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Just check out operators to find one with a good reputation; start with tourist boards, dive clubs and Cruise Critic's message boards go from there. As has already been mentioned, ViaTour is a tour wholesaler, just like the cruise line, booking tours from local companies. I have done many viatour brokered excursions with no incident.
Pay attention to all the words.
This applies particularly in Europe, where some of the most important destinations -- i.e., Paris, Rome, Florence and London -- are one to three hours away, depending on traffic, from where cruise ships dock. Independent-minded folks who want the ease of being transported without concern about missing the ship can book cruise line-provided transportation with freedom to explore as they choose in port. Travelers who want a more guided experience can book a variety of city tours and activities. Exploring a port of call on a one-day visit to a foreign place is surprisingly different from spending a week in a hotel. We used Viator in New Zealand when none of the ship tours appealed to us. If you go to their site you can click on "shore excursions" and then put in your port (I think that's the order it was).
COMPANY
Most Caribbean locales do not switch to a summer time frame like we do in most of mainland USA. Dispute the charge with your credit card provider. There's a Hop on Hop off bus which will take you to all the most popular tourist spots and there's usually a great commentary along the way. Sit upstairs in the front and don't forget the sunhat and sunscreen. They have a good selection on all Aus and NZ ports of call. We have used Viator in several countries for everything from transfers to tours.
You Want to Save Money
The only thing that remedy did was ruin another vacation day a year later in Punta Cana! On March 23rd, 2017, we again used Viator's catamaran/snorkel vendor, El Gringo Excursions. Again we had multiple communications between Viator's, the vendor and us about the exact time and meeting place for our pick up. They had prior commitments with another cruise ship passengers and didn't know how to reach us, even though we communicated at least 3 times the last few weeks via the same email address.
Booking Shore Excursions: The Travel Advisor Advantage
As a broker Viator works to verify the products they are pushing out. When we used them with a cruise they were cheaper, more suited to our desires, and much smaller than the cruise ship tours. Nice to have them to go to if you have a problem with your tour company. We contacted Viator and had a full refund that day. Make the most of your time in port in Christchurch with a half-day shore excursion that takes in all the highlights.
New Viator website offers cheaper shore excursions for cruisers - NBC News
New Viator website offers cheaper shore excursions for cruisers.
Posted: Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT [source]
This advice won't help you pick a good excursion -- but your feedback can help future cruisers have a better onshore experience. For example, Witsoe says that when passengers aren't happy with an excursion, it's usually because of the guide. She encourages passengers to report back, good or bad, to help cruise lines fine tune their tour offerings and to request only the best guides. Knowing which are small-group or large-group tours can help cruisers be smart about advance tour bookings. For example, Windstar's typical group size is 20 people, but some tours can take up to 100 people by splitting cruisers into multiple buses with separate tour guides. Tours that sell out are usually more niche tours with upper limits, for example, a cooking class with limited space or a water-based tour with only so many seats in the boat.
I Tried Viator, Trip Advisor's Tour and Excursion Booking Platform — Here's How It Works - Business Insider
I Tried Viator, Trip Advisor's Tour and Excursion Booking Platform — Here's How It Works.
Posted: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]
In addition to all of these benefits for clients, there are also benefits for the travel advisors. Whereas many advisors are unable to earn commission on shore excursions (even if they book directly with the cruise line!), all shore excursions booked on Viator will yield commission at your current commission rate. There are a multitude of benefits to booking shore excursions with a travel advisor as opposed to through the cruise line or directly with the tour operator. Listed below are some reasons to consider booking shore excursions through a travel advisor. Many cruisers start looking at shore excursions onboard without using their travel advisor.
You Want a Simple Beach Break
This type of local, personalized experience can be found in greater quantity using a third party provider, either directly or via a travel advisor. But when booked direct, the travel advisor can lose out on commission and the client will lose any benefits that come with booking through a travel advisor. "We monitor tours for lack of interest, and do everything we can -- including not making money -- to make sure a tour goes because we know that's disappointing for the guest," says Witsoe.
rome2009
If you are looking for alternative tour ideas Air B and B has had "experiences" for a few years now. They have some really unique experiences that are often very tailored to what you want to see and do. I was interested in a Huon Valley trip which they have on their website . The price is very similar to the private quote I got.
I responded back to cancel it, as it was still before the deadline to cancel. Later, I found out my card was charged anyway, and only when I disputed it with my credit card company did I learn the booking was through Viator. They then sent a 24 page response to the cc company insisting we had been offered another tour and just never showed up. My statement that no such email ever arrived had no effect, and the charge went through. Worse, when I wrote up a bad review about the place, the company contacted me, validated my version of what happened and said they would get the money back to me.
I do research using TripAdvisor or other means to get tour ratings. Then, I seek out the actual provider and select one and book with them. Most we pay in full on day of tour (very nice of them), or give a deposit up-front and pay balance on tour.
I used to work for a cruise ship and I can tell you that all ship tours are through 3rd party opearators and if anything goes wrong, the cruise company has very little recourse because they aren't the operators. The prices are also tremendously marked up because the ship needs it's cut. I booked a tour in Costa Maya that was 50% less than what the ship was offering, even though it was the same tour. I was also going to post that one has to remember that private tours are not just for cruise ship passengers. One does not know if the tour company knew it was for someone on a cruise, and thought that their alternate offering was reasonable.
We've been on some fine tours both in the Caribbean and in Europe offered by local tour companies, which we then book by email or on their website. We find these companies through Trip Advisor, using the Ports of Call forums here, as well as the Roll Call for the cruise we are sailing. It can be reasonably easy to recruit others via the Roll Call and never looking to build a large group. I believe we end up with the best experiences this way. Yes, it takes some more effort than just picking a decent-sounding Princess tour, but we don't like the big bus approach and of course you also over-pay most of the time.
If you're setting out on your town to an off-the-track beach, make sure you have return transportation. Sometimes ports propose access to more than one regional diversion or locale of interest, which can be spread out over considerable distances. Avoid the logistical challenges of visiting multiple attractions on your own by booking a ship-sponsored tour. Be careful when booking anything through TripAdvisor. The tour company emailed me and said they were sorry but the tour was only in Italian.
When your cruise ship docks in Cannes, discover the best of the French Riviera with ease on this adventurous shore excursion. Following is a set of rough rules that will help you decide between booking independent cruise excursions or booking cruise line travel. Worked out very well.As mentioned above, Viator isn't a tour operator, just a broker.Also worth noting that it's a TripAdvisor company.
Many cruise lines mark activity levels in shore excursion descriptions, but it's up to travelers to understand the definitions and to be realistic about their own abilities. If you know you have mobility issues, look for the best tours for your needs. For example, Witsoe says, if you're looking at castle tours across several ports and one has an elevator to the top and the others don't, prioritize that tour. Sometimes it's nice to escape the large group tours for more intimate explorations with a smaller number of participants or perhaps even just your travel party. Plus, a private guide can give you more in-depth information about the place you're seeing, answer your questions and cater to your interests. This time I asked Viators for not only a refund, but they could forget their worthless coupons and to come up with a way to reimburse us at least $200 in cash for the 2 wasted days we counted on them.
