Shore Emotion for shore excursions

[Cobbie48]

Has anyone used this company?  I’ve never heard of them before their tours are very reasonable and they have excursions

all over the world.

 

thanks in advance for any information.

 

karen. 

[CruiserBruce]

Not a name that has been mentioned around here. They sound like a broker, and there are tons of discussions about brokers here. Pros and cons for brokers. Be aware that the broker doesn't take provide the service. They take your money and contract with a local low bid provider. This has led to less than stellar customer service and product. Many here prefer to book direct with local vendors.

[John Bull]

Hadn't heard of them, had a little dig around the web.

 

As Bruce & I both strongly suspected it's a broker. They sell excursions on behalf of local operators.

A new kid-on-the-block, it's a division of a bigger Italian agency,  and set up to target cruise passengers. Only a handful of reviews, all on their own facebook page thus not independent, and all relate to Italian tours. Reviews (good or bad)  of Italian tours are irrelevant to excursions elsewhere  when the only common factor is the booking agency. 

 

Checked out their pages on a few places that I know The background information that they show is muddled and demonstrates that not only don't they know the places - they don't even know how to get the best out of a web-search!

For example, my home city of Southampton is apparently a place of pilgrimage , there are photos & details about the city of Bath (65 miles away & no excursions to Bath on their website), Southampton's few touristic sights aren't mentioned but Manor Farm is listed as an attraction - it's a very ordinary park outside the city, you'd need a car, and it's popular only with local families for a sunday afternoon.

 

But the major negative that I noticed from their website - the excursions that they offer are not designed specifically for cruisers.

They've merely sifted out excursions listed by their parent agency that don't suit a cruise timetable, so the excursions that they offer are shared with land-based vacationers.  This means potentially a tour of hotels at the start  & finish, no emphasis on getting you back to the ship on time,  no refunds if the ship doesn't make port, etc.

 

Most experienced cruisers don't use booking agencies, preferring to deal direct with tour operators or DIY.

But if you are persuaded to use a booking agency (they have their advantages like one-stop shopping and security of your money) then use one of the raft of agencies set up in recent years specifically for cruisers' excursions.

Best-known is https://www.cruisingexcursions.com/

Check their FAQ to see the differences compared to Cruise Emotions. 

 

Cruise Emotions might learn and eventually be a good source.

And they might not.

I'd certainly steer clear for a year or three

 

Just MHO as always

 

JB 

[CruiserBruce]

Awesome research @John Bull !!! Great job!