Majestic Tours question

[psbtrvlr]

I sent an email to Majestic a couple of days ago asking this question but have not received an answer.

 

We will be sailing to Nassau during hurricane season. Do they have a 'no port, no pay' policy?

[psbtrvlr]

I received a response today so I guess I'll answer this question. Considering the port stops that we've missed over the years (sometimes without advanced warning) this doesn't sound like a good company for a cruiser to book through. This is what I received:

"In reference to your e-mail, all tours must be prebooked and prepaid and reservations are based on availability.

There is a no refund cancellation policy if reservations are not cancelled at least 24 hours in advance.

A longer period of time for cancellation is required for groups of 6 or more persons."

[scubagirrl]

I received a response today so I guess I'll answer this question. Considering the port stops that we've missed over the years (sometimes without advanced warning) this doesn't sound like a good company for a cruiser to book through. This is what I received:

"In reference to your e-mail, all tours must be prebooked and prepaid and reservations are based on availability.

 

There is a no refund cancellation policy if reservations are not cancelled at least 24 hours in advance.

A longer period of time for cancellation is required for groups of 6 or more persons."

 

Most of the tour companies have similar policies.

Stick to the cruise ship tours for a better cancellation policy.

 

Even the resellers have some strict policies, or they give you credit.. no money back.. read the fine print no matter where you book.

 

In the case of a hurricane, wouldn't you know more than 24 hours in advance??

[psbtrvlr]

Most of the tour companies have similar policies.

Stick to the cruise ship tours for a better cancellation policy.

 

Even the resellers have some strict policies, or they give you credit.. no money back.. read the fine print no matter where you book.

 

In the case of a hurricane, wouldn't you know more than 24 hours in advance??

 

You would think so, but no not always. We also have missed ports during other times of the year due to weather, civil unrest, etc. and were notified same morning as the port stop.

 

Maybe on Nassau most of the tour companies have similar policies, but we book tours everywhere we go whether it's a cruise vacation or land based, and only book with companies that have decent cancellation policies. Maybe Nassau for me needs to be cruise line only excursions.

[belkin]

I think island marketing has a decent refund policy if I am remembering correctly.

[spacepotatoes]

If you are going during hurricane season, you should consider getting insurance. There are some companies that have cruise packages and they will cover excursions. Just something to think about if you are unable to find anything with a refund policy you are comfortable with.

[World Gallery]

This is why our family and the others in our group didn't book with them. We have booked many tours in many different ports in the Carribean and I have never heard of such a harsh policy regarding "if the ship didn't make it to port (and it was completely out of your control)." We booked Comfort Suites, which did allow you to cancel your room, I think with a 24 hour notice, without any penalty. We checked the weather forecast the day before in Key West to make sure there wasn't a high chance of bad weather and were planning to call if we felt the ship wouldn't make port (but all was fine).

[scubagirrl]

This is why our family and the others in our group didn't book with them. We have booked many tours in many different ports in the Carribean and I have never heard of such a harsh policy regarding "if the ship didn't make it to port (and it was completely out of your control)." We booked Comfort Suites, which did allow you to cancel your room, I think with a 24 hour notice, without any penalty. We checked the weather forecast the day before in Key West to make sure there wasn't a high chance of bad weather and were planning to call if we felt the ship wouldn't make port (but all was fine).

 

Comfort Suites now requires 5 day advance notice for cancellations.

 

Majestic is a land based tour company. Just started getting popular with the cruiseship crowd. In some cases they are the only providers of some tours.

If you can find a reseller who deals with cruise tours. book thru them.

 

To my knowledge, as of now, no other third party vendors are handling Atlantis day passes

[World Gallery]

Thanks for the info. I am so sorry to hear that! It must have just changed. We were a party of 30 and all booked through Comfort Suites a few weeks ago (it was very easy and we had a great time). Many of us are thinking about going back next spring but with this infomation, we wouldn't book either way now. In my personal family, we are 7 people. It is simply unreasonable to lose $770 on a tour because your ship couldn't make port. That is more than we paid pp for the cruise itself! I also know that none of our party would have risked that either.

Does shoretrips.com operate there (I know they don't have Atlantis tour)? We booked through them a few times for a few different ports. They give a full refund if your ship can't dock. We had booked a dolphin swim with them, which is another expensive tour. We booked with them because of their refund policy.

[scubagirrl]

Thanks for the info. I am so sorry to hear that! It must have just changed. We were a party of 30 and all booked through Comfort Suites a few weeks ago (it was very easy and we had a great time). Many of us are thinking about going back next spring but with this infomation, we wouldn't book either way now. In my personal family, we are 7 people. It is simply unreasonable to lose $770 on a tour because your ship couldn't make port. That is more than we paid pp for the cruise itself! I also know that none of our party would have risked that either.

Does shoretrips.com operate there (I know they don't have Atlantis tour)? We booked through them a few times for a few different ports. They give a full refund if your ship can't dock. We had booked a dolphin swim with them, which is another expensive tour. We booked with them because of their refund policy.

 

It used to be 24 hours, but I guess they were losing out when ships didn't come in or it rained.. Don't forget, they are a hotel business, not a tour company.. so they need to fill rooms.

 

shoretrips operates in nassau, but they don't carry Atlantis Day passes.

Noone except Majestic Tours carries them.