BEWARE of Bernards Tours

[FSUDAVE]

Recently booked the Pinel Island tour with Bernards and paid the deposit online.  Our ship, the Carnival Breeze, was unable to make port on the original scheduled date. Bernards will not refund my deposit as they stated we came 5 days later and they made a reservation for us on the new date.  Never heard of a company not refunding when your ship does not make it to port on the original scheduled day.  BEWARE of dealing with Bernards  in St Maarten!

[SnorkelAway]

Many vendors have a policy of simply changing the date if they know that a ship has changed its itinerary and will be coming on a different day.  I have no idea if Bernards Tours makes that clear on its website or otherwise - they should make it clear if they do not.  Lesson for Bernard not to assume customers know that company simply changes date of reservation. 

 

When there is a change in itinerary, but still getting to port, if tour company does not initiate communication, cruisers should email or call and make sure both sides understand if tour still is scheduled on same terms but different day.  Sorry that this happened to you.  Lesson for all is always to communicate and confirm what the plan is.

[Karysa]

Nice of them to make a reservation for you for the day that your cruise finally made it to St. Maarten.  They didn’t leave you hanging with nothing to do. 

[Podie]

Bernards has been around a long time and in my opinion it is the best tour company on the island.

[bunnyette]

When the ship changes the itinerary always contact the vendor and read the fine print...

[jaxflygirl88]

On 2/9/2020 at 7:41 PM, Podie said:

Bernards has been around a long time and in my opinion it is the best tour company on the island.

agree!  We've toured with Bernard many times.  He is awesome!

[CruisingHogFan]

I think it’s great they automatically rebooked you! Also, isn’t the deposit 10 dollars? Sounds like a lot of complaining over nothing....

Based on all the positive reviews I’m about to book them for our June Cruise 

[BillOh]

On 2/16/2020 at 12:38 PM, bunnyette said:

When the ship changes the itinerary always contact the vendor and read the fine print...

I would edit this to say contact the vendor before any itinerary change.   After having 33% of my Royal excursions were canceled I started doing most of mine privately and 75% of them say on their websites whether or not they automatically cancel if your ship doesn't make port.    If I don't see it, I ask.  Most recently I was interested in Nachi Cocum in Cozumel and they say right on their website you are not charged if your ship doesn't come in.        

[BillOh]

My experience with Bernard's was a good one,  especially for first time visitors to the island. Never been to Pinel, so I might have to look up that tour.   

[Patty2005]

I just booked Bernard's based on these great reviews!

 

[jaxflygirl88]

On 2/24/2020 at 5:10 PM, Patty2005 said:

I just booked Bernard's based on these great reviews!

 

Tell him Lisa from Jacksonville FL says HI!!

 

[sandc4e]

Love Bernards!  Booked again for May, this time going to Pinel for the first time!

[SpaceCowboy9]

Bernard's is awesome - toured with them each time to St Maarten.

 

All I can say is probably a communication breakdown somewhere.

 

If you are a Bernard's fan, pay for a tour right now, they are on lockdown until May 11 & could use the money - Bernard said that all he's been doing is fielding calls/emails from folks who wanted their $5 deposit back for all the cruises that were cancelled.

[bigrednole]

My opinion is they did the right thing. I can imagine this post if they did not move your reservation, you show up 5 days later, and don't have an excursion to go on. 

[Luckiestmanonearth]

If you eventually made it to St Maarten on that itinerary, why wouldn’t you have gone on the same tour planned for the original stop ?

 

PS - Bernards is #1

Edited May 10, 2020 by Luckiestmanonearth

[TSUmom]

We used Bernard's in the past and had a great time with them and are planning on using the service again in 2022

[Loucat]

Sorry you had this experience. If your ship sailed to St. Maarten five days later, did you know they rebooked your tour?

Sounds like a communication issue. 

[mets123]

My family has used him many times and never had any problems. He is very accommodating.

[TrinaLC]

Bernard’s is a great tour operator. We have used him twice and would not hesitate to use him again. Hate to see a good business slammed in such a headline. 

[Ashland]

On 12/9/2021 at 4:14 AM, TrinaLC said:

Bernard’s is a great tour operator. We have used him twice and would not hesitate to use him again. Hate to see a good business slammed in such a headline. 

Absolutely agree !!!

[cxr133]

so whats the deal with the bernards website and down payment ?

 

people here are mentioning 5.00 paypal deposit. but the website is asking for 100% upfront and 

loss of all monies for last minute cancellations (im assuming even if the ship misses port )

[TrinaLC]

I would not assume that. Virtually every tour operator across the Caribbean refunds monies if ship doesn’t make port. I would be shocked to the core if Bernard’s not.  They always have. I am pretty confident same would apply if ship docks but only ship tours are authorized due to covid protocols. 
 

email them. 

[Froufie]

This is from the FAQ page on Bernard's website in regard to their cancellation policy (no mention of them automatically rebooking you should your port date happen to be switched?).

 

 

Bernards Tours will give a full refund for cancellations up to (7) business days before departure date or vacation date. There will no refund after that time except if conditions made it impossible for the ship to dock and disembark passengers in a timely manner, if your flight is cancelled, if the vender is cancelled due to equipment of weather problems. There will be no refund of full payment or deposit if the client is a no show on the date and time of the tour. After 7 days the deposit is non refundable unless related to an action by the tour operator, which prevents the tour from proceeding as scheduled.

 

 

Wonder what happens if the ship is not permitted to dock at the last minute due to Covid issues?  Guess you lose your $$?

Edited January 28, 2022 by Froufie

[Ashland]

On 1/28/2022 at 11:30 AM, Froufie said:

This is from the FAQ page on Bernard's website in regard to their cancellation policy (no mention of them automatically rebooking you should your port date happen to be switched?).

 

 

Bernards Tours will give a full refund for cancellations up to (7) business days before departure date or vacation date. There will no refund after that time except if conditions made it impossible for the ship to dock and disembark passengers in a timely manner, if your flight is cancelled, if the vender is cancelled due to equipment of weather problems. There will be no refund of full payment or deposit if the client is a no show on the date and time of the tour. After 7 days the deposit is non refundable unless related to an action by the tour operator, which prevents the tour from proceeding as scheduled.

 

 

Wonder what happens if the ship is not permitted to dock at the last minute due to Covid issues?  Guess you lose your $$?

Then you contact them (they'll actually know the ship didn't dock) and you'll get a refund. Bernard runs an honest company and has for many years.

[Froufie]

Sounds like OP did not get any refund- and says to contact 7 days before?  Not always possible?  I actually have taken Bernard's tour and loved it and would recommend it - but perhaps he needs to make somethings a bit clearer on his website?