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In New Orleans picked up at hotel, in Iceland picked up directly at pier. Just throwing that out there as an alternative to booking a private tour through a third party like Viator. One of those frequently recommended on the St. Maarten board is Bernard's SXM Tours. We booked with them several years ago based on those recommendations, and had an excellent day (which included a visit to Maho Beach).
Pay attention to all the words.
Even more, complex and hidden fees can be a point of contention for everyone involved. Cost is always a factor, whether you're a cruise line or cruise traveler. When planning excursions in new destinations, a cruise line will talk to multiple tour operators to find the provider with the best prices and reputation, as well as a variety of creative and unique tours. Many Viator tours are not ship shore excursions. They are not necessarily geared to cruises and aren’t setup based on ship arrivals. I would much prefer to book directly, and communicate directly, with the person actually providing the tour.
When to Book Shore Excursions Through Your Cruise Line
In some cases, cruise lines really go to a lot of effort to offer special shore excursions and tour opportunities. Paul Gauguin Cruises, for instance, has its own scuba diving program in the South Pacific with onboard PADI instructors and ship-conducted dive trips. For cruisers deciding whether to spend their vacation dollars on a cruise-sponsored shore tour, the key is to assess the value of the tour and not just its cost. Sure, you could perhaps arrange your own transportation or guide, but could you put together the same compelling package for less money? And, is the time you spend creating your own tour worth it, when you have a tour that was carefully put together by a cruise line's professionals? The answers will help you decide if a ship's excursion is worth booking.
Travelers are now more aware of the freedom of choice when it comes to shore excursions
And aside from what I mentioned above, Viator has had a good reputation in many areas in the past, but I generally avoid booking with anyone other than the direct provider. Experience Norway’s natural wonders on this shore excursion from Geiranger. After a scenic drive through the mountains, hop out for a photo on the dramatic cliff-edge of Flydalsjuvet. Discover Cozumel’s magnificent marine life from the comfort of a personalized mini-SUB during this shore excursion. Same here, we haven't used Viator for excursions but we have used them for tours in Europe and have never had a problem. Can sometimes find cheaper or better options elsewhere (e.g. TripAdvisor), but more catch as catch can.
Wave season is an exciting time that stretches from January to March when cruise providers put forth their best deals. This is an opportune time of year for cruise deals since many travelers are looking for an escape from the cold, gloomy weather or looking for their first vacation in the new year. Recently there has been an increase in younger demographics looking for travel advisor services as well as an increase in younger generations interested in taking a cruise. Snorkeling, sailing and scuba diving expeditions in major water sports ports, such as the Caribbean's St. Thomas or Grand Cayman, are good bets for independent cruise excursions.
13 BEST Melbourne Shore Excursions: Things to Do, Cruise Day Tour & Reviews (2024) - Cruise Critic
13 BEST Melbourne Shore Excursions: Things to Do, Cruise Day Tour & Reviews ( .
Posted: Tue, 06 Dec 2016 15:12:13 GMT [source]
I even suggested they tell these vendors to pay this fee if they wanted to keep the Viator's relationship.They said they wouldn't do that, and still haven't sent us the replacement coupons we used in Punta Cana. I want them so I can use graphics to explain to other cruise passengers what a waste of time and money you'd be experiencing using Viators. I have been on 77 cruises in my life and have usually booked all my shore excursions with local companies by myself. Not only have I never had a problem this way, I find their rates to be much less than Viators who adds on a healthy profit to all their bookings. Traditional cruise lines can typically offer much more touristy and crowded shore excursion destinations, although there is definitely movement by cruise lines to start rethinking their shore excursion offerings. Nowadays many passengers, especially the younger generations, are looking for more off-the-beaten path and engaging excursions.
They keep stringing us along all day and I missed all other tours. I was angrier that they wouldn’t cancel and kept expecting me to run across Victoria twice to meet a boat that was never going to be there. I eventually got a refund, but it made my day frustrating. I think it is a higher risk to use a third-party booking agent in these uncertain times when ports may be missed and ship schedules adjusted. If you read on the various port boards, you will see similar customer service issues for Viator and other tour brokers.
I have had my fill of third parties after this and a bad experience with a hotel booking. Discover one of Norway’s stunning glaciers on this 4-hour shore excursion from Olden. After a scenic drive through the valley, set off on a 1-hour hike, passing a startling panorama of mountains and waterfalls. Spend your time in port in Marseille exploring with ease by electric bike on this half-day cycling tour.
Portugal
Oh, they apologized and claimed they didn't know about us. All the tours we wanted to take had been already taken and/or in progress. We got the usual sorry BS letter, they refunded our payment and gave us each a $50 certificate for another excursion with them. I've booked with viator several times...easy to use and to cancel if necessary saw refund right away. However they are only a booking agent so you still have to go directly to tour operators to finalize details especially if there is hotel pickup involved. Actually Viator is a travel agent contracting services out to tour operators/hotels etc.
You can sometimes find the actual tour provider by using the tour description as a google search term. Skip the third party and book directly and pay when service is rendered. We just used them for a Walk and Rum tour in St. Thomas. BUT, they didn't tell us that the Rum part was for a different part of the day. Kind of a big deal if you were looking at trying different rums and getting that experience.
Keep in mind that Viator is not a real tour company but simply a booking company. That is why many experienced travelers suggest only booking directly with a tour provider. Yes we've used them in New Zealand and Singapore. Once you've booked they give you the details of the local tour operator so you can contact them directly should you need to. Explore our list of the top 10 shore excursion destinations and the top-booked Viator products in each destination to get inspired or discover new products for your clients. Click “see all experiences” to explore all of the shore excursions for that destination.
Viator guarantees the lowest price which gives clients and travel advisors the ability to shop around for the best price. Most prices are more expensive than booking directly with the excursion company directly. Sometimes I'll get the company/tour name from viator and look it up in my Chase Travel.
Decide how much you want to spend and then portion it out among full-day and half-day tours and independent sightseeing. Prioritize your tour dollars for places where you're docked far from a city or if the excursion you're interested in is harder (or more expensive) to recreate on your own. Cruise Critic spoke with Melissa Witsoe, a product manager for Windstar, whose job it is to shape one-of-a-kind shore tours in the Mediterranean and Asia.
It just means I don't need to source travel companions from the thread going through a broker. Anna, Viator do transfers to and from Ports, depends on which port though. In LA Anaheim) I am going to book a shared van shuttle, i.e.
Also a booking site, but with my points it's heavily discounted. I should also add that this sometimes also works w ToursbyLocals although it can be harder to find the guides on who work on this site. I have had ToursbyLocals guides who have given me their personal cards at the end of the tour so that I or my friends can book directly w them although I suspect that this is a violation of ToursbyLocals rules.
