Pushing sells during cruise excursions

[dimaroyal]

Hi!

I kept silence for a long time but this is enough for me.

Since prices for cruise line excursions went dramatically up I prefer to find third party private guides in ports but there are some ports where it is still better to buy excursion form the CL. And for many years same thing happening.

Almost on every excursion (does not matter short or long) they are bringing you to a local store like for craftsmanship demonstration and trying to push/sell you something. And it is defenetely NOT about craftsmanship demonstration. Like in every Turkish port it will be pushing of carpets. Usually it takes at least 30-40 minutes of the whole excursion, even if escursion is only 3 hour. And this is the time you payed for.

So. What do you think? Should the cruise lines let us know in advance in the description for the tour that you will be taken to the place like this? And should tours with included pushing sells discounted?

[leaveitallbehind]

That's one of the primary reasons we avoid any tours and prefer to arrange port activities and sightseeing on our own.  JMO and what works for us.

[CruiserBruce]

Some cruise lines do include this info. And we have not experienced a sales pitch on every excursion...in fact, only seen it on a small percentage of excursions. Yes, Turkey is a good example of the sales pitches.

[1025cruise]

The sales pitches can happen on private excursions as well. You just have more say to tell the guide to shove it.

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, dimaroyal said:

Hi!

I kept silence for a long time but this is enough for me.

Since prices for cruise line excursions went dramatically up I prefer to find third party private guides in ports but there are some ports where it is still better to buy excursion form the CL. And for many years same thing happening.

Almost on every excursion (does not matter short or long) they are bringing you to a local store like for craftsmanship demonstration and trying to push/sell you something. And it is defenetely NOT about craftsmanship demonstration. Like in every Turkish port it will be pushing of carpets. Usually it takes at least 30-40 minutes of the whole excursion, even if escursion is only 3 hour. And this is the time you payed for.

So. What do you think? Should the cruise lines let us know in advance in the description for the tour that you will be taken to the place like this? And should tours with included pushing sells discounted?

 

In Istanbul, we refused to enter the rug shop demo that was part of our excursion.  Told our guide we would meet them after either outside the place or at the bus.  

 

In Shanghai, it was interesting learning about silk worms.  But too much time afterward allocated to "shopping".  I would rather have seen Yao Ming's house.  For some reason our tour guide didn't think that was funny.  Obviously, she lacked a sense of humor.  

 

Not every excursion, but the lists of these special shopping opportunities just goes on and on.   

[Airbear232]

Ah, but the rugs in Turkey are so beautiful.  Also, I miss the apple tea.  Next time I’d like to pick up a nice backgammon set as well. 

[crystalspin]

8 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

Ah, but the rugs in Turkey are so beautiful.  Also, I miss the apple tea.  Next time I’d like to pick up a nice backgammon set as well. 

Actually I just had to cancel a cruise that I picked largely because it visited several ports in Turkey. In Izmir we were going to wander the Carpet Quarter on our own, with intent to buy! and I had booked a ship's excursion in Istabul that included a rug factory just in case we didn't find the right one in Izmir.

 

Back story: we took an excellent land tour of Turkey some years back. After the obligatory but very interesting rug factory stop, AS WE GOT ON THE BUS -- my husband said, "I wanted to buy a Turkish-knot rug." Ten minutes too late!

 

Eventually we will get to buy that rug!

 

ETA: If you pressure a private guide not to include stops at commercial ventures, be sure to tip extra, as they supplement their income with the stipend the shop owners provide for bringing tours in.

 

Edited July 22 by crystalspin

[CDNPolar]

Someone may correct me here, but on Viking, which is our cruise line of choice, I don't remember ever being in a "selling" situation OTHER THAN when you go to a winery for a wine tasting.  This we know in advance that they will be selling their wines, BUT we also know this and expect this because this is the culture of wineries and wine tastings.  This has never been a heavy sell, nor has the winery or tour guide ever made us feel any obligation.  We have walked out right after the tasting if we did not like the wines, and other times we have purchased.

 

The first real "sales" experiences (plural) we had were in Egypt on a Uniworld River cruise.  This was aggressive selling in the outdoor markets that are set up so you cannot exit a temple without going through this gauntlet of sellers, but we were also taken to several stores where the sales pitch was heavy.  This I did NOT enjoy.  One store where I engaged for a few minutes asking questions about their wares actually got angry at me when I did not purchase.

 

Mexico was the other place where this was blatant.

 

I personally would like the cruise line to tell you that you are going to be sold to, but if the excursion says you are going to visit a rug store, or a papyrus store, then I would assume that you are going to be sold to.

 

  

 

 

[sverigecruiser]

14 hours ago, dimaroyal said:

Should the cruise lines let us know in advance in the description for the tour that you will be taken to the place like this?

 

I think that it should be mentioned in the description of the tour and my experience is that it has been mentioned.

[sparks1093]

If it isn't part of the description from the cruise line then it isn't supposed to be part of the excursion. Go to the excursion desk and complain. This happened to my family on an excursion in Jamaica and while they didn't complain (I wasn't with them, so they didn't know) another party on the excursion did and received at least a partial refund. If something happens that isn't supposed to and no one complains about it the cruise line won't know and won't be able to tell the operator to cease the practice or lose the business.

[wcook]

Yes, they absolutely should say in the excursion description that they will be taking tour time for one of these sales pitches. And to be honest, you can usually tell. If there is mention of a jade factory tour or a pearl demonstration, experienceo cruisers know what the deal is. 
 

And while 95% of the time these are turnoffs and are one of the reasons I don’t often take excursions, every now and then I’m actually interested. On Curaçao I wanted to take the cheesy tour / sales pitch at the liquor factory. 

Edited July 22 by wcook

[K32682]

Save your fake fury and high dudgeon. When you are a cruiser on an excursion in a foreign land you are regarded as an income source for locals. Of course they are going to try and steer you to local merchants who want to sell you something. It's why every museum, art gallery and public attraction has a gift shop before the exit or why check-out counters in stores have impulse items on display while you wait in line. 

[Keksie]

Universal and Disney end the rides in the gift shop.  Most of the ports include shopping areas you need to walk through to get to and from the ship.  Some more obnoxious then others.  At least some of the local stores are more interesting then Diamonds International or Columbia Diamonds.

[wcook]

37 minutes ago, K32682 said:

why every museum, art gallery and public attraction has a gift shop before the exit or why check-out counters in stores have impulse items on display while you wait in line. 

The difference is I can just walk past those displays and be on my way. On a tour you are stuck. Imagine if Disney required you to spend 30 minutes in the gift shop once you get off Space Mountain. 

[1025cruise]

I was once on a tour that seemed to be going to the guide's favorite stores. Unfortunately, there was always one person that had to actually go looking at stuff, keeping the rest of us who were ready to go.

[Gwendy]

On a private tour in Cochin in India, our guide asked if it would be ok to visit a souvenir shop.  He told us he gets a bag of rice for bringing visitors and also some petrol.  We were happy to visit, good quality wares, no hard sell.  
In Hong Kong staff at the jewellery shop we were taken to were so pushy, I told guide I would wait by the door.

[K32682]

23 hours ago, wcook said:

The difference is I can just walk past those displays and be on my way. On a tour you are stuck. Imagine if Disney required you to spend 30 minutes in the gift shop once you get off Space Mountain. 

 

So step outside the store, return to the vehicle (if there is one) or otherwise remove yourself from a situation that is making you unhappy. Cruise and tour operators are not going to ban stops at shops that are kicking back money to them and some people on excursion actually enjoy the shopping.

 

Edited July 23 by K32682

[sparks1093]

7 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

So step outside the store, return to the vehicle (if there is one) or otherwise remove yourself from a situation that is making you unhappy. Cruise and tour operators are not going to ban stops at shops that are kicking back money to them and some people on excursion actually enjoy the shopping.

 

I've got no problem doing this IF it was announced in the excursion description that it would happen. If it is an add on done by the tour operator then I might still do this but I shouldn't have to and would certainly make this known to the cruise line (since they may not be aware that it is happening). 

[Donald]

My ship has sailed regularly in Turkey for many years.

Every week for many years we have had numerous complaints about the shopping stops on ship-sponsored tours.

Every week for many years we have gone after the tour operators and owners to make them stop this practice. We have terminated countless tour companies that refused or failed to stop the shopping stops.

EVERY ONE of their replacements had exactly the same behaviours and problems.

We have repeatedly warned passengers who book these tours that there will be a high pressure sales pitch on these tours. Despite all of that, these passengers book the tours anyway, buy things at these stops, then return to the ship to complain about the high pressure shoppiing stops.

This behaviour is an integral part of the local culture in many parts of the world. It will not go away in many of these countries. Why is that? Because it is successful. 

If we ever reach a point where all tourists refuse to buy things on these stops (highly unlikely), then the high pressure sales tactics will end. 

What can you do to avoid this problem?

1. Stay home.

2. Don't leave your cruise ship.

3. Book an expensive private tour and warn the driver that you will not pay him if he tries this.

4. Only visit countries where high pressure sales tactics are not part of the culture.

 

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you’d be better staying at home.” – James Michener

[CDNPolar]

20 hours ago, Donald said:

 

This behaviour is an integral part of the local culture in many parts of the world. It will not go away in many of these countries. Why is that? Because it is successful. 

If we ever reach a point where all tourists refuse to buy things on these stops (highly unlikely), then the high pressure sales tactics will end. 

 

 

I agree with the above statement.

 

In Egypt, we learned very quickly (we are keen observers) that when leaving a temple and being forced to walk past the gauntlet of merchants, that if you do not make eye contact, you do not engage, you do not stop to browse, they leave you alone.  They are intent on those that they can get the attention of.

 

Many people - IMO - feel they are being rude if they walk past someone trying to engage with them.  Just move past and don't make eye contact.

 

We also learned that many of these merchants randomly call out names to the crowds walking past...   "Susan!  Susan!" and other names to randomly get someone named Susan to stop.  Our friend did stop and she could not figure out how he knew her name.  He didn't, he just got lucky that there was a Susan walking past.

 

I learned a couple hard lessons with this kind of selling tactic.  I did on my first Egyptian excursion going into a temple engage with a young guy who was wandering with merchandise, not tied to a booth.  He asked my name and I gave him my name.  45 minutes or so later when I emerged from the temple, he walked right up to me and said my name and that he had been waiting for me.  He followed me to the bus and was persistent.  

 

This was the same excursion where Susan stopped, and this guy followed her to the bus as well and even after she boarded the bus he was calling to her though the open door.

 

This is part of some cultures and how these people make money, and part of travel.

 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I agree with the above statement.

 

In Egypt, we learned very quickly (we are keen observers) that when leaving a temple and being forced to walk past the gauntlet of merchants, that if you do not make eye contact, you do not engage, you do not stop to browse, they leave you alone.  They are intent on those that they can get the attention of.

 

Many people - IMO - feel they are being rude if they walk past someone trying to engage with them.  Just move past and don't make eye contact.

 

We also learned that many of these merchants randomly call out names to the crowds walking past...   "Susan!  Susan!" and other names to randomly get someone named Susan to stop.  Our friend did stop and she could not figure out how he knew her name.  He didn't, he just got lucky that there was a Susan walking past.

 

I learned a couple hard lessons with this kind of selling tactic.  I did on my first Egyptian excursion going into a temple engage with a young guy who was wandering with merchandise, not tied to a booth.  He asked my name and I gave him my name.  45 minutes or so later when I emerged from the temple, he walked right up to me and said my name and that he had been waiting for me.  He followed me to the bus and was persistent.  

 

This was the same excursion where Susan stopped, and this guy followed her to the bus as well and even after she boarded the bus he was calling to her though the open door.

 

This is part of some cultures and how these people make money, and part of travel.

 

Good advice,

 

The same basic advice can be given for Jamaica, a country where many complain about the pushiness of the locals, just ignore and don't make eye contact and they will leave you alone and concentrate on the next person.

[Gwendy]

Most Asian countries are the same, unless you are buying, shop with your eyes, once you have touched or picked up an item, they consider it sold.  I made this mistake in India and had the vendor follow me down the street, insisting I buy the item.

[Airbear232]

On 7/22/2024 at 2:25 AM, crystalspin said:

Actually I just had to cancel a cruise that I picked largely because it visited several ports in Turkey. In Izmir we were going to wander the Carpet Quarter on our own, with intent to buy! and I had booked a ship's excursion in Istabul that included a rug factory just in case we didn't find the right one in Izmir.

 

Back story: we took an excellent land tour of Turkey some years back. After the obligatory but very interesting rug factory stop, AS WE GOT ON THE BUS -- my husband said, "I wanted to buy a Turkish-knot rug." Ten minutes too late!

 

Eventually we will get to buy that rug!

 

ETA: If you pressure a private guide not to include stops at commercial ventures, be sure to tip extra, as they supplement their income with the stipend the shop owners provide for bringing tours in.

 

We'd very much like to go back to Istanbul.  Just loved wondering about the city.  Such a beautiful place, great food and very good people.

[Airbear232]

On 7/23/2024 at 9:18 AM, Donald said:

 

This behaviour is an integral part of the local culture in many parts of the world. It will not go away in many of these countries. Why is that? Because it is successful. 

If we ever reach a point where all tourists refuse to buy things on these stops (highly unlikely), then the high pressure sales tactics will end. 

What can you do to avoid this problem?

1. Stay home.

2. Don't leave your cruise ship.

3. Book an expensive private tour and warn the driver that you will not pay him if he tries this.

4. Only visit countries where high pressure sales tactics are not part of the culture.

 

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you’d be better staying at home.” – James Michener

While the behaviour is common, in most of my personal experience I haven't had issues with the salespeople.  Whether I'm interested or not, I show them respect and appreciation. I compliment them on their goods and ask about business and their area.  If I'm not interested, I will "apologize" and say that this time I'm not going to purchase but that if I come back and want to purchase something that I will seek them out.  The majority of people are good with this and I'm free to go about my business with no issues.

[lynncarol]

I always learn how to (firmly but pleasantly) say "No thank you" in the local language while I keep walking and avoid eye contact. It always works. The vendors need your money and it is not to their benefit to spend time with folks who have no intention of buying.