Nervous: I need your advice / experience

[wardwhitty]

We are traveling on the Horizon January 6th cruise to the ABC's.  We booked a private charter boat and the website said deposit due at booking and then remainder paid in cash at arrival.  Once we booked it, I received an email from the boat that they would send us an invoice 1 week prior to and full payment would be due.  In the email he said that the fare was non-refundable even if the ship changes itinerary or is not able to reach the island. I questioned it at first but then thought what are the odds, but now we are getting closer and I am nervous. It is in Aruba and I have never been.  My questions are: do you think this is normal, has anyone done this, how often does the ship miss Aruba?

[mz-s]

There are any number of reasons why you might miss the excursion. It's a calculated risk you take when you book off-ship excursions.

[cyntil8ing]

We have booked private excursions many times and continue to do so. Only once have we missed one and not received a full refund. Many years ago we booked a snorkeling excursion in Grand Turk and the ship missed the port. We lost our $10 deposit. However, we had trip insurance and could have filed a claim for it, but I forgot once we returned home. Our credit card also includes trip cancelation insurance, so that may also be an option.

 

Aruba is outside the typical weather-related missed ports. If you have trip insurance or used a credit card with cancellation insurance, I wouldn’t worry about it.

[jsglow]

That's a risk I personally wouldn't take. I suspect the 'private charter' (thus taking that boat completely out of service for the day) is the reason for the stated policy. I'd absolutely screenshot that webpage that said 'Final Payment at Pier'. If you can get that, I'd acknowledge their right to alter that published policy as long as they acknowledge your right to fully cancel and get your deposit back.

[sanger727]

It sounds like you are booking a private excursion. Those always carry risks if your ship misses the port. There are many reasons a ship can miss the port. My preference for private excursions is to books ones that either offer refunds if the ship misses the port or allow you to pay a small deposit upfront and the remainder upon arrival. Keep in mind, tour companies like this are primarily marketing towards people staying on the island. So, they don't necessarily have an interest in appealing towards cruise ship passengers. 

[mz-s]

5 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 Keep in mind, tour companies like this are primarily marketing towards people staying on the island. So, they don't necessarily have an interest in appealing towards cruise ship passengers. 

 

That is particularly true on Aruba in my experience.

 

OP may be better served by finding a tour operator who is willing to take a non-refundable deposit, and the remainder of the payment due in cash at the pier as agreed.

[ledges1]

The chances are slim that you will miss the port. In more than 25 cruises, I have missed one port (Nov 2023) and had 1 cruise delay by 1 day due to tropical storm closing the port of Mobile. However, some ports have been missed recently in the Gulf and Caribbean due to high winds. It seldom rains in Aruba and it is always windy and the water rough. It seems you may be self insured on this excursion.

[sanger727]

Missed/late ports can happen for reasons other than weather. There can be mechanical issues or a medical evacuation that cause itinerary changes. It's not likely, it is possible. This really comes down to how much you want to take that specific tour and your risk tolerance. 

[Haljo1935]

Feb 2023 cruise came close to being the "cruise to nowhere" when itinerary was changed multiple times: Aruba went from all day to just 5-10pm. So, we did port there, but would have missed any excursions.😪

I'd be hesitant to book w/someone who changed the terms after they received your deposit.🤔

Edited December 26, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[TrqoisWtrs]

Any time I've wanted to book an excursion and it required full prepayment and no refund, etc. I moved on.  Too many unknowns in cruising and you could totally end up being out a lot of money.  But agree, I would push back that the website said cash on arrival, and totally not right they changed the terms after the fact.  Maybe also mention that you are on cruise-related social media and people are always interested in great tour operators; you'd love to be able to recommend them but wouldn't feel right if they are going to be changing payment terms. I've done that in the past with issues with a service vendor.  Goes over better than if you just go straight to ranting and saying you are going to leave them a bad review.

[wardwhitty]

Thank you all for the suggestions.  The reviews and the people at the vendor were all so positive that I have to believe we will be fine but with so much at risk I am getting very leery.  

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, wardwhitty said:

Thank you all for the suggestions.  The reviews and the people at the vendor were all so positive that I have to believe we will be fine but with so much at risk I am getting very leery.  

After digesting the feedback you've received and doing your due diligence, go with your gut; rarely will your gut lead you astray. 

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

And please update us on the outcome - enquiring minds want to know...😉

[audcc77]

This is why I haven’t returned to the ABC’s.   

We went once in 2015 or so and 2 of the 3 excursions we booked did a switch-er-oo.   😡
 

And these were through Carnival, which we rarely do.   
 

This ticked me off so bad that I’ve never returned to these ports.  

[pe4all]

We have missed ports several times for several reasons:  weather, mechanical issues and medical evacs.  You can never tell what may unexpected events may occur.

[jsglow]

17 minutes ago, pe4all said:

We have missed ports several times for several reasons:  weather, mechanical issues and medical evacs.  You can never tell what may unexpected events may occur.

So I know we've veered but I have to ponder this. I've got somewhere approaching 225 total cruise days.  So far unrelated to Covid:

~ one completely cancelled cruise owing to mechanical.

~ one missed port owing to drug cartel 'activity'.

~ three missed ports owing to rough sea conditions.

I think that's it. Not too bad.

 

[jimbo5544]

Stuff happens.  Seen it and experienced it.  There are certainly no guarantees.  There are many threads where a ship is late or misses a port all together.  Booking private excursions comes with a risk.  As the old saying goes….let the buyer beware.

[klfrodo]

I’d risk it probably. What an experience it could be.

as far as the vendor goes, I can understand their situation. It is a private charter. If you don’t show, they’ve lost all opportunities to do business that day.

Did the insurance you purchase give you the opportunity to recoup any losses?

[lazydayz]

I would either make sure my travel insurance would cover the cost, or just tour Aruba.  It’s a beautiful island, and very diverse.  

[Elaine5715]

I think the port authorities would be responsive to a complaint about a scam excursion operative in Aruba.   

[ninjacat123]

We are on Horizon January 2025 so I’m interested in what happens 👍

[pe4all]

Just a side note about depending upon getting to a certain port:  We were on a CCL ship years back (don't even remember which one) and developed mechanical issues while in San Juan.   Ended up missing 2 ports as we limped back to Miami.  3 couples onboard were supposed to be married on shore in St. Thomas, and one couple had around 20 family members fly in for the wedding to meet them on the island.  Needless to say there were many tears over them missing their wedding.  We did see them onboard in wedding gear that night.  They ended up getting married on the ship.  (we spoke to them and CCL gave them a wedding package of ceremony, cake, photos, etc.).   Sooo - if you really have your heart set on a certain island or excursion a cruise may not be the way to go - lol!

[jsglow]

5 minutes ago, pe4all said:

3 couples onboard were supposed to be married on shore in St. Thomas, and one couple had around 20 family members fly in for the wedding to meet them on the island.  Needless to say there were many tears over them missing their wedding.  We did see them onboard in wedding gear that night.

Yep. That just happened again on the ill fated Panorama cruise where she broke down and limped to Cabo. Crazy risky. 

[Honolulu Blue]

13 hours ago, jsglow said:

I've got somewhere approaching 225 total cruise days.  So far unrelated to Covid:

~ one completely cancelled cruise owing to mechanical.

~ one missed port owing to drug cartel 'activity'.

~ three missed ports owing to rough sea conditions.

I think that's it. Not too bad.

 

I currently have 207 total cruise days, but I've got about 30 on cruises coming up in the next four months.  I'll do a similar list to yours, again eliminating the COVID cancellations/delays:

 

• One was completely canceled due to the ship being chartered by the government for temporary  housing for hurricane relief workers.  I put this one under "weather".
• Only one port entirely missed, which was due to high winds/rough seas
• One port was canceled a year before the sailing due to some silly disagreement between the port and Carnival
• One cruise had 7 of 8 ports shuffled around, either changing dates or times due to high winds and related refueling issues

Other than those specific issues, I think I've hit every port that I signed up for.  I count myself as very lucky.  I hope my luck continues. 🙏

 

21 hours ago, wardwhitty said:

how often does the ship miss Aruba?

I've been to Aruba 4 times and never missed it.  They have a dock that's plenty big to handle multiples of the biggest ships that the cruise lines can throw at it.  And as mentioned elsewhere, the weather there is usually favorable for safe docking.  I wouldn't worry too much about missing it.

[sanger727]

18 hours ago, wardwhitty said:

Thank you all for the suggestions.  The reviews and the people at the vendor were all so positive that I have to believe we will be fine but with so much at risk I am getting very leery.  

 

I would be leery also. I wouldn't pay them ahead of time. They seem to be transparent about the fact that if you pay ahead of time it is non-refundable. If they originally advertised as cash upon arrival, I would offer them that. If they decline then I would cancel.

[jsglow]

I had some port reassignments that I didn't count @Honolulu Blue. Some that come to mind were some revisions associated with our UK/Ireland segment this fall. Those revisions took place at least 6-9 months before the sail date and I'm not even recalling the details. What I do remember is someone posting here 'commenting' about 2 weeks ahead of the cruise. 🤨

 

I am watching with some interest those folks about to head out on World Cruises next week that are scheduled to go through the Red Sea.  Umm, maybe not. I'm not so keen on Exocet missiles! 🫣

Edited December 27, 2023 by jsglow