Maximum age on shore excursions? WHAT?

[firefly333]

5 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

Unless you're taking a ride in the Delorean to see some prehistoric birds, I'm having a hard time imagining how bird watching has a moderate or high activity level.

Traipsing thru backyards in Belize city maybe have some uneven ground as it says. Moderate activity, not high. If I try to buy it I get a error, age. I can post the error if I try to buy pt. 

 

My cousins are super into birds is why I want to do it. Crazy for birds. 

 

My cousins daughter went to Bali and Indonesia and flew 33 hours both ways to see new birds. I just hoped to take some pictures of birds they hadnt seen.

 

The wierd thing is they will let me zip line and other excursions in Belize to me harder.

Edited August 18, 2022 by firefly333

[emeraldcity]

4 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

Just curious, are they actively enforcing this or is it just lip service?  I saw on a Celebrity thread that it was greyed out and they were unable to click on it for booking because they were over the age limit.  Is Royal the same?

They absolutely enforce it. I wanted to do a "go fast" drive yourself boat excursion in Cozumel and I couldn't book it on the web site, so I waited till I got on board and tried the shore excursion desk the night before. As soon as she input my name she told me that I exceeded the max age.

 

One month later on the Anthem I got to do the Rhino Riders in St. Maarten ... same "go fast" boat experience ... drive it yourself ... no age limit. Both excursions were ship excursions.

 

That indicates to me the issue lies with the third party providers, not Royal.

Edited August 18, 2022 by emeraldcity

[not-enough-cruising]

16 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

But then why is there no age restriction when I book direct with the tour operators?  I believe Royal is making the restriction.

Not Royal directly, but quite possible the insurance companies granting them liability coverage that Royal requires. 

[Ret MP]

16 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

Mexico??? Insurance?? liability??.....Dont make me laugh!!🙄

What he said!

[Nunagoras]

16 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

But then why is there no age restriction when I book direct with the tour operators?  I believe Royal is making the restriction.

Because going privately, you're not purchasing specific ship sponsored insurance. In other worlds. Once they pick your card to let you out of the ship on your own you know you have a fixed all aboard time to follow, but from that moment to the moment you come again you are as if you were at home.

[ddled]

I have a Princess cruise in October. Canada to Florida.  Not even the excursions listed as strenuous were age limited..

[John&LaLa]

On 8/17/2022 at 9:26 PM, Merion_Mom said:

Use private tour operators instead of RC's excursions.

 

There's a tobogan ride at Great Wall of China that has a 60 year old age limit😪

 

 

[sdrocks]

This is lubricious.  I am 73 and very active.  Do aerobics, cardio, light weight lifting every day.  I'm probably less risk than the 30-69 y/o person who is severely overweight and can't walk 2 feet without huffing and

puffing.  Probably the same ones who have to take the elevators on the ship, while I take the stairs.

It's not about age, it's fitness no matter what age.  IMO.

[ONECRUISER]

33 minutes ago, sdrocks said:

This is lubricious.  I am 73 and very active.  Do aerobics, cardio, light weight lifting every day.  I'm probably less risk than the 30-69 y/o person who is severely overweight and can't walk 2 feet without huffing and

puffing.  Probably the same ones who have to take the elevators on the ship, while I take the stairs.

It's not about age, it's fitness no matter what age.  IMO.

Take 4-6wks of Cruises each yr, Solo, havent been on a Ship Elevator in 20yrs 

[ddled]

I doubt that it will get me anywhere but I have had the satisfaction of sending an email to Royal. I'm sure that they could care less about my 30 friends going on this cruise, but it made me feel better. Princess is sailing out of Galveston this winter with the Ruby, and I would have gone on that if I had known about this policy. If you are 65 or over you need to look at the excursion lists to see what is on there. I see on this cruise the trolley ride is age limited. I did look into private excursions-they are numerous and in some cases cheaper of course. The many we have gone on have been fine, but I would feel very guilty if some of my group did a private, and could not get back to the ship on time, losing at least part of their cruise. I understand how insurance works, and all but it would still be a problem. I doubt that I will ever sail Royal again, free drinks are not worth feeling that they really do not want me on board and see me as a liability. I do not have any idea if this is age discrimination but I sure wish some lawyer would try to find out. I assume the legal genuises in Miami have told their superiors that they cannot be sued. And I agree- I have not been on an elevator for years and I am 71.

[Florida Fan]

At first, I thought you were kidding.  Such a stupid policy!  Not related to real life whatsoever. So sad.

[mpk]

On 8/17/2022 at 5:31 PM, BND said:

I can't get past "retired fossils".

 

There's lots of working fossils happily cruising and playing with fire during dangerous bird watching excursions  😀

Edited August 21, 2022 by mpk

[mpk]

On 8/17/2022 at 9:14 PM, kitkat343 said:

My family normally books private excursions' and I'm always amused when we are blocked from the ship excursions because my kids are too young even though the cruislines own subcontractors allow young children to participate if you book directly with them.

 

My guess is that the marketing robot that made this decision is below 70, and has no kids...?

[Charles4515]

17 minutes ago, mpk said:

 

My guess is that the marketing robot that made this decision is below 70, and has no kids...?

More likely lawyers. 

[LinRon3]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:12 AM, cruiselvr04 said:

I agree this is really discriminatory.  People can sign a waiver and take personal responsibility for what they can do.  Over 75 might be pushing it for some snorkel activities or big mountain hiking but some under 65 are in a lot worse shape then those over it. Weight restrictions I can understand as this has to do with safety equipment.  
 

 

Jack Lalane could probably outdo many thirty year olds in his 90's. It all depends on how one takes care of one's self and their genetics.  There needs to be some other criteria for discerning safety other than age.  It IS discriminatory.  One wouldn't make restrictions based on gender, or race, or national origin...we are all INDIVIDUALS.  Each individual should be judged on their own merits or lack thereof.  Don't judge all 70 something's on one or two wheelchairs seen.  

[SPacificbound]

We have taken far more private tours then ship tours. IMHO they are way better than any of the ship's tours.

 

The only time we almost missed the ship was on a ship's tour, and the lady driving got chewed out big time for making us late when she pulled in.

 

[UKWLDCruise]

I was on a repositioning cruise from Rome to Dubai and twice my excursions were cut short because people of various ages were not able to keep up with the group/guide.  The worst being the visit to Petra where one complaint straight away was our bus was the furthest from the ship.  The first person started back at the site well before we had even got to the treasury (or within the first mile) and by the time we got half way the guide gave up and said to the four of us left that he had to go back to make sure every got to the hotel meeting place.  With the impossibility of fitness tests and unless people can be trusted to self select those excursions that they can and can't do some sort of rule gets applied plus of course there is the inevitable fear of litigation from both the tour operators and the line especially with the US,  writing as a reasonably fit 60 year old

[TLWELLS]

I contacted Royal Caribbean today to see if there was a waiver for an exemptions to this and was told a firm no. This is very disappointing as I booked this cruise with my elderly parents , whom are very active, and from the list of Cozumel excursions there are only a handful they could do. As mentioned in an earlier post, they can't even do a trolley tour of Cozumel, again, absolutely ridiculous!  We were hoping to find an excursion as an entire family of all ages but not finding anything and I'm feeling badly for selecting a cruise that is so limited! My parents like doing the cruise line excursions as they like the sense of security that the ship will stay if they are delayed on their excursion- they wouldn't be comfortable doing a private company.   I'm hoping this is not a new trend in cruising, obviously Royal has a choice of tour operators that they work with and other cruise lines don't have a maximum age- they had a choice, and are choosing to isolate a large population of cruise travelers. 

 

[RoyalC]

On 8/18/2022 at 9:08 AM, steveru621 said:

This is a restriction of the tour operators.  RCI doesn't run tours, they are the agent.

 

Insurance.

Then why do the exact same tour operators allow you to book private without age restrictions, or allow all other cruise lines to book the exact same tour without age restrictions?

[RoyalC]

On 8/18/2022 at 2:21 PM, nelblu said:

Age and weight restrictions are not controlled by Royal, but by the tour operator.   On my upcoming Oasis October cruise there are a few age and weight restrictions. One specifically lists the age of 99 as restricted 

The same tour operators allow you to book private without age limits. They also allow other cruise lines to do the same so which is it?

[steveru621]

16 hours ago, RoyalC said:

Then why do the exact same tour operators allow you to book private without age restrictions, or allow all other cruise lines to book the exact same tour without age restrictions?

 

RCI doesn't run tours, they are an agent.

 

Again, insurance requirements.

[Charles4515]

53 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 

RCI doesn't run tours, they are an agent.

 

Again, insurance requirements.

RCI dictates policies that the tours must follow. Probably also what type of insurance they must carry. Did you ever notice prices are different too? That accounts for differences in policies between other cruise lines and also booking directly. 

[kochleffel]

I  have a private tour booked for next week that doesn't allow canes or hiking sticks. The stated reason is that the terrain is unsuitable, but it's all city sidewalk. I think they just don't want anyone with impaired mobility.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by kochleffel

[ramja96]

On 8/17/2022 at 8:11 PM, ddled said:

We were on Holland in January and there were not any max age restrictions  

 

From what I've heard about Holland from family, this is where the age restrictions SHOULD apply!

[LinRon3]

On 8/17/2022 at 8:49 PM, firefly333 said:

Age 70 is the max for a Belize bird tour, mostly around the city. Nothing worse than moderate walking. 

 

I cut off the max age 70. I'm 71. 1 year too old lol. 

 

 

NOT RIGHT!! Complain!!