Pre Pay private tours ?

[happycruzer]

We are just about to book a private tour with Glory Tours...aftermany recommendations from the boards....we initially had some problems with emails but finally managed to get everything sorted...

However our latest email from them asks us to complete a reservation form and submit full payment in advance. In all of our cruises and private tours we've never had to pay up-front.

Just wondered if this is the norm for tours in Barbados or is it unique to Glory Tours. Does anyone have any experience of this.

I'd just like to be certain before submitting our CC details and paying $240 in advance.

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

Happycruzer

[tnsail]

We pre-paid for our tour with Sarah and Glory Tours this past May and had no problems.... She sent us our tour pass and we were met at the proper spot right on time....

 

I can see your hesitation and reluctance to pre-pay but Glory Tours run a good tour service and if you were to switch positions with them you would understand their wanting to serve those who have prepaid.... Many tour operators run on a shoestring, trying to fill the tour at the dock so you could be waiting and extra hour or so for them to gather more "clients"...

Glory Tours met us with the right transportation for our group and our tour started on time, we were fed without much delay because they knew who was coming, etc....

 

As for other tour operators that advertise on the internet and are booked for a day without a prepay, their "clients" partied a bit too hard the night before and decide to sleep in.... I can see them getting a bit peeved at "tourist"

 

JMO,

 

Joey

 

P.S. Know that you've already paid for the day in Barbados before you ever board the ship ain't bad either....

[Sunniebgi]

tnsail has already said it but I'll say it again.

 

For the tour operator, this is the only sure way of knowing that she hasn't wasted your time, or hers. Suppose you have a tour booked for Barbados and it's the last stop. You decide on the night before that you just want to hang out on the ship and then you don't show up for the tour.. She can't really recoup any loses by your no-show because she has likely turned away other business waiting on your group to who up.

 

I understand the feeling of not wanting to prepay for something, but . it certainly does help me know I have something waiting for me when I get there, and I don't have to scramble to find a tour, or not do anything at all.

[pholter]

I agree with Sunnie and tnsnail on this issue completely... If I were a tour operator, I wouldn't book a tour for less than 50% up front and probably would ask for 100%.

 

Lots of the island tours operate a cash only business therefore cannot take deposits and Sarah accepts credit cards which cost her business money to accept as well.

 

Glory Tours is worth the guarantee knowing that you've got the best excursion available at an extremely low price.

[m&dluv2cruise]

We also booked a private tour with Glory Tours in Dec 07. I also had second thoughts about paying in advance, but decided to do it anyway. I can tell you we were not disappointed in our tour. Sarah took us on a wonderful tour and suggested many places to see in addition to what we had in mind. Keep in mind that your credit card may also charge a small transaction fee for using it in a foreign country.

[Buckeye Geo]

We also booked a private tour with Glory Tours in Dec 07. I also had second thoughts about paying in advance, but decided to do it anyway. I can tell you we were not disappointed in our tour. Sarah took us on a wonderful tour and suggested many places to see in addition to what we had in mind. Keep in mind that your credit card may also charge a small transaction fee for using it in a foreign country.

 

I agree about the tour that Sarah runs in Barbadoes and I had no problem with pre-paying, but that said our tour was to include Harrison Cave's which as you know was closed for renovation. We were promised a refund for that portion of our tour, but to date no refund. I have e-mailed her a few times and no results. I think I might be a little wary of pre-paying in the future,

[vickie_bernie]

we used Glory tour and paid in advance... we encountered some problems initially and had to wait over an hour for our tour guide to arrive... if we hadn't paid in advance we would of left and gone with someone else, but because we were stuck we waited.

 

The tour ended up fine but an hour in the sun was not fine.

[Buckeye Geo]

we used Glory tour and paid in advance... we encountered some problems initially and had to wait over an hour for our tour guide to arrive... if we hadn't paid in advance we would of left and gone with someone else, but because we were stuck we waited.

 

The tour ended up fine but an hour in the sun was not fine.

 

At least you finally got what you paid for.....I am still waiting for my promised refund.

[vickie_bernie]

At least you finally got what you paid for.....I am still waiting for my promised refund.

 

i am sorry to hear that, what tour where you on, when?

 

I was glad we got the tour, but of all the islands we visited and we were on a 20 day trip, with 12 ports .... this was the only one we paid in advance for.... and this was the most disappointing one.

 

I hope your tour pays you back, please provide details, maybe we can help.

[vickie_bernie]

sorry I just read what happened to you by reading earlier posts... lets hope Sarah of Glory tours comes thru, she certainly reads these posts and responds, which I find a little fishy too. I thought Cruise Critic had some rules about that.

[Buckeye Geo]

sorry I just read what happened to you by reading earlier posts... lets hope Sarah of Glory tours comes thru, she certainly reads these posts and responds, which I find a little fishy too. I thought Cruise Critic had some rules about that.

 

Thanks for your concern.....Tour Operator can post, but they can not solicited business.

[happycruzer]

I am still trying to decide whether or not to pay this up front. I feel there has to be an element of trust between the vendor and the customer and as Vickie said its also the only Port we've been asked to pay up front.

I think I'd fell better if my emails etc were being answered promptly, but there always seem to be problems with them. eg Not receiving them, been ill, out of the office for days ?

In St Lucia, we have a private excursion booked,with Serenity tours, complete with a land tour and a boat trip at a cost of $695 and all they asked was for a CC to secure the booking. I feel this is a fairer way to do it, that way if we let them down they wont be out of money and if the tables are turned nor are we. BTW they called me at home to confirm all of all plans and to make sure we were happy with them. Maybe Sarah should implement a service like this too

I've tried calling Glory tours ..a bit on the expensive side calling from the UK :o .left a message on their voice mail and no response yet ! I fell maybe their business which I know gets lots of positive reviews , would benefit from having someone based in the office a couple of hours a day to answer emails and tele calls. May be more cost effective than losing customers, who are loosing faith in them JMO.

Our friends who are also traveling with us are on vacation just now so I cant get their thoughts on what we should do, which means I haven't confirmed our booking yet with Glory tours, but I'll post here with the outcome and hopefully positive remarks.

Thanks for all the input

 

Happycruzer

[Sunniebgi]

I actually think a tour operator should charge a non refundable deposit via credit card upon confirmation. something substantial enough to cover some costs if the person no shows.. Then if you take the tour with them the deposit is included so you only pay the difference. If you decided to stay on the ship, you then would not get a refund of the deposit.

 

 

my sister is a tour guide in another country, she requires a deposit to confirm her services as the guide (but also for giving information about the country and siteseeing options before hand.) and then is paid in full (less the deposit) at the end of the tour. She has only been burned by one person who called the day before and cancelled and refused to pay anything for her services as my sister had already turned down several other bookings in anticipation of this person coming to take the tour.

[tnsail]

happycruzer,

 

Wished that I could reassure you that nothing will go wrong and I can understand your uneasiness.... I can only relay our experience with Glory Tours, as you can see, there are other opinions also....:cool:

 

I agree with you about Serenity Tours, that sounds like a great way to build confidence between guide and client...

 

I wish you luck in whatever you choose to do in Barbados.... Have a great cruise....:)

 

Joey

[Buckeye Geo]

Good news... Due to some communications mix-up my refund was credited to my account on 2/13. I had no problem with my tour with Sarah, in fact we had a wonderful time. I am glad the mix-up has been straightened out.

[tnsail]

Glad that everything worked out for you Buckeye Geo.... I know from the times that I talked to Sarah that she works very hard trying to insure that her company runs smooth and her clients are more than satisfied with their day in Barbados...

 

I think that it was pretty cool of you to post that you finally recieved satisfaction from Glory Tours.... Many times we only get to read about the problems a fellow CC has with a guide and not the solution that was finally come to....

 

Thanks, and good cruisin'

 

Joey

[SantaCruzer]

We used Glory Tours last April 07 and we are considering doing one of their other tours again this April 08(can't wait!). We paid in advance and had no problems. We were met promptly and it was a fantastic time -with great crew, great food, and beautiful sights! Hope this helps you to finalize your plans.

Cheers!