Ship Cannot dock - No Show Penalty Levied!!

[Free and Easy]

Whilst there are many ports which do not charge any no-show penalty as a result of Ship unable to dock due high winds or bad weather, we now found that a number of Operators which do charge, e.g., Comapa charges 50% penalty for a Puerto Arena City tour, South Excursions charges 30% for a full-day Puerto Montt tour even if Ship is unable to dock. Wonder whether this is a standard practice for these ports or just these tour operators?? If anyone has used a good operator in Puerto Arena, Ushuaia, or Puerto Montt with nil penalty for no-show due Ship unable to dock, please do advise. Many thanks!

[scluvsrain]

There are tour companies that require a non refundable deposit in advance. I personally do not like to do business with companies like that WHEN we are talking about a port that is known to be "problematic" - i.e. common that ships have to skip to due winds/weather.

 

For ports such as these, I usually will opt for a ship's tour/excursion. I always get my money back on those, if they are cancelled due to not being able to dock/tender in.

 

If you bought travel insurance, you may very well be able to recover your lost $$ by filing a claim. Check your policy to see if something like this is covered.

 

I'm sorry for your troubles! Hope it doesn't spoil/dampen the enjoyment of the rest of your cruise.

[shorefolks]

You might try Cruising Excursions (cruisingexcursions dot com). I have used them twice, albeit in Europe and not yet in the ports you mention. I was generally pleased with their tours, and their policy is complete refund when the ship does not get to port. I have booked with them in Puerto Madryn on an upcoming cruise for that reason. I refuse to book with operators that want advance payment yet do not guarantee refunds for skipped ports.

[4774Papa]

We used SouthExcursions for most of our Around the Horn tours. The money we saved compared to the ship's excursions was worth the risk that we would have to pay 30% because our ship could not port there.

[Free and Easy]

Dear Scluvsrain and Shorefolks, thank you for your response. Yes indeed in our previous European cruises we have never encountered an operator wanting to charge no-show penalty even if Ship cannot dock. It appears that this is something only some South American tour operators do :(.