Celebrity Private Journey Consultation

[NMTraveller]

I was just wondering if anyone had done this before?  About how much does it cost to have a driver take you to the highlights of the city or area?

Edited January 29, 2023 by NMTraveller

[emmas gran]

You are under no obligation just contact them and tell them what you want, they will reply to email and if you want the tour you pay upfront. It is refundable up to 30 days prior to the cruise., the person booking pays for the tour/group

[Jim_Iain]

I've done Private Journey and prices vary all over the place from what I considered reasonable to obscene.   You can expect to pay anywhere from $400 - 1,800 for 2.

 

When you do a private Journey, you decide what you want to do and the drivers will even modify as the day goes on.    It is very similar to Toursbylocals

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I was just wondering if anyone had done this before?  About how much does it cost to have a driver take you to the highlights of the city or area?

Lots of companies provide this service. Our personal choice is Toursbylocals as you deal direct with the guide which makes planning/customising easier. Payments are made through the Head Office in Canada, full refund if ship doesn't dock. With X's Private Journeys you are always dealing through a "third person" i .e. you ask X, they ask the supplier, supplier responds to X, X responds to you. Can be a cumbersome procedure.

[mnocket]

18 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Lots of companies provide this service. Our personal choice is Toursbylocals as you deal direct with the guide which makes planning/customising easier. Payments are made through the Head Office in Canada, full refund if ship doesn't dock. With X's Private Journeys you are always dealing through a "third person" i .e. you ask X, they ask the supplier, supplier responds to X, X responds to you. Can be a cumbersome procedure.

Right.  I don't really see the value X adds and why one would pay their mark-up.  It's easy enough to contact local car/tour companies and get quotes.  Reliable and trustworthy services can be found on travel forums.  I guess if one doesn't want to be bothered doing the legwork, it may make sense to use Private Journey.

[emmas gran]

22 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Lots of companies provide this service. Our personal choice is Toursbylocals as you deal direct with the guide which makes planning/customising easier. Payments are made through the Head Office in Canada, full refund if ship doesn't dock. With X's Private Journeys you are always dealing through a "third person" i .e. you ask X, they ask the supplier, supplier responds to X, X responds to you. Can be a cumbersome procedure.

Not that I found recently in early December. I emailed them received a reply direct, agreed to the tour and received a phone call to confirm the tour and take payment.

I have just checked the confirmation email and it is from the person I spoke with on  Celebrity letterhead, The Destination Team is the department stated.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, mnocket said:

Right.  I don't really see the value X adds and why one would pay their mark-up.  It's easy enough to contact local car/tour companies and get quotes.  Reliable and trustworthy services can be found on travel forums.  I guess if one doesn't want to be bothered doing the legwork, it may make sense to use Private Journey.

Some choose to use it because they can burn off NR-OBC where if you book with external agencies you are paying via credit cared.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, emmas gran said:

Not that I found recently in early December. I emailed them received a reply direct, agreed to the tour and received a phone call to confirm the tour and take payment.

I have just checked the confirmation email and it is from the person I spoke with on  Celebrity letterhead, The Destination Team is the department stated.

But you have not spoken to or dealt directly with the guide who you will travelling on the day - that's the difference I was trying to explain. No right or wrong just a different approach.

[Swordfish1949]

Just wanted to chime in about Tours by Locals - we've used them in many cities and never been disappointed. Guides custom tailor your tour to your interests and in my opinion are simply top notch. IMHO you can't go wrong with them.