Thread: Pirate Shore Excurions

Came across this article on line and being in the business myself thought that it was pretty controversial ... Off Radar Cruise and Ferry News: Pirate Excursions cause Cruise Lines to lose Millions

What are your views out there? Are the cruise lines meeting your needs with options for shore tours? Have you taken independent tours before and what has your experience been? What could the ships and independent operators do to better serve you?

I'm looking forwad to hearing your comments,

Hope

Originally Posted by shoretours.com.au

Came across this article on line and being in the business myself thought that it was pretty controversial ... Off Radar Cruise and Ferry News: Pirate Excursions cause Cruise Lines to lose Millions

What are your views out there? Are the cruise lines meeting your needs with options for shore tours? Have you taken independent tours before and what has your experience been? What could the ships and independent operators do to better serve you?

I'm looking forwad to hearing your comments,

Hope

The language used in the article surely extreme. The concept of independent shore excursion, a term I much prefer, has always interested me from a couple of perspectives.

It would appear that the cruise lines offer some excellent tours and activities, but at steep prices. It's also apparent, that in some more exotic locations, the cruise line sponsored tours could do with some overhauling and cultural expansion.

All this being said, I think the independent's want to consider price point, access to exclusive or little-seen areas, extras the cruise lines don't provide and membership to local, national and international better business bureau's and consumer advocacy groups.

Maybe there is a call for some over-arching ratings board for independent cruise tour operators?

The cruise lines so far always had excursions that interested us at everyport. I don't mind paying a little extra, and that's all it was, for booking in advance, having the security of not missing the ship and having the embarkation at each port easy with the tour group. On my western caribbean cruise all the tours also had free waters, with one having free sodas and beers, which was welcome in the heat.

Tim, your last comment hit home!

Maybe there is a call for some over-arching ratings board for independent cruise tour operators?

While folks will comment on their good or bad shore excursions in a cruise review, those are not singled out for inclusion in a specific forum for discussing the various aspects of independent tours and tour operators.

Maybe we should consider such a forum here on cruiselinefans to showcase our members' experiences with the various independent tour operators that they have used.

I agree with Tim that the verbiage in the article is very severe. It is also completely one-sided, which shows a complete lack of respect with such biased reporting and in my opinion, is irresponsible. It's almost like he was paid to write the article for the cruise lines.

In my college jounalism class, I was taught that in order to be good reporter, one has to be subjective and unbiased. They should report both sides of the story so that the reader has all the information.

With that said, in 36 cruises we've only done 1 shore excursion through the cruise lines (my wife said it may have been two, but we can't remember it). All of the other cruises we have chosen to do our own thing, book with a vendor, or book through an independent shore excursion company. We have over 900 clients who have purchased thousands of cruises, many of whom have purchased their excursions through the same independent excursion company; Shore Trips. Cruise Planners has over 700 agents around the country, who have also booked thousands of excursions through Shore Trips. While I'm not trying to push this particular company, I'm just using it as an example of one company who does a very good job of providing an alternative to what the cruise lines offer. And in those thousands and thousands of excursions they have offered, they have never once had any passengers miss the ship, which is a fallacy alot of people believe.

As for safety, it's very unfortunate that passengers have been killed, robbed, and raped while on excursions in foreign ports. But these happen in all types of places and they are not limited to any type of excursion or vendor. They have occurred with cruise line sponsored excursions as well as independent companies. So there are no guarantees either way.

As I said, we've participated in many excursions and never once have had a bad experience and have always gotten good service for a good price. For those who want to do the cruise line excursions, go for it and be happy with your decision. For those who want to pay less, be less crowded, and have a less structured experience, go for it and be happy with your decision. There is no right way or wrong way to do this and not everyone will agree either way. As I always say, "What one person loves, another will hate." And that's why the internet is an awesome tool so that people can state their opinions, provide information for others, and research their options.

This whole thing basically has to do with free enterprise. The article talks about the millions of dollars the cruise lines are loosing. They haven't lost anything; they are simply competing against others who offer the same product. Cruise passengers are the same as anyone else; they want a good product for a good price.

Personally, I hate articles like this because, as I said in the beginning, to me it is completely biased and does not provide valid information on both sides of the equation. It is one-side and leaves the reader to think the writer works for the cruise lines. Calling these vendors "pirates" is a good example of his incompentency.

Pete

Not all shore excursions are created equally -- neither by the ship nor an independent!

Originally Posted by Char

While folks will comment on their good or bad shore excursions in a cruise review, those are not singled out for inclusion in a specific forum for discussing the various aspects of independent tours and tour operators.


Maybe we should consider such a forum here on cruiselinefans to showcase our members' experiences with the various independent tour operators that they have used.

There is no reason not to have a Shore Excursions forum on the Centrum Deck. Put it in the Topics in Cruising section. I guarantee it would be a huge hit with the people who take tours of any kind, both independent and by the ship, when they are in ports.



Am I the only one who thought "pirate" is a typo in the subject title?