ilv4cruising Posted July 18 #1 Share Posted July 18 Has anyone used Tours By Locals (it is a Vancouver company) for a private shore excursion? Their cancellation policy doesn't cover what happens if the ship can't dock at the port. I'm assuming we won't get a refund (which is a concern since they are very pricey). Sadly I can't get through to the company to find out (tried everything ). Has anyone had any experience with them regarding a port getting cancelled at the last minute? Also, if anyone has great experiences with other companies for private shore excursions in the UK that would be appreciated (need to be private in 2 of the ports as we have specific ancestry locations to visit 🙂 ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted July 18 #2 Share Posted July 18 1 hour ago, ilv4cruising said: Their cancellation policy doesn't cover what happens if the ship can't dock at the port. I'm assuming we won't get a refund (which is a concern since they are very pricey). Sadly I can't get through to the company to find out (tried everything ). You do get a refund. Their FAQ pages cover this exact question: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everbeentoseabilly Posted July 19 #3 Share Posted July 19 We used tours by locals in Boston years ago and had a good experience. At least that tells you they have been around awhile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilv4cruising Posted July 19 Author #4 Share Posted July 19 13 hours ago, Fouremco said: You do get a refund. Their FAQ pages cover this exact question: Thank you. I must have missed that statement about cruise ships 😞 . I truly appreciate you pointing that out (since it is near impossible to get a hold of anyone, tried phone, there message system on their website and FB, sigh). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilv4cruising Posted July 19 Author #5 Share Posted July 19 46 minutes ago, everbeentoseabilly said: We used tours by locals in Boston years ago and had a good experience. At least that tells you they have been around awhile True. We have also used them in the past (pre-pandemic) but having major challenges getting responses from them this time so a bit of a concern. Hopefully they will resolve soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare broberts Posted July 19 #6 Share Posted July 19 44 minutes ago, ilv4cruising said: True. We have also used them in the past (pre-pandemic) but having major challenges getting responses from them this time so a bit of a concern. Hopefully they will resolve soon. Not getting a response to several queries and unable to reach by phone would be a huge red flag to me. It suggests disorganization, lack of resources, or lack of respect for prospects. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilv4cruising Posted July 19 Author #7 Share Posted July 19 3 hours ago, broberts said: Not getting a response to several queries and unable to reach by phone would be a huge red flag to me. It suggests disorganization, lack of resources, or lack of respect for prospects. I know. They did a major overhaul of their website and it hasn't gone well so my understanding is they are getting inundated with calls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted July 20 #8 Share Posted July 20 21 hours ago, broberts said: Not getting a response to several queries and unable to reach by phone would be a huge red flag to me. It suggests disorganization, lack of resources, or lack of respect for prospects. I agree here... this is a huge red flag. We have never used Tours By Locals, but know that there are people on CC that love them. We have always - and still do - use Viator. I also know that there are a lot of people that dislike Viator because they are a huge consolidator / aggregator and not a tour operator themselves, but we have always had great experience, and if you email or call you get a very prompt response. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilv4cruising Posted July 20 Author #9 Share Posted July 20 5 hours ago, CDNPolar said: I agree here... this is a huge red flag. We have never used Tours By Locals, but know that there are people on CC that love them. We have always - and still do - use Viator. I also know that there are a lot of people that dislike Viator because they are a huge consolidator / aggregator and not a tour operator themselves, but we have always had great experience, and if you email or call you get a very prompt response. Thanks. We have used Tours by Locals before with great success and response. I think this is a "glitch" right now as the just relaunched a new website and it isn't going well. I decided to go ahead and book our 2 tours that I wanted (as both locations and tours are very important to us). Since it isn't until next June I figure if I don't get a better comfort from them in the next few months I can always cancel. Thanks everyone for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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