Private tour question

[LILynn]

I found a wonderful driver for our day in Naples thanks to a lot of advice from people posting on this board.

 

After I emailed him, he asked me to email or fax my credit card number to him as he said he has shown up too many times for customers that never showed up. He said that he will not bill my credit card unless we do not show up.

 

Has anyone done this? If so, how did you get the credit card information to the driver? I am a little nervous giving the card number to someone I don't know plus I am not sure of the safest way to get the information to him in the event that I do decide to provide it.

 

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Lynn

[transplant320]

when we did the transatlantic, on the jewel in may we did 3 private tours, and booked two hotels-all with a credit card number that I faxed to each establishment and requested a confirmation by email, which I received.

there was no problem with any of them. what you want to know is if the ship was to bypass that port for which you have a tour are you going to be charged for the tour if it is not your fault. before you give over the credit card information check the tour operator that you are using from the information on this board,hope this helps.

martin

[RuthJH]

Lynn,

I have been asked for cc numbers as well for the same reason. Don't forget that if you are billed something that you don't agree with you can easily have your cc company reverse the charge.

That said, do not email your card number unless your tour guide has a secure web site (which they unlikely do). Either fax it, or email the card number to him, broken into separate emails.

[bappo]

HI Lynn, We just returned from our trip on June 12th. None of our drivers, asked for our credit cards numbers, and in fact every one of them gave us their cell phone numbers should their be a problem. We paid each one in Euros after the days tour plus a tip. I don't think that their should be a problem giving them a number, just remember to check your bill, before, during and after the cruise for any unusual charges. Hope this helps.

 

Barb

[LILynn]

Thanks for the advice. Since this guy was so highly recommended by posters on this board I am OK with giving him the card - but I don't have access to a fax machine that will allow me to dial overseas so I am stuck emailing to him. Do you guys think it will really be OK emailing the card number broken up to a couple of emails???

 

Thanks

[rogfam]

Lynn, it would be much easier faxing him your number. However, emailing on an unsecured site isn't so great. How about just a quick call?

[mulimel]

Hi lynn

I will be in naples in august and am looking for a great driver/guide. please tell me a little bit about how you found this guy and why you think he's so great(i just found and learned about this website). Also can you tell me about how it cost/?? and how many people are going with you??? any info at thhis time would be so helpful

thanks, melissa

[LILynn]

Melissa -

 

After reading a lot of posts on this board I decided to hire Mariano Fiorentino. There were a lot a great comments from people that have used him in the past. I emailed others as well... some were already booked, some were very expensive. Not only did Mariano get reviews, but his price was very reasonable - 330 euros for 2 people, 350 euros for 4 - all in his Mercedes Van.

 

Mariano's website: http://www.hiddenitalytours.com

 

And I had a thought this afternoon - I called my brother/TA and had him fax the form for me. I was just too nervous to use the internet.

 

Good luck planning your cruise - I hope you have as much fun planning yours as I have been planning mine!

 

Lynn

[cruisingmimi]

Thanks for the advice. Since this guy was so highly recommended by posters on this board I am OK with giving him the card - but I don't have access to a fax machine that will allow me to dial overseas so I am stuck emailing to him. Do you guys think it will really be OK emailing the card number broken up to a couple of emails???

 

Thanks

 

The tours that I pre-booked for our Med cruise did not ask for my credit card. However, a couple of other friends did have to give their credit card.

 

I had to give my credit card to book our hotel for our pre-cruise stay. The hotel did not have a secure website and I did not feel comfortable emailing my number to them. I called them and they said they wouldn't take my credit card over the phone (couldn't understand that one!) but if I wanted to I could send 2 emails and only put half of my credit card number in each email. That is what I did and I received an immediate email confirmation of my number.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mary