Issues With Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee

[aborgman]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

The all-inclusives that compete with cruising are significantly higher in cost.

 

I'd say it depends on what you're emphasizing.

 

It's pretty easy to get a place with better food for a lot less.

 

If you want the shows  - you'll spend a good bit more, but you can still come in pretty close.

 

Our all inclusive in Belize cost about 33% more than our cruise - but we had a 4000 sq ft oceanfront villa with private pool, and the food was leagues above Carnivals specialty restaurant - 3 meals a day.

 

...but no comedians, no choreographed shows, and no casino.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

23 hours ago, young_k92 said:

Carnival has gone massively downhill in service, food, and ship upkeep (speaking specifically about the Magic here.)

one more thing - Magic and Celebrity Reflection are only a year apart in age, but Reflection was in top notch shape in April, and the service was beyond great. You can see my review in the signature, if you want.

[BlerkOne]

10 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

I'd say it depends on what you're emphasizing.

 

It's pretty easy to get a place with better food for a lot less.

 

If you want the shows  - you'll spend a good bit more, but you can still come in pretty close.

 

Our all inclusive in Belize cost about 33% more than our cruise - but we had a 4000 sq ft oceanfront villa with private pool, and the food was leagues above Carnivals specialty restaurant - 3 meals a day.

 

...but no comedians, no choreographed shows, and no casino.

no change of scenery daily..

 

food is too subjective to debate

[tdnosnhoj11]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

I am not going anywhere with it.  Trying to understand the dilemma.

Fair enough. I’m glad to answer any other questions you have about the situation! 

[firefly333]

50 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Excursions are not really dependent on whether you are vacationing on a cruise ship or a land vacation. 
 

The difference on how you book depends on whether it is a cruise line contracted excursion  or you book through an independent vendor, or third party broker. As others have said it can be the same exact tour. They can still be group tours just the same but not everyone will be from your ship perhaps.

 

Obviously there are also beach breaks etc where you travel solo in a taxi to a location but that isn’t really the same thing.
 

If you do your homework you can find perfectly reputable vendors. I understand the comfort level of meeting and being escorted to and from the ship  as a solo but it doesn’t mean an independent excursions don’t include cruisers. Booking through cruise line does limit your options. Many cruisers book through brokers on group tours.

 

 

Of course you KNOW for sure I've done taxis and many private excursions. Sometimes you come off as thinking something I didnt say. Some roll calls have put together private excursions from 5 to 50 people. For me when i price out online excursions for 1 person it's not economical. A few times with my sister we hopped in a taxi and asked to be driven around the island to see it by ourselves. I did not say private were not reputable, I said as a solo I just find going with the cruise line to be more economical. Of course I've done both. 

 

I also have compared some excursions carnival offered to those royal offered on sale, exact same and with sales royal was cheaper. So this guarantee idk .. just today someone asked on the rcl board about booking with obc, and I went to screen shot and discovered some excursions added to my ABC April 2025 cruise on royal 30% off. Jumped on a 30% off 3 hour tour of bonaire. Unfortunately no ostrich farm for curacao offered, maybe later, that I accidentally missed last January on dream. 

 

Of course I didnt say or mean or imply that there werent good private excursions. You read stuff into what I say often has me scratching my head. Maybe in person we would communicate better. If I was a couple and especially a family I would shop around for private. For just me I dont find it worth it. Especially when royal has 35% and now 30% off excursions. Cheaper for the same as carnival offers. Not saying i didnt enjoy other stuff and the 14 day journey cruise but i thought carnival was high $$$ on excursions. We did A and C on carnival dream on my journey cruise but skipped bonaire of ABC.  Nice to see all 3 next year. .. and better excursion prices.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

one more thing - Magic and Celebrity Reflection are only a year apart in age, but Reflection was in top notch shape in April, and the service was beyond great. You can see my review in the signature, if you want.

Comparing these two lines makes little sense. I have sailed both also.

[jimbo5544]

21 minutes ago, tdnosnhoj11 said:

Fair enough. I’m glad to answer any other questions you have about the situation! 

nothing more from me, wish you well wherever you cruise. You made your view pretty clear, it is not the money it is the principle, mighty noble. 

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

. 

The answer (from my perspective anyway) is that the cruise line review the request and do what they think is right, for this case and every other, and that each case is individual.  As consumers, that is all we can expect.

Yes, but the standards for accepting or disallowing the request should be consistent, not arbitrary.

[jimbo5544]

20 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, but the standards for accepting or disallowing the request should be consistent, not arbitrary.

I am not sure they are not.  The issue comes in the details tied to the request.  

[aborgman]

10 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

no change of scenery daily..

 

food is too subjective to debate

 

I'd say you get more changes of scenery on port days, less on sea days with a cruise.

 

...and yeah - food preference is pretty subjective, but there is a definite objective difference in cooked to order gourmet food made with high end ingredients and mass produced in giant batches much lower cost ingredient food.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

10 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Comparing these two lines makes little sense. I have sailed both also.

We haven't yet sailed on Carnival, so I am not exactly comparing the two lines anyway.

 

That said, we paid the same money for a Celebrity Reflection cruise (8 night, ABC islands) as we did for Carnival Horizon (8 night, ABC islands), so I expect to get at least the same amount of enjoyment out of both cruises, despite the atmosphere and clientele being completely different. We'll see. I'll report back, of course, after we sail in November.

[kdr69]

14 hours ago, tdnosnhoj11 said:

Correct! That was the first response. The second was that we have to walk ourselves to the meeting point rather than being led there. 

Well i understand the second one because they aren't going to lead you to an excursion that's not Carnivals but the first one having to get off the ship by yourself hmmm this one i find odd.  Is the excursion time after the ship is cleared to disembark passengers or before? If its before any excursion is allowed off the ship i can understand that but if its after then anyone can get off once the gangway is open.  Very strange.

[kdr69]

14 hours ago, tdnosnhoj11 said:

t’s about the care of the ships and staterooms and the spaces being renovated to accommodate kids (we have none). The food, onboard service, etc. are all still great. But we realized it was time for us to find something different and this situation is what drove it home for us. 

Now this makes perfect sense to me for why you want to move away.  However the only line that doesn't cater to kids in some way shape or form is Virgin (unless your thinking about WIndstar or Seabourne or even Viking Cruise lines) but again the average crowd is a lot younger. Not to say you wouldn't like it. Viking has some great sailings and ships you might like?

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I am not sure they are not.  The issue comes in the details tied to the request.  

When you say "I am not sure they are not", to me that reads maybe you think they are, but cannot be absolutely sure.

 

The OP posted that the reason given was Carnival would take them to the excursion, while with the private excursion, they would have to get there themselves. By that standard, it would seem they could basically turn down every request and would make you wonder if they ever intended to give the OBC as per the guarantee.

 

In my earlier post, when I said we did get the OBC years ago, I mentioned I had contacted the private vendor and asked if they picked up at cruise ships as well as hotels. And when they e-mailed back that they did, I included this information in my request. If I had not asked this of the vendor and included the answer in my request, would Carnival have turned me down for the same reason as they turned down the OP? We will never know.

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, aborgman said:

 

...and yeah - food preference is pretty subjective, but there is a definite objective difference in cooked to order gourmet food made with high end ingredients and mass produced in giant batches much lower cost ingredient food.

 

There is a difference, but some people just prefer hot dogs to foie gras.

[aborgman]

10 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

There is a difference, but some people just prefer hot dogs to foie gras.

 

Yes... but even those people (while they might not buy it) understand why foie gras is way more expensive. I prefer silver over gold, but that doesn't mean that gold shouldn't cost significantly more than silver.

 

 

 

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, aborgman said:

 

Yes... but even those people (while they might not buy it - the only thing that matters) understand why foie gras is way more expensive. I prefer silver over gold, but that doesn't mean that gold shouldn't cost significantly more than silver.

 

 

 

Many don't know what foie gras even is. Supply and demand are why gold and silver prices are different.

[aborgman]

3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Many don't know what foie gras even is. Supply and demand are why gold and silver prices are different.

 

Supply and demand are why gold and silver prices are different.

Supply and demand are why foie gras and hotdog prices are different.

Supply and demand are the source of all price differentiation.

 

 

[BlerkOne]

3 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

Supply and demand are why gold and silver prices are different.

Supply and demand are why foie gras and hotdog prices are different.

Supply and demand are the source of all price differentiation.

 

 

sometimes it is demand and supply.

 

 

Perhaps the most well-know of Doug’s dogs is the “Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage” ($10) with truffle aioli, foie gras mousse, and fleur de sel. While the duck sausage was  nice and meaty, it was the gentle slices of foie gras mousse that put this dog over the top. The sprinkle of coarse salt was essential for keeping the liver’s richness in check. This dog lived up to its hype and then some.

Edited Friday at 07:25 PM by BlerkOne

[tdnosnhoj11]

9 hours ago, kdr69 said:

Well i understand the second one because they aren't going to lead you to an excursion that's not Carnivals but the first one having to get off the ship by yourself hmmm this one i find odd.  Is the excursion time after the ship is cleared to disembark passengers or before? If its before any excursion is allowed off the ship i can understand that but if its after then anyone can get off once the gangway is open.  Very strange.

We dock at 7:00 and both Carnival and the outside vendor state the tour begins at 7:30.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

12 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

We haven't yet sailed on Carnival, so I am not exactly comparing the two lines anyway.

 

That said, we paid the same money for a Celebrity Reflection cruise (8 night, ABC islands) as we did for Carnival Horizon (8 night, ABC islands), so I expect to get at least the same amount of enjoyment out of both cruises, despite the atmosphere and clientele being completely different. We'll see. I'll report back, of course, after we sail in November.

Please do.  You can set your expectation level however you want.  The facts are still the same.  

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, ontheweb said:

When you say "I am not sure they are not", to me that reads maybe you think they are, but cannot be absolutely sure.

 

The OP posted that the reason given was Carnival would take them to the excursion, while with the private excursion, they would have to get there themselves. By that standard, it would seem they could basically turn down every request and would make you wonder if they ever intended to give the OBC as per the guarantee.

 

In my earlier post, when I said we did get the OBC years ago, I mentioned I had contacted the private vendor and asked if they picked up at cruise ships as well as hotels. And when they e-mailed back that they did, I included this information in my request. If I had not asked this of the vendor and included the answer in my request, would Carnival have turned me down for the same reason as they turned down the OP? We will never know.

Obviously we do not know what the actual details are for each decision (and using this one as the discussion point).  I have no idea whether they would come to a decision differently if you supply different information.  It is the nature of the beast. The point of this thread is A customer chose to leave the cruise line for the vendor stating they did not think his rationale for meeting the price guarantee (for a relatively small amount).  Obviously, we can all make decisions for whatever reason we want.  Would you leave if they did not come back and grant you your request?  From my viewpoint, the policy is what it is. I keep thinking of the sales pitch joke about guarantees regarding the butcher in Tommy Boy.  I prefer to take their word for it.  YOMV.

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Obviously we do not know what the actual details are for each decision (and using this one as the discussion point).  I have no idea whether they would come to a decision differently if you supply different information.  It is the nature of the beast. The point of this thread is A customer chose to leave the cruise line for the vendor stating they did not think his rationale for meeting the price guarantee (for a relatively small amount).  Obviously, we can all make decisions for whatever reason we want.  Would you leave if they did not come back and grant you your request?  From my viewpoint, the policy is what it is. I keep thinking of the sales pitch joke about guarantees regarding the butcher in Tommy Boy.  I prefer to take their word for it.  YOMV.

Remember when cruising first started back up post Covid, and some people were complaining that the did not get their stockholders' OBC while others said they did? And some even said it was turned down, but when they resubmitted, it was approved. This seems in some way the same, it can be very arbitrary and depend on which particular employee gets the request.

 

I think we both would agree that there should be standards by which it is determined whether it is granted or not.

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Remember when cruising first started back up post Covid, and some people were complaining that the did not get their stockholders' OBC while others said they did? And some even said it was turned down, but when they resubmitted, it was approved. This seems in some way the same, it can be very arbitrary and depend on which particular employee gets the request.

 

I think we both would agree that there should be standards by which it is determined whether it is granted or not.

Standards and following them are fine.  Anything covid related gets a pass from me.  Extraordinary times, no experience in dealing with it and for ed lockdown and treatment WAY beyond anything else in the world.   Free pass.  

[tdnosnhoj11]

On 6/28/2024 at 8:41 PM, jimbo5544 said:

Obviously we do not know what the actual details are for each decision (and using this one as the discussion point).  I have no idea whether they would come to a decision differently if you supply different information.  It is the nature of the beast. The point of this thread is A customer chose to leave the cruise line for the vendor stating they did not think his rationale for meeting the price guarantee (for a relatively small amount).  Obviously, we can all make decisions for whatever reason we want.  Would you leave if they did not come back and grant you your request?  From my viewpoint, the policy is what it is. I keep thinking of the sales pitch joke about guarantees regarding the butcher in Tommy Boy.  I prefer to take their word for it.  YOMV.

The policy is what it is, but if they’re going to use rationale that could be used to decline every single claim, why does this “guarantee” even exist? I understand that the guarantee has been granted before, so I’m just wildly confused about why mine was declined and was curious if others had experienced these same issues.
 

Thats my real question, and maybe I should have framed my original post better by asking it that way and leaving it there because this thread turned into a whole different beast. I regret my choice to ever bring up my decision to leave Carnival following this and other reasons, I didn’t realize it would become the primary focus.