Missing a Port with booked Independent Shore Excursions

How do you handle your pre booked independent shore excusions if your ship misses the port? Did you have to forfeit your money or get a refund? What are your experiences?

that depends on the tour operator, some allow refunds some do not. this is why you should never pay the full amount of the shore excursion before your cruise.

How do you handle your pre booked independent shore excusions if your ship misses the port? Did you have to forfeit your money or get a refund? What are your experiences?

It depends on the tour company. We received partial refunds on several missed ports when the Star’s azipod went out a little over a year ago and made claims through our travel insurance company for any unreimbursed amounts. Some companies don’t require a deposit in advance and have a policy that you will not be charged if your ship doesn’t dock. Check carefully before booking so you know and are not taken by surprise!

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In my own personal experience this has happened only once, in a port where tenders were used and the water was just too rough for tender operations, and since the tour was paid in advance (as many are), I was out the money. Although, the tour operator did offer a credit toward a future tour if I returned one day.

On a couple of occasions, I've had tours booked through the ship's shore excursions, and when the port was cancelled, there was of course a full refund. Cancellation insurance is kind of built in to the inflated price tag.

My lesson learned was to be wary of tender ports and ports with notoriously high and low tides (such as those found along the coast of the Bay of Biscay) where there are more likely to be schedule or itinerary changes. Of course, these forums are the best place to research that.

Also, inquire with the tour operator about their cancellation policy in the event that the cruise line changes the itinerary or skips the port due to weather or sea conditions. I recently booked a tour in New Zealand that had a full refund policy if this was the case, no doubt to compete with the ship's shore excursion cancellation refund policy.

Beware tour operators in Kirkwall (Orkneys) some of whom have a no refund policy. "Claim against your insurance"!!! Not much good when you have $300 excess. Caveat Emptor.

How do you handle your pre booked independent shore excusions if your ship misses the port? Did you have to forfeit your money or get a refund? What are your experiences?

Read the terms and conditions of the tour company you are booking with. Many times, you would lose your money since the company has held a “seat” for you. And you have to work refund yourself.

Tours booked with the cruise line are automatically refunded.

How do you handle your pre booked independent shore excusions if your ship misses the port? Did you have to forfeit your money or get a refund? What are your experiences?

It all depends on the tour operator. Some give refunds, other don't. Make sure you know the policy before you book. If you can't find the policy on the operators web site don't book with them.

Thanks for the responses. Unless the ship is not offering an excursion for something I really want to do or see, I am going to continue to book through the cruiseline. I don't mind the extra effort in setting up my own touring, however the ease of dealing with refunds due to port changes or cancellations (especially once onboard) continues to make ship excursions more appealing.

This happened to us this week in Hawaii. We missed 2 excursions because of high seas . Roberts Hawaii refunded is as well as Ncl

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Many tours I’ve used allow you to pay upon arrival. They prefer cash to credit anyway. So no need to worry about getting a refund. It’s worth shopping around to see. I’ve had much better tours independently than I would have had through the ship.

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A website I've booked mine from says there's a refund if the port is missed for all the excursions I've done.

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Depends on who you booked your tours through. We have used Shore Trips several time and have always been pleased with the results. We had one port cancelled because of rough seas and when we got home I called them and they said no problem they were aware of the cancelled port and had already credited our credit card before I even called.

depends on operator.

i only book independents that give full refund if the ship doesnt dock and those that guarantee on time return or all expenses paid to reach the next port.