HAL shore excursion descriptions

[liberty176]

I'm looking at and booking some shore excursions for a cruise next year, and I'm finding the descriptions less clear than on some other lines (like Princess).

 

For a bus tour, how do I know if you just drive by a site vs. visit it?  One shore excursion I'm considering describes everything as "pass by" and "continue to."  A private provider offering a minibus tour allows a similar amount of time for a similar itinerary, so the driving distances aren't far.

 

For example, does it sound like this would visit the archaeological site, or just drive by it?  For what it's worth this (https://www.hollandamerica.com/sf/excursions/HMY/20240711/1010110443) is a 2 hour bus tour that HAL rates as a 'moderate' activity level, so it's hard to imagine you just stay on the bus?  

 

Continue to the Herjólfsdalur Valley, popular for festivals and golfing. An archaeological dig here in the 1970s unearthed remnants of old farmhouses dating back to the 9th century. The townspeople decided to build a farmstead depicting Iceland's rural past.

 

Thanks!

[3rdGenCunarder]

5 hours ago, liberty176 said:

I'm looking at and booking some shore excursions for a cruise next year, and I'm finding the descriptions less clear than on some other lines (like Princess).

 

For a bus tour, how do I know if you just drive by a site vs. visit it?  One shore excursion I'm considering describes everything as "pass by" and "continue to."  A private provider offering a minibus tour allows a similar amount of time for a similar itinerary, so the driving distances aren't far.

 

For example, does it sound like this would visit the archaeological site, or just drive by it?  For what it's worth this (https://www.hollandamerica.com/sf/excursions/HMY/20240711/1010110443) is a 2 hour bus tour that HAL rates as a 'moderate' activity level, so it's hard to imagine you just stay on the bus?  

 

Continue to the Herjólfsdalur Valley, popular for festivals and golfing. An archaeological dig here in the 1970s unearthed remnants of old farmhouses dating back to the 9th century. The townspeople decided to build a farmstead depicting Iceland's rural past.

 

Thanks!

 

Are there any reviews? Any pictures posted? What port is this tour for? The link wouldn't open for me.

 

[oakridger]

@liberty176 Please give a little more detail on your cruise and we can offer more information specifically about your excursion. Is it possible that the link won't open because it was in the OPs "Manage My Cruise" area and not visible to everyone???

 

~Nancy

[liberty176]

Oops, sorry, you are correct, thanks @oakridger--I didn't realize that shore ex links wouldn't work for everyone!

 

Found another link from Google, but it's not loading for me: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/shore-excursions/HMY/90901.html

 

At any rate, the tour is around Heimaey, Westman Islands, Iceland next summer.  Some people on my roll call were booking a similar excursion from an independent guide for this particular port, but I'm having this description issue (where it's hard for me to tell what is being visited vs. viewed) for a couple of different ports on our Iceland/Scotland cruise for next summer, so I was hoping that some HAL experts would be better at reading between the lines 😉

 

There are only 3 reviews from a decade ago.  They had positive things to say about the tour, but didn't describe the tour itself/what they did vs. what they saw from the bus window.

Edited September 20, 2023 by liberty176

[oakridger]

Ok.  I got to the excursions but need the Port of Call to search further.  That's where details in your question are important! 😉 Dates?  Ship?  There is no Heimaey listed. I can search way better with all the info to filter out the 179 pages of excursions!

 

Obviously, I haven't taken this tour, but I may be able to help with general info with those details in hand!

 

~Nancy

[liberty176]

Thanks @oakridger, you're very kind.  I saw the same thing when I searched under Europe, that's why I tried to provide the link!  The call is "Westman Islands (Heimaey)," but neither destination is listed by trying to filter.  Attaching an image of the description, but it may be too small.

 

This is the July 10 sailing of the Nieuw Statendam, call is on July 11.  

[Reagan0712]

It sounds like a lot of drive-bys, especially considering the short length of the excursion.

[liberty176]

That's what it sounded like to me, @Reagan0712, but the independent provider does a similar minibus tour in just 2 hours.  It's a very small tender port with little infrastructure, and I'm afraid if I don't do the ship tour and we're not able to make it to the independent provider on time, or the independent provider we're to cancel for some reason, we could be stuck with no tour.

[Sea42]

14 minutes ago, liberty176 said:

That's what it sounded like to me, @Reagan0712, but the independent provider does a similar minibus tour in just 2 hours.  It's a very small tender port with little infrastructure, and I'm afraid if I don't do the ship tour and we're not able to make it to the independent provider on time, or the independent provider we're to cancel for some reason, we could be stuck with no tour.

Check what the refund options are for the private tour provider and check reviews on TripAdvisor or Yelp or whatever your preferred site is. In most cases, the private tour is better and less expensive.

[oakridger]

29 minutes ago, Reagan0712 said:

It sounds like a lot of drive-bys, especially considering the short length of the excursion.

 

I agree @Reagan0712. It sounds like a driving tour only. 

 

 @liberty176 The details and screenshot were perfect information for people here on CC to give you the information you are seeking!  Thanks for that.

 

If you prefer to go on the independent tour in the smaller van, have you asked them if they will adjust the tour time based on the ship's arrival.  Most operators that cater to ships do this.  They should also offer a full refund (if you pre-paid) if the ship does not arrive for some reason.

 

Consider signing up for the HAL tour if you really want to see those locations.  You can cancel it a couple of days before (24 hours? It varies. Check HAL cancellation policy) if the private tour turns out to be your better option.

 

ETA  -  Oops....posted at same time as @Sea42!

 

~Nancy

Edited September 21, 2023 by oakridger

[liberty176]

Thanks so much, everyone.  I appreciate the feedback!  We have taken several cruises with the kids, but this will be the first in Europe with so many sightseeing-driven ports, a bunch of tender ports, etc.  And only our second on HAL, so thank you!

[boulders]

10 hours ago, liberty176 said:

That's what it sounded like to me, @Reagan0712, but the independent provider does a similar minibus tour in just 2 hours.  It's a very small tender port with little infrastructure, and I'm afraid if I don't do the ship tour and we're not able to make it to the independent provider on time, or the independent provider we're to cancel for some reason, we could be stuck with no tour.

 

I've never had an independent provider cancel a tour. I'm going on a long HAL cruise in 2 weeks and I've lost track of the number of shore excursions and ports that HAL has cancelled or modified. Just in the past week, I've had one very popular shore excursion cancelled, with no reason given and had to quickly find an independent tour provider. Many of the replacements I could find online were sold out and I only found a suitable replacement through another poster on the roll call. 

[Caribbean Chris]

10 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Check what the refund options are for the private tour provider and check reviews on TripAdvisor or Yelp or whatever your preferred site is. In most cases, the private tour is better and less expensive.

Private tour may well be better, if it’s smaller vehicle, better guide, etc.  I’ve had both good & bad experiences with both ship-provided and independent tours, as I’m sure we all have. There are some points in favor of a HAL tour, including sometimes being on the first tender.

 

As far as price goes, HAL now promotes a best price guarantee - if you find the same tour at a better price, they’ll refund 110% of the price difference as an onboard credit.  Has anyone tried it?

[Mary229]

For small communities I have found that the only difference between ship and private tours is the size of the vehicle.  The roads have capacity limits and small busses are likely used both by independent tours and ship tours.  The private tour may be slightly more customizable but with only 2 hours for either I can’t imagine they are that very different.  The half hour difference likely can be accounted for by the ship tour including the tendering and the private not.   This is a case where I would not be that choosey.  Private tours are particularly beneficial for long tours and in depth tours.  

[BobbiSox]

Not too long ago I did an excursion that involved a long bus ride just to boad the excursion. It would be nice if I was informed of that fact BEFORE the booking. Is there somewhere I don't know about that tells how long the actual time it takes to get from the pier to the place of boarding?

[Mary229]

14 minutes ago, BobbiSox said:

Not too long ago I did an excursion that involved a long bus ride just to boad the excursion. It would be nice if I was informed of that fact BEFORE the booking. Is there somewhere I don't know about that tells how long the actual time it takes to get from the pier to the place of boarding?

I have noticed they have started doing so on many of my shore excursions.  I would also like them to state the number of participants per vehicle.  When I grow up I want to be the person to write the descriptions 😁

[3rdGenCunarder]

13 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I have noticed they have started doing so on many of my shore excursions.  I would also like them to state the number of participants per vehicle.  When I grow up I want to be the person to write the descriptions 😁

 

I look forward to reading your descriptions, especially if you include details like small bus/large bus.

 

HAL does include drive times, but they aren't always accurate. In Costa Rica, what was described as a 45-minute drive to a nature preserve was close to an hour and a half (road conditions, not traffic), so the tour ran late. In Halifax, the drive to Lunenberg took longer than described and the time there was less than described. 

 

If I'm concerned about drive time, I sometimes go to googlemaps and check out where the destination is wrt the port.

[Mary229]

Just now, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I look forward to reading your descriptions, especially if you include details like small bus/large bus.

 

HAL does include drive times, but they aren't always accurate. In Costa Rica, what was described as a 45-minute drive to a nature preserve was close to an hour and a half (road conditions, not traffic), so the tour ran late. In Halifax, the drive to Lunenberg took longer than described and the time there was less than described. 

 

If I'm concerned about drive time, I sometimes go to googlemaps and check out where the destination is wrt the port.

I will get busy then😉.  I do write reviews for excursions on the HAL website but I may have to up my game.  As a long time road warrior I was, at one time, a star reviewer on TripAdvisor, because I always noted the details.  People  may differ on  judgments about quality but everyone wants to know certain small facts (for hotels it was coffee pot and coffee, safety of parking, tub or shower, etc…).   Shore excursion writers are always trying to create allure not facts, I promise to focus on the details.  Now do I get the job, HAL?

[3rdGenCunarder]

39 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

As far as price goes, HAL now promotes a best price guarantee - if you find the same tour at a better price, they’ll refund 110% of the price difference as an onboard credit.  Has anyone tried it?

 

I would love to know if anyone has had success with it. There's a whale watch in Iceland that HAL is selling for twice the price the vendor charges for a walk-up. The HAL blurb even says that the boat trip is not exclusive to HAL. Photos and reviews show the name of the company on the boat. So I'm sure it's the same trip. If I decide I want to do the tour, I'll just book with the company directly. But I'd love to know the procedure to prove to HAL it's the same tour. 

[Hlitner]

45 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Private tour may well be better, if it’s smaller vehicle, better guide, etc.  I’ve had both good & bad experiences with both ship-provided and independent tours, as I’m sure we all have. There are some points in favor of a HAL tour, including sometimes being on the first tender.

 

As far as price goes, HAL now promotes a best price guarantee - if you find the same tour at a better price, they’ll refund 110% of the price difference as an onboard credit.  Has anyone tried it?

This "best price guarantee" is a bit of a "con."  Why?  In many (not all) ports, the cruise lines (not just HAL) contract with a local tour provider to staff and operate the excursions.  These companies are obligated (by contract) not to directly sell the same tours directly to cruisers.  The result is that it is often impossible to find the "same tour" at a lower price.  And by the way, the folks who staff/operate the onboard excursion desk are not even HAL employees (they work for a third-party contractor).  

 

One issue we noticed on our spring Westerdam cruise (6 weeks in Asia and Alaska) was that the cost of shore excursions (sold onboard) had increased in a very bad way.  For example, simple walking tours (within site of the ship) that used to cost about $50, were now being sold for $90-$120.  Many of the all-day excursions had increased in price by $100 (per person) or more!   On Seabourn (we took a month-long Seabourn Quest cruise shortly after we debarked from the Westerdam) prices for the excursions had often become ridiculous.  A couple could easily spend $500 - $700 for a few hour excursion!   There was push back from many passengers who managed to find other alternatives such as directly booking local tours or simply joining those of us who routinely do our own thing at most ports.

 

There has long been a "divide" between cruisers who rely on cruise ship sold excursions, and those of us who avoid the cruise ship excursions like the plague!  No question, that doing your own thing does require pre-cruise homework, and spending time working out the best options.  The CC Roll Call boards have long been a good place to join with a few others in planning port days (and often hiring private guides).  I think the recent price increases, for excursions, is causing many cruisers to rethink whether they want to make their own port arrangements.  The grumbling we heard during a recent visit to Quaqatorq, Iceland, which is a small town (pop less than 3000) visited by HAL (and other cruise lines).  This town essentially has two streets (with a few tiny side streets) with everything walkable (it is the only way to visit Quaqatorq).  One can see everything in about 2 hours as there is little to see.  But when our cruise line charged $105 per person for a local "walking tour" even the most hardened excursion fans were heard saying, "enough!."   We had friends who took that excursion and were disgusted when their guide stopped their group to point out a small building as the local "fish store."  That small building actually had a hard written sign which said "Fish Store."  The excursion did not even bother letting anyone go inside.

 

Speaking of that fish store, other friends (on their own) did venture inside and asked the owner about some of the displayed fresh fish.  The owner's response was that he would only answer questions if they paid him 10 Euros!  That sums up the attitude of the locals in Quaqortoq where they view visitors as interlopers :).

 

Hank

[lcand1923]

Most ship sponsored shore excursions are pretty similar from cruise line to cruise line since tour operators are tour operators and contracts are contracts.  I’ve gone to different cruise line websites and found the shore excursion that sounded the most like the one offered by HAL and read its description to see if I could glean additional details — drive-by, stop, steep walk, etc.  I picked up this hint when I was on a cruise and kept seeing another couple who were on a different ship similar cruise at various stops.  After the third, “Hello, how are you?” we started comparing destinations and future booked ship sponsored shore excursions.

[Mike07]

29 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

This "best price guarantee" is a bit of a "con."  Why?  In many (not all) ports, the cruise lines (not just HAL) contract with a local tour provider to staff and operate the excursions.  These companies are obligated (by contract) not to directly sell the same tours directly to cruisers.  The result is that it is often impossible to find the "same tour" at a lower price.  And by the way, the folks who staff/operate the onboard excursion desk are not even HAL employees (they work for a third-party contractor).  

 

 

 

 

Yup, that's how the HAL Best price guarantee works. It's similar to when electronics companies sell one SKU to Walmart/Target/BestBuy, and then a custom SKU to Costco.... even though the underlying product is the same, they add one or two letters and it's a "completely different" product.

 

I would be curious how many successfully execute on the HAL pricing guarantee. Even something as simple as bottled water included on the HAL tour (refreshments!), makes it a "different" tour.

 

TBH, my family got burned on several HAL Shore Excursions, and it's more or less what drove us away from the premium category (Princess, HAL, and X... even though I have found X's shorex's to be more competitive, but their Edge class is an abomination).

 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Wow, Hank, $105 for a 2-hour walking tour! I guess it's a bargain on my cruise next summer. The walking tour in Quaqatorq is "only" $99.95. 

 

All the tour prices for that cruise (Canada, Greenland, Iceland) are insane. I usually do a mix of ship excursions, non-ship excursions, and just going off on my own. Knowledge of the local language, time in port, distance to what I want to see affect my decision. But money factors into it, too. I've been to Iceland before, and I know what the tours entail and I can't justify the price being charged.

 

[Mike07]

18 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Wow, Hank, $105 for a 2-hour walking tour! I guess it's a bargain on my cruise next summer. The walking tour in Quaqatorq is "only" $99.95. 

 

All the tour prices for that cruise (Canada, Greenland, Iceland) are insane. I usually do a mix of ship excursions, non-ship excursions, and just going off on my own. Knowledge of the local language, time in port, distance to what I want to see affect my decision. But money factors into it, too. I've been to Iceland before, and I know what the tours entail and I can't justify the price being charged.

 

 

 

If you say anything about the prices, the shorex team will just say "(Country) is an expensive country."

 

Also, pricing is likely set by corporate.

 

Still, the whole experience feels like you pay a lot for very little. It's not a scam, but you feel scammed.

 

Also, the captains and hotel directors of the ships are doing well, but not so well that if they bought some of these excursions for themselves and their families at full retail price sold to guests that they would walk away feeling like that was money well spent.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Mike07

[Hlitner]

9 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Wow, Hank, $105 for a 2-hour walking tour! I guess it's a bargain on my cruise next summer. The walking tour in Quaqatorq is "only" $99.95. 

 

All the tour prices for that cruise (Canada, Greenland, Iceland) are insane. I usually do a mix of ship excursions, non-ship excursions, and just going off on my own. Knowledge of the local language, time in port, distance to what I want to see affect my decision. But money factors into it, too. I've been to Iceland before, and I know what the tours entail and I can't justify the price being charged.

 

No need to be concerned about doing Quaqatorq on your own (we have actually been to that port 3 times).  Language is also not an issue because you will likely not interact with the locals (most our Inuits) since they tend to avoid cruisers/tourists.  When you walk around the harbor and get to the small local "museum," that is the only real attraction.  Our norm for this post is to go ashore around 10, walk around for a 1-2 hours, and be back on the ship for lunch.  The situation is similar in Nanortalik except this "town" only has a population of about 1000.  But they do have an interesting Open Air Museum worth visiting (a couple of locals will be collecting a small entrance fee in Euros or Dollars).  I sometimes pinch myself to believe that we have been to these Greenland ports (3 times) and have already booked another cruise that will bring us back!  

 

By the way, one of our fellow passengers on the recent Seabourn Quest cruise has a "thing" about having a beer in a local pub, at every port!  He was finally beaten at Nanortalik, since there is only one bar and it was not open until the evening.

 

Hank