Age limits

[sandbag7]

Being a bit north of age 65 I ran into an age limitation on Celebrity on a Kayaking expedition. I don’t know if this was imposed by Celebrity or the company they contract with. Does Celebrity ever change age limits to allow you to book an expedition once you’re on board?

[chemmo]

Being a bit north of age 65 I ran into an age limitation on Celebrity on a Kayaking expedition. I don’t know if this was imposed by Celebrity or the company they contract with. Does Celebrity ever change age limits to allow you to book an expedition once you’re on board?

 

In our experience it is an insurance issue. They are very unlikely to accept your booking as then they could have some liability if you were unlucky enough to be hurt on a trip. These restrictions seem to be becoming more and more frequent. A pity as many 70+ guests are very fit and mobile whilst being younger doesn’t necessarily mean fitter!

 

Try looking for similar private excursions and see if they also have any age restrictions.

[gold1953]

These are usually set by the tour company and not by Celebrity. They do not have a say in it

[cruisestitch]

It is not Celebrity's call -- the restriction is put on by the tour operator.

[Roz]

Age limits are so arbitrary, and can't take into account the wide range of mental and physical abilities of people of any age.

 

Roz

[MartinsCruise]

We ran into this one time because the age limit was mandated by the tour company. They allowed us to sign waivers so we could book the tour. You may want to ask Celebrity about this.

[keithm]

Being a bit north of age 65 I ran into an age limitation on Celebrity on a Kayaking expedition. I don’t know if this was imposed by Celebrity or the company they contract with. Does Celebrity ever change age limits to allow you to book an expedition once you’re on board?

First off, define "a bit north of 65". It's not like any of us know you. I'm 64 so I have no issue saying my age. I'm overweight,(about 25lb) but really very active. So far I've not had any restrictions. The restrictions, due to liability, are put in place by the tour operator, not the cruise line. Age & weight limits are often the most frequent restrictions.Some will give you a waiver to sign. On river tubing trips, which we like, we always sign a waiver. The only restriction on those tours, is being able to "sit" in the tube. Amusingly, a few years back the river was quite low & one pax kept getting stuck on the rocks. Really kind of funny, unless you got caught in the jam up. The tour/excursion desk will be able to help you on your tour choices. If you decide to choose one in port, then you'll have completely to go by their rules.

[1025cruise]

You might try booking directly with the tour company. While in some cases it might be the tour operator, in other cases its the insurance company making these restrictions.

[dutchclogs]

It's risk management. Not every young male driver under 25 is a speed fanatic but statistically this group has the most road traffic accidents, hence the (much) higher insurance premium.

It's true some pax over 65 can be a lot fitter than many of say, 45 or so but perhaps the company's insurance costs are prohibitive for 65 plussers?

[Jim_Iain]

I saw the same restriction on a National Park Walking tour in Croatia. They had a age restriction of 70. I believe it was to reduce the presumption of mobility issues of senior. While I am only 68, I think it is a very arbitrary restriction, as I walk 10-15 miles a day and am probably healthier than many on the tour.

 

In retrospect it turned out to be the worse excursion I have ever been on. The guide was terrible and when we got to the park they said they didn't have time to do the full tour so switched to a do it on your own.

[leaveitallbehind]

It is based on third party insurance guidelines determined by the specifics of the tour, and as imposed on the tour operator and has nothing to do with Celebrity. As they contract these tours through the third party operators, you will also not be successful in attempting to negotiate a variance through Celebrity as their hands are tied as it is not their restriction.

 

Your only recourse is to research alternative tour operators independently and book directly with them if the specifics of their tour don't carry the same insurance restrictions.

[sandbag7]

You might try booking directly with the tour company. While in some cases it might be the tour operator, in other cases its the insurance company making these restrictions.

 

Interesting thought; is there any way to ID the tour company Celebrity is working with?

[sandbag7]

I saw the same restriction on a National Park Walking tour in Croatia. They had a age restriction of 70. I believe it was to reduce the presumption of mobility issues of senior. While I am only 68, I think it is a very arbitrary restriction, as I walk 10-15 miles a day and am probably healthier than many on the tour.

 

In retrospect it turned out to be the worse excursion I have ever been on. The guide was terrible and when we got to the park they said they didn't have time to do the full tour so switched to a do it on your own.

 

At the ripe old age of 66 I did a walking tour on a Holland America cruise last year; I usually stay away from ship tours but I couldn’t find an independent expedition. The tour was maddeningly slow; One guy was even pushing a wheelchair through the Forest path! I Wonder what insurance company approved that!

[sandbag7]

Your only recourse is to research alternative tour operators independently and book directly with them if the specifics of their tour don't carry the same insurance restrictions.

 

Yeah, I’ve been looking for that; the port is Colon, Panama and the tour consists of kayaking in Gatun Lake; all the relevant tours I’m finding are out of Panama City and won’t work.

[fleckle]

Being a bit north of age 65 I ran into an age limitation on Celebrity on a Kayaking expedition. I don’t know if this was imposed by Celebrity or the company they contract with. Does Celebrity ever change age limits to allow you to book an expedition once you’re on board?

They did make an exception for a member of our party, after contacting the tour operator.

It was for a very easy tour, and we never did learn why it even had an maximum age restriction in the first place.

I would suggest going to the shore excursions desk to ask early in your cruise, so you have time to make other arrangements in case you are turned down.

Apparently they approach it on a case by case basis, leaving the approval or denial decision to the tour operator.

It may have nothing to do with insurance.

We heard of a situation where a tour operator decided to ban children under a certain age from their whale watching tours after they had a problem with a child acting up on one of their tours, causing them to get a lot of complaints and requests for refunds from the other tour participants.

 

In a similar way, some tour operators may arbitrarily impose a maximum age restriction if they have encountered a problem with an elderly person slowing down or holding up the rest of the group, or otherwise creating a problem for them.

If they happen to get a slow person who is 35, there are no repercussions at all, but if a slow person is 85, that is a different story. :eek:

Edited September 10, 2018 by fleckle

[sandbag7]

They did make an exception for a member of our party, after contacting the tour operator.

It was for a very easy tour, and we never did learn why it even had an maximum age restriction in the first place.

I would suggest going to the shore excursions desk to ask early in your cruise, so you have time to make other arrangements in case you are turned down.

Apparently they approach it on a case by case basis, leaving the approval or denial decision to the tour operator.

It may have nothing to do with insurance.

We heard of a situation where a tour operator decided to ban children under a certain age from their whale watching tours after they had a problem with a child acting up on one of their tours, causing them to get a lot of complaints and requests for refunds from the other tour participants.

 

In a similar way, some tour operators may impose a maximum age restriction if they have encountered a problem with an elderly person slowing down or holding up the rest of the group, or otherwise creating a problem for them.

If they happen to get a slow person who is 35, there are no repercussions at all, but if a slow person is 85, that is a different story.

 

I’m pretty resigned to the likelihood I’ll have to take thit up on board; the other potential tours are of no interest, there is no snorkeling in the vicinity, Colon is pretty much a dump (I’m led to understand) and I’m not much for staying on board, but since I’ve got Indy tours arranged at every other port I can accept a day at the pool with my music and books if things don’t work out.

Thanks everyone for your $2 worth (with inflation).

[Aunt Tina]

Don't give up - ask when you get on the ship. I approached the tour desk about an age restriction and was told I looked capable and was able to sign up for the tour.

 

Don't think about going on the ship's Canal tour - our January cruise on the canal was the worst ship's tour we ever had. 10 buses went to boats to go through the last two locks. The first two buses were able to off-load onto the boats. The rest were stopped by Canal authority - and waited 2 hours for the boat captains to come onboard before they were allowed on the boats. In the 2 hours they were kept on the buses without bathrooms or drinks, then after complaints, were allowed off to stand by the buses. There was one bathroom a great distance away people were finally allowed to go to. The truck delivering food was also not allowed to offload the food - and sat in the sun for all that time. We were afraid to eat the food.

[sandbag7]

Don't give up - ask when you get on the ship. I approached the tour desk about an age restriction and was told I looked capable and was able to sign up for the tour.

 

Don't think about going on the ship's Canal tour - our January cruise on the canal was the worst ship's tour we ever had. 10 buses went to boats to go through the last two locks. The first two buses were able to off-load onto the boats. The rest were stopped by Canal authority - and waited 2 hours for the boat captains to come onboard before they were allowed on the boats. In the 2 hours they were kept on the buses without bathrooms or drinks, then after complaints, were allowed off to stand by the buses. There was one bathroom a great distance away people were finally allowed to go to. The truck delivering food was also not allowed to offload the food - and sat in the sun for all that time. We were afraid to eat the food.

 

As to the Canal I expected as much plus I’m just not excited about making an artificial crossing; I will hold out for the kayaks.