Komodo Island - Only HAL Excursions?

[azcruise]

We are going to be stopping at Komodo on our circumnavigation of Australia in November. I have read a couple of posts saying that HAL has not allowed people with private tours to disembark ( it is a tender port).

 

Does anyone know if that is true? We have booked with Top Komodo Tours, and the HAL excursions available don't sound inviting.

[ozcruizer]

We were there some years ago and we had to go on a HAL excursion for safety's sake.

[Lido deck main]

37 minutes ago, azcruise said:

We are going to be stopping at Komodo on our circumnavigation of Australia in November. I have read a couple of posts saying that HAL has not allowed people with private tours to disembark ( it is a tender port).

 

Does anyone know if that is true? We have booked with Top Komodo Tours, and the HAL excursions available don't sound inviting.

You have to be on any excursions either independent or HAL, they just don’t want people walking around on their own.  I have been there with Top Komodo, very good company.

[sandiego1]

We also went with  Top Komodo, but it was in 2019. Rules could have changed since then.

[richwmn]

 On the Grand Australia cruise earlier this year those with private excursions were allowed to go ashore along with the HAL excursion people.

[durangoscots]

To add to what Rich said above .... the private tour vendors let the the ship know who was booked on their tours. The private tour people were then cleared to leave the ship. It was well organized on the GANZ. Whether by private tour or Hal tour.... this is not an easy tour!!!

 

Susan

[azcruise]

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts!  We will keep the Top Komodo tour and keep our fingers crossed!

[Torquer]

I have some general questions, from someone who has not been to Komodo Island, but it is on our bucket list. 

1) The safety concerns that were mentioned, is that because of the Komodo Dragons or some other reason?

2) I would think the main reason to go is to see the Dragons in their natural habitat.  So wouldn't any tour that shows you them be as good as the next?  Or are there other things to see on Komodo Island too?  The OP said the HAL tours didn't "sound inviting" (of course I understand the HAL tour may be more crowded and cost more than a private tour company, but that wasn't the reason given).

[Sir PMP]

42 minutes ago, Torquer said:

I have some general questions, from someone who has not been to Komodo Island, but it is on our bucket list. 

1) The safety concerns that were mentioned, is that because of the Komodo Dragons or some other reason?

2) I would think the main reason to go is to see the Dragons in their natural habitat.  So wouldn't any tour that shows you them be as good as the next?  Or are there other things to see on Komodo Island too?  The OP said the HAL tours didn't "sound inviting" (of course I understand the HAL tour may be more crowded and cost more than a private tour company, but that wasn't the reason given).

Done it three times, you meet a tour guide in a small office who explains the route etc. Then you leave in a group of about 12 people with the guide who has wooden stick (that's it). You walk to the right and follow a trail which is basically a large circle. First you might see a couple of females which are small and when you get to the big boys who are hanging around a small watering hole and are never in a good mood You can take pictures and slowly move on, you might also see some deer and wild hogs. Always be alert and don't open for example umbrella's in front of the Komodo's, they know you are there, and there is no fence etc. When you end the circle you will see some vendors with T-shirts. It's an experience.

[vms]

5 hours ago, Torquer said:

I have some general questions, from someone who has not been to Komodo Island, but it is on our bucket list. 

1) The safety concerns that were mentioned, is that because of the Komodo Dragons or some other reason?

2) I would think the main reason to go is to see the Dragons in their natural habitat.  So wouldn't any tour that shows you them be as good as the next?  Or are there other things to see on Komodo Island too?  The OP said the HAL tours didn't "sound inviting" (of course I understand the HAL tour may be more crowded and cost more than a private tour company, but that wasn't the reason given).

When I went to Komodo Island on a cruise with a different cruise line a number of years ago, I booked a private tour that was a combination of walking to see the Komodo Dragons and a snorkeling excursion to the pink beach. The cruise line only offered one or the other, but not a combination tour, and didn't allow enough time for you to book both through the cruise line.

 

In terms of safety, the waters off the pink beach had significant current that was also quite dangerous. But it was emphasized to everyone that a human cannot outrun a Komodo Dragon and that their bite is extremely toxic, and it is unlikely that you will be able to get to appropriate medical facilities in enough time to save your life should an incident occur. Anyone with an open wound and women having their periods were told not to leave the ship and go onto the island, as the dragons can smell blood from 4-5 miles away.

 

Is this warning extreme and intended to scare people beyond the reality of the situation? Possibly. I do not know, but thankfully no one on our tour was tempted to find out.

[Horizon chaser 1957]

1 hour ago, vms said:

When I went to Komodo Island on a cruise with a different cruise line a number of years ago, I booked a private tour that was a combination of walking to see the Komodo Dragons and a snorkeling excursion to the pink beach. The cruise line only offered one or the other, but not a combination tour, and didn't allow enough time for you to book both through the cruise line.

 

In terms of safety, the waters off the pink beach had significant current that was also quite dangerous. But it was emphasized to everyone that a human cannot outrun a Komodo Dragon and that their bite is extremely toxic, and it is unlikely that you will be able to get to appropriate medical facilities in enough time to save your life should an incident occur. Anyone with an open wound and women having their periods were told not to leave the ship and go onto the island, as the dragons can smell blood from 4-5 miles away.

 

Is this warning extreme and intended to scare people beyond the reality of the situation? Possibly. I do not know, but thankfully no one on our tour was tempted to find out.

When we were there a few years, a woman in the group just ahead of us had a broken stick poke her leg. It bled very slightly. The guides covered the small cut and got her out of there amazingly fast. When we got to the water hole, the big males were agitated and sniffing the air intently. When one of those big boys stares right at you and sniffs carefully, you hold your breath for a moment. I don’t think the warning is an exaggeration.

[elmac40]

On 9/6/2024 at 4:15 AM, azcruise said:

We are going to be stopping at Komodo on our circumnavigation of Australia in November. I have read a couple of posts saying that HAL has not allowed people with private tours to disembark ( it is a tender port).

 

Does anyone know if that is true? We have booked with Top Komodo Tours, and the HAL excursions available don't sound inviting.

Hi - I've booked a HAL excursion AND a tour with Top Komodo - keeping my options open in case HAL don't allow the private tours. I'll be able to cancel the HAL excursion on the ship if private tours are confirmed as being OK. This is a bucket list item for me! 😀

[iflyrc5]

On 9/6/2024 at 5:50 PM, vms said:

When I went to Komodo Island on a cruise with a different cruise line a number of years ago, I booked a private tour that was a combination of walking to see the Komodo Dragons and a snorkeling excursion to the pink beach. The cruise line only offered one or the other, but not a combination tour, and didn't allow enough time for you to book both through the cruise line.

 

In terms of safety, the waters off the pink beach had significant current that was also quite dangerous. But it was emphasized to everyone that a human cannot outrun a Komodo Dragon and that their bite is extremely toxic, and it is unlikely that you will be able to get to appropriate medical facilities in enough time to save your life should an incident occur. Anyone with an open wound and women having their periods were told not to leave the ship and go onto the island, as the dragons can smell blood from 4-5 miles away.

 

Is this warning extreme and intended to scare people beyond the reality of the situation? Possibly. I do not know, but thankfully no one on our tour was tempted to find out.

We did this same tour several years ago - it is very hot and several guests had issues with the heat.  The current at the Pink Beach was very strong and the water was also cold.  Getting on the tour boat after snorkeling was very challenging and the ladder was just some 2x4s nailed together and tied to the railing on the boat.

[iflyrc5]

The guy with the stick to protect us.

[ghstudio]

One hopes that the tour guides have practiced how to use that stick against a charging dragon rather than training on running fast 🙂 .  It is a little unnerving to know that yes, the dragons can will come after you and, yes, they can outrun you. It's all real...this isn't a show and the dragons have not learned to ignore people. Not sure if there are any tour limitations for those that use walkers, scooters, etc, so if this applies, make sure you check.  I'd do the tour again in a heartbeat and I'd skip the beach, rather going back to the ship and having a cold drink or three.

[highland cruiser]

We went to Komodo Island on a Viking Ocean cruise in February around Australia.   Toured with the ship.  A very sturdy wooden deck/walkway winds thru the area we walked with our group.  It was build during covid.    There were several groups but we were spaced out so it wasn't crowded on the walkway.  Saw a lot of dragons and got decent pictures from up above but not at ground level.  To be honest with you, I was quite happy to be on an elevated walk.  They are very interesting creatures but a a previous poster mentioned, their bite can kill quite quickly.  We saw a young one being chased by a larger dragon and he managed to climb a tree quickly to get away.  I guess they eat each other. 

 We did see one private group on the ground looking at the dragons. As far as I know they weren't from the ship.    Guides had sticks.  

At the end of the tour there are several vendors selling items.  They only took US cash.  At least where I shopped anyway.  

I was really glad that we did this tour.  It is well worth the visit and we felt very safe.  

[ScriptOhio]

I did a "private group tour" with Top Komodo back in 2015 if you are on a private tour/excursion you had to make prior arrangements with the ship's Guest Relations Manager. Only passengers with a tour could go ashore. He wanted to see some proof of the excursion (email from tour operator will do), give us a meeting place/time, and escort our group to the tender, etc. 

 

Top Komodos' tour included Komodo Island, a local village, lunch onboard, and a visit to a pink sand beach. Overall for the price (compared to HAL's excursion price) it was a great tour. At Komodo Island you walk in single file on a trail with a guide at the front and back. You stay on the trail; there was absolutely no wandering off on your own. We saw several Komodo dragons, most of the ones we saw were at an established water hole. Now the village that we visited (i.e. just walked through) was pretty filthy (both on land and in the water); and to visit we just tied onto a bunch of other boats at their dock. After touring the village we got back to the boat and they couldn't start the engine. Top Komodo had three boats there so they just tied ours onto one of the other ones to go to the pink sand beach. On the way over they served the "hot lunch" onboard, let's just say the lunch was OK but the cooking area on the boat wouldn't have passed any US Coast Guard "cleanliness inspections", etc. The pink sand beach was very clean which kind of surprised me as just across the bay the water was dirty in front of the village. They dropped us off back at Komodo Island to take a tender back to the ship. As I said before, it was a great tour; however, I know that was 9 years ago and things could have changed since then.

[azcruise]

I received an email from Top Komodo Tours saying that they send the ship a list of people with booked tours, and that we should take our confirmation to the Shore Excursion desk a few days before arriving.  She said they have only had one time in memory that the ship wouldn't let private tours visit.  Fingers crossed!

[TRLD]

15 hours ago, ghstudio said:

One hopes that the tour guides have practiced how to use that stick against a charging dragon rather than training on running fast 🙂 .  It is a little unnerving to know that yes, the dragons can will come after you and, yes, they can outrun you. It's all real...this isn't a show and the dragons have not learned to ignore people. Not sure if there are any tour limitations for those that use walkers, scooters, etc, so if this applies, make sure you check.  I'd do the tour again in a heartbeat and I'd skip the beach, rather going back to the ship and having a cold drink or three.

Maybe the stick is to trip anyone running faster than the guide.🙃

Edited Wednesday at 04:07 AM by TRLD

[Gallivanter'sGal]

Good luck.  I'm sure our tours were the ones Top Komodo mentioned.  Last year I arranged two tours (one dragon walk and the other was dragon walk and pink beach) with Top Komodo that involved about 120 people.  HAL gave each person in our two groups tender times but when the groups when down to wait for the tender, HAL didn't honor the times.  My husband and I got off on one of the first tenders because I had called shore excursions so many times to make and confirm the arrangements, they knew me and let me off.  My husband and I waited and watched as each tender arrived.  I will say that there was a problem at the dock and they could only tender one boat at a time.  I saw people being hoisted up the steps which was very time consuming.  I also saw long stretches of time between tenders arriving at the dock.  Once the early arrival HAL guests tours were finished and they lined up to return to the ship, the tendering process became even slower.  We were supposed to leave at 3pm so I asked the shore side manager if the captain was going to delay the departure to allow guests booked on private tours to disembark, and I was told repeatedly the ship had to leave on time.  In the end only about 10 people from our two groups made it to shore.  5 star Mariners were denied tender tickets.  People were furious and rightfully so as many had booked the cruise specifically because Komodo Island was on their bucket list. The group requested to meet with the Captain, but no representative would agree to meet with them as a group.  I do know that several individuals did meet with the Captain.  My husband and I met with the Captain, Hotel Manager, Assistant Hotel Manager and the Shore Excursion Manager.  There stance was that their obligation was to the guests on HAL's tours.  Top Komodo Tours was fantastic!  They refunded everyone's money, but they lost an entire day's revenue plus the cost of 3 large boat rentals.  We felt so bad for them.  BTW, the ship ultimately delayed the departure time to 6pm.  With the delay, I feel they could have gotten everyone to shore but there was no attempt to do so.  They also told me that I should not be arranging private tours and handling other guests money for vendors because of liability and conflict with the cruise line.  I was personally very upset as the other guests were trying to call, text, email me while I was on shore which of course I couldn't receive.  I was worried that they would blame me for the debacle, but thankfully, when I returned I set up a meeting to return their payments.  I again asked HAL for a representative to be there and they refused.  After many complaints, HAL gave everyone that was not allowed on shore for the private tour some non-refundable OBC, but there was a lot of ill will.  I would advise that if you are on a private tour try to be in the first group off or at least be in the designated spot to get one of the first tender tickets.  Ask Top Komodo Tours to have the tour start when the ship is scheduled to begin tendering and that might help you get off in case there are tendering issues like we had. 

[Lido deck main]

1 hour ago, Gallivanter'sGal said:

Good luck.  I'm sure our tours were the ones Top Komodo mentioned.  Last year I arranged two tours (one dragon walk and the other was dragon walk and pink beach) with Top Komodo that involved about 120 people.  HAL gave each person in our two groups tender times but when the groups when down to wait for the tender, HAL didn't honor the times.  My husband and I got off on one of the first tenders because I had called shore excursions so many times to make and confirm the arrangements, they knew me and let me off.  My husband and I waited and watched as each tender arrived.  I will say that there was a problem at the dock and they could only tender one boat at a time.  I saw people being hoisted up the steps which was very time consuming.  I also saw long stretches of time between tenders arriving at the dock.  Once the early arrival HAL guests tours were finished and they lined up to return to the ship, the tendering process became even slower.  We were supposed to leave at 3pm so I asked the shore side manager if the captain was going to delay the departure to allow guests booked on private tours to disembark, and I was told repeatedly the ship had to leave on time.  In the end only about 10 people from our two groups made it to shore.  5 star Mariners were denied tender tickets.  People were furious and rightfully so as many had booked the cruise specifically because Komodo Island was on their bucket list. The group requested to meet with the Captain, but no representative would agree to meet with them as a group.  I do know that several individuals did meet with the Captain.  My husband and I met with the Captain, Hotel Manager, Assistant Hotel Manager and the Shore Excursion Manager.  There stance was that their obligation was to the guests on HAL's tours.  Top Komodo Tours was fantastic!  They refunded everyone's money, but they lost an entire day's revenue plus the cost of 3 large boat rentals.  We felt so bad for them.  BTW, the ship ultimately delayed the departure time to 6pm.  With the delay, I feel they could have gotten everyone to shore but there was no attempt to do so.  They also told me that I should not be arranging private tours and handling other guests money for vendors because of liability and conflict with the cruise line.  I was personally very upset as the other guests were trying to call, text, email me while I was on shore which of course I couldn't receive.  I was worried that they would blame me for the debacle, but thankfully, when I returned I set up a meeting to return their payments.  I again asked HAL for a representative to be there and they refused.  After many complaints, HAL gave everyone that was not allowed on shore for the private tour some non-refundable OBC, but there was a lot of ill will.  I would advise that if you are on a private tour try to be in the first group off or at least be in the designated spot to get one of the first tender tickets.  Ask Top Komodo Tours to have the tour start when the ship is scheduled to begin tendering and that might help you get off in case there are tendering issues like we had. 

We had over a hundred of us with Top Komodo in February of this year, we all got off.  During world stage shows on the previous few nights the cruise director director discouraged people who used scooters or wheelchairs to not get off.  There are a set of seven or eight stairs on the dock side with no railing.

[TRLD]

2 hours ago, Gallivanter'sGal said:

Good luck.  I'm sure our tours were the ones Top Komodo mentioned.  Last year I arranged two tours (one dragon walk and the other was dragon walk and pink beach) with Top Komodo that involved about 120 people.  HAL gave each person in our two groups tender times but when the groups when down to wait for the tender, HAL didn't honor the times.  My husband and I got off on one of the first tenders because I had called shore excursions so many times to make and confirm the arrangements, they knew me and let me off.  My husband and I waited and watched as each tender arrived.  I will say that there was a problem at the dock and they could only tender one boat at a time.  I saw people being hoisted up the steps which was very time consuming.  I also saw long stretches of time between tenders arriving at the dock.  Once the early arrival HAL guests tours were finished and they lined up to return to the ship, the tendering process became even slower.  We were supposed to leave at 3pm so I asked the shore side manager if the captain was going to delay the departure to allow guests booked on private tours to disembark, and I was told repeatedly the ship had to leave on time.  In the end only about 10 people from our two groups made it to shore.  5 star Mariners were denied tender tickets.  People were furious and rightfully so as many had booked the cruise specifically because Komodo Island was on their bucket list. The group requested to meet with the Captain, but no representative would agree to meet with them as a group.  I do know that several individuals did meet with the Captain.  My husband and I met with the Captain, Hotel Manager, Assistant Hotel Manager and the Shore Excursion Manager.  There stance was that their obligation was to the guests on HAL's tours.  Top Komodo Tours was fantastic!  They refunded everyone's money, but they lost an entire day's revenue plus the cost of 3 large boat rentals.  We felt so bad for them.  BTW, the ship ultimately delayed the departure time to 6pm.  With the delay, I feel they could have gotten everyone to shore but there was no attempt to do so.  They also told me that I should not be arranging private tours and handling other guests money for vendors because of liability and conflict with the cruise line.  I was personally very upset as the other guests were trying to call, text, email me while I was on shore which of course I couldn't receive.  I was worried that they would blame me for the debacle, but thankfully, when I returned I set up a meeting to return their payments.  I again asked HAL for a representative to be there and they refused.  After many complaints, HAL gave everyone that was not allowed on shore for the private tour some non-refundable OBC, but there was a lot of ill will.  I would advise that if you are on a private tour try to be in the first group off or at least be in the designated spot to get one of the first tender tickets.  Ask Top Komodo Tours to have the tour start when the ship is scheduled to begin tendering and that might help you get off in case there are tendering issues like we had. 

Actually a few years ago on a trip around South America that I was on some people organizing private tours between cruise critic folks did so in too open a fashion and created quite an issue. They basically set up tables with signs for the people to come over to pay at the meet and great with ships officers present. They came pretty close to getting kicked off of the ship.

 

The cruise contracts have very clear no solicitation clauses. Organizing tours in competition with the cruise line technically violates that clause. That said they know passengers organize private tours. It is one of those don't ask don't tell. But if one is too visible as in the Princess case they will take notice and problems can happen.

 

So basically they gave you a low key warning and there is no way they would send a representative to a function that they really do not want to notice.

 

In the case with Princess it was the collection of money that crossed the line. Coordinating and having each person pay the vendor themselves they did not have an issue with.

 

The no solicitation clause is in section 12 of the cruise contract.

Edited Thursday at 04:58 AM by TRLD

[elmac40]

To those of you who have experienced Komodo, if you had the choice would you go for the HAL tour (safest option) or a private tour? I have both booked to keep my options open. For many cruisers on the trip, Komodo is a bucket list item. I will check with the concierge in the Neptune lounge when on board and update this forum. 

Edited Thursday at 10:46 AM by elmac40

[Sea42]

For me, if this is a bucket list, must see experience, I would book the HAL tour. It may not be a small, less expensive private tour but it sounds like the Top Komodo tours are not small either.

I guess each person has to determine how disappointed they would be if they something like what happened in post #20 happened to them.

[Gallivanter'sGal]

Thanks TRLD.  Believe me, I didn't set up shop to collect money like the example you used.  Almost all of the people booked with Top Komodo on our tour paid direct prior to embarkation.  I agree that the cruise lines all know that guests book private excursions as we have many times.  I actually was the first person to book with TKT and for some reason they appointed me as the person in charge...I will never allow that again.  I think the thing that upset me the most with regards to HAL, was that their attitude.  When my husband and I met with their group, we came to the meeting prepared with our feedback including: what we observed the entire day on shore watching their tender operations; how we thought they could have improved their operations; the frustration of the guests that waited for 4+ hours in the lounge before they were told that they were not going to be allowed off the ship; that we were told information while on shore that at best was conflicting and at worse outright lies: that the home office should review and possibly revise ship hours while in small ports of call when tendering in locations with known issues; etc.  They were very defensive and definitely not interested in our (or others) feedback.  The Captain, Hotel Manager, and Asst Hotel Manager were downright indignant at the beginning of the meeting and by the end they were somewhat more pleasant, but you tell that anything we said went in one ear and out the other.  We are frequent cruisers, 5 star on HAL, elite on Celebrity and have sailed many others, so this isn't our first rodeo, but the bottom line is all cruise lines will put the guests on their tours first and the rest come after in tender operations. 

 

I still believe that Top Komodo should send paperwork with the tours beginning immediately upon HAL starting the tendering operation in hopes that you can get off quickly before HAL tours start returning.  Maybe ours was a freak situation because the tide was low when tendering began and there were probably 20+ steep steps with no handrail, but as the day went on and the tide came up reducing the number of steps, nothing in their operation changed.  The key is that HAL will "discourage" guests with mobility problems but not stop them from taking the excursion.  From our cruise, there were MANY guests that had mobility devices that could not get up or down those steps without serious assistance.  Sadly, it's all about the $.  Also, if they stop and tours operate, you should get off if you are on a HAL tour which is their objective to almost force guests to book with them.  I wouldn't mind if their tours were as good as most private tours.  If they would up the quality of their tours and lower their pricing to be competitive, maybe people would be more inclined to book HAL tours.