shore excursions through johann and sandra?

[feedmytummy]

hi, all - first-time cruiser here... going to mexican riviera april 12th on the splendor. originally planned on booking excursions through the ship just to "play it safe" my first time around. unfortunately, they don't have what i'm looking for for our stop in cabo so i've been researching independently. clicked on one of the banner ads on this board - johann and sandra - apparently, they have tours available in all my ports. just wondering if anyone has ever used them before? reviews? thanks!

[mpbmark]

I used them last year for a zip line tour in Puerto Vallarta at Los Veranos. Very accommodating and easy to work with. I would not hesitate to use them again.

[catowner]

We used them when we stayed at a resort in PV last year. All three excursions were really great! We just booked the Stone Island Beach trip in Mazatlan for our 3/22 trip. We paid the ship price last March for the same excursion, it is half the price through Johann & Sandra. They are also very prompt about returning e-mails.

[feedmytummy]

thanks for the feedback... will definitely consider them for my shore excursions.

[mking8288]

We booked them last week for a tour in Mazatlan and it was great. They picked us up promptly at the pier & dropped us off at no extra charges, which in essence gave us extra city sightseeing of various neighborhoods.

We got off our ship early & even other tours looking for business knew them & were helpful in letting us know to wait by the umbrella stands and "skipped" approaching us for personalized tours, etc. etc.

 

Our tour met at a store in the Golden zone, across from one of the resort hotel, with restrooms & refreshments. Tour guide was very fluent in English & knew the town/history and driver was excellent, our small group used an air-conditioned 10 passenger van and 2 other tours used a larger Dodge/MB Sprinter van with taller roofline. We had a great time and saved $$$ compared to what NCL offered.

[VillaHappy]

I had a great experience with booking with them for my family of four on the Marigalante Pirate Ship excursion in Puerto Vallarta. By doing so, I saved about $100 vs. the ship's price.

 

The only panic I had was on our receipt, it said to meet the pirates at the Marina at 8am. Well, PV is 1 hour ahead of ship's time on the Mariner, and the Mariner wasn't scheduled to be in port until 8am (9am PV time). All was fine, we went down to the gangway early and they had already let several passengers off. And the collection of pax for the tour is from 8 - 9am PV time. We were some of the last people to join the tour, but all was fine! And we had a BLAST!

 

I just loooove to save money. Thank God for Johann and Sandra!

[wwinfl91]

Here's a link to their web site as I was interested in what they offered in Mexico.

 

http://www.johann-sandra.com/mexico.htm

 

I have NOT taken a tour with them and at this point I can't recommend them but I figured it would be easier to research them if we had a web site.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[MalteseSkipper]

I recently booked two tours with Johann and Sandra for Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. I have not received my tickets yet for Mazatlan. I received the e-tickets for the City and Tropical Tour in Puerto Vallarta and it is with a tour group called Tani Tours. Apparently, Johann and Sandra use local tour operators within each city. That can be good or bad, I suppose. We are sailing the first week of April and will report back on our experience with Johann and Sandra.

[MalteseSkipper]

We are back from our cruise. The tour we booked through Johann and Sandra in Mazatlan ended up being a Vista Tour. It was very good and we enjoyed our tour guide, Marco. However, the tour they arranged for us in Puerto Vallarta was through Tani Tours and it was a disappointment. We didn't even see the church that was pictured in their online info about the tour (a landmark in Puerto Vallarta.) Instead we made several shopping stops (I imagine you know how that benefits the tour guide.) The problem is you don't know until after you book the tour what travel company will be used for your tour. I would be cautious about using Johann and Sandra.

[Cruiser63]

To us, price is not the main issue we prefer quality. Many companies have their prices lower then the ship tours, but we always like to travel with the tour operators directly. This company is selling tours all around Mexico, at a good price, but they do not operate the tours. When you go with the tour operator, he will care much more about his business. You go with a company and sometimes the guide cares about the company and gives you the best service, but many times they just consider this a job. So, I would look thru the internet and find a company or guide that will take you personally.

Have fun! You will enjoy the cruise!

 

 

Louis

[MSN-Travelers]

To us, price is not the main issue we prefer quality. Many companies have their prices lower then the ship tours, but we always like to travel with the tour operators directly. This company is selling tours all around Mexico, at a good price, but they do not operate the tours. When you go with the tour operator, he will care much more about his business. You go with a company and sometimes the guide cares about the company and gives you the best service, but many times they just consider this a job. So, I would look thru the internet and find a company or guide that will take you personally.

Have fun! You will enjoy the cruise!

 

 

Louis

 

Louis,

 

I think you may not understand the role that Johann & Sandra’s company plays within the cruise & non-cruise excursion economy. They, and many companies like theirs, don’t actually operate any tours. They are third-party tour brokers that sell tours to tourist on behalf of the actual tour operators. They often seel the tours at a price that the typical resort tourist would pay. We have all come to expect that tour operators have a web site and we should be able to work directly with the operator. That is not the case.

 

There are quite a few small tour operators along the Mexican Rivera that can’t afford to own/operate their own web site. There are a number of tour operators that contract their services to the cruise ships and under the terms of that contract, they are not permitted to sell directly to cruise ship passengers. These third-party brokers make it possible for cruisers to purchase ship’s tour at the tour operator’s actual price vs. the cruise ship's inflated price.

 

Like you, I choose to work directly with the tour operators whenever possible. However, the brokers are often the only way we can book a tour and the only way cruisers can book a specific tour at a reasonable price.

 

Personally, I have never worked with Johann & Sandra but they have a good reputation in the industry and that is the information that the original poster was looking for.

[JJ2sail]

We used them in Cabo and Mazatlan in December. The tour guide in cabo did not show up, and left my husband and kids waiting for over two hours before they gave up and came back to the ship. After several very expensive phone calls, to Johann and Sandra, they were able to get my dh and kids on an atv excursion in Mazatlan at no charge. Which they thoroughly enjoyed.

 

So, while Johann and Sandra did make good on the missed tour, it was a very big hassle and about $50 in phone calls to get it straightened out, not to mention a wasted day in Cabo.

 

I am not sure I will use them again.:(

[Cruiser63]

My comments where exactly because we have seen this done several times in different ports, not only in Mexico but also in the Carribean. My point was answered by JJ2sail.

I am not against anyone in particular, but I still insist to go thru the person who operates the tour. At least we will continue doing this.

 

Louis