Shore Excursion Phone Desk=Useless

[ktpc2005]

I called the shore excursion desk to ask some questions about different shore excursions that my fiance was interested for our Gem cruise. I called and got a nice rep and my first question was what time a Barcelona tour that ends at the airport would get to the airport? The answer: ask when you are on the ship, we can't book that one here. I asked why they don't have answer is and they said that it is not necessary for them to know.

 

I did the usual NCL thing and called again and got someone else. The answer that I got was the answer of the year: I dont know, Call the ship!!:eek: I was like how can I do that because one the ship is not even built and two that is what you are here for. She put me on hold and never came back.

 

Thats pretty sad. It is something that I will bring up when I get a call back from NCL corporate after I sent an email to them

[davejohn]

I wonder if that's SOP in the industry? We tried to book an excursion to Stonehenge ending at Heathrow with Princess and they had the same policy. It could only be booked onboard and they had no info other than cost.

Dave

[Don Haynes]

To be fair to NCL the ship hasn't sailed yet. I would think similar to other see the town excursions on disembarkation day the tour would last about three hours. I am sure on the ship they will know more around what time the tour will reach the airport. You can book the tour now, and on the next to last day you can still cancel if the time of the tour takes too long.

 

I would prefer a no answer than a wrong answer any day. This is not necessarily bad service.

[electricron]

End of cruise tours at the disembarkation port lengths can vary, depending upon when the first customer catches their flights home. The tour length can vary from week to week, sometimes ending earlier than normal, sometimes later.

 

The agents in Miami aren't going to have the information you wanted on a weekly basis, and the anwer you received from them is the best they can provide........

 

Sorry you didn't like the answer, but they aren't god and don't know when the first tour customer flight time is.

[Got2Cruise]

End of cruise tours at the disembarkation port lengths can vary, depending upon when the first customer catches their flights home. The tour length can vary from week to week, sometimes ending earlier than normal, sometimes later.

 

The agents in Miami aren't going to have the information you wanted on a weekly basis, and the anwer you received from them is the best they can provide........

 

Sorry you didn't like the answer, but they aren't god and don't know when the first tour customer flight time is.

 

The tour provider needs to get a good idea how long disembarkation will take, what the average check-in time at the airport is, how the traffic is, before they can recommend which flights will be suitable for the tour. I once booked an after- cruise tour in Miami, but then with the increased airport security they changed the window of time needed. If you are interested in the tour, reserve your spot, and then you can always cancel when you get on the ship and get a chance to talk to the excursion desk. In this regard NCL has great customer service, they allow you to book tours without charging your credit card immediately.

[ktpc2005]

The tour provider needs to get a good idea how long disembarkation will take, what the average check-in time at the airport is, how the traffic is, before they can recommend which flights will be suitable for the tour. I once booked an after- cruise tour in Miami, but then with the increased airport security they changed the window of time needed. If you are interested in the tour, reserve your spot, and then you can always cancel when you get on the ship and get a chance to talk to the excursion desk. In this regard NCL has great customer service, they allow you to book tours without charging your credit card immediately.

 

 

I would have been ok with an answer like that, but an answer of call the ship yourself, that is just ridiculous.

 

I actually had someone from this board alert me that their are aproixmate departure times of the excursions and total legnth are on the order form that you can fax in. It says they leave aprox 9am and take 3.5 hours. My flights at 2:30pm from Barcelona and I cannot online check in my flight due to its a code share so I may want to be at the airport a little earlier.