bookee. If numbers are limited, then all the more reason this rule applies.

"come out of nowhere"? There's nothing wrong with being a lurker; there are no rules that say one has to post a minimum number of times in order to be a full-fledged member of CC or of a roll call. You, too, can sit at the middle school drama queen table, along with the ladies fighting over the excursion space.

Edited August 8, 2015 by rdsqrl

[Kenswing]

I don't think there is any "official" way to do this. So it is up to each organizer to make up the rules. In this case, the organizer did not want to maintain a wait list. So be it.

Yep.. If you take the time and initiative to organize a tour you get to pick who's going with you. Maybe next time the people that feel lefty out will step up and organize a tour..

[Kenswing]

Vendors have told us that Princess keeps 50% of what passengers pay. The shore ex staff on the ship is making normal one stripe officer wages and handling huge volume (compared to, say, spa treatments or photos). I suspect shore ex is one of the most profitable revenue streams on a ship (along with drinks and casino).

I thought the art auction was the big money maker.. :p

[Steelers36]

My two, or three, cents worth is that anyone who takes on the task of organizing tours in a roll call is by any other name acting like a travel agent. My hat goes off in a way to anyone who could take on something like this with a bunch of strangers.

 

As is mentioned on many posts above, people drop away and don't mention it, or you don't hear back. Others pester to get included or have their own agenda. What happens if they don't show up? I wouldn't even want to be a participant, let alone an organizer. It's just a load of time and stress when I want to be on vacation.

 

If I was participating, I would not expect a wait list and I'd have to be checking the RC all the time making sure the organizer was still organizing and still going on the trip themselves.

 

I took a look at the RC for our next trip and the organizer guy has so much going on, he almost needs his own daily Patter. :D Not sure when he will get to have a vacation. But, to each their own.

 

 

I have no problem making private tour arrangements outside of Princess Excursions, or catching my own taxi or bus ride, but no interest in working that with anyone other than friends cruising with us.

Edited August 8, 2015 by steelers36

[Steelers36]

Yes, sometimes there is a cost savings and sometimes there is not.

 

But non-Princess tours have advantages that go beyond saving (or not saving) a few $$.

 

 

You sound like my kind of touring person!! Great post. I prefer smaller type tours as well.

 

Another reason to book with Princess not in your list:

All the spaces on something you want to do are already pre-booked by the ship. :eek: An example of this was a few years back when I wanted to do the America's Cup yacht sailing in St Martin. At the time, the price was not bad with Princess. They only had private bookings when none of certain lines were in port, so then worked for the folks staying on-island. No idea what the situation is now.

 

I've also talked to some private operators in the Caribbean who tried and dropped going with cruise ships because they only wanted to pay a fraction to the owner/operator and then over-charge the cruisers.

[umbluemusic]

I am so baffled by people who act like booking independent excursions is so time consuming. My last cruise I booked three - two with my roll call, one on my own (but it wound up growing to include roll call members). None of it took much time at all, the companies were all amazing, and i spent less and had a more personalized time for my cruise. I definitely have used princess tours before and enjoyed them, but my vacation time is so limited - I enjoy picking out different opportunities and also ensuring more of my money stays where I am visiting.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[caribill]

I am so baffled by people who act like booking independent excursions is so time consuming. My last cruise I booked three - two with my roll call, one on my own (but it wound up growing to include roll call members). None of it took much time at all, the companies were all amazing, and i spent less and had a more personalized time for my cruise.

 

Sometimes all it takes is letting the vendor know the number of participants and the organizer keeping a list (with contact information) of the participants.

 

Other times there is additional work involved. Often (especially in Asia and Africa), the vendor needs to know the actual participants' names, their citizenship and their passport numbers. Collecting and sending this information on or getting the participants to send the information can be quite time consuming.

[windsor26]

Yes, sometimes there is a cost savings and sometimes there is not.

 

But non-Princess tours have advantages that go beyond saving (or not saving) a few $$.

 

There are in my mind two types of private tours.

 

The first type already exists and has nothing to do with a roll call. You just book with the vendor over the Internet in advance of the cruise. Of course you might share your find with others on the roll call. One good example of this are the two day excursions in St. Petersburg, Russia. Of course in this example, the cost savings can be hundreds of $$ a person.

 

The second type is one organized by a roll call member. This can be a small group (as few as four) or a bus load.

 

The advantage of both types over the ship's excursions include:

 

o Usually smaller groups. Most of the roll call arranged ones that I have been on have had less than 15 people with many being eight people or less. There are big advantages in this as with a Princess tour you cannot continue to the next part of a tour until 35+ people make it back to the bus after rest room stops, shopping, eating, wandering. Much easier to get eight people back on time than 35.

 

o A smaller group means a smaller vehicle. A big bus is limited in how close you can get to an attraction. It can make a big difference in time when you can drive right up to an entrance vs. having to walk from a parking lot three blocks away.

 

o Independent tours will often include more sights than the equivalent Princess tour. Two examples quickly come to mind. In St. Petersburg many of the independent tours include a ride in the subway, a memorable experience that is not included in a Princess tour. In Juneau, the independent whale watching tour we had included time on land at the Mandenhall glacier, not visited on the Princess tour. (Another benefit of that tour was only six people on the boat vs many more on the Princess tours. With only six people, everyone sees every whale. This tour actually cost a few more $$ than the Princess tour but was well worth it.)

 

o If meal time is included, independent tours can usually offer a better and quicker experience being the only group at the chosen restaurant which may even be a better restaurant than the one on the ship tours. A Princess tour may have multiple buses pulling up to a restaurant at the same time.

 

o In general, I have found the overall quality of the tour guides to be better on independent tours than on Princess tours. I am not saying that Princess tour guides are not good or that all independent tour guides are excellent, but I have had more poor guides on Princess tours than on independent tours. Of course, independent tour vendors cannot be picked blindly. The independent tours I have been on have been with with vendors that have been recommended by posters on Cruise Critic or friends who have used them previously.

 

o Although many will point to the Princess promise that they will wait for a delayed Princess tour, reliable independent tour vendors always get you back in time and a number of them promise to pay to get you to the next port if you did miss the ship, an extremely unlikely event. I cannot remember any poster on Cruise Critic that said they missed the ship due to the fault of the independent tour vendor.

 

There is one circumstance when a Princess tour is definitely better. If an attraction is normally closed to the public on the day the ship will be there, then often a Princess tour can still visit it. Two examples that come to mind:

 

o The Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

 

o The island of Delos in the Mediterranean. (On one cruise, many were planning to travel on their own to Delos using a ferry. However, we were there on the day it is normally closed. The Princess tour did have a boat that went to Delos from the port on Mykonos that day, but all those who wanted to it on their own were upset. They blamed Princess for not informing them that Delos was closed to the public that day.)

 

Do I always avoid Princess tours? Of course not. There are many Princess tours I have taken in the past and many I will take in the future. Reasons I take a Princess tour:

o No recommended independent tour that I would like in a port.

o No one on the roll call organized a tour and I did not want to.

o The site to be visited is significantly far from the port (example- Kuala Lumpur is far enough from the port that I would worry about getting back on time.)

o A unique excursion that is not easy to do on your own. (Example: Princess offered a tour to Pisa that included tickets to climb the tower. On your own you might easily get to Pisa, but not be able to get tickets to climb the tower.)

 

What he said!!!

I organise tours and offer them to others on the roll call I ask for people to e mail me direct if interested and obviously they get on the tour and when I re look at the roll call someone usually says YES please on the forum Obviously if I have room they can come also but those who e mailed me will get on first because I deal with my messages first.

[Red Hat Cruise Cat]

First come, first served. I've never, ever taken into account how long the person has been on the roll call. That's immaterial.

 

 

Totally Agree!!!

 

I think the person sending the e-mail was extremely Rude and Demanding, and I would NOT want them on my excursion because of their attitude.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Red Hat Cruise Cat

[Red Hat Cruise Cat]

My two, or three, cents worth is that anyone who takes on the task of organizing tours in a roll call is by any other name acting like a travel agent. ..............................

 

 

Big Difference, a Travel Agent gets paid, the person organizing the private tours does not.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Having organised many private tours only once have I been dropped in it,

 

With minutes to go we were due to meet to go ashore, there was an answer

 

phone message from a couple saying they had decided to do their own thing,

 

Ok if I had collected money earlier in the cruise etc,

 

So I went to IC which was full and just shouted out that I had a tour leaving now

 

with two spaces a young couple said they would like to join, so day was saved.

 

 

As to private or Princess for me its simple high risk, eg long distance, poor back up, little English spoken Princess tour mainland Europe, Caribbean private

 

been on a Princess tour Istanbul bus broke down, a private tour Barbados and our taxi never came back,

 

so risks on every tour

 

 

yours Shogun

[skynight]

Do something to encourage people to bring their shore excursions back to the cruise line and reward passengers who book several. We do a ships shore excursion in almost every port we go to. Our shore excursion bill alone would usually have paid a third persons cruise fare.

Terry

Cost is a factor, but it isn't cost alone, that drives passengers to private tours. Full bus loads, 45+ people, non flexible stops, very short free time, lots of on and off for photos, are just a few things I have found which make ship tours less desirable.

 

Regarding cost, Princess gets their large percentage, the port agent gets their percentage and the tour operator theirs. Three hands makes prices higher.

 

Responsibility. Princess needs to radically change their outward policy that it is the tour operator that is fully responsible. Princess needs to first accept responsibility for issues on tours, not first reject issues.

[paul929207]

Cost is a factor, but it isn't cost alone, that drives passengers to private tours. Full bus loads, 45+ people, non flexible stops, very short free time, lots of on and off for photos, are just a few things I have found which make ship tours less desirable.

 

Regarding cost, Princess gets their large percentage, the port agent gets their percentage and the tour operator theirs. Three hands makes prices higher.

 

Responsibility. Princess needs to radically change their outward policy that it is the tour operator that is fully responsible. Princess needs to first accept responsibility for issues on tours, not first reject issues.

Well said.

[Cindy]

I plan private tours and frequently open them up to my roll calls. I enjoy the researching and planning, and like sharing what I find with others. The one thing I don't/won't do is handle money. All the tours I've organized have either been pay the day of or make a deposit directly with the tour operator.

 

So far I've only had one issue, and that was a minor communication problem that was easily (and politely:))sorted out.

[Momma Mojito]

Actually think in many cases you can get a better deal through a private tour provider, but I do the booking on my own and don't depend on the RC. The only time I have ever done anything through the RC for a tour was for St. Petersburg, where I booked a private 2-day tour and needed to share with at least 2 people to keep the cost reasonable. It worked out fine and we were able to see much more than the Princess bus in a much more personalized setting, but it was very small scale.

 

What the OP describes is a perfect example of no good deed goes unpunished. This person was nice enough to organize shore excursions for no other reason than to be nice, now they get crucified because someone doesn't like how they are handling it. If it were me I would say *bleep* you, do it yourself and that would be the last time you would see me on the RC. Way too much drama for me. This is supposed to be a relaxing vacation.

 

I agree with evething you have said. As a person who realy doesn't enjoy doing tours in groups, yes I know I sometimes you have to and we have gone on a few but there always seems to be someone that want to do and see things there way!!!! Personally if it were me I would hope that the complainer took and tour!!!

[Steelers36]

Big Difference, a Travel Agent gets paid, the person organizing the private tours does not.

 

Exactly!! But they might also get a heap of frustration too.

[shredie]

First come, first served. I've never, ever taken into account how long the person has been on the roll call. That's immaterial.

 

I guess I better not start wailing about whales, then. ;) LOL. DH is a ship's tour kind of guy because he likes the built-in safety factors (such as they are.) Also--let's not fault lurkers on roll calls for anything. As a member of the best Roll Call now going (:D) I am sure we have some lurkers who are going to be our best friends once we all sail on the ship together. :)

Edited August 8, 2015 by shredie

[GreySkies]

A few comments:

 

1. Your friend may tell the person that the tour is all booked up, but is willing to share the information so that the person may try organizing it for himself and others.

 

2. If your friend is uncomfortable by the person's email tone (very hard to tell how it really reads!), she can tell the person that is the reason she hesitates to let him in the group. It could also be due to that day's circumstances. Again, this is a very sticky situation.

 

3. Your friend may tell the person that the tour is all booked up, but will post a new message if someone drops out.

 

4. Just because someone is "new" to the roll call doesn't mean they haven't been reading and following the conversations.

 

5. Just because someone is "new" to the roll call doesn't mean that they don't have anything of value to contribute to it.

 

6. Just because someone is "new" doesn't mean they won't start participating in the roll call. Perhaps the excursion is just what they need to start in the conversations.

 

In regard to some that have said that private excursions get you better things: Another example of this would be a small group in Ephasus can get you into the Apartments. Very worth going into!

[AKman2495]

Agree with you on this! We either book an excursion with the ship or take a taxi to where we want to go on our own. :)

 

AKman ... We have been on at least one roll call/cruise together.

Were you on the roll call when someone was organizing a private tour for 5 couples and turned out the organizer kept adding more and more people and going to additional places?

What started out as small turned into large and many got really mad and sort of ruined the roll call ... :(

 

LuLu

 

Hi LuLu, no, I wasn't on that roll call, but if I had been, that kind of problem would have had me signing off for sure!

 

We are heading out next much for a TA on the Royal. !5 days with the first week hitting Europe and the last week at sea. My kind of cruise!

[lovey1103]

I have organized tours and for me it is first come first served. My goal is to fill the tour to keep costs down so early bird gets the worm.