Nervous: I need your advice / experience

[ledges1]

Your post mentioned that you put down a deposit. Was this a significant amount (50%)? Is the deposit refundable if you cancel the trip? If they refuse to refund the deposit, do you have any recourse? Do you have trip insurance? These are important factors in making a final decision. Are you willing to lose the deposit and walk away if it is not refundable? The ship missing the port is not likely. I think you have to decide if you want to go on the charter or reduce you loss now by cancelling. I went on a pirate ship in May in Aruba (3 people). We did not get far away from the shore and the water was very rough. My wife did not enjoy the trip (rough water). The rough water made the snorkeling difficult. I did not do my research. Aruba is in the east to west trade winds and the wind never, never stops blowing. We also chartered a fishing boat. Again the water was very rough and we only caught 4 fish.  We were in Aruba for 5 days, the best location was on the beach.

[Joanne G.]

I missed 4 ports on B2B cruises on the Pride last summer due to mechanical issues.   Some years ago, two port days were swapped on an NCL cruise.   A friend and I missed the port of Zeebrugge on Princess.   Missed ports are always a possibility on a cruise, and dealing with private excursions causes more issues than ship excursions that need to be canceled.  

 

To the OP, odds are very good that you will make the port and enjoy your tour.  I would try to find a provider that doesn't require final payment until arrival or that will refund if the ship misses the port.    If I couldn't find such a provider, and I really wanted the tour, I would book it only if I was comfortable with the loss on the off chance the port is missed.   Enjoy your cruise and good luck.  

[wardwhitty]

The deposit was $200 and I would totally understand if the ship missed the port or something happened and we were unable to make it that they keep that. I believe someone mentioned that these types of charters are for people vacationing in Aruba.  I made the deposit and then got an email from them stating that for "cruise passengers" they bill one week out.  I had an awesome conversation prior to the invoice and the reviews are phenomenal.  I truly think it will not be a problem but the remaining amount is $1000 so to be out $1200 is a little scary if something beyond my control happens.  We are checking with our credit card company to see if they would cover with the trip cancellation/interruption coverage.

[jsglow]

8 minutes ago, wardwhitty said:

The deposit was $200 and I would totally understand if the ship missed the port or something happened and we were unable to make it that they keep that. I believe someone mentioned that these types of charters are for people vacationing in Aruba.  I made the deposit and then got an email from them stating that for "cruise passengers" they bill one week out.  I had an awesome conversation prior to the invoice and the reviews are phenomenal.  I truly think it will not be a problem but the remaining amount is $1000 so to be out $1200 is a little scary if something beyond my control happens.  We are checking with our credit card company to see if they would cover with the trip cancellation/interruption coverage.

Sending good vibes your way! The VAST majority of times things work out okay.

[Vagabond Knight]

We have taken MANY private excursions over the years from various sources such as Viator and Shore Excursions Group, and individual companies such as Cosol Tours in St Lucia,  Joe Banana Limos in Italy, and Harv & Marv Whale Watching in Alaska. The private tours have always been much better than the ship's tours and often less expensive.   We've never had an issue,  but we always have trip insurance to back us up.   

 

There are many reasons a port can be missed. Many have already been mentioned,  and another is if the ship has to divert due to a medical emergency.  I see the vendor's viewpoint as well regarding no refunds since many small businesses would be financially harmed by last minute cancelations.  Personally,  we would not hesitate to book an excursion from an external party as long as they've been around for a while and are highly rated, but we'd also ensure that the funds (and any possible trip interruption) are covered by our travel insurance.  We would have missed out on many extraordinary experiences if we'd restricted ourselves to excursions offered by the cruise lines.  We recently took a four cruise 47 day trip with 20+ ports and I think only two of our excursions were through one the cruise lines. 

[sanger727]

3 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

We have taken MANY private excursions over the years from various sources such as Viator and Shore Excursions Group, and individual companies such as Cosol Tours in St Lucia,  Joe Banana Limos in Italy, and Harv & Marv Whale Watching in Alaska. The private tours have always been much better than the ship's tours and often less expensive.   We've never had an issue,  but we always have trip insurance to back us up.   

 

There are many reasons a port can be missed. Many have already been mentioned,  and another is if the ship has to divert due to a medical emergency.  I see the vendor's viewpoint as well regarding no refunds since many small businesses would be financially harmed by last minute cancelations.  Personally,  we would not hesitate to book an excursion from an external party as long as they've been around for a while and are highly rated, but we'd also ensure that the funds (and any possible trip interruption) are covered by our travel insurance.  We would have missed out on many extraordinary experiences if we'd restricted ourselves to excursions offered by the cruise lines.  We recently took a four cruise 47 day trip with 20+ ports and I think only two of our excursions were through one the cruise lines. 

 

It's really not an either/or choice with cruise line excursions and not risking excursion money. We haven't had a very difficult time finding private excursions that accept payment on the day of so you don't lose your payment if the ship misses the port. The bigger issue here is that this tour operator advertised payment on the day of. Then after the OP paid a deposit, they changed the terms and wanted full payment ahead of time. That would definitely rub me the wrong way.

Edited December 27, 2023 by sanger727

[cruisinpips]

We have 35+ cruises completed, we have done many, many private charters. I cannot say that we have ever been given this set of conditions. I can also say we have never missed Aruba for any reason. Still, I would be very leary of anyone who has that type of rules for refunds…..

[vswan]

There is always a chance that a port will be missed or the times adjusted. It just happens.

 

In the past I've booked nonrefundable rooms, flights, etc., since the price was so much less, knowing that anything can happen and I could be out the original investment. I was willing to take that chance. Insurance can possibly mitigate the risk, but that really depends on the type of insurance you have - or if you have insurance at all.

 

Only you can decide if this excursion is worth the risk you take.

[jsglow]

Just to reiterate. Many, many folks take 'private' excursions (those not provided by the cruise line, directly) all the time. They are perfectly fine and are for many, ourselves included, the preferred way to go. Do your research on the company. Their reputation is important.

 

What folks are cautioning you about is the 'pay 100%, non-refundable' issue raised in this situation. Again, the reason for that here is because the entire boat is rented, not a few seats on a larger excursion.

[silvercrikhix]

I recently had this situation on a Viator offering. I took it, same conditions as the OP. I’d assertively dispute any attempt at keeping my money without delivering their services. Its not a large amount of coin like the OP’s, I accept this financial risk. 

If the vendor has multiple satisfied customer reviews you should be fine. 
I make sure the reviews are over a longish period of time and the reviewers have more than a couple reviews under their belt. If there are 20 reviews in 1 month by a bunch of 1-2 reviews experienced travelers, I’d pass on that. It’s also helpful to google the company and look at any other information you can glean off the internet. 
 

 

[wardwhitty]

UPDATE: I wanted to thank everyone for their advice. The charter company sent us a bill on Monday but we were already on the cruise.so i didn't see it until the morning of the excursion (Wednesday).  We had excellent weather and sent the money right over.  They were so excited to see us and we had the absolute best time.  The charter was the highlight of our cruise.    

[jsglow]

GREAT news!

[cruisetraveler2]

9 hours ago, wardwhitty said:

UPDATE: I wanted to thank everyone for their advice. The charter company sent us a bill on Monday but we were already on the cruise.so i didn't see it until the morning of the excursion (Wednesday).  We had excellent weather and sent the money right over.  They were so excited to see us and we had the absolute best time.  The charter was the highlight of our cruise.    

Thanks for coming back with an update.  It it nice to hear there was a happy ending to the story!