Tour organizers threatened at Meet & Greet aboard Grand Princess

[MicCanberra]

South America private tours seem to be handled very differently than

tours in Europe. A lot of them want deposit money up front.On our SA cruise on the Star, there were people who organized private tours and participants were no shows. Lucky there were replacement people available. Never saw this on any of our other cruises.

 

The roll call for the The Grand had people organizing tours a year in advance. These fellow passengers worked so hard to get the best

for their group(price and tours). I was on that roll call but had to cancel

the cruise. No one was a travel agent, looking to save money for themselves etc. These are good people. They made a big mistake collecting at M&G. Should have made arrangements in advance to collect money elsewhere, and not part of M&G. That is tacky.

Yes, different countries have differing arrangements for payment. I think if pre-cruise payment is not an option but pre tour payment is required, then someones cabin may be a better venue for collection of these monies.:D

[Griller]

I have been doing that for years on my tours. People pay the driver at the end of the tour and tip as they please. It also confirms that you are not making a profit on the tour as it appears some people do.

Yes people have made a business out of it, at the very very least they end up often getting their places free on the tour.

I've seen it.

IMHO Princess are right to not allow it to be done at M & G meetings.

[KofAK]

Yes people have made a business out of it, at the very very least they end up often getting their places free on the tour.

I've seen it.

IMHO Princess are right to not allow it to be done at M & G meetings.

 

If you have tried to arrange a tour for up to 75 people and handle all the paper work and time that goes into cancellations and finding new passengers, a "free" seat is not a great bargain. If you have to give your credit card as a guarantee of payment it is not a bargain. I have done both and almost all of the tours I have arranged have been without any compensation. However, if a tour offers a free seat for all the work of organizing and collecting the funds to pay for it, I have taken that. Be assured that the compensation was far less than minimum wage when you consider the time expended.

[JLC@SD]

Big NO from me! Princess' job is to bring me to these ports of call, feed me and entertain me. And hopefully keep the toilets and AC in working condition...:rolleyes: What I do when I get to a port of call is my own business. Princess has the right to offer me a shore excursion and I have the right to find a better deal. Certainly I would exercise a bit of discretion when collecting money and such, but for the Captain to use this kind of attitude is very bad form IMO. Where does it say that you give up your freedom of choice when you get on a cruise ship anyway?

 

Is there anything in the passenger contract to that effect? I'm reading mine again (for the first time:o)

 

What you do when you get to a port of call ......and off the ship.... is your own business.

 

On the ship .....it is Princess' business.

[BruceMuzz]

I do not work for Princess, but on my ship recently we had a couple who were paying for their cruise by organizing tours through CruiseCritic Meet and Greets.

They collected around $40,000 before we caught them and told them to stop.

 

They refused to stop.

We threw them off the ship in Morocco.

They are now black-listed for any future cruises.

[shootingstar07]

I have booked many private tours. I prefer smaller tours. My largest was 30 in shanghai. What a nightmare trying to keep track of all those people. That alone was a full time job!! :D:D. I do not up charge my tours. What I do:

When I board I drop off reminder cards to all pax on my tours. (I always get their cabin numbers prior to departure). This tells them mode of payment, where we will meet and time. I give them my cabin number so they can contact me if they have any problems. I will collect money in the van/bus on way to first stop. I make sure they understand tipping is for them to decide. I will check local custom and include this in an email before embarkation.

 

I use the M&G to introduce myself - not to collect money. I think Princess was justified to request a "cease and desist". It appears a few people made a huge mistake by not thinking through the consequences of their actions. I am sure it is a case of "lesson learned".

 

So far, knock on wood, I haven't had any problems!!

[babyher]

I do not work for Princess, but on my ship recently we had a couple who were paying for their cruise by organizing tours through CruiseCritic Meet and Greets.

They collected around $40,000 before we caught them and told them to stop.

 

They refused to stop.

We threw them off the ship in Morocco.

They are now black-listed for any future cruises.

 

 

I knew someone who ran the vacation club at their work. A very large manufacturing plant. Everything from day trips to the local casino to cruises and trips to Europe. They made out very well.

 

Their whole trip would be paid for , plus a little on the side.

[Seafoam Green]

I do not work for Princess, but on my ship recently we had a couple who were paying for their cruise by organizing tours through CruiseCritic Meet and Greets.

They collected around $40,000 before we caught them and told them to stop.

 

They refused to stop.

We threw them off the ship in Morocco.

They are now black-listed for any future cruises.

 

That is comforting. I'm sure the majority of people who organize private tours just want to step up and help fellow passengers, without any consideration of reward.

[AmberTeka]

Big YES for Princess.

The CC roll calls are filled with postings by tour organizers.

Competitor tour organizers shouldn't be wasting public space aboard ship for their commerce. After all, they are taking profits away from the cruise lines.

 

 

jls

 

I remember the Tour organized by private groups...In South America the old van lost an axle or something like that...and lots of people died. Most of them were from New Jersey, New York and to be on a long cruise ..they were not poor.

 

They lost their lives...........to save maybe $50 bucks.

I always think of that..grit my teeth..pay for the Cruise ship tour....feeling they are safer. And insured. And the boat won't leave me.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Call me selfish but I can not imagine trying to organize large groups for shore excursions while I am on vacation myself and giving out my cabin number, collecting monies, etc. I am the unofficial "travel manager" when we are traveling with small groups of family or friends, and even with small groups like that it can be a nuisance as things always come up. Big groups, no thanks!

 

I also seem to remember that we lost one of our favorite posters on these Princess boards, Toto From Kansas, as she had a bad experience with cruise critic members bothering her and knocking on her cabin door and invading her privacy, as I think she had organized shore excursions for the CC group. Just not worth it, IMHO.

[sammiedawg]

Many passengers prefer private tours to have a better experience. I disagree people book them so they can save fifty bucks. We have met the loveliest people through sharing of tours. I believe 99.9 per cent of tour organizers have good intentions and are not interested in making a buck.

[cruznliz]

I remember the Tour organized by private groups...In South America the old van lost an axle or something like that...and lots of people died. Most of them were from New Jersey, New York and to be on a long cruise ..they were not poor.

 

They lost their lives...........to save maybe $50 bucks.

I always think of that..grit my teeth..pay for the Cruise ship tour....feeling they are safer. And insured. And the boat won't leave me.

 

I also think of that tour boat in Cabo San Lucus that flipped over and there weren't any life preservers.

[smoosh21]

Big YES for Princess.

The CC roll calls are filled with postings by tour organizers.

Competitor tour organizers shouldn't be wasting public space aboard ship for their commerce. After all, they are taking profits away from the cruise lines.

 

 

jls

 

I see no problem with passengers getting together to organize a tour on their own. I think setting up tables may be a bit much.

 

I am currently organizing a tour on my upcoming Royal TA cruise in Gibraltar. it really wasnt about cost, but about doing what I wanted to do and what the ship tours didnt do.

I am organizing it because the operator requires groups of 8, or we would pay huge fees

 

I would be very upset if Royal stopped this, and I would be very upset if on my next Princess cruise they did anything similar.

 

That being said, I have no problems with Princess or any Cruise line stopping Tour agencies from coming on board and trying to solicit sales.

[TracieABD]

One word: discretion.

[JLSPOOL]

I remember the Tour organized by private groups...In South America the old van lost an axle or something like that...and lots of people died. Most of them were from New Jersey, New York and to be on a long cruise ..they were not poor.

 

They lost their lives...........to save maybe $50 bucks.

I always think of that..grit my teeth..pay for the Cruise ship tour....feeling they are safer. And insured. And the boat won't leave me.

 

 

Add to the above,

small boats with a hole in bottom

zip-lines for passengers too old or frail

tour mobiles with tires about to blow out

driver taking you to a friends shop or restaurant

or leaving you in Timbuktu for trinket shopping

or leading you to a friends camel

 

 

 

jls

[Sunviking]

Depending on the ports we've visited we've taken both ship's tours and private ones. Some of the private tours were ones arranged by fellow cruisers and some arranged by me. I know that in both cases no money was made by the organizer nor did anyone receive a free tour. None of the private tours had more than 8 participants. I'm trying to understand what advantage is served by going on a private tour with 75 participants as someone posted earlier on this thread. For us the advantage of a private vs ship's tour is primarily being in a small group. If going with such a large group, we would probably opt for a ship's tour where the responsibility for any glitches lies with the cruise line.

 

I agree that it does take time to organize a private tour and can involve some stress, but nobody made me do it so it was my choice. If I didn't want the stress, I could have just opted not to take on the responsibility.

[Pam in CA]

I will toss my two cents into this discussion.

 

I do not book tours in advance for a couple of reasons.

 

First, I have had very good experiences dealing with taxi drivers and/or tour operators after I get off the ship at the ports. Prices are usually better and I make a list of the things I want to see and do, present it to the driver or guide and make a deal on time and price. I have never been to a port where I could not contact a driver or guide after I got off the ship. If some others want to do the same thing, we look for appropriate vehicles to accomodate us.

It's obviously worked well and can work well in some regions. However, if sailing in South America, you'd be SOOL as in some ports, perhaps only 50% of the passengers can be accommodated on any type if tour or taxi. There just aren't the resources locally so you'd be stuck walking around the dock area. On a Baltic cruise that stops in St. Petersburg, you wouldn't be able to get further than the end of the gangway. Language is another issue in some regions plus the ship often docks at a commercial port. What you do just isn't possible in some parts of the world and other than Princess tours, your only or best option is an independent tour. :)

[RASHOPPER2]

That is comforting. I'm sure the majority of people who organize private tours just want to step up and help fellow passengers, without any consideration of reward.

 

Absolutely true and I would hate having the few bad apples destroying Cruise Critic's credibility and reputation.

[Pam in CA]

I remember the Tour organized by private groups...In South America the old van lost an axle or something like that...and lots of people died. Most of them were from New Jersey, New York and to be on a long cruise ..they were not poor.

 

They lost their lives...........to save maybe $50 bucks.

I always think of that..grit my teeth..pay for the Cruise ship tour....feeling they are safer. And insured. And the boat won't leave me.

I have to laugh at this if only because of the fact that last week while on a Princess transfer to the Crown, our bus broke an axle. Fortunately, we weren't going 70 mph on the highway but if we had, it could have been very serious. My point is that you're not necessarily safer even on a "luxury" bus arranged through Princess.

[KofAK]

Depending on the ports we've visited we've taken both ship's tours and private ones. Some of the private tours were ones arranged by fellow cruisers and some arranged by me. I know that in both cases no money was made by the organizer nor did anyone receive a free tour. None of the private tours had more than 8 participants. I'm trying to understand what advantage is served by going on a private tour with 75 participants as someone posted earlier on this thread. For us the advantage of a private vs ship's tour is primarily being in a small group. If going with such a large group, we would probably opt for a ship's tour where the responsibility for any glitches lies with the cruise line.

 

I agree that it does take time to organize a private tour and can involve some stress, but nobody made me do it so it was my choice. If I didn't want the stress, I could have just opted not to take on the responsibility.

 

The 75 people were accomodated on four different buses going separately so each did enjoy a small group experience. At no time were they all at the same place at the same time other than the start of the tour at port.

[Av8tor]

The 75 people were accomodated on four different buses going separately so each did enjoy a small group experience. At no time were they all at the same place at the same time other than the start of the tour at port.

In my book, 20 people on a tour is NOT "a small group experience!"

[san diego sue]

On our SA trip, the biggest private tour had 12 people on it, most 8 or less. WE always do a combination of ship's tours and private. It all depends on the ports.

Warning, there is no way you can just get off the ship on a SA cruise and expect to find a tour in most ports. Container ports are common. In some ports, there aren't even taxis.

Anyone that thinks they can wing it in SA is so wrong. They will miss everything. Even with getting a taxi driver tour (if possible), English may not be their language. We found out even on Princess tours, some tour guides really hard to understand.

Same thing on an Asia cruise, plan ahead.

[jnc411]

Just read this entire thread, and I vote with the posters that said it is not a good practice to set up tables , collect money , pass out flyers, and organize tours at a Meet and Greet, bit tacky. And I think Princess has the right to stop that sort of thing. If you want to organize or join a private tour, get the arragements taken care of on the roll call and don't do it at the M & G.

Just my 2 cents. :)

Cori

[smoosh21]

I remember the Tour organized by private groups...In South America the old van lost an axle or something like that...and lots of people died. Most of them were from New Jersey, New York and to be on a long cruise ..they were not poor.

 

They lost their lives...........to save maybe $50 bucks.

I always think of that..grit my teeth..pay for the Cruise ship tour....feeling they are safer. And insured. And the boat won't leave me.

 

 

While on a Princess Tour in Costa Rica we were up in the mountains headed for the Rain forest when the Axel on our bus broke. It was interesting to watch the wheel keep rolling down the road without us.

 

It was a very rough bad road, so we were only going about 10 MPH

[Pam in CA]

In my book, 20 people on a tour is NOT "a small group experience!"

It's a heck of a lot smaller than a stuffed bus of over 40 people who have no connection to each other and will never see each other again.

 

I've been on George's tours and will again. He's a heck of an organizer and puts an enormous amount of research, time and effort that is greatly appreciated by someone like myself.

 

One of the reasons why Toto left CC was because people on the tour(s) she organized kept calling and knocking on her cabin door when she and her husband were resting or just plain enjoying their alone time. People are sometimes incredibly inconsiderate when you tell them to contact you for the details of a tour. Sometimes, these details are critical and complicated and best put in writing for someone to refer to rather than have to remember. When you're cruising to little-known or rarely used ports, people like George are a godsend. Anything we can do to make his "job" easier is a plus and if that means catching people at the M&G, I'm all for it.

 

For those who say to just have someone contact you in your cabin, how would you feel if you were called morning and night, have strangers knocking on your door while you're enjoying a movie, napping or something else? It ruined Toto's cruise and turned her off CC forever.