Salem Witch Tours October 2024

[dedosr]

We will be sailing on a New England Cruise in October. Princess cruise lines does not offer an excursion to Salem. Looking for information for private cruise ship excursions that will do excellent Salem Witch Tours 
 

[dedosr]

Would appreciate any information. Thanks

[Rick&Jeannie]

I would think that your best bet would be Viator.

[eqj60]

October in Salem is very crowded, lots of traffic, etc. It is not that close to Boston (45- 60 min, no traffic) so would imagine that may be why Princess doesn't offer tours there.

 

[Coral]

We were there on Halloween one year and Princess did offer a tour. I did the Lexington Concord tour instead. I heard from those who went that Halloween is the worst day to do this tour. It was really packed and crazy.

[alanstarr]

You could take the commuter rail train from North Station to Salem, which drops you right downtown. You'd just have to get to North Station, about 3 miles from the pier. Maybe Uber or taxi. Then either explore Salem on your own, or I'm sure you can find some walking tours. 

[Mangrove Snapper]

We were on the Emerald this year 10/7-14, and there was an excursion to Salem offered. 
 

We were in Salem for the Haunted Happenings in 2018 for a weekend and it is definitely packed.

[Mangrove Snapper]

We had a lot of fun!  I should have mentioned that.  It was crowded but enjoyable.

[GTJ]

23 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I would think that your best bet would be Viator.

The main problem with Viator is that the company does not actually operate any tours. It is a middleman for people who find it too difficult or inconvenient to book tours themselves. In some cases it charges extra for its middleman services. Generally, I prefer dealing directly with service providers, rather than having a third party intervene.

 

In the case of witch in tours in Salem, one can book directly with Bewitchedtours.com LLC at http://www.bewitchedtours.com. If it is too complicated to book directly, then one can book the same tour using Viator as a third-party intermediary. It is a walking tour, so there is nothing that one could not also do independently by doing one's own research and walking around in Salem. The fee is for the commentary provided.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Just now, GTJ said:

The main problem with Viator is that the company does not actually operate any tours. It is a middleman for people who find it too difficult or inconvenient to book tours themselves. In some cases it charges extra for its middleman services. Generally, I prefer dealing directly with service providers, rather than having a third party intervene.

 

In the case of witch in tours in Salem, one can book directly with Bewitchedtours.com LLC at http://www.bewitchedtours.com. If it is too complicated to book directly, then one can book the same tour using Viator as a third-party intermediary. It is a walking tour, so there is nothing that one could not also do independently by doing one's own research and walking around in Salem. The fee is for the commentary provided.

Everybody has their own way of travel. We have had good luck with Viator in the past, even when we have had to cancel. 

[GTJ]

9 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Everybody has their own way of travel. We have had good luck with Viator in the past, even when we have had to cancel. 

I am curious to know what services of Viator that you find to be most useful? Is it that the company makes it easier to book individual tours? That all the various tours from multiple tour operators are collected at one website? That the company acted as your advocate when something went wrong with the tour operator? Some other added value? I have used third-party intermediaries when I get something useful. For example, when booking a cruise, a third-party travel agent can sometimes secure better perks compared to dealing with the cruise line directly. If Viator offered something better, by using its services over booking directly, I would certainly consider using the company as a third-party intermediary.

 

All that said, however, I do wonder, though, if many people get deceived into believing that Viator is a tour operator. Viator is, of course, a broker for tour operators, owned by Tripadvisor, the same entity that manages Cruise Critic, and thus there is a potential conflict of interest when Viator is promoted on Cruise Critic. The best consumers are those who are most informed and who approach sales offers critically!

[Rick&Jeannie]

I am well aware of how Viator does business and that they are a middleman,  charging a fee on top of what the actual tour operator charges. Our mode of travel requires a high degree of flexibility, requiring us to sometimes cancel very close to the tour date. With Viator you can *usually* cancel up to 24 hours prior to the tour.

[Nitemare]

Based on the complaints about Viator on TripAdvisor's Support board (and TA owns Viator), I wouldn't recommend them as they seem to have minimal customer service if things go wrong.  If cancellation policies *are* different with them than the actual provider then it may well be worth the upcharge and other risks if your plans may change.

 

October in Salem is a zoo.  I'd book anything for that area ASAP to make sure you aren't locked out, and make sure you have transportation to there lined up or included in your tour

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We did a tour to the Salem Witch Museum through Celebrity. One of the worst tours we took and we (along with several other tourists) ended up getting a %age refund.  There was a video that had a lot of information and visuals. The tour through the museum is narrated with very little opportunity to ask questions or linger at a display you are especially interested in. Took about 15 minutes. Think a grade school class going through a small museum, the only thing they did not ask us to do was to hold hands. 

There were other issues with the tour that were specific to either Celebrity or the tour operator but this added to our general dissapointment.