ATTN! Live and learn. My experience with Shore Excursioneer for a Belize Excursion

[Happycruiserhw]

FYI:

In general I don't reserve shore excursions online (what was I thinking??) but I thought after reading a few good reviews about this particular online reservation system (shoreexcursioneer (dot) com) that my experience would have been at least Ok... Wrong.

 

I travel frequently, so should have known better. Still, it was a last minute reservation, had a small deposit, and I received confirmation of my shore excursion for Belize. So, I thought... ok. I'll try this. The fine print in their document indicates that they would give a refund if the ship is delayed or misses port. However, they have no refund policy if someone else takes your reservation. In my situation, the excursion was apparently delivered to a different group or couple - and the operator (Belize Jungle Trek) took off while claiming I never showed up. My guess, he took others because he negotiated a better deal.

 

 

So, after being stood up, I contacted the Shore Excursioneer folks and was told they would investigate. Apparently, they spoke with the operator who stated I was late, that the tenders started delivery from the ships at 8 AM. This is false. The JADE arrived at 9 AM. My reservation was for 9:15 to 9:30AM (which, admittedly, was cutting it short). If you check the itinerary for the JADE, the scheduled arrival for JADE was at 9 AM (not 8 AM). Several days later (after emailing shore excursioneer), I finally spoke directly with the operator, and he stated that he never received notice of my reservation. (I have no idea which story is true...)

 

So... either the operator was lying.... Shore Excursioneer was lying... or there was miscommunication and incompetence in reservation communication.

Either way, it's not good. It was a mess.

 

NOTE: The ship was slightly late and the tenders were late. (the tenders did not begin transfer till after 9 AM). This of course puts arrival in port on a tight schedule since the ship was someway out in the bay. But I don't consider this an excuse to leave or take another couple on the tour.

 

*** so, NOTE ***

1) You DO NOT GET A REFUND if the ship is late or the tenders are late. (regardless of their policy)

2) you cannot trust this particular Tour operator to keep your reservation ( of course, he might not have ever received the reservation).

3) Shore Excursioneer will not honor refund policies.

 

So...at the very least, this reservation was an incompetent mess.

 

The Good news:

Luckily, the deposit was small (about $10/ per person) but this can add up for a larger group.

AND -I was able to negotiate a nice private island snorkel all inclusive while onshore (which I should have planned to do to begin with).

 

In any case, I just want to let others know that this group (Shore Excursioneer) is not reliable as a reservation source and to use caution when using their system. It's far better to go ashore and negotiate excursions directly with the tour operators directly.

 

FYI

[6rugrats]

I don't know what happened, or what time you showed up. Can only ask if perhaps you showed up late? The terms and conditions with this company state:

 

"If the client fails to show up at the designated meeting point and time, no refund will be granted". If you were late, the company certainly had the right to cancel.

 

If you feel they were wrong, dispute the charge with your credit card company.

Edited January 19, 2016 by 6rugrats

[Happycruiserhw]

I don't know what happened, or what time you showed up. Can only ask if perhaps you showed up late? The terms and conditions with this company state:

 

"If the client fails to show up at the designated meeting point and time, no refund will be granted". If you were late, the company certainly had the right to cancel.

 

If you feel they were wrong, dispute the charge with your credit card company.

 

Yep. I have challenged the charge.

I wasn't late, by the way. I got there at 9:30AM. Used a phone to call the operator - who didn't answer. It was a mess.

But what the hey... who cares...

the lesson learned for me was not to use an online company again.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Happycruiserhw

[iambeast]

That's why i book directly with Way To Go Tours. Shoreex are the middlemen

[Texas_Diver]

But what the hey... who cares...

 

It's apparent that YOU do.

[Tracik]

FYI:

In general I don't reserve shore excursions online (what was I thinking??) but I thought after reading a few good reviews about this particular online reservation system (shoreexcursioneer (dot) com) that my experience would have been at least Ok... Wrong.

 

I travel frequently, so should have known better. Still, it was a last minute reservation, had a small deposit, and I received confirmation of my shore excursion for Belize. So, I thought... ok. I'll try this. The fine print in their document indicates that they would give a refund if the ship is delayed or misses port. However, they have no refund policy if someone else takes your reservation. In my situation, the excursion was apparently delivered to a different group or couple - and the operator (Belize Jungle Trek) took off while claiming I never showed up. My guess, he took others because he negotiated a better deal.

 

 

So, after being stood up, I contacted the Shore Excursioneer folks and was told they would investigate. Apparently, they spoke with the operator who stated I was late, that the tenders started delivery from the ships at 8 AM. This is false. The JADE arrived at 9 AM. My reservation was for 9:15 to 9:30AM (which, admittedly, was cutting it short). If you check the itinerary for the JADE, the scheduled arrival for JADE was at 9 AM (not 8 AM). Several days later (after emailing shore excursioneer), I finally spoke directly with the operator, and he stated that he never received notice of my reservation. (I have no idea which story is true...)

 

So... either the operator was lying.... Shore Excursioneer was lying... or there was miscommunication and incompetence in reservation communication.

Either way, it's not good. It was a mess.

 

NOTE: The ship was slightly late and the tenders were late. (the tenders did not begin transfer till after 9 AM). This of course puts arrival in port on a tight schedule since the ship was someway out in the bay. But I don't consider this an excuse to leave or take another couple on the tour.

 

*** so, NOTE ***

1) You DO NOT GET A REFUND if the ship is late or the tenders are late. (regardless of their policy)

2) you cannot trust this particular Tour operator to keep your reservation ( of course, he might not have ever received the reservation).

3) Shore Excursioneer will not honor refund policies.

 

So...at the very least, this reservation was an incompetent mess.

 

The Good news:

Luckily, the deposit was small (about $10/ per person) but this can add up for a larger group.

AND -I was able to negotiate a nice private island snorkel all inclusive while onshore (which I should have planned to do to begin with).

 

In any case, I just want to let others know that this group (Shore Excursioneer) is not reliable as a reservation source and to use caution when using their system. It's far better to go ashore and negotiate excursions directly with the tour operators directly.

 

FYI

 

Who did you book the the private island snorkel all inclusive through? Where are they when docked? Thanks!

[ABQrobin]

Was there a time difference between Cayman time and your Ship time? Maybe that was the issue.

[QuattroRomeo]

Thank you for your information. We're looking at an excursion for Belize, although it is a snorkelling one, and kind of wondered about what happens if we are late from the whole tender thing. The ShoreExcursioneer T&Cs were rather confusing when it comes to their responsibility vs. the operator's, even though the prices were almost the same. Doesn't seem like there is any more safety going with the middleman here!

[Happycruiserhw]

Who did you book the the private island snorkel all inclusive through? Where are they when docked? Thanks!

 

I will return to Belize again.

If it was not for the trip on shore negotiated with "Belize Eco-Excursion Adventures" - (I paid cash ($45 US) - so no cc reciept - sorry - I dind't think to make a note of it) --I think that was the name of the private island snorkel group -- They were in an interrior hallway outside of Terminal 2. I'm sorry, I didn't catch the name of the cay. But it was not Goff's cay - that was offered too, but had 20+ people on it already, and I'd been there - it's a very small island. They suggested this private island if I was willing to wait a few more minutes.

 

anyway, if I had not had such a happy experience with them, I would never wish to return to Belize.

[Happycruiserhw]

Was there a time difference between Cayman time and your Ship time? Maybe that was the issue.

 

Hi!

I wondered about that too. I checked, and the local time was Central Time (US) and the ship was on the same time.

 

Anyway, live and learn ... :)

[Stuart_C]

My complaint is not related to a trip booked with Shoreexcurioneer. They don't have their own independent TripAdvisor page so just expressing my opinion about there generally poor business practises on some forums so that others can be warned. I am a professional wildlife photographer and I found 2 of my photos being used on their site without permission or compensation and my watermark was cropped out. While looking into it, 3 other of my Facebook contacts also found their photos being used. The frustration is that my pictures used were taken on a trip that cost me $10,000. The camera body and specific lens used have a combined value of just over $20,000. They did take the pictures down but have ignored requests for compensation and they have stopped responding to the other photographers with claims. Since their head office is in Mexico, there is very little legal recourse. They have since blocked me from their Facebook page and do not respond to emails. Any company that uses stolen photos to promote their commercial ventures has some major ethical issues that are probably deep-routed through their entire operation. As I have found out through my own experience and from SEVERAL online reviews, this company has a history of retaining money owed to people and they hide behind the Mexico border making collection impossible. BEWARE!!!

[TMR2]

Just and FYI, not all companies are like that.  We've used https://belizecruiseexcursions.com/  in belize and they offer tours in other ports. We booked a private stingray city tour and our ship missed Grand Cayman due to rough seas and we were refunded

[kpjb]

I used Shore Excursioneer twice last week and didn't have any problems.  I asked for a pickup time of "1 hour after ship docks", so perhaps that could help over picking a specific time that may not be able to be met because of things out of your control.

 

I understand your issue, though.  They're a middleman and not the tour provider.  I always assumed that the "deposit" was actually their cut and what you pay at the dock goes to the tour provider.  So they're not going to want to give back their cut if the operator says it's your fault, and the operator is relying on them for business so they're going to blame you to keep that company happy.