QM2 South America Shore Excursions

[Emu]

Travelling on the entire eastbound voyage deaprting LA 8 March......... have paid in full months ago, but have not recieved any information on shore excursions etc. (or any written acknowledgement whatsoever for that matter)

 

As I understand some of the longer off ship tours are expensive, could anyone please advise when a guide book to the tours offered is normally provided? The Australian Cunard office has no information at all and is not particularly helpful.........(despite having paid over $40,000 for this trip & prebooking a 49 night QM2 2007 world cruise sector)

 

Having previously travelled on the QM2 ............. we really enjoy the ship and the onboard service........... but are rapidly tiring of the complete lack of service and professionalism in the reservations area. Even written letters of complaint recieve no response!!!!

 

Any ideas on contacting someone in authority, who might actually care, would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Steve

[curlyQ]

Hang in there 'Emu' - as I understand, the folks on the "Royal

Hawaiian Liner" voyage departing Feb 25th have just received

their pre-docs. This includes all the shore excursions and

transfer info etc. Patience is a virtue - yours should be in

your fingertips in the next week or so.

 

Cunard is not known for their land based customer service -

yes, it's pitiful. You telephone 5 agents and you shall

receive 5 different answers and of course, management

will never stand behind any of the erroneously given

answers of their employees.

 

Once, you step on board however, you know it's a

different story. So hang in there - your anxiously

awaited docs should be there shortly. ( living in the

land of 'OZ' may take just a little longer ).

 

Bon Voyage!

[cruiserking]

Emu,

 

Have you sent in your guest registration forms yet?

 

We received our pre-cruise docs on November 10 and tickets on December 9 for upcoming January 3 cruise, so you have some time. Agree though the Cunard registration crew can be annoying.

 

Hang in there.

 

Cruiserking

[Emu]

Thanks for your responses.

 

Yes........... the registration forms were sent with the deposit 12 months ago............. I haven't even recieved a brochure on the trip............ all I was sent was a half page photocopy of the booking confirmation listing the basic details and ports of call............... nothing else.

 

I have found out everything else on the "net" (from costings, to departure berth to arrival at the new terminal in Brooklyn) and I am totally amazed that a company as large as Carnival, has management that allows such abysmal service from the reservations section.................. after all how many people when confronted with such poor standards, simply don't book a voyage???? How much revenue is lost????

 

I wrote to the Asia - Pacific manager after my last experience booking a transatlantic passage ........... and she didn't even have the courtesy to reply............ I then wrote to the USA office ..............who forwarded the complaint back to Australia............. with zero result!!!!!

 

The "White Star" service must not exist until you actually board the ship!!!!

[travel-to-go]

Thanks for your responses.

I wrote to the Asia - Pacific manager after my last experience booking a transatlantic passage ........... and she didn't even have the courtesy to reply............ I then wrote to the USA office ..............who forwarded the complaint back to Australia............. with zero result!!!!!

 

Try writing to Mr. Arison or Ms. Carol Marlow,. the president and managing director!

 

Maybe she would be interested in the way "her" "GUESTS" are being treated (since they insist we are guests!)

 

Karie

 

Good luck!

That is deplorable!

[jimneycrkit]

I am on the westbound voyage that leaves in 2 weeks . We only got our shore excrusion booklet less than a month ago. Got our tickets 2 weeks ago. It is Cunard that is slow about these things not Carnival itself becasue when we sail with Princess we get our stuff months in advance. Our TA said that Cunard is famous for poor precruise info but great on the ship. Carnival is the opposite great on precruise stuff but bad on board. I would talk to your TA if you have one, our stuff had been mailed to the wrong person and was returned and then sat on someones desk and would have until we called about about it.Does make it hard to plan anything and I don't like the fact that we can't pre-reserve shore excursions except for the expensive overnight ones that aren't in our plans anyway.Just praying that once we are on board we can get the ones we want and the people that get on New York, we get on in FL , don't take all the good ones. Not knowing if they are going to be available makes it hard to plan anything in any port ahead of time and I haven't had the time to make my own arrangements and am bascially stuck with what QM2 offers.

[mufi]

We are recently back from visiting some South American ports on QE2. Many of the Cunard tours are a rip off, but it is not easy to plan your own trips that would be so much better if you had local knowledge. The Corcovada, Rio trip was largely a waste of time except for the train trip and the statue. We spent half an hour driving round the back streets waiting for some folk who had missed the train, then were taken to a beach to look at hang gliders. I kid you not. And you sure get your fill of dubious tatty markets.

 

The problem is you just do not know until it is too late. We found we could have easily taken a taxi either to the statue direct, or to the train from the dock terminal building. Half the price as well.

 

David.

[ricker]

We received our Path of Magellan excursion brochures after the 30 day cut-off for some of the tours. We still do not have our air or cruise documents and find it awkward to schedule airport transport, etc., not knowing which carrier we will be on, or what day we leave.

David, would you advise trying to pick up a private tour "from the dock" for Rio and other SA ports?

 

Thanks

Rick J

[eatsallinsects]

Anybody on this list interested in "hooking up" with a mother-daughter duo going the 38-day segment for a taxi, etc. in Rio? Me (the mother) does not "do" mountains so I would be staying at the bottom waiting for the rest of the party to return from the statue, etc. Daughter is game for anything (almost-LOL)!

Edith in Dallas TEXAS

[jimneycrkit]

Edith when are you going? Westbound or East bound. My mom and I are on the Jan 17th from FL to LA . We might like to hook up for share of taxis etc if you are on the same one?

 

Melissa

jimneycrkit@sbcglobal.net

[eatsallinsects]

Edith when are you going? Westbound or East bound. My mom and I are on the Jan 17th from FL to LA . We might like to hook up for share of taxis etc if you are on the same one?

 

Melissa

jimneycrkit@sbcglobal.net

-------------------------------------------

Melissa, I sent you an email. We will be boarding on January 15 in NYC (Lord willing and the creek don't rise--LOL). Edith in Dallas TEXAS (enigmaent@aol.com)

[mufi]

W

David, would you advise trying to pick up a private tour "from the dock" for Rio and other SA ports?

 

Thanks

Rick J

 

Well this only really occured to us in Rio. If you get a taxi from the terminal building you can either be taken directly to the statue, or to the train station if you are keen on the train ride. And this will be safe. The problem with the trips is that they take you to places you do not always want to go, someone is always late returning to the bus and it take ages to get everyone off at each stop.

 

Hoever you do need to be carefull in ports. One of our passengers was mugged in the port area in Rio. They were after his video camera and when he resisted one of them bit him. How worrying would that be.

 

You can't beat doing as much research as possible before you go.

 

David.

[eatsallinsects]

I think my daughter has already signed up for the flight at Punta Arenas (?). I don't do airplanes if I can get out of it (LOL)!

[sailsalot]

Hi,

 

We're on the Jan. 27-Feb. 8 westbound leg of the QM2 cruise around Cape Horn. Just wondering, was anyone able to pre-book excursions? I called Cunard and they said that pre-booking was not permitted. But after reading comments about information from Cunard, I'm not sure I should believe this. Anyone know anything else about pre-booking excursions for this leg of the trip??

 

Thanks!

[jimneycrkit]

The only ones you could have, and I mean could have, booked ahead of time were the overnight off the ship big ones, ie, Machu Picu and Iguuzzu falls shore excursions. the everyday short ones at each port you have to wait until you board and pray that they are not already filled by others that are already on board. Dumb system I think. All the overnight ones sold out already for all legs.I have a feeling that the Queens Grill passengers had first dibs on those as we called the day we got our brochure and the one we wanted as well as all the others were sold out. The quickie short excursions I was told I would have to wait until I board to do. guess thats where I will run to instead of my room as soon as I board in FL for this one. Since there will already be tons of people on board from New York I can only pray that the ones we want are not already sold out. This could have been totally avoided had they done it like Crystal or Princess and pre reserve yours on line months in advance. Why they can't do it with only two ships I can't figure out.

[sailsalot]

Thanks, Jimneycrkit, for the info. Is there any way you could do a huge favor for me, and others coming aboard on Jan. 27, and let us know which excursions are already sold out for the Jan 27-Feb 8 trip when you get on board in FLL? That will help us be able to arrange private tours ahead of time if we know that the trips we want to do are already sold out. I'd hate to find out only when we board, which gives us no time to arrange a private tour. If you're not able to get this info out to us, is anyone else able to do this? This would be a tremendous help to us. THANKS!!

[jimneycrkit]

I will see after a few days on board whats still there. Will wait a day or so just to see how they fill up after shore excursions talks ect. will try to post and let you all know. Don't want to have to pay too much for email on board. But I think I could do it one day around the 19th

[sailsalot]

Jimneycrkit,

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[Emu]

Cunard had advised the off ship excursions to Macchu Picchu and Igauzu Falls are also booked out, on the Eastbound voyage.

 

We sent a booking form my TA obtained for me, in November............. and we have only now been told they are gone.

 

This is despite no shore excursion book having bee sent yet!!!!!!!

 

I also suspect that some of these spaces are kept aside for Queens Grill passengers............. good old class system alive and well!!!!!

 

As for the day trips............... it will be straight onto the computer in my room to book them as soon as I set foot on board in LA!!!!!!!! (Cunard advises that electronic bookings get priority over paper bookings!!!!!!)

[coy860]

Emu, we are booked for the 2007 World, so will see you onboard!

Here we are, so excited to finally be visiting Australia, and you are leaving that beautiful country to see something else!

[Emu]

Yes......... we are lucky to live here, but we enjoy our Cunard travels and unfortunately we are neglected in this part of the world as far as quality cruising goes. Carnival, in the P&O pacific costume continues to despatch old but "tarted" up ships to this area to serve the market. An extremely good business could be made with some new equpiment.

 

So........ we will again be flying to the USA to start the 2007 journey in SFO before sailing onto Southampton........... we get to sail into Sydney harbour that way!!!!!!!.

 

Our only wish is that the drama of booking, information flow and a sane process for shore excursions, (that gives everyone a fair chance no matter where they board the journey!!!!) could be worked out........ because it destroys what is a magic onboard experience.

 

CYA on board in 2007!!!!!!! :)

[bobby1119]

Apparently the takeover of reservations by Princess is the source of so much lack of information or, worse yet, misinformation. Perhaps the ship's hotel manager will be able to help you sort it out. Enjoy the cruise!

[sailsalot]

Okay all you cruise critic folks on board the QM2 to South America,

 

Here's shameless begging for information on what excursions are still available or not. I'm specifically interested in the portion of the trip from Rio to Valparaiso. This will be extremely helpful, so that if there's an excursion that we want but is booked, then we can arrange a private tour before we leave. Please help if you can. It would be greatly appreciated.

 

THANKS!!

[rm fish]

I just found this thread and your post. Are you saying that the Machu Pichu trip is sold out? I'd really appreciate a response.

[Emu]

Yes......... I was told that Macchu Pichu was a sell out back in December........ Iguazu falls was up to waitlisting stage.

 

I wrote a letter to Carol Marlow M/D of Cunard, (and sent it by international express post) expressing my disgust that these tours can be booked out before we even get the excursions book.

 

Didn't get the courtesy of even a reply.

 

But mysteriously........ my travel agent called a week later, and stated we were now confirmed!

 

I think they probably just "bumped" someone else who they had not confirmed at that stage.

 

This is one area (amongst a lot of others on the admin side) that needs serious attention.............WHY can't they just open online bookings for ALL shore excursions like some of the other cruise lines......... at least give everyone a fair chance!

 

Our excursions book finally arrived...........(with the tickets!!!!!!!) about a week ago. Too bad if anyone else wanted to do a prebooked excursion.

 

I will not get caught with this drama on the 2007 QM2 round world cruise, I know what to expect now and will get in early.