Shore Excursion Price Protection

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, notscb said:

 

Honestly, that's a pro-tip. Maybe I can contact them to ask about their transportation for folks coming in on cruises and see if they include it.

Good luck. I hope my experience helps you out.

[staceyglow]

If the other option is a lower price and you are convinced that it is the same tour as what Carnival is offering, why not just cancel your Carnival excursion and book the other one?  

 

If I am not mistaken, you can do that up to 24 hours before the excursion.

[notscb]

43 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

why not just cancel your Carnival excursion and book the other one

 

One main reason, really:  If we do it through carnival and there's a delay of some sort (even if the chance of that occurring is low), they'll wait for us. Honestly, I'm not holding my breath that they'll honor the guarantee based on the minor difference, but it'd be nice to have some extra OBC for other things.

 

Not to say that I'm not considering cancelling it.*

Edited November 23, 2022 by notscb
*

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, notscb said:

 

One main reason, really:  If we do it through carnival and there's a delay of some sort (even if the chance of that occurring is low), they'll wait for us. Honestly, I'm not holding my breath that they'll honor the guarantee based on the minor difference, but it'd be nice to have some extra OBC for other things.

 

Not to say that I'm not considering cancelling it.*

 

If it is indeed the same tour, you'll be on the tour with Carnival guests so you'll be waited for anyway would you not?

[notscb]

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

If it is indeed the same tour, you'll be on the tour with Carnival guests so you'll be waited for anyway would you not?

 

Maybe.

if transportation is truly not included in the third party offer  and is the main difference here, one might think that they would wait for the carnival excursion transportation to get back, not transportation we would take.

[mz-s]

2 hours ago, notscb said:

 

Maybe.

if transportation is truly not included in the third party offer  and is the main difference here, one might think that they would wait for the carnival excursion transportation to get back, not transportation we would take.

 

It sounds like it's worth it to you to pay more for the Carnival tour for this peace of mind so you should do it! Each to their own.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Once you factor in the taxi plus marina fee, you really aren't saving that much. Go with what you'll be more comfortable with. 

 

Saving a few dollars then enjoying it less because you are worried about time isn't worth it. 

[knagl]

On 11/23/2022 at 10:28 AM, notscb said:

in the Nassau/Atlantis example, a 5 minute ride over there doesn't significantly change the experience being sold IMHO.

 

I'd say it does. For the folks on the ship-sponsored tour they board a bus at the pier and have included, hassle-free transportation to the site. For folks who buy directly, they're on their own to arrange and pay for transportation to get there and back. It's not the same product, and transportation is not free.

Edited November 25, 2022 by knagl

[ontheweb]

On 11/23/2022 at 12:41 PM, notscb said:

 

Honestly, that's a pro-tip. Maybe I can contact them to ask about their transportation for folks coming in on cruises and see if they include it.

Did that work out? If they said they would, you should let Carnival know and see if that changes the rejection to an acceptance.

[notscb]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

If they said they would, you should let Carnival know and see if that changes the rejection to an acceptance.

 

Carnival rejected my initial request to reconsider based on the facts I already mentioned.

Their response: "These are reviewed by the product manager per port of call, and we can offer no further review."

 

So essentially they are saying if they reject it the first time, they consider it case closed. They did mention this: "You MAY submit a new request from a different website for review, but this one is tagged for denial for all requests."

 

 

[notscb]

2 hours ago, knagl said:

It's not the same product, and transportation is not free.

 

I'm not saying transportation is free or anything, but I think within reason a 5 minute bus or cab ride included doesn't change 95% of the experience which is happening at Atlantis itself. Again, I think this is "within reason" as a reasonable person wouldn't say a 2 hour bus ride there and back as some of the Belize excursions have are the same experience.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

1 hour ago, notscb said:

 

I'm not saying transportation is free or anything, but I think within reason a 5 minute bus or cab ride included doesn't change 95% of the experience which is happening at Atlantis itself. Again, I think this is "within reason" as a reasonable person wouldn't say a 2 hour bus ride there and back as some of the Belize excursions have are the same experience.

 

If you don't think the price Carnival is charging to include transportation is "within reason", why don't you just cancel the Carnival excursion and go directly to Atlantis, then get your own transportation?

Edited November 25, 2022 by Old Fart Cruisers

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, notscb said:

 

I'm not saying transportation is free or anything, but I think within reason a 5 minute bus or cab ride included doesn't change 95% of the experience which is happening at Atlantis itself. Again, I think this is "within reason" as a reasonable person wouldn't say a 2 hour bus ride there and back as some of the Belize excursions have are the same experience.

Too bad they would not reconsider, but they do say exactly the same, not 95% the same.

[notscb]

4 hours ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

Atlantis, then get your own transportation?

 

The Atlantis example was just an example for discussion purposes. I also answered this question above- but basically that I enjoy the protection of doing it with the cruise line if possible just in case something goes wrong and it's late getting back.

[Sailin_Pirate]

100% the same is 100% the same. what is "within reason" to you isn't the same as "within reason" to others and Carnival doesn't want to deal with that kind of stuff.

 

Pay more and get your Carnival protection or save money and have no issues.

 

Carnival deals with reputable companies for their excursions. Do your research and you'll be fine side booking to save money. It's that companies business to do right by you if they want to stay in business.

[MsOne]

On 11/23/2022 at 11:41 AM, notscb said:

 

Honestly, that's a pro-tip. Maybe I can contact them to ask about their transportation for folks coming in on cruises and see if they include it.

I've had the price guarantee honored before. I contacted the company before submitting the request to Carnival so I'd have information showing they were both the same. So definitely reach out to the company and ask if they provide transportation, then attach that email if they do.

Also, your responses are amazing. Some of the comments have been far from cordial and you respond to every comment fully respectable. ❤️

[ronrythm]

You all should realize that the main reason Carnival offers this is to find out which of their vendors are selling their tours independently. Most of Carnival’s contracts do not allow this and those vendors will be told to stop or lose their Carnival contract. The ones that don’t have it in their current contract will have it in their next one. 

[Purvis1231]

I have done the excursion price match several times. I each case it was initial denied but eventually Carnival gave in. The only except to this is when we did the request while on the ship- it was approved right away.

[staceyglow]

Not only does Carnival put a markup on the excursion it offers you, they also buy them from the tour operator at a discount.  If you buy the tour directly from the operator, more of  the money goes to the local business, which might be another reason to bypass Carnival.

[notscb]

20 hours ago, MsOne said:

So definitely reach out to the company and ask if they provide transportation, then attach that email if they do.

 

Thats such a good tip and I'm going to have to do that in the future.

 

Thank you for your kind words, I posted this to figure out where I went wrong and definitely wasn't expecting some of the harsh replies I was getting.

[notscb]

5 hours ago, staceyglow said:

If you buy the tour directly from the operator, more of  the money goes to the local business, which might be another reason to bypass Carnival.

 

I'm all for giving more directly to the local businesses for sure. I think with this being the first time to some of these ports, I was hoping to do more with Carnival just because I'm not too familiar with the lay of the land or the providers themselves. I'm still considering just cancelling my excursion through Carnival and going direct.

[Purvis1231]

5 hours ago, staceyglow said:

Not only does Carnival put a markup on the excursion it offers you, they also buy them from the tour operator at a discount.  If you buy the tour directly from the operator, more of  the money goes to the local business, which might be another reason to bypass Carnival.

Carnival adds value to the excursions so that is why many people are willing to pay a higher price to stick with Carnival.

[staceyglow]

1 minute ago, Purvis1231 said:

Carnival adds value to the excursions so that is why many people are willing to pay a higher price to stick with Carnival.

So then they aren't equivalent, and then one is not entitled to a refund of the price difference.

[Purvis1231]

3 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

So then they aren't equivalent, and then one is not entitled to a refund of the price difference.

It depends on the excursions. As I mentioned I have received several price matches. There are many Carnival excursion where there are no eligible matches. I personally, have also taken many non-Carnival excursions but some people prefer to stay with Carnival.

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

Carnival adds value to the excursions so that is why many people are willing to pay a higher price to stick with Carnival.

Could you please explain what the value they add is? I understand they say they will hold the ship if your excursion gets back late, but is there something else I am missing?