New Excursion Policy at HAL

[celle]

I do not see anything new about this.

 

(48 folks is common, I was unaware 60 passenger buses even exist).

 

 

That was my first reaction, too!

 

We did the 17-day transatlantic repositioning cruise, Dover to New York, on Eurodam last year.

 

We did HAL tours at most ports and found that the buses, while full, only accomoodated about 40 people. When there were lots of people booked on a tour, we were split into several bus loads.

 

In addition, in many of the ports, it was a requirement for each passenger to wear a set belt on the tour bus. I think that to cram more people on a bus than there are seats for constitutes a safety hazard.

[cruisemom42]

Just did a little online research, and it looks like most standard charter/tour buses in Europe will seat 48; larger ones are available and will seat 58. Thus, I don't think the OP's number of 60 is that far off the mark. :cool:

[kazu]

Just did a little online research, and it looks like most standard charter/tour buses in Europe will seat 48; larger ones are available and will seat 58. Thus, I don't think the OP's number of 60 is that far off the mark. :cool:

 

absolutely correct - when I arranged a private transfer to Seville - I could have had a bus that held 40 or the larger one. (obviously we took the 40 and only put aroun 26 on it:))

[aikensbest]

I think HAL is in full control of shorex pricing and the tour operator just accepts their terms, if they want the volume of business that HAL can provide. I watched a program recently about cruise lines and their revenue strategies to break-even on sailings. It was reported that shorex is a key money maker (top 3) with 75% of passengers booking at least one ship tour. The tour operator typically gets between 40-50% of the shorex price. The program was about RCI but I expect that the general concept can be applied to other cruise lines.

 

Case in point: we recently did a quickie PNW cruise on HAL and booked a Seafood & Wine excursion in Astoria. Turned out we were the only people on the tour, so it was cancelled. Not deterred, we ventured into town and visited the sites of the cooking class and winery tasting. We got talking to the proprietors and learned that HAL gave the cooking school $15 pp while the wine cellar got $20 pp. The shorex cost $99 pp. Tidy profit, methinks.

 

We typically prefer private tours but do consider shorex in certain situations. We try to avoid coach tours if at all possible. I've found that shorex staff are pretty tight-lipped about the size of group tours, though they will respond if pressed. So we do not pre-book ship excursions but wait till we're on-board and have a better idea of exactly what we may get.

I agree with this poster. We plan as much as possible, tours not thru the ship. Not only are the prices outrageous, but on HAL full payment is required at the time of booking. My money is used long before the cruise starts. We have switched to other lines on a number of cruises when the ports and prices are similar in order to avoid this.

[Sea42]

I agree with this poster. We plan as much as possible, tours not thru the ship. Not only are the prices outrageous, but on HAL full payment is required at the time of booking. My money is used long before the cruise starts. We have switched to other lines on a number of cruises when the ports and prices are similar in order to avoid this.

I, too have an issue with having to pay for the reservations ahead of the cruise. We have quite a bit of OBCs and would like to be able to use them to pay for dinners or maybe an odd shore excursion. I don't like to take time out of my cruise to stand around in line or on the phone making bookings. At least for our upcoming cruise (20day) the service charge, drink cards and spa services should be enough to use the OBCs.

[RuthC]

I, too have an issue with having to pay for the reservations ahead of the cruise. We have quite a bit of OBCs and would like to be able to use them to pay for dinners or maybe an odd shore excursion. I don't like to take time out of my cruise to stand around in line or on the phone making bookings. At least for our upcoming cruise (20day) the service charge, drink cards and spa services should be enough to use the OBCs.

You can always wait and book (and pay for) your shore excursions after you board. There is a risk you will be closed out, however.

Nor do you need to stand in line or take time on the phone to book those excursions once on board. There's a Shore Excursion form. Simply fill it out, and drop it in the box by the Shore Excursion Office. The vouchers will be delivered to your cabin, and your on-board account will be charged.

[Sea42]

Ruth,

Thanks, now that you mention it, I remember there being a form with all of the excursions listed on our Caribbean cruise. We had booked our one and only HAL excursion online ahead of time for that cruise and the price listed onboard was higher than what we had paid online. Is that normally the case? I would worry that if there was an excursion I was interested in, that it would be booked before we got onboard.

The one excursion I booked through HAL for our upcoming trip was cancelled by HAL. I probably won't bother booking another one with HAL.

Carol

[kazu]

Ruth,

Thanks, now that you mention it, I remember there being a form with all of the excursions listed on our Caribbean cruise. We had booked our one and only HAL excursion online ahead of time for that cruise and the price listed onboard was higher than what we had paid online. Is that normally the case? I would worry that if there was an excursion I was interested in, that it would be booked before we got onboard.

The one excursion I booked through HAL for our upcoming trip was cancelled by HAL. I probably won't bother booking another one with HAL.

Carol

 

not Ruth - sorry:p but the excursions I've seen onboard had the same prices as what were on line - so I don't think that is normal.

 

Excursions will be cancelled if there isn't enough interest or if there are other issues (ie weather for a flight tour).

 

I don't do many ship's excursions anymore - but for the few i do - I prefer to book on line - I like having it paid for and not having any more on board shock than necessary:D

 

Worst case scenario - if it's cancelled - I get more obc:D

 

Paying in advance isn't everyone's cup of tea - but i deliberatley buy obc, beverage cards, PG dinners, whatever to have some things paid for bit by bit before i get on the cruise. each to their own. smooth seas:D

[Sea42]

not Ruth - sorry:p but the excursions I've seen onboard had the same prices as what were on line - so I don't think that is normal.

 

Excursions will be cancelled if there isn't enough interest or if there are other issues (ie weather for a flight tour).

 

I don't do many ship's excursions anymore - but for the few i do - I prefer to book on line - I like having it paid for and not having any more on board shock than necessary:D

 

Worst case scenario - if it's cancelled - I get more obc:D

 

Paying in advance isn't everyone's cup of tea - but i deliberatley buy obc, beverage cards, PG dinners, whatever to have some things paid for bit by bit before i get on the cruise. each to their own. smooth seas:D

Thank you for the information! We generally do, maybe, one ship excursion per cruise. We've only been on one HAL cruise so it was unusual to have to pay up front. I guess it's one of those thing we will just have to deal with. Poor us :rolleyes:

[mtncruiser1]

For our upcoming cruise in Sept, most of the excursions were increased $5 each between early August and August 20th. Maybe a form of crowd control!

[Sunshine91]

My folks found just the opposite of crowded buses on their recent Rotterdam cruise to Norway (14 days, 2 B2Bs).

 

The 2 cruises actually embarked/disembarked in Rotterdam, so a very high percentage of the passengers were Dutch (apparently the cruises hadn't been selling too well, so HAL deeply discounted fares in Europe). Mom said that the Dutch consider Scandinavia their backyard & many have been there already - its just a ferry-ride away. Consequently, the ship sold very few shore excursions. All the ones my parents wanted to do were cancelled due to lack of interest. :(

 

My folks are in their mid-70s & Mom is in excellent physical health. Dad has some back/walking issues. They weren't looking at hikes. But maybe some museum tours. I keep telling them to grab a taxi at the port & go, but they are just more comfortable on a ship's bus.