Beware of Shore Excursions!

[stumomx3]

So, we just got off rhapsody and it was a great trip with one exception. We booked the tour (through the ship) in Grand Cayman for the jeep 4 x 4. It was supposed to have several stops ending on the beach for about 2 hours. The tour was for approximately 5 1/2 hours.

 

The tour started almost 2 hours late (not our fault). We had 1 hour on the beach and 45 minutes to snorkel, swim, order lunch and eat. the stop at Hell we were given 5 minuted to shop, stand in line and get back in the Jeep.

 

We were very disappointed. We were celebrating my son's 11th birthday and he pick this tour instead of a party with his friends.

 

I understand approximate is not necesarily 5 1/2 hours, but this was closer to 3 1/2. I filed a complaint with the Shore Excursion Desk and they were very nice. But not even a partial refund.

 

I am not expecting a full refund, but a gesture of 1/3 (since it was 1/3 less than advertised) would have been nice. I went around and around with customer service this afternoon in Miami and was told that approximate could mean anything. I would not be complaining if it were a matter of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, etc.

 

I purposely booked through the ship because I thought they would stand behind what they *sold*. Apparently, I was told, it is a seperate vendor, so they can't (won't) do anything about it.

 

So PLEASE beware, there are no guarantees even when you book through the ship. It is a shame, because otherwise it was a wonderful trip, but I am very dissappointed in their lack of response other than to offer a formal written apology. I don't think my 11 year old would think much of that.

[GMoney]

What was the root cause for the change? Any idea? Just curious...

[crusinmama06]

That's disappointing cause that's the one excursion my hubby has his heart set on. Thanks for the heads up.

[artk]

hmmm... 31/2 hour excursion... 2 hour delay off the ship... comes to 5 1/2 hours... was the delay due to tendering and weather... and maybe they had to get you back to the ship so that the ship would depart grand cayman on time? just wondering....

[OhJoy]

hmmm... 31/2 hour excursion... 2 hour delay off the ship... comes to 5 1/2 hours... was the delay due to tendering and weather... and maybe they had to get you back to the ship so that the ship would depart grand cayman on time? just wondering....

 

The OP never said it was the ship that was delayed, only that the tour started late. Yes, I imagine that getting back to the ship on time was a priority, but I think I would have been disappointed too.

[Ericknow32]

Don't give up, ask to talk to a supervisor, etc...

 

I would be very upset if I payed for a 5 1/2 hour tour and got gypped 2 hours.

 

And if the RCI rep tells you that approximate can mean anything, tell them to read a dictionary.

 

RCI sold you the excursion and they should be responsible for refunding your money.

[zoe girl]

i was shocked to read about your 4x4 tour. we just got off the fos and we did this excursion and loved it. maybe they got after the tour people since you'r trip. we've done several excursions and this one was one of our favorits. i would highly recommend this excursion.

[crusinmama06]

i was shocked to read about your 4x4 tour. we just got off the fos and we did this excursion and loved it. maybe they got after the tour people since you'r trip. we've done several excursions and this one was one of our favorits. i would highly recommend this excursion.

 

ZoeGirl, I just read on another post that you loved this. Is the ride too rough to take a 7 year old along on it?

 

How do they decide who gets to drive? (obviously not asking for my 7 year old...lol) And is the jeep manual or automatic transmission?

[Turn4]

We went on this excursion a few years back and loved it. We did leave on time. The lunch on the beach was great. To bad you had a bad trip, but I am sure this was an isolated case.

[zoe girl]

ZoeGirl, I just read on another post that you loved this. Is the ride too rough to take a 7 year old along on it?

 

How do they decide who gets to drive? (obviously not asking for my 7 year old...lol) And is the jeep manual or automatic transmission?

 

your 7 year old will love it. the jeeps are newer jeep wranglers with the tops down. each family gets their own jeep. my husband drove. we had a guide that we followed all around the island. he was able to talk to us the entire trip. every jeep had its own 2 way radio so you could hear him. there were probably 15 of us caravaning. you start at a private beach and make several stops and stop at another beach to snorkel. it was great. i know you'll love it.

[Calicruisefamily]

Don't give up, ask to talk to a supervisor, etc...

 

I would be very upset if I payed for a 5 1/2 hour tour and got gypped 2 hours.

 

And if the RCI rep tells you that approximate can mean anything, tell them to read a dictionary.

 

RCI sold you the excursion and they should be responsible for refunding your money.

 

 

I Agree ! Stand your ground do not give up and get your $$$ Back !

Hi Ericnow32,

I used to live in Riverside over by Tyler Mall. Now I'm over by Lake Perris I needed to be close to the water :)

Cali

[rcprncss]

We had a bad experience on an excursion on our last cruise. We went to Guest Relations and they had us fill out a form explaining what happened. On our last day of the cruise we got a credit on our account for 1/3 of the cost of the shore excursion. We were expecting a little more than 1/3 but I think it's better than nothing, considering our experience didn't totally ruin our day. I would be persistant and write a letter to Royal Caribbean and explain it all. That might help some.

[superjerryw]

I purposely booked through the ship because I thought they would stand behind what they *sold*. Apparently, I was told, it is a seperate vendor, so they can't (won't) do anything about it.

 

All of the tours are operated by independent vendors, the cruise line does not conduct any of the tours itself. In most cases 20% of the price you pay goes to the cruise line and 80% to the tour operator. Have you cruised with RCCL in the past, do you have any future cruises booked. If so, call customer service back and try to use that as leverage. If you don't have any other cruise history with RCCL call back anyway and ask to speak to a supervisor and tell them that you will be following up with a letter to corporate headquarters.

[Brandis]

Not sure how it is with RCL, but sometimes the excursion dept. is outsourced, so they are an outside company, that pay the cruiseline money to be able to sell tours on their ship and they also purchase tours from local companies. So even three partys might be involved.

 

It's the same as with the auctions, shops on board and port shopping advisor, all outsourced. And I read that on one cruise line, even the food dept. is outsourced. :eek:

 

Marc

[stumomx3]

Thanks for the feedback. It is nice to know that others don't find this unreasonable either.

 

We did not get off the ship until late, but it did tender ontime. We were where we were supposed to be. I understand that on a ship times are not exact. We expect that. But we did wait on the dock about 45 minutes waiting to leave on the excursion.

 

The trip itself was (could have been) great. The boys loved riding in the jeep and there are seat belts, so everyone is safe.

 

I was just surprised that when I explained that the company was not more helpful. I thought of RCI as a very professional company, everyone on the ship was wonderful, and I realize this may have been out of their control, but a refund of $75 -100 seems so minor, and I have hit a brick wall. I will continue to follow up but from here on out it will be in writing. I did let them know that we were planning a shorter trip at the end of the year and looking at Alaska next summer.

 

Anyway thanks for the feedback all

[wdw_dave]

Dispute the amount on your Credit Card .... even if you do not win the vendor gets a charge for every dispute to cover the costs of the 'investigation'. I did this with Delta just a couple of months ago when they charged me to change my flight due to the NE Blizzard. They gave me back $700.

 

Dave O.

[azcrdfn]

We had a similiar experience with horseback riding in Aruba. I should say that my husband and I took the same trip on our own the year before and it was great so the next year with all my family I suggested we go back. There were 10 of us in our party and 10 additional people with 2 tour guides (one was brand new). It was CHAOS....it started off with 2 saddles not being placed properly; including mine. 6 of the riders didn't have horns; including my daughter, our cousin was thrown from his horse, the tour guide got attacked and trampled by his horse, my 9 yr old daughter's horse took off on his own and no one realized that she was gone for 5 minutes (I was the most experienced rider and was in the back) when I realized she was gone, I took off to find her and the tour guide yelled and tried to get me to go back. Then when we asked to leave the tour, my kids were scared beyond all belief....they said no. They let another lady leave and they couldn't have anyone else come back for us. We continued on to the chapel and then my 12 yr old son's horse started bucking him off. I had, had enough....they finally called another car to get us.

 

When I returned to the ship I told the shore excursion desk and they said there was nothing they could do. I was told I could fill out a complaint, but that I was not to expect anything to be done. I was not looking for money, I only wanted someone to understand how OUT OF CONTROL this excursion was. They had way too many people on the tour, there were not enough experienced guides and the horses were not placed in the proper order. IT WAS DANGEROUS, what would have happened if my daughters' horse would have been running, she had no horn to hold onto.

[cruisinsforme]

So, we just got off rhapsody and it was a great trip with one exception. We booked the tour (through the ship) in Grand Cayman for the jeep 4 x 4. It was supposed to have several stops ending on the beach for about 2 hours. The tour was for approximately 5 1/2 hours.

 

The tour started almost 2 hours late (not our fault). We had 1 hour on the beach and 45 minutes to snorkel, swim, order lunch and eat. the stop at Hell we were given 5 minuted to shop, stand in line and get back in the Jeep.

 

We were very disappointed. We were celebrating my son's 11th birthday and he pick this tour instead of a party with his friends.

 

I understand approximate is not necesarily 5 1/2 hours, but this was closer to 3 1/2. I filed a complaint with the Shore Excursion Desk and they were very nice. But not even a partial refund.

 

I am not expecting a full refund, but a gesture of 1/3 (since it was 1/3 less than advertised) would have been nice. I went around and around with customer service this afternoon in Miami and was told that approximate could mean anything. I would not be complaining if it were a matter of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, etc.

 

I purposely booked through the ship because I thought they would stand behind what they *sold*. Apparently, I was told, it is a seperate vendor, so they can't (won't) do anything about it.

 

So PLEASE beware, there are no guarantees even when you book through the ship. It is a shame, because otherwise it was a wonderful trip, but I am very dissappointed in their lack of response other than to offer a formal written apology. I don't think my 11 year old would think much of that.

 

My sister and her family booked the Kayak Excursion on Labadee during our 6/30 Explorer of the Seas cruise. She was told to meet outside Studio B at 8:30 for a 9:00 excursion. We got in line at 8:15 and waited. 8;30 comes and goes and as 9:00 approached and 2 tenders had already been filled, we started to get concerned. This excursion begins at 9:30. We fianlly flagged down a cruise staff member to find out that Royal Caribbean "forgot" to send someone to escort the group from Studio B. By this time, everyone is lined up to get on the tenders which leave from Deck 1 and we're on Deck 3. They finally got to the excursion around 10:00 and were able to Kayak for an hour rather than the 1-1/2 hours promised. My sister complained to the excursion desk when she got back and was told to out everything in writing, which she did. She received a reply and althouigh Royal Caribbean regretted the problem, there was nothing they could do. You have to be kidding me. My sister offered to pay for 2/3's of the excursion because that was all they got. I could understand them not being reimbursed if they were late, but they were early. Royal Caribbean screwed up. This was my sister's first cruise ever and probably her last. She and he family spent $1,500 on excursions during our 9 day cruise and Royal Caribbean couldn't reimburse them $100. From now on, I plan to book independently from Royal Caribbean.

[libertybelle41]

We had a bad experience on an excursion on our last cruise. We went to Guest Relations and they had us fill out a form explaining what happened. On our last day of the cruise we got a credit on our account for 1/3 of the cost of the shore excursion. We were expecting a little more than 1/3 but I think it's better than nothing, considering our experience didn't totally ruin our day. I would be persistant and write a letter to Royal Caribbean and explain it all. That might help some.

 

This is exactly how it happened for us on our 7/2 cruise on Freedom.We got 1/3 of the cost of our GC excursion.

[Jerzgirl79]

Excursions apparently have mixed reviews. Me and my family 19 others are sailing on Sunday 7/23 on FOS. We have been wondering about excursions, but now i am thoroughly undecided on whether to take one or not. I wanted to do the Essence of Montego Bay. But now I am not too sure... don't want to be short changed on any of my excursions. Perhaps we will just tender off FOS and look around the islands independantly.

[GMoney]

Excursions apparently have mixed reviews. Me and my family 19 others are sailing on Sunday 7/23 on FOS. We have been wondering about excursions, but now i am thoroughly undecided on whether to take one or not. I wanted to do the Essence of Montego Bay. But now I am not too sure... don't want to be short changed on any of my excursions. Perhaps we will just tender off FOS and look around the islands independantly.

 

Hi Jerzgirl - The good part about MoBay is you walk off, no tendering needed. This is 1 port though where I would really encourage a guided excursion IF you are going to do more than shop and look around. It will help you make the most of your time and eliminate some of the challenges in navigating the island.

[stumomx3]

wow cruisin, sounds like same trip, different venue! Thanks for letteing me know that they will refund partial. They keep telling me they never do!

[Stella Darling]

Do any of you have websites for reputable tour companies you've used outside of a RCCL excursion?

[GMoney]

Do any of you have websites for reputable tour companies you've used outside of a RCCL excursion?

 

www.shoretrips.com