Exploitation!

[Christine Frances]

OP. Try the Rome 2 Rio website. http://www.rome2rio.com. I think there is a bus for 6E

 

 

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[nukesubsailor]

I was surprised by the dismissive responses .... to clarify:

 

• we have looked at alternatives and obviously people do not know what they are talking about because there are none .... it has even been indicated that it will be difficult to even to get out of the port on your own ... and there is nothing in Le Verdon
  
• I get the feeling that some of the responses are from people who have paid these extortionate fees for other similar jaunts and feel they are being exposed for being silly enough to pay up ..... there is always this excuse 'oh, you are guaranteed to get back to the ship', and other such nonsense.
  
• we went to Rome from Civittavechia for 9 Euros return on a BIRG ticket when the cruise line were charging high costs ( BIRG now costs 12 Euros)
  
• we got a private taxi from Colon in Panama to the Gatun locks for $40 total when it would have cost $120 by the cruise line bus
  
• the responses IMHO are from sheep who just pay up and troop on to the Acollyte Autobusses and feel that the cruise companies are doing them a big favour ??
  
• if I had to get a bust for a similar journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh t would be a fraction of the cost for this trip
  
• These people will continue coughing up these inflated costs because they think it is what you should do ...
  
• Princess no more .....
  

 

I think the best thing for you is what you say in your last bullet point.

I would not want to cruise if I was that upset with the cruise line. Nor would I enjoy having people that upset on the ship with me.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was surprised by the dismissive responses .... to clarify:

 

• we have looked at alternatives and obviously people do not know what they are talking about because there are none .... it has even been indicated that it will be difficult to even to get out of the port on your own ... and there is nothing in Le Verdon
  
• I get the feeling that some of the responses are from people who have paid these extortionate fees for other similar jaunts and feel they are being exposed for being silly enough to pay up ..... there is always this excuse 'oh, you are guaranteed to get back to the ship', and other such nonsense.
  
• we went to Rome from Civittavechia for 9 Euros return on a BIRG ticket when the cruise line were charging high costs ( BIRG now costs 12 Euros)
  
• we got a private taxi from Colon in Panama to the Gatun locks for $40 total when it would have cost $120 by the cruise line bus
  
• the responses IMHO are from sheep who just pay up and troop on to the Acollyte Autobusses and feel that the cruise companies are doing them a big favour ??
  
• if I had to get a bust for a similar journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh t would be a fraction of the cost for this trip
  
• These people will continue coughing up these inflated costs because they think it is what you should do ...
  
• Princess no more .....
  

 

I've never been to Europe so I don't know about this area. But I'm the family researcher, and if this was a must see, and this was the easiest way of getting there, that's what we'll take. We usually don't do excursions in most ports, but we have negotiated with a couple of taxi drivers for a city tour. Most of our excursions do get booked through the ship as it's easier for us (and relaxation is the key for my hubby). On our last cruise, we decided to do two excursions and I went directly on the websites for these companies and found the Princess rate very comparable (maybe just $10 difference or less).

 

But I found your response very "dismissive" of those who were wondering why you thought it was "exploitation" when if this was the port on the original itinerary, it's easy enough to find do a little research to see where you would dock or tender into.

[klenklen]

When we went to Hawaii on Princess I thought their trip to Pearl Harbor was overpriced for a bus ride/tour. Did my homework, reserved the Pearl ticket on line for mid morning, found the local bus route and my wife and I made the round trip for about fifteen bucks total versus Princesses $79 per person. But we were still in the US of A and about a 1/2 an hour out with several hours to spare if we ran into a hiccup. I was pleased how nicely it went and how much I saved but would never have done something like this in France. I think the OP has gone a bit overboard and would do himself a favor to avoid agita over these circumstances. Too many nice things to enjoy on Princess without obsessing over this.

[FritzG]

It sounds like RCCL's loss is Princess's gain in this case. I hope the OP cancels this cruise because his negative attitude will affect his trip.

[Loonbeam]

I suppose I should point out that many people on our Liberty of the Seas tour were SHOCKED to find out how far the port was from Rome. There were complaints that the ship should have pretty much parked at the Vatican entrance.

[Ethel5]

I suppose I should point out that many people on our Liberty of the Seas tour were SHOCKED to find out how far the port was from Rome. There were complaints that the ship should have pretty much parked at the Vatican entrance.

 

LOL-you mean they don't?:rolleyes:

 

Some people just like to be righteously outraged and when they don't get the response they expected, they feel dismissed.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I had found a website that claimed it was easy to DIY to Avignon from Marseilles, so we skipped the more expensive ship tour and headed out on our own. We got lost twice trying to the find the bus stop. Then the train kiosk wouldn't take our US credit cards (no chips), and the ticket line was so long that our train left before we were halfway to the window.

 

We ended up having a nice day in Marseilles, and we will see Avignon on a river cruise next year -- but if it had been a priority, my attempt to be frugal would have been a major disaster.

 

So when we got to Livorno, we ignored the "easy DIY" instructions and paid the ship $119 each to take us to Florence. We had a nice comfy bus ride in, with an interesting narration and orientation to the city, and a relaxing snooze on the ride back because we didn't have to make connections between train,bus,taxi to get to the ship. In the end the price felt well worth it.

[RickEk]

I looked at Royal Caribbean's page and found an excursion to Bordeaux from them was $99. It did not give the details of what was included.

 

We booked one excursion with Princess to Tulum next week. The thought of missing the ship was on my mind when I went with it instead of trying to do it on our own. I don't mind jaunts to beaches on islands where there are plenty of taxis, but I don't want to go off on our own too far from the beaten path in a third world country.

 

A good choice... I took the Princess tour of Tulum last December and our ferry was about 1/2 hour late getting back to the ship and there was another behind us! Of course, the ship was there waiting for us.

 

I do hope that the OP enjoys his cruise on the Ruby...

[Mommypig]

For any cruise one has to do all the math before committing. The math includes cost of cruise, costs of travel to ship, size of ship, ports, stateroom class, OBCs, included perks, and excursions. When you choose a big ship you are going to be limited to ports that can accommodate the ship. Some cruise lines include drinks and excursions in their price, but they cost more and may not be worth the additional cost. When all is said and done , paying for the excursion on Princess may be way more cost effective than booking the cruise on Azsmara or Oceania to avoid paying for it.

 

I don't drink so I don't want to pay for it as an included perk. I generally don't do Princess excursions so I don't want them included as a perk. I have often found private tours that are more cprehensive and less expensive than Princess excursions. Their shuttle prices however are generally cheaper than taking a cab, so we will often pay for that.

 

So OP, please do all the math before throwing the baby out with the bath water. Princess is a great value when you get to bottom line

 

 

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[caribill]

I was surprised by the dismissive responses .... to clarify:

 

• we went to Rome from Civittavechia for 9 Euros return on a BIRG ticket when the cruise line were charging high costs ( BIRG now costs 12 Euros)
  
• we got a private taxi from Colon in Panama to the Gatun locks for $40 total when it would have cost $120 by the cruise line bus
  

 

Yes, taking the train to/from Rome is less expensive that the cruiseline's (any cruiseline) Rome on your own by bus.

 

Yes, in many ports local transportation on your own is less expensive than the cruiseline's transportation.

 

Just as you had a private taxi in Panama, I assume you could have one in Le Verdon. Why not do that instead?

 

I do not know what RCCL would charge if they went to Le Verdon. The one example I could dig up was an "on your own" to/from Kuala Lumpur from Port Klang. This is a 90 minute ride each way and the price was $39/person in 2013 which I would consider reasonable.

[JPEvans]

I think the OP is trying to get a rise out of people. Lots of excursions

To places on your own are above that.

[sparky-elpaso]

I suppose I should point out that many people on our Liberty of the Seas tour were SHOCKED to find out how far the port was from Rome. There were complaints that the ship should have pretty much parked at the Vatican entrance.

 

Do people not know what a MAP is? :eek:

 

I always use Google Earth to check out the ports. On our upcoming Great Britain cruise I found out that there are some ports where the ship docks at smaller towns with some interesting history - no tour needed there. Others are industrial ports with nothing in the area so it's a ships tour to things farther away.

[bhopal21]

I think the OP is trying to get a rise out of people. Lots of excursions

To places on your own are above that.

 

It appears this was a hit and run.:D

 

Mike:)

[Marmaduke]

The 2014 UK edition of the Princess brochure for Mediterranean & Scandinavia, page 18 clearly states the itinerary for this cruise as "Bordeaux, France (from le Verdon)" . If you want to do a cruise to Bordeaux there is an alternative, Azamara have a 14 night cruise leaving Southampton on 20th August 2014. the ship sails up the river, spending three days actually docked in the city. The price of course is a lot more than what you pay for Princess and you should see the price of Azamara's excursions !

[Saravasse]

Just for fun...I went to see how much Royal Caribbean charges for "on your own" tours...

 

 

$85.00

 

 

 

And you're complaining about $79.00

Edited March 15, 2014 by Saravasse

[Cruisin' Chick]

Do people not know what a MAP is? :eek:

 

I always use Google Earth to check out the ports. On our upcoming Great Britain cruise I found out that there are some ports where the ship docks at smaller towns with some interesting history - no tour needed there. Others are industrial ports with nothing in the area so it's a ships tour to things farther away.

 

Even before our last cruise (our third time doing the RT to Hawaii), my hubby was checking out the Google map for each port. Then we discussed the various things we could do in each port, even one of them that we had a morning excursion pre-booked. And for the port that we had an all-day tour, we checked out each stop via Google maps. It's a fun way to spend time before one's cruise.

[caribill]

There were complaints that the ship should have pretty much parked at the Vatican entrance.

 

The Tiber river is only about a half mile from the Vatican.

 

Surely one of the ship's tenders could have gone there.

[shredie]

I think the OP is trying to get a rise out of people.

I think you're right since it is hard to take the complaints seriously.

[AKman2495]

Just for fun...I went to see how much Royal Caribbean charges for "on your own" tours...

 

 

$85.00

 

 

 

And you're complaining about $79.00

 

And when he finds that out, the OP will be complaining cover there too probably!

[Donder1]

We have booked our first cruise with Princess this May - it is a week cruise from Southampton to La Coruna, Bilbao, Bordeaux and Guernsey ...... 'Bordeaux' is actually a misnomer as it is a remote port called Le Verdon. It is extremely difficult to try to get to Bordeaux under your own steam. Princess Cruises' cheapest excursion is to 'explore Bordeaux on your own' and costs $79 EACH purely to transport you to Bordeaux and back ........ we shall not encourage Princess Cruises by paying what I feel is an extortionate amount and furthermore this will be our first and last time cruising with Princess - I hope fellow cruisers on this trip also complain ....... we shall return to Royal Caribbean for our future cruises...... totally disgusted!

 

Really???? you are serious, right? This post is just too funny and shows that you clearly didn't do your research. Hey, no one is forcing you to go on the cruise or on this particular excursion. Have fun on RCCL:p

[ar1950]

Just for fun...I went to see how much Royal Caribbean charges for "on your own" tours...

 

 

$85.00

 

 

 

And you're complaining about $79.00

 

And there you have it. The OP has (at this point) a total of 2 postings, one to start this thread and bash Princess and the second to bash the people who posted comments. Now with a quick search we find that RCCL, the OP's "favorite cruise line", actually charges as much or more for the same transportation at this port. I don't understand the point of even starting this thread. Oh well, it was entertaining reading........:cool:

[Skai]

A consumer ought to research and employ due diligence before making any purchase of a service/product.....One of the factors that may be considered is the convenience to cost ratio.

 

If it were me, I would set up and organize a shared private tour on the roll call for my cruise, but that's just me.

 

A quick search brings THIS ONE up as an example of what may be offered.

 

At roughly 100 Euros pp (for 8), it seems like a fair enough price for a tour that includes the morning in Bordeaux visiting various sites and an afternoon visit to a 1st growth winery.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Skai

[Loonbeam]

The one question the OP never answered is wether they were looking for a tour or just transport into town to DIY it....

 

A consumer ought to research and employ due diligence before making any purchase of a service/product.....One of the factors that may be considered is the convenience to cost ratio.

 

If it were me, I would set up and organize a shared private tour on the roll call for my cruise, but that's just me.

 

A quick search brings THIS ONE up as an example of what may be offered.

 

At roughly 100 Euros pp (for 8), it seems like a fair enough price for a tour that includes the morning in Bordeaux visiting various sites and an afternoon visit to a 1st growth winery.

[hansi]

Its not exploitation. Le Verdon is the nearest port to Bordeaux. Do yourself a favour and take a trip to Soulac sur Mer and have a nice time on the beach. There are lots of ports situated some hours away from the cruise destination. What about Rome, Livorno, or even Paris from Le Havre:what: and even Southampton which Princess refer to as London!

 

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