Do you confirm private excursions before your cruise?

[JTBCruiser]

I always print the confirmation and use a trusted credit card to book.  More times than not, I only have to use a credit card to hold the tour then pay in full when we meet.  Other times I have to put a deposit down to hold it.  Using my credit card, if there is any dispute, I have the credit card on my side.  So far, I haven't had to challenge an excursion credit as all has gone well. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

With a very few exceptions, we always do any required pre-tour payment with PayPal.

[GottaKnowWhen]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If I book a private tour it's generally because whatever it is I'll see on the tour isn't easily done on one's own. And I will have spent a long time researching the site(s) visited. So I would really be unhappy should the tour fail to materialize. 

 

In other words, getting a refund (via the company or from my trip insurance) would only be a small compensation for missing the tour, and it would be unlikely I could duplicate it at the last minute. Plus, it may be years [or never] before I get back to try again....

I agree. I set up excursions because they take me where I want to go. A No Show would be a real pain. But I would try very hard not to let it ruin my day, and would look for alternatives. 

[iancal]

Fortunately we have never had a no show.  We only prepaid once, and even then it was not the full amount.

 

We have had extremely good fortune with local tours-both private and shared.  But we do a fair amount of research on the tour provider beforehand.  Also had good look arriving at the port and finding someone quay side.

[MicCanberra]

Research helps so much. I haven't ever had a no show by the tour operator but have had a no show or two from other passengers, some did their money others didn't.

[Karysa]

The third excursion was reconfirmed by the company.  

 

Others mentioned that they reconfirm bookings when they arrange them for a group and also reconfirm with group members. I agree with this and will add to it. In October I arranged a couple of private group tours and joined a one as well. I much preferred the joining to the arranging! So much checking and collecting and worrying that people will be happy with the driver and excursion. It all worked out but I found it stressful.

[MicCanberra]

Yes it is much easier to be a joiner rather than the organiser. However, we often are the organisers as we like to do things on our own or with a small select group travelling with us.

[Karysa]

On 1/15/2019 at 3:18 PM, MicCanberra said:

Yes it is much easier to be a joiner rather than the organiser. However, we often are the organisers as we like to do things on our own or with a small select group travelling with us.

We enjoy small tours especially on Med cruises but to me it's so much easier to join than to arrange so if we do another Med cruise I will follow the roll call earlier and closer.

[MicCanberra]

9 minutes ago, Karysa said:

We enjoy small tours especially on Med cruises but to me it's so much easier to join than to arrange so if we do another Med cruise I will follow the roll call earlier and closer.

Whatever suits you best in terms of stress, risk and cost is what works best for you.

[Karysa]

21 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Whatever suits you best in terms of stress, risk and cost is what works best for you.

I agree! 

This cruise is a Caribbean cruise from San Juan so there are lots of options for private excursions that don’t involve booking a driver and getting people to fill the van. These are my faviorite excursions. We have 2 catamaran excursions and a caves/sea turtle/beach excursion. Can hardly wait for my turn for some fun in the sun!

[jagsfan]

I have the info for each excursion on my iPhone notepad, with email address and phone number. 

I have the names of participants with their cabin numbers listed as well.  

I don’t expect the ship’s internet to go down, but I’m covered if it does. 

I reconfirm with the tour companies I’m responsible for, also just in case. 

Private excursions are wonderful, but they do take a little more work.