Mandatory booking of Excursion(s) through Cruise line

[veggiebeachgal]

I've cruised a couple of times before and did my excursions on my own.  I'm in the planning process of my next cruise and have had 2 tour operators to advise that if I'm coming in on a cruise, then I must book direct w/ the cruise line (of course, at a higher rate).  One of them has the disclaimer on their website, in bold.  Has anyone had experience with this? If so, how is this policed, is the policy strictly enforced by the operator?  Any insight would be appreciated.

Edited December 28, 2018 by veggiebeachgal

[naxer]

One of my tours in Alaska was like that, but there was no price difference.  And another had a price difference, but I didn't call or anything--I just booked the tour with Carnival, paid with my AARP gift cards (10% off), and then filled out the Price Match guarantee form, and got another 110% of the difference.  So  if they are advertising a cheaper price for the same tour, you could get it for even less than their advertised price.  

[crookedhalo]

This usually happens when the provider is a contractor with the cruise line to provide same/similar excursion as a ship excursion.  We've run in to this before. They are pretty strict about it because they don't want to ruin their relationship with the cruiseline for one trip.  It is possible to get around it, but it means you have to get to the location yourself (they can't pick you up at terminal etc.) and other things. Generally by the time you've gone through all of that you haven't saved any money. HTH

[shof515]

I noticed the same thing with some tours in the Caribbean like in St Thomas. Most tour operations who do this prevent you from booking on your own and does not require booking in person either, so it is easy for them to police it

The tour operators do this for various reason like the contract they sign with the port to get access to the terminal area to make it easier for the people to find the tour bus or they can do it to reduce the administrator process like scheduling, process payments, etc

 

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by shof515

[sparks1093]

I have read a bit about it and checked one specific tour at one specific port (I no longer recall the specific details). The fine print on the website made it clear that if you booked it yourself instead of through the cruise line and they found out then your excursion would be cancelled with no refund given. On that particular site you needed to list the hotel you were staying in so I imagine it would be fairly easy for them to check. As mentioned the tour operator wants to protect their contract with the cruise lines because it means a steady income for them.

Edited December 28, 2018 by sparks1093

[thinfool]

To the OP...if you post the actual details you will get better answers.

[thinfool]

19 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

 On that particular site you needed to list the hotel you were staying in so I imagine it would be fairly easy for them to check. 

The dolphin experience at Chankanaab was like that (it's been awhile).  We just left the hotel info blank.  Everything went swimmingly.  

[sparks1093]

16 minutes ago, thinfool said:

The dolphin experience at Chankanaab was like that (it's been awhile).  We just left the hotel info blank.  Everything went swimmingly.  

Yes, I suppose it could if they don't check. But checking is easy enough to do and personally I'm not going to risk that much money because the odds are I'd be the one caught and made an example of.

[Micahs Grandad]

I have seen this before and we just find another tour operator

[robc1972]

1 hour ago, thinfool said:

The dolphin experience at Chankanaab was like that (it's been awhile).  We just left the hotel info blank.  Everything went swimmingly.  

Can just take a taxi there and walk right in.

 

Most excursions through the boat can be found cheaper at port by just walking off the boat and checking with the people standing around with the signs.

[serene56]

1 hour ago, thinfool said:

The dolphin experience at Chankanaab was like that (it's been awhile).  We just left the hotel info blank.  Everything went swimmingly.  

 

1 hour ago, thinfool said:

The dolphin experience at Chankanaab was like that (it's been awhile).  We just left the hotel info blank.  Everything went swimmingly.  

you can book the dolphin stuff at chankanaab through private vendors.  we use cozumelinsider.com and saved a ton of money.   Granted I had to pay for our own transportation but it was a better experience 

[MississippiMom]

This is a fascinating topic.  It’s been over six years since we have cruised, and it wasn’t a problem to book our own tour operators back then. Guess I had better check the small print on the websites, before I schedule anything outside of Carnival.  In Cozumel, I am leaning toward booking an excursion through the tour operator that one of the big warehouse companies recommends through their travel company.  Hhhhmmm . . .

[Velvetwater]

A group of people on our Med cruise with X had this with water/boat things in Kotor.

 

The reason was that X had booked them all up already so booking through the line was the only option.

[Philob]

The dolphin experience in Puerto Vallarta had a big sign at the entrance that said the facility was "closed for the day" when ever a cruise ship is in town. 

[donaldsc]

In some ports w limited vendor availability, the cruise company will book up everything in advance.  This means that that there are no independent tours available on that day.

 

DON

[veggiebeachgal]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Yes, I suppose it could if they don't check. But checking is easy enough to do and personally I'm not going to risk that much money because the odds are I'd be the one caught and made an example of.

If the checking is actually done, I'd be VERY surprised! I'm in hotel management and I cannot foresee releasing guest information like this. Perhaps with an unbranded hotel, but there isn't going to be a franchise brand (domestic or international) that allows you to confirm if a guests is staying.  That's MAJOR security issues in the climate of our industry now with this type of thing.  Atop that... AirBnB, homeaway, timeshares are all heavily in the lodging landscape and I just don't see how this could be (accurately) policed. 

I'm actually reaching out to a fellow colleague that's in one of the islands (and in hotel mgmt., as well).  I'm anxious to get the ins and outs of this. 

Edited December 28, 2018 by veggiebeachgal
spelling

[sparks1093]

6 minutes ago, veggiebeachgal said:

If the checking is actually done, I'd be VERY surprised! I'm in hotel management and I cannot foresee releasing guest information like this. Perhaps with an unbranded hotel, but there isn't going to be a franchise brand (domestic or international) that allows you to confirm if a guests is staying.  That's MAJOR security issues in the climate of our industry now with this type of thing.  Atop that... AirBnB, homeaway, timeshares are all heavily in the lodging landscape and I just don't see how this could be (accurately) policed. 

I'm actually reaching out to a fellow colleague that's in one of the islands (and in hotel mgmt., as well).  I'm anxious to get the ins and outs of this. 

Be just as easy to find out from the ship. Where there is a contract there is a way. (It's also possible that they ask you for proof you are staying on the island.) As has been demonstrated the system isn't perfect.

Edited December 28, 2018 by sparks1093

[paul929207]

•  We almost never take cruise excursions have never had a problem like this. The only problem we have had is the cruise line booking all spaces on something like a train, so we had to go thru them to do that activity

[Hlitner]

9 hours ago, veggiebeachgal said:

I've cruised a couple of times before and did my excursions on my own.  I'm in the planning process of my next cruise and have had 2 tour operators to advise that if I'm coming in on a cruise, then I must book direct w/ the cruise line (of course, at a higher rate).  One of them has the disclaimer on their website, in bold.  Has anyone had experience with this? If so, how is this policed, is the policy strictly enforced by the operator?  Any insight would be appreciated.

This is actually a norm.  Let me explain.  Cruise lines or their third party shore excursion company (not all cruise lines operate their own shore excursion desk) contract with major shore providers/tour companies for their excursions.  In many cases those contractors are prohibited (by contract) from knowingly selling their tours directly to cruisers.  That is because they normally will sell the same tours for a lot less money :).   We live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year where we have a great example.  The largest local tour provider in PV is called Vallarta Adventures and they are truly a quality company.  They contract with all the cruise lines who call at PV because they provide the best excursions...some of which are exclusive to their company.  Those of us who live in PV can book most of those same tours and we will get it for less money then you would pay on most cruises.  But Vallarta Adventures normally requires us to provide both a local address and local phone number.  Some cruisers have been know to book direct by fudging on those requirements. but most prefer to book the pricier excursions.   

 

We have noticed similar policies in other places.  If you do not tell the local tour operator that you are on a cruise then you will probably be able to book directly.  But be prepared to answer some questions such as where you are staying (locally).  How strictly do these tour providers enforce the no-cruiser rule?  I guess it depends on the tour company.  They are certainly obligated to make a best effort to conform with their contractual agreements, but that "effort" can vary from company to company.  

 

I had to laugh when we recently decided to book a certain Alaska tour directly with the same provider that contracted with the cruise lines.  I was surprised that they would be willing to deal with me (at a discount).  And we would have been on the same tour boat as the cruise line excursions (we had to cancel the cruise so never took the tour).  When I asked this provider, on the phone, about why they would book direct they explained that they had refused to comply with cruise line requests of exclusivity.  They also pointed out that since they were then only tour provider to have that particular tour (with a boat large enough for the cruise line excursions) the cruise lines had no leverage.  We once booked a terrific private tour in New Zealand took us to a really interesting place where they helped raise penguins.  When I asked the owner why they had not cut a deal with the cruise lines he became quite "animated" and had nothing nice to say about the cruise lines.  He explained that they had tried to dictate terms, wanted a big discount, and he was aware they would later mark-up that discounted price to their cruisers.  He told the cruise line excursion folks to take their tours elsewhere (there was no other comparable place).

 

Hank

[dkjretired]

6 hours ago, Micah's Grandad said:

I have seen this before and we just find another tour operator

 

Once in awhile that doesn't work, we booked  an excursion on a Catamaran in Alaska starting on the ship itself in one of the Fjords, could only book through Celebrity because you are leaving from the ship. 

[Kevin308]

On ‎12‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 4:00 AM, veggiebeachgal said:

I've cruised a couple of times before and did my excursions on my own.  I'm in the planning process of my next cruise and have had 2 tour operators to advise that if I'm coming in on a cruise, then I must book direct w/ the cruise line (of course, at a higher rate).  One of them has the disclaimer on their website, in bold.  Has anyone had experience with this? If so, how is this policed, is the policy strictly enforced by the operator?  Any insight would be appreciated.

I saw were you posted this first on the Carnival forum and it was moved here.   Carnival will match the price with the 110% garuentee.  I did this when I went to Belize and saved money that way.

[Ashland]

We've had this happen for the zipline in San Juan...we could only book using RCI on a day port stop.