Expensive lesson learned re. independent excursion

[BJzink]

Just back from a wonderful "Adriatic Explorer" cruise on Prinsendam, but a horrible experience with an independent excursion. I will never, never again book one of these unless the seller specifically states a "pick-up & drop-off" at the cruise pier. My excursion was in Venice, did get a vague description of the directions to the tour meeting place, however there was absolutely no way I was able to make it there by the time they left. I disembarked the ship about 5 minutes after the door was opened, at 0800 and tried to follow the directions. My meeting time was 9:40, had to purchase vaporetta ticket, wait & wait for it, get to St. Mark's square, and walk through many non-marked streets/alleys. I asked for directions with no help, had to back-track several times. I arrived 3 minutes after the stated meeting time, but they had left without me. 2 of the gondola "guys" tried phoning the number on my confirmation letter, no answer. Lesson learned..........

[haladdict]

That must have been very stressful, but at least you didn't miss the ship. many of us have seen a few people who have done that.

Sandra

[MisterBill99]

That must have been very stressful, but at least you didn't miss the ship. many of us have seen a few people who have done that.

Sandra

Agreed. That was the first thing I thought of when I read the title here. OP, how much did you lose? Have you tried disputing the charge or asked for a refund? Make sure you leave a negative review on Trip Advisor and maybe they'll reach out to you and offer a refund.

 

BTW I'm not sure if your tour was specifically intended for cruise ship passengers. Sounds like it wasn't given the apparently unreasonable start time. Maybe that's the lesson here. Book excursions for cruise ship passengers which start at an appropriate time.

 

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[iancal]

We select our private tours carefully. We have only paid on advance one on many tours and even that was just a 30 percent deposit.

 

Our experience with private tours or DIY has been excellent. Especially on our recent South American cruise.

 

But..we are very independent travellers and are accustomed to making our own arrangements.

[avian777]

That must have been very stressful, but at least you didn't miss the ship. many of us have seen a few people who have done that.

Sandra

 

Excellent Post, Sandra! BTW I love your CC name - we share your "addiction" ...

Smooth sailing :ship::ship::ship:

[Kate45]

This is very interesting to me. Just this morning I was thinking about posting a question about this! We are doing Alaska for the first and probably only time. Read many posts about people booking independent tours and was wondering whether you prepay these, what kind of cancellation in general do they have (Alaska is weather dependent). Normally when we cruise the Caribbean we hail a cab and do our own thing but don't think that is much of an option in Alaska.

[MisterBill99]

This is very interesting to me. Just this morning I was thinking about posting a question about this! We are doing Alaska for the first and probably only time. Read many posts about people booking independent tours and was wondering whether you prepay these, what kind of cancellation in general do they have (Alaska is weather dependent). Normally when we cruise the Caribbean we hail a cab and do our own thing but don't think that is much of an option in Alaska.

Almost all private shore excursions I've booked have said that if the ship is unable to dock, they will refund your money. Note this would imply that it's an excursion that is intended for cruise ship passengers.

Edited October 24, 2017 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

We select our private tours carefully. We have only paid on advance one on many tours and even that was just a 30 percent deposit.

 

Our experience with private tours or DIY has been excellent. Especially on our recent South American cruise.

 

But..we are very independent travellers and are accustomed to making our own arrangements.

We always book our own tours. In fact, I just booked one for a year from now in Cartagena, Columbia, and the tour operator did not ask for a deposit and told me I just needed to pay in cash at the end of the tour. I was expecting them to tell me that I needed to commit to the entire van, put down a deposit and find people to fill the van, so not having to do any of that was a very pleasant surprise.

 

Rereading the original post, I think that the OP should have mapped out the route from the port to the meeting place in advance on Google Maps and printed it out. Either that or turned on their Internet service for the day (with Verizon you can do it for $10/day) and used an app to give live directions.

[whogo]

Have you tried disputing the charge or asked for a refund? Make sure you leave a negative review on Trip Advisor and maybe they'll reach out to you and offer a refund.

I would never consider disputing the credit card charge. I do not see where any of this is the tour company's fault. Leaving a bad review in hopes of a refund is just plain wrong. It was an expensive lesson learned by BJzink and a good note of caution to the rest of us.

[Stella1250]

Why would you not consider disputing the charge? They left 3 minutes after the allotted time. I think any good tour company should give at least a 5 minute window for unforeseen circumstances. I could see if the OP was 30 minutes late, but not 3. I would immediately dispute the charge because 3 minutes seems a little ridiculous to me.

[avian777]

I would never consider disputing the credit card charge. I do not see where any of this is the tour company's fault. Leaving a bad review in hopes of a refund is just plain wrong. It was an expensive lesson learned by BJzink and a good note of caution to the rest of us.

 

Spot on, whogo (y)(y)(y)

[RuthC]

I'm so sorry this happened to you, especially when you tried so hard to be where you should have been, when you should have been there. Three minutes? Really??? It takes that long to organize the group and get moving.

Are you sure the tour leader was even there to meet you had you been on time?

I hope you were able to find an interesting way to enjoy Venice in spite of what happened.

[mcrcruiser]

I have arranged many private tours in all parts of the world . With out exception I never book any tour that will not pick our group up & drop us off at the cruise pier .Additionally ,it is well understood by the tour operator that they must return us to the pier one full hour prior to the ships departure time

 

Our selection of tour operators is picked from recommendations of prior cruise critic members in the "Ports Section " of Cruise Critic & double checked on TripAdvisor.com ,for any problems before booking

 

A 3rd rule of the private tours we book is that there are NO Deposits required , that the Tour operator has some things to drink like water ,sodas ,ie on board for each person . Additionally we know before hand the method of payment acceptable to the tour operator .

 

The above is the correct method when organizing a tour on the Roll Calls . Also We make sure that our group meets at a specific time at a pre destined part of the ship & then we all exit the ship as a group

 

Doing the above has long been our standards & we never have encountered any problems doing private tours on our Roll Calls :D

[Lizzie68]

I feel for the OP and hope he gets his money back. But a word of caution here - in many years of private excursions we have never paid upfront, always at the time of the excursion. Only once did we pay a deposit to secure an excursion for our small group, but we thoroughly researched the tour operator first. And our pick up and drop off has always been at the pier, or very close to.

[slidergirl]

It is unfortunate that, the OP missed the excursion. It is unfortunate that the OP did not research thoroughly to know whether this excursion would work with the ship's arrival time, just how long it would take to get from the ship to the meeting place. Not every excursion one finds on the Internet are geared to the cruiser. The OP got to the meeting place late. It doesn't matter how late. The excursion departed ON TIME. The others on the excursion deserved this from the company. People here bitch when people make them wait on ships' excursions, why should this be different. "was the tour leader even there"??? - if they had been on time, they would have answered that question. Writing a negative TA review because someone arrived late and missed the excursion? Someone wants a freebie for their own negligence.

 

It's another lesson to 1) do thorough research and 2) go on a ship's excursion if you cannot/do not want to, do the research.

[MisterBill99]

I have arranged many private tours in all parts of the world . With out exception I never book any tour that will not pick our group up & drop us off at the cruise pier .Additionally ,it is well understood by the tour operator that they must return us to the pier one full hour prior to the ships departure time

 

A 3rd rule of the private tours we book is that there are NO Deposits required ,

Your post has good info. However, it appears that the OP booked this on their own, and it likely was not a tour intended solely for cruise ship passengers. Had they booked with other people on their roll call, they also might have been with something who was better able to finding the meeting point, since the OP obviously had problems getting to it (which was the ultimate reason they got there late).

 

As for not requiring a deposit, presumably that means that you exclude a number of tours that you might otherwise take. On our recent British Isles cruise, half of the group tours booked thru our Roll Call thread required at least partial pre-payment.

[Herfnerd]

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident

 

With the exception of one excursion, we have always booked independent tours but only after doing our due diligence. Most have required us to pay in advance but I always check to make sure that they will refund if our ship docks late or changes ports of call. Never had an issue

[Hlitner]

Sorry to hear about the OP's incident. Walking around Venice can sometimes make folks feel like they are in a maze...with no clue as to which way. Many of the street signs are hidden high up on building walls and we have often seen folks looking all over for a direction sign or street name...when its right over their head.

 

Hank

[avian777]

... With the exception of one excursion, we have always booked independent tours but only after doing our due diligence. Most have required us to pay in advance but I always check to make sure that they will refund if our ship docks late or changes ports of call. Never had an issue

 

At the risk of raising your defensive hackles, specifically how can you "make sure that they will refund if ..."? More importantly, what if they fail to return you to the ship on time - how can you make sure that the tour operator will cover your costs of catching up with the ship?

Thank you.

[easyboy]

Sorry you missed your shore excursion. It’s one of the risks in taking a private one, in exchange for probably a cheaper price.

 

 

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[Herfnerd]

At the risk of raising your defensive hackles, specifically how can you "make sure that they will refund if ..."? More importantly, what if they fail to return you to the ship on time - how can you make sure that the tour operator will cover your costs of catching up with the ship?

Thank you.

 

 

No hackles raised.

 

And the answer is quite simple - I do my research.

 

I check how long they've been around, other people's experience with them/reviews (from as many sources as possible, not just CC) what their policies are, email and/or call them with questions, etc and then decide if I feel comfortable enough to give them my business knowing full well that if they don't get me back to the ship on time for all aboard, that's most likely on me. However, I have always booked an excursion that gave me plenty of time to get back to the ship.

 

Have yet to miss an excursion or return to the ship

[sail7seas]

I often say if you haven't been lost in Venice, you haven't been to Venice,. :)

 

Most of us walking around on our own in Venice , will likely get a little lost at least once. :)

[MisterBill99]

At the risk of raising your defensive hackles, specifically how can you "make sure that they will refund if ..."? More importantly, what if they fail to return you to the ship on time - how can you make sure that the tour operator will cover your costs of catching up with the ship?

Thank you.

I have a standard answer whenever people say that they are concerned about doing private excursions because they are afraid they will not get back to the ship on time.The answer is that the bad publicity the tour operator will receive online if people post that they missed their ship means that getting you back to the ship on time is their #1 priority.

 

How often does one read stories here of people not getting back to the ship on time due to a private excursion? I can't remember seeing any (although I thought this was one based on the subject).

[avian777]

No hackles raised.

 

And the answer is quite simple - I do my research.

 

I check how long they've been around, other people's experience with them/reviews (from as many sources as possible, not just CC) what their policies are, email and/or call them with questions, etc and then decide if I feel comfortable enough to give them my business knowing full well that if they don't get me back to the ship on time for all aboard, that's most likely on me. However, I have always booked an excursion that gave me plenty of time to get back to the ship.

 

Have yet to miss an excursion or return to the ship

Thank you for you kind and thoughtful response. I am probably just a little more risk adverse than you are, so I will continue to take HAL excursions. But I don't question your choice to do otherwise.

Again, thanks and continued good luck on your excursions. :)

Edited October 24, 2017 by avian777

[igraf]

Didn't you think that booking a tour at 9:40am that met far away from the ship was risky? And paying in advanced on top of all that? Sorry, but I see no reason to knock independent excursions based on your circumstances.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Just back from a wonderful "Adriatic Explorer" cruise on Prinsendam, but a horrible experience with an independent excursion. I will never, never again book one of these unless the seller specifically states a "pick-up & drop-off" at the cruise pier. My excursion was in Venice, did get a vague description of the directions to the tour meeting place, however there was absolutely no way I was able to make it there by the time they left. I disembarked the ship about 5 minutes after the door was opened, at 0800 and tried to follow the directions. My meeting time was 9:40, had to purchase vaporetta ticket, wait & wait for it, get to St. Mark's square, and walk through many non-marked streets/alleys. I asked for directions with no help, had to back-track several times. I arrived 3 minutes after the stated meeting time, but they had left without me. 2 of the gondola "guys" tried phoning the number on my confirmation letter, no answer. Lesson learned..........