Harv and Marv's scheduling error - has this happened to anyone else?

[Fa-Li]

So, we will be in Juneau in June. Back in January, my group of 8 booked a private whale watching tour with Harv and Marv's, and paid in full.

 

Now, they've emailed me asking to change the tour time. At first, they didn't say why, but when I pressed, it turned out the boat had been double-booked. This was explained with a "my bad!" kind of response. No sort of discount or other consideration was offered.

 

It shouldn't be a huge issue, and in fact our new time may work out better anyway. BUT, I've lost confidence in the company a little bit. I'm worried that if they can't keep track of their bookings once, maybe it will happen again. Yes, we still have a tour booked, but up until this week, I thought we HAD a tour booked. And that turned out to not be true.

 

Has anyone had this happen to them with this company? I'm hoping someone can say that it's not a real problem, that the booking season is crazy and that's why they double check before cruise season starts, to catch things like this. On the other hand, if anyone has actually had a tour fail with Harv and Marv's, I'd like to know that too.

 

TIA!

[Budget Queen]

You HAVE a tour booked. They caught the error and corrected it. Enjoy your trip!

Edited April 22, 2014 by Budget Queen

[Fa-Li]

Thank you for the edit ;)

[peety3]

You HAVE a tour booked. They caught the error and corrected it. Enjoy your trip!

What's to say they have a tour booked AND the vendor won't double-book them again?

 

Since they require a deposit (if not full payment) ahead of time, I'd get them to send you an agreement that your (adjusted) booking now has carte blanche priority, and any future scheduling errors will involved the "other" reservation, not yours. Failure to do so will result in a (insert penalty clause here, such as guaranteed private excursion on a comparable or better competitor at no extra charge, or full refund in cash plus X% inconvenience fee, etc.)

[NEMMRRC]

June is still some time away. Some Alaska Carnival cruisers had their ports of call cancelled. Now that would be a problem!

 

I've booked with Marv and Harv the second weekend in June. They contacted me to explain our ship was docking an hour later. They re-scheduled us. Maybe it is something like that.

 

Enjoy the whales and share your photos with us.

Edited April 22, 2014 by NEMMRRC

[twinmom38]

we are booked wiat tells you day/time etc? they came very highly reccomended, and I have never heard anything but wonderful things about them..

ery email, every question.. I assume you have the printout thth them in August... I have been quite impressed with them.. they answered ev

[Fa-Li]

What's to say they have a tour booked AND the vendor won't double-book them again?

 

Exactly. This is what I am worried about. However, I have asked this question very pointedly, and been assured that the new time has been triple checked. So crossing my fingers.

 

I've booked with Marv and Harv the second weekend in June. They contacted me to explain our ship was docking an hour later. They re-scheduled us. Maybe it is something like that.

 

Enjoy the whales and share your photos with us.

 

This was specifically a double booking issue, not a ship change.

 

You will go a few days before I do, so be sure to post YOUR pictures! And may we both have great tours!

[NEMMRRC]

I just noticed this will be your first cruise. I too would be concerned if on my first cruise I had a glitch like this.

 

If Marv and Harv have assured you are still on then I wouldn't worry.

 

I hope to make some photos while on the tour. I'll be sure to share them.

[Fa-Li]

Reporting back that we had absolutely no problem with the Harv and Marv's tour that we did. It was great! Since we were moved to later in the day, we arranged to meet in town instead of be picked up at the ship. Their rep was ready and waiting about 10 minutes before the scheduled time. She got us hooked up with our great van driver, off we went to the marina.

 

It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we saw several whales. Big fun! The stop at the glacier was especially nice because it was so close to the end of the day. We basically had the whole area to ourselves, and the lower angle of the sun really made the water, icebergs, and glacier sparkle.

 

Thanks for the reassurance, all, and I am happy to give this company a big thumb's up!

[slix1]

We just used Harv and Marv for a private tour for 7 people this month and it was great. I am sure it was startling to get that notice but at least it was found in plenty of time. They answered questions while I was deciding and generally were easy to work with. Good luck with whale watching!

[donaldsc]

 

Since they require a deposit (if not full payment) ahead of time, I'd get them to send you an agreement that your (adjusted) booking now has carte blanche priority, and any future scheduling errors will involved the "other" reservation, not yours. Failure to do so will result in a (insert penalty clause here, such as guaranteed private excursion on a comparable or better competitor at no extra charge, or full refund in cash plus X% inconvenience fee, etc.)

 

If you really think that they will agree to that, you should read your excursion contract. You should also read your cruise contract. Or maybe you shouldn't.

 

Basically, if you are going to do cruising and also take excursions, things happen sometimes and beside receiving a refund from the cruise line or excursion company, you have no rights at all.

 

This company has a good reputation and I am sure they will do their best to fix any problems.

 

DON

[starfish216]

Reporting back that we had absolutely no problem with the Harv and Marv's tour that we did. It was great! Since we were moved to later in the day, we arranged to meet in town instead of be picked up at the ship. Their rep was ready and waiting about 10 minutes before the scheduled time. She got us hooked up with our great van driver, off we went to the marina.

 

It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we saw several whales. Big fun! The stop at the glacier was especially nice because it was so close to the end of the day. We basically had the whole area to ourselves, and the lower angle of the sun really made the water, icebergs, and glacier sparkle.

 

Thanks for the reassurance, all, and I am happy to give this company a big thumb's up!

 

 

OP Glad it all worked out, thanks for updating us. Our group of 7 will be using Harv & Marv for our Whale Watching excursion next month. I am so looking forward to it.

 

What time do you arrive at Mendenhall Glacier? Do you know if the buses really stop running at 6 PM? I think we will be stopping by there around 5:30 PM since we will be meeting H & M at the pier at 1:20 PM. I would like to take the time to walk to the falls and make our own way back to the ship.

[sapper1]

I booked a Bermuda cruise for next year while onboard the Zuiderdam. They double booked us. I found the error on our reservation page. I notified the Future Cruise Consultant and she corrected it. End of story. Am I afraid to book with HAL? No.

[retiredawacs]

The fact that your with Harv & Marv is awesome! I used them in July 2012 and it was the highlight of our Alaska cruise. We are going again in July 2015 and I've already booked our whale watching tour with them! You will have a great time!

[Fa-Li]

OP Glad it all worked out, thanks for updating us. Our group of 7 will be using Harv & Marv for our Whale Watching excursion next month. I am so looking forward to it.

 

What time do you arrive at Mendenhall Glacier? Do you know if the buses really stop running at 6 PM? I think we will be stopping by there around 5:30 PM since we will be meeting H & M at the pier at 1:20 PM. I would like to take the time to walk to the falls and make our own way back to the ship.

 

We arrived at the glacier around 7:20 and stayed until 7:40. I did not see any buses at that point. We only saw about 4 other people total in the whole area. The driver (I think his name was Jason - super nice and informative) gave us a time to meet back at the van and waited for us. This was great since we all had daypacks we were able to leave in the van.

 

Your guess about timing is probably spot on, as we met H&M at 3:20.

 

The falls were visible from the areas we walked around, but I doubt you could go out to them and back in the time we spent.

[mapleleaves]

 

What time do you arrive at Mendenhall Glacier? Do you know if the buses really stop running at 6 PM? I think we will be stopping by there around 5:30 PM since we will be meeting H & M at the pier at 1:20 PM. I would like to take the time to walk to the falls and make our own way back to the ship.

 

A few people have reported that the buses ran until 7 on a day when several ships were in port. Not something you can count on tho, so perhaps check with the shuttle companies that afternoon to find out, then take your cell phone in case you need to call a cab.