willtup5 Posted November 13, 2022 #1 Share Posted November 13, 2022 We are on Majestic Princess January 29 2023 cruise. Have noticed on these boards people posting that ship excursions are being cancelled with little to no notice in New Zealand. Question. Should I go with cruiseline excursions that have been booked and payed for or should I go to my back up plan of excursions I have reserved through TripAdvisor. I understand that lack of staffing is a big problem. (World wide). I would appreciate your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 14, 2022 #2 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Go with the ships shorex's if you want security for your money back if it gets cancelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchhalm Posted November 14, 2022 #3 Share Posted November 14, 2022 1 hour ago, MicCanberra said: Go with the ships shorex's if you want security for your money back if it gets cancelled. Agree. 👍🏻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Over from NZ Posted November 14, 2022 #4 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Princess (and presumably the other lines too) are stiffing people on excursions. You're in NZ & Aus where consumer laws are strong and tour operators are well respected. The problems you mentioned are going to affect the cruise-line just as much - I would book direct in those 2 countries. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johhno Posted November 14, 2022 #5 Share Posted November 14, 2022 We are currently on the Grand Princess NZ cruise. Some ports (for example,Tauranga) have tours dock side that you can book on the spot. We did miss Napier due to bad weather. Some ports there are shuttle buses offered from port to city but I also suggest you research before you leave home the cost of using public transport and local attractions you can book on the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted November 15, 2022 #6 Share Posted November 15, 2022 30 minutes ago, Over from NZ said: Princess (and presumably the other lines too) are stiffing people on excursions. You're in NZ & Aus where consumer laws are strong and tour operators are well respected. The problems you mentioned are going to affect the cruise-line just as much - I would book direct in those 2 countries. Agree, but confirm refund will be given if ship misses port. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruiser3775 Posted November 15, 2022 #7 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Some of the independent shore excursion companies only require payment on the day in local currency. As long as you can get that (probably from an ATM in the port), you will not lose money if the ship doesn't get there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckiePuris Posted November 15, 2022 #8 Share Posted November 15, 2022 I'm currently considering same thing. The risk with non cruise ship excursions is that the ship won't wait for you if you're late back. And it's also tricky to time what time you'll be able to get off the ship to miss your independent tour. That being said, if you time your time with buffer time either side, independent tours can often offer more variety. Of all the cruise lines however, the Princess tours do seem to be best priced, so if you find something that suits on Princess, I would go that option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lyndarra Posted November 15, 2022 #9 Share Posted November 15, 2022 4 hours ago, Johhno said: We are currently on the Grand Princess NZ cruise. Some ports (for example,Tauranga) have tours dock side that you can book on the spot. We did miss Napier due to bad weather. Some ports there are shuttle buses offered from port to city but I also suggest you research before you leave home the cost of using public transport and local attractions you can book on the day. On my last NZ cruise (Feb 2020) I booked an independant tour from Tauranga. The tour mini bus was there waiting and another couple, who had also booked independantly, also boarded. However, the driver had another booking who did not show. While we were waiting a few cruisers wandered over to the bus and asked the driver where we were going and if they could go too. No problem - as there were spare seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissie Posted November 15, 2022 #10 Share Posted November 15, 2022 On 11/14/2022 at 7:25 AM, willtup5 said: We are on Majestic Princess January 29 2023 cruise. Have noticed on these boards people posting that ship excursions are being cancelled with little to no notice in New Zealand. Question. Should I go with cruiseline excursions that have been booked and payed for or should I go to my back up plan of excursions I have reserved through TripAdvisor. I understand that lack of staffing is a big problem. (World wide). I would appreciate your thoughts. Can you cancel the tours via 3rd parties? Why not contact the tour operators directly and talk to them? They are far more likely to be flexible if they are not loosing 30% of the fee to an offshore company. If the company doesn't have a website I probably wouldn't deal with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted November 15, 2022 #11 Share Posted November 15, 2022 4 hours ago, Johhno said: We are currently on the Grand Princess NZ cruise. Some ports (for example,Tauranga) have tours dock side that you can book on the spot. We did miss Napier due to bad weather. Some ports there are shuttle buses offered from port to city but I also suggest you research before you leave home the cost of using public transport and local attractions you can book on the day. Good advice. We caught local bus to Tauranga and had the best day's shopping in NZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted November 15, 2022 #12 Share Posted November 15, 2022 3 minutes ago, lissie said: Can you cancel the tours via 3rd parties? Why not contact the tour operators directly and talk to them? They are far more likely to be flexible if they are not loosing 30% of the fee to an offshore company. If the company doesn't have a website I probably wouldn't deal with them. Good advice. I always book direct. If the company won't give a refund if the cruise ship doesn't get in to port, I don't book with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckiePuris Posted November 15, 2022 #13 Share Posted November 15, 2022 35 minutes ago, MMDown Under said: Good advice. We caught local bus to Tauranga and had the best day's shopping in NZ. What sort of shopping did you find? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted November 15, 2022 #14 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Cruiselines tend to be around $30 pp or more for the same type of excursion but then you do get the security. It all depends on what sort of port ,tender or docked, and each person's risk assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted November 15, 2022 #15 Share Posted November 15, 2022 1 hour ago, LuckiePuris said: What sort of shopping did you find? Thanks Bras I'd been searching all over NZ for, so a good find. I bought all the stock!! Plus other misc travelling, camping and different stuff. We don't shop when we are travelling around by car, except for craft and food shops, but love an odd day spent shopping. We had previously stayed in Rotorua and Coromandel Peninsula and got sunburnt in Hot Water Beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum52 Posted November 15, 2022 #16 Share Posted November 15, 2022 2 hours ago, lyndarra said: On my last NZ cruise (Feb 2020) I booked an independant tour from Tauranga. The tour mini bus was there waiting and another couple, who had also booked independantly, also boarded. However, the driver had another booking who did not show. While we were waiting a few cruisers wandered over to the bus and asked the driver where we were going and if they could go too. No problem - as there were spare seats. The same happened with us at Tauranga, there were a two spare seats and the driver/guide was quite happy for a woman travelling by herself to join us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted November 15, 2022 #17 Share Posted November 15, 2022 34 minutes ago, possum52 said: The same happened with us at Tauranga, there were a two spare seats and the driver/guide was quite happy for a woman travelling by herself to join us. I found Tauranga to be the best NZ port for variety of independent tours offered at the wharf. Plus a council bus stop to Tauranga. So easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted November 15, 2022 #18 Share Posted November 15, 2022 1 hour ago, MMDown Under said: I found Tauranga to be the best NZ port for variety of independent tours offered at the wharf. Plus a council bus stop to Tauranga. So easy! Plus good beaches, both surf and harbour, and hot water swimming pools just a short walk away. Nice cafes at the Mount too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz61 Posted November 15, 2022 #19 Share Posted November 15, 2022 We booked and paid for an excursion in Dunedin for the railway and our ship was diverted to Wellington due to the weather. The operator happily refunded us which was a huge relief. In Tauranga we booked a private tour as we wanted to go to Hobbiton and Rotorua and ship did not offer both. We only paid at the end of the day. It was one of our best days! I only ever book ship tours if it is a tender port. In the other ports, we were there until 7 pm and 9:30 pm, so there was plenty of time to return before dinner time without any stress. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckiePuris Posted November 15, 2022 #20 Share Posted November 15, 2022 14 hours ago, MMDown Under said: Bras I'd been searching all over NZ for, so a good find. I bought all the stock!! Plus other misc travelling, camping and different stuff. We don't shop when we are travelling around by car, except for craft and food shops, but love an odd day spent shopping. We had previously stayed in Rotorua and Coromandel Peninsula and got sunburnt in Hot Water Beach. That’s fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relaxing Robbies Posted November 15, 2022 #21 Share Posted November 15, 2022 We had an independent tour booked in Napier last week. We received an email from the company the day before the tour advising that the tour was cancelled and a refund had been processed to our credit card because the ship was missing the port. The email arrived 5 hours before the captain made an announcement that the port would be missed due to bad weather! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckiePuris Posted November 15, 2022 #22 Share Posted November 15, 2022 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Relaxing Robbies said: We had an independent tour booked in Napier last week. We received an email from the company the day before the tour advising that the tour was cancelled and a refund had been processed to our credit card because the ship was missing the port. The email arrived 5 hours before the captain made an announcement that the port would be missed due to bad weather! Wow very efficient from the tour company Edited November 15, 2022 by LuckiePuris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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