Bye bye ship!

[dna515]

Has anyone ever been left by their ship during a private tour? I really want to book with My Friend Mario but my DH has me worried that if we're late getting back to the ship, then we will be left. Has this ever happened to anyone??? If not, did you have the same worry?

 

Help! Private tours are much less expensive and I want the best bang out of my buck...

[Putterdude]

The short answer is NO we have never been left behind but it is certainly something that is on my mind whenever I book an independent tour. I would be inclined to only book a tour that as good postings on this board but even at that if they have a mechanical breakdown and don't have backup you could be hooped. The cruise lines do screen all of their tour operators and when the ship is in town all of the coachs are in radio contact with their office who in turn is in touch with the ship's tour manager...so if an issue arises the ship is notified and the operator has backup.

[Driftwoodgal]

Yes, you can be left behind and as posted above you should be paying attention to who you book with and what time you are supposed to be back at the ship. We have used Oscar Brown several times when in Puerto Limon, it was comforting to know that he had a cell phone with him. On our last tour with him he stayed in contact with people ahead of us so we could miss the rain as well as the crowds.

 

Almost all of our tours are booked outside of the ship as you can see and do so much more with an independent. Do your research and if it makes you feel better, buy a phone card and call the tour operator and talk to them in person. The first time that I booked with Oscar I did this, he put all my fears to rest.

[Taxguy77]

Driftwoodgal gave you excellent advice. I have never had those fears, but once kept a cab 3 or 4 hours and bought him lunch to make sure he was there when we wanted to start back to the ship. Going very far with or without a guide, BE SURE you know what time to be on board. Sometimes ship time is diffferent than local time, and may be different than your watch!:( Allow time to change a tire or get a cab.

Read reviews of all your ports; I wish these reviews had been available on many cruises I have been on.

Enjoy.:)

[lilrod]

Everytime that I go to a place the first time, I rather pay more for an excursion of the ship that paying for an excursion outside. If the ship excursion doesn't get on time to the ship, they will wait for you and you are more secure.

 

You have to check this out. It happened to us one time we went to Venezuela, we took the ship excursion and ours was the last one to get to the pier, almost an hour late because of the traffic and the ship had to wait for us.

[m steve]

Last year in St. Thomas traffic was tied up and a usual 1/2 hour trip took over 2 hours and we just left the rental car at the pier and ran for the ship and they were paging us and onther couple so we just made it. Did the same trip earlier this year and traffic was easy as the road construction was completed and we ended up having an extra hour to shop at Crown Bay. When booking a private tour always say to have us back at least 1 hour before cutoff. Like 3:30 for 4:30 with 5 pm departure.

[texancruzer]

Always - always, head to the furthest point from the ship and work your way back.

 

Always - always allow a nice cushion for "oops"

 

Always take the ship daily that has the dock contact for that port so you can contact them if you miss the ship.....

 

Always take extra $$ ( usually a credit card) to make sure you can get to the next port if you miss the ship.......

 

Always book a reputable company, they do not want to get you back late as it is a killer for business.......