Shore excursions "rip off"

[RDC1]

When I was there last year, the cruise line excursions had their own cars. On the train I was on the ship used 2 out of 6 cars in the train. The other 4 were non-ship passengers and were totally filled.

 

This train connects to the main line going to Oslo (as well as other places) so any passenger arriving or leaving Flam by train will be taking this route. Lots of tours, tourists, ferry passengers, etc.

 

Note: This is in late September near the end of the tourist season and the trains were still full.

Edited January 31, 2017 by RDC1

[waggie]

We enjoyed our time in Flam in 2013. The ship docks very close to the station, village centre and shops (which i thought surprisingly good value for warm jackets).

 

There was a mini train which took a nice ride around the village, past farms, waterfalls and houses and that gave us a flavour of the area.

I have tried to upload a photo of the area taken from our balcony - I hope it works!

Edited January 31, 2017 by waggie

[Hydrokitty]

I think the "rip-off" statement is extreme. I was there last fall and the railway sells out fast. But I had no interest in the railway given the complete lack of restrooms. Instead I took a FANTASTIC trip down the Fjords!!!

 

Lisa: I contacted Flam RR and they assured me there were rest rooms on board...are you saying there are NONE because that would be a deal breaker for me and I've already booked it.

[RDC1]

I think the "rip-off" statement is extreme. I was there last fall and the railway sells out fast. But I had no interest in the railway given the complete lack of restrooms. Instead I took a FANTASTIC trip down the Fjords!!!

 

Lisa: I contacted Flam RR and they assured me there were rest rooms on board...are you saying there are NONE because that would be a deal breaker for me and I've already booked it.

 

There are restrooms in each car. It is a modern commercial train.

[kevinyork]

This is an excellent explanation of the benefits one realizes when booking a ship excursion's. I do not agree with the poster right after yours because he ignores the benefits. Even though this is straight-up travel on public transportation, things can still go awry. Further, since tickets are in relatively short supply, Celebrity is doing their job in securing sufficient opportunities to satisfy its passengers. I call that service. Also, needless to say, the OP is making some assumptions that there is little evidence to support,

 

 

 

I appreciate cruise excursion benefits and in specific ports we book cruise line trips. As said the Flam railway trip isn't an excursion, it's a ticket on a public train. A ticket that could be purchased for a lot less directly if the cruise lines didn't book most of the tickets to restrict supply. They are not doing a service to passengers in booking the available seats on the train, they are restricting passengers from booking direct so they have to buy their own 'excursion'. It's not service, it's extortion.

 

The OP is making valid and supported (assumptions) realities that the cruise lines exploit because passengers like yourself buy into and support.

 

So to reiterate, if cruise lines couldn't book their 'excursions' on the railway then passengers could freely book directly for around a third of the price and experience the exact same experience as the cruise lines' trip. The Flam railway is utterly reliable and rarely suffers delays or cancellations except in winter ( when the cruise lines don't visit) so there is little benefit from the cruise lines' guarantee of waiting for you. And yet, you support this Rip Off! i.e. Buying up supply to profit from their passengers having to pay a lot more.

 

 

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[Guindalf]

I appreciate cruise excursion benefits and in specific ports we book cruise line trips. As said the Flam railway trip isn't an excursion, it's a ticket on a public train. A ticket that could be purchased for a lot less directly if the cruise lines didn't book most of the tickets to restrict supply. They are not doing a service to passengers in booking the available seats on the train, they are restricting passengers from booking direct so they have to buy their own 'excursion'. It's not service, it's extortion.

 

Are you suggesting that the line has no right in selling seats on the ship and making a profit on them? That is called commercialism, NOT extortion. Please learn the difference!

 

..and do you know for sure that the cruise line has 'booked most of the tickets'? I would think that it reserved as many as it thought it could sell with a view to providing a service and making a profit. I'll bet dollars to donuts that you can get tickets from the booking desk at the station if you want to take a chance as the line will return their unsold allocation plus I'm sure some seats are held back for 'walk-ins'.

 

The OP is making valid and supported (assumptions) realities that the cruise lines exploit because passengers like yourself buy into and support.

 

You use the word 'exploit' like it's a negative thing! The OP is wrong and assumptions cannot be made without facts to support them. The OP is simply upset they can't get tickets and is blindly lashing out without thinking things through, which I suspect, is what you're doing! We ALL want it cheaper and it seems to me that the British are the first to cry 'Unfair'. I can say this because I'm a Brit too!

 

 

So to reiterate, if cruise lines couldn't book their 'excursions' on the railway then passengers could freely book directly for around a third of the price and experience the exact same experience as the cruise lines' trip. The Flam railway is utterly reliable and rarely suffers delays or cancellations except in winter ( when the cruise lines don't visit) so there is little benefit from the cruise lines' guarantee of waiting for you. And yet, you support this Rip Off! i.e. Buying up supply to profit from their passengers having to pay a lot more.

 

 

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So, the Flam railway is utterly reliable, except when it's not????

 

Satisfying to reflect of when you're standing on the dock, watching the ship sailing off in the distance! ....and probably starting a thread to say how unfair the line was not to wait!!

 

Again, because you disagree with the line making a profit, doesn't make it a 'Rip Off' (haw many different ways can you spell it?!).

 

Oh, and for the record, as I think I've stated before, no-one is saying they agree with having to pay a higher price, but we accept it as a way the cruise line does business. I can guarantee if they didn't make money on excursions, the price of your cruise would be higher!

[Pushka]

Sometimes the cruise line purchases carriages independent of public transport. They do this in the port for Rome. Can you be positive this isn't the case here?

[RDC1]

I appreciate cruise excursion benefits and in specific ports we book cruise line trips. As said the Flam railway trip isn't an excursion, it's a ticket on a public train. A ticket that could be purchased for a lot less directly if the cruise lines didn't book most of the tickets to restrict supply. They are not doing a service to passengers in booking the available seats on the train, they are restricting passengers from booking direct so they have to buy their own 'excursion'. It's not service, it's extortion.

 

The OP is making valid and supported (assumptions) realities that the cruise lines exploit because passengers like yourself buy into and support.

 

So to reiterate, if cruise lines couldn't book their 'excursions' on the railway then passengers could freely book directly for around a third of the price and experience the exact same experience as the cruise lines' trip. The Flam railway is utterly reliable and rarely suffers delays or cancellations except in winter ( when the cruise lines don't visit) so there is little benefit from the cruise lines' guarantee of waiting for you. And yet, you support this Rip Off! i.e. Buying up supply to profit from their passengers having to pay a lot more.

 

 

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As I said in my last post. THE SHIP IS NOT BUYING ALL OF THE TICKETS. When I was there, the ship excursion used 2 out of 6 cars. For those that are math impaired 2 out of 6 is 1/3 of the tickets on that train. They were several trains and the ship was consistent for each of the excursion times. The other 4 cars were all totally filled also, but not with cruise excursion passengers.

 

As I also said earlier. This train is very busy, even when cruise ships are not in port. It is the main tie to the main railway system. It carries land tours, tourists coming to/from Flam, as well as passengers to/from the Norwegian Ferry system. The people running the train said that they add cars to the train when ships are going to be in port, just so that they can still carry their normal passenger load. There are a lot of groups that buy the tickets in advance, including the ferry companies, as well as the land tour companies.