Age discrimination

[islandwoman]

First a cruise line was unwilling to allow DH and me to participate in a dive shore excursion because we were too old, even though we are both PADI Advanced Open Water Certified with several hundred dives logged.  Then in my home area, we were refused participation in a kayaking tour because of our age.  Now I have run into several independent shore excursion operators who list our ages as "not permitted".  One of these was a Segway Tour in Halifax, Canada; the other was a rail and HOHO tour in Ireland. 

Is there anything we can do about this age discrimination?  We are not frail and there is no reason that we could not ride a Segway, train, or bus as well as anyone else ☹️I don't want to be restricted to the "easy" shore excursions because I hate riding busses where I can see nothing but the back of another passenger's head. I tried calling Viator, but the agent only directed me to a different shore excursion that was not what we want.

Is there anything we can do about this age discrimination other than take our money elsewhere?  (These are excursions I picked because Holland America's are sold out/waitlisted).

[calliopecruiser]

No - all you can do is take your business elsewhere.  I guess the other thing you could do is look at is as an opportunity, and start a company yourself that offers such things. 

They're entitled, for whatever reason, to have legal limits on what they offer.  My guess is that the limits are set by their insurance company. 

 

[GeezerCouple]

This may not really be "age discrimination".

The provider's insurer may have requirements such as age, height, weight, etc.

"Discrimination" assumes the characteristic isn't relevant/important to the situation.  And it may be, even if only "in general" or "on average".  For something like a remote sign-up, there's no way to arrange any assurance that you are "qualified" (IF the insurance isn't a deal-breaker, etc.).

 

But in case there is any chance of flexibility, I'd suggest working with the actual tour guide/provider, and not with some third party such as Viator.

(But then, we don't deal with the third parties like Viator anyway.  We always find the actual guide or group, and work with them, including, sometimes, customizing the excursion.)

GC

[CDNPolar]

On 6/25/2024 at 8:28 PM, GeezerCouple said:

This may not really be "age discrimination".

The provider's insurer may have requirements such as age, height, weight, etc.

"Discrimination" assumes the characteristic isn't relevant/important to the situation.  And it may be, even if only "in general" or "on average".  For something like a remote sign-up, there's no way to arrange any assurance that you are "qualified" (IF the insurance isn't a deal-breaker, etc.).

 

 

I agree with @GeezerCouple on this one that it is not overt age discrimination, but perhaps a limitation on the excursion providers insurance liability.  I know not the same, but this to me is like height restrictions on amusement park rides.

 

Remember too that Viator is only an aggregator and not the tour provider.  Viator is at the mercy of the tour providers restrictions.

 

I think that this does really suck since you are advanced open water certified... but....???

[GeezerCouple]

6 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Remember too that Viator is only an aggregator and not the tour provider.  Viator is at the mercy of the tour providers restrictions.

 

I think that this does really suck since you are advanced open water certified... but....???

 

This may be a situation where it could make all the difference in the world for you to work *directly* with the actual guide/guide group.

They may be willing to discuss your qualifications and perhaps review any documentation you have.

Of course, they may also be beholden to their insurer's requirements... but it would be worth asking.

 

GC