Planning private excursions

[sharke]

What tips can you offer when you are in charge of planning a private port excursion? Have you ever been stiffed for the reservation fee? :eek:Did anyone not show up on the day of excursion? Do you get good response on the boards for those interested in joining? I know there's a lot of you who plan these trips, so I would appreciate your in's and out's, do's and don'ts. :confused:

[whyme]

What tips can you offer when you are in charge of planning a private port excursion? Have you ever been stiffed for the reservation fee? :eek:Did anyone not show up on the day of excursion? Do you get good response on the boards for those interested in joining? I know there's a lot of you who plan these trips, so I would appreciate your in's and out's, do's and don'ts. :confused:

 

where are you going ???

[CanWeGoYet?]

Last cruise, was my first time participating on this board, and first time joining a roll call. I was able to plan a couple private excursions, met some fine people and it all went off ok.

 

What I did was get suggestions for reputable tours from the ports section of the board, and also asked on a different, well known forum for Trips. After deciding on a tour that interested me (checking for a good track record too & being in business for years) I posted on the roll call the info. Description of tour, how many seats available, price & payment requirements. What type of money, CC accepted or not, in advance or end of tour, etc. Both tour operators I picked were trusting enough they did not require payment in advance, and if the port day was canceled there would be no fee. I stayed in contact with the tour operators by email. It took a while but enough people from the roll call opted to join so we did not have empty seats. We all traded email addresses to make working out details easier. I hope this helps. The tours were good, I got to meet some very nice people, saved some $ over the cost of a ship's tour and I know we got a smaller, higher quality tour.

 

ETA: a good idea to plan on meeting on board prior to the tour. You will probably do this anyway if you have a roll call party planned. I had no fears that the people who joined the tour would not show up, but I think it is best to limit participants to people on your roll call. You will all be on the same ship that way, fewer potential problems with ship not making the port, etc.

[jakzak]

Our cruising days began in 1980. Presently we have been on 26 cruises including the Panama Canal and The Baltic. We have never booked a ship excursion. My suggestion is to read the roll call boards of this years sailings on the ship and destination you will be traveling on. See the companies the current cruisers are using. You can then ask questions when they return. The first hand knowledge that can be gained by these boards amazing. Why pay an extra 30-50 percent for a tour, only to be with 50 other other people. Form private or smaller group tours with your fellow cruise critic members. Not only will you have a better time, you most probably with have a more informed guide who will go out of his or her way to design the perfect trip for all involved.

[Host Anne]

Be sure to read our Ports of Call boards as well. There is plenty of wonderful information here that can help you in your planning.

 

Yes, you can often find folks on your roll call who are willing to share tours with you.

 

We've never had an excursion operator not show up. Considering the bad PR that can cause them on the internet these days, that is very unlikely to happen.

 

We have never been stiffed for a reservation fee. Although I can also tell you we've never made a reservation and not shown up. Don't do that. If you make a reservation be sure to show....or else cancel in plenty of time. That is only fair as excursion operators depend on people to show up just like we expect them to show up.

 

Be sure that you get everything in writing! Day of your excursion, time, cost, location to meet, cancellation policy, etc., etc., etc. Then be certain to take a copy of that with you....just in case there are any questions when you arrive.

 

My favorite thing about private excursions is that they are typically just that - private. Smaller groups, personalized service, friendly, fun. If you do your homework here on the board (ports of calls and roll calls) you'll have a great time!

[mek]

I have organized several private tours, primarily in Europe. I have never had one ask for a deposit upfront, even the most expensive, which was our 2 day tour of St Petersburg, Russia. I always have a meeting with my group on the first day and collect the money upfront and provide receipts for the money I collect. I generally let everyone take care of their own tips. I have been on quite a few private tours organized by others and they pretty much handle it the same way. Personally, I think if you don't collect the money the first day, you are running the risk of some drop outs that can end up costing the remaining people a considerable amount of money, depending on the total cost of the tour.

[Host Anne]

sharke ~ mek if very kind in organizing and collecting money for tours. I no longer do that. I don't want to be responsible for people who change their minds, etc. We pretty much do private excursions that will allow individuals to call in/email/fax reservations so we aren't responsible for the kinds of things mek is referring to. If you have a group of people you know well or family, it's great to offer to do that. If you are working with folks you don't know, I wouldn't want to be responsble. There are plenty of tour companies out there that will accept reservations for a group on an individual basis. Much less risk for the person organizing.

 

Some excursion operators ask for deposits (via credit card); some don't. If they ask for a deposit, most only hold your credit card number for no-shows and don't actually charge your card. We've never had a problem in all the years we've done private excursions. Best bet is to ask when you make reservations.

[astrocat]

We cruised for the first time in the Med this June .. I bit the bullet and booked a private Amalfi Coast trip even though I was a little nervous about how to fill the remaining seats. I need not have worried .. followed the line of those above eg tink360. I did also post details on this forum as well as the roll call because some people dont end up joining the roll call (even though they should!) The end result was a fantastic group of 8 from San Fran, Brisbane and NZ ... we then were able to cross reference and we joined one of their trips to Pisa / Florence.

 

The benefits of a private mini van over a huge crowded bus were immense and I would ahve no hesitation in doing it again. Give yourself plenty of time though, it can be a bit nervewracking waiting to see if your van will fill!! Like HostAnne, it was up to everyone to pay the driver themselves the next day but we were all on the same wave length so no problems whatsover and it was a great way to share experiences.

 

The internet makes it all so easy, particularly CruiseCritic!