Shore Excursion Group Insurance Was A Big Waste of Money
I've used Shore Excursions Group for the last couple of years and have been much happier with them then taking cruise ship excursions. But my most recent experience was not good. I took a cruise and I didn't know until the night before that the ship I was on was docking at the farthest area of the cruise port. It was a 30 minute walk to the Shore Excursion meet point and 5 minute ride by bus. By the time I exited the ship, there were no taxis on site. My excursion was at 2:00pm and our ship was due to dock at 1:30pm. However, our ship arrived earlier and we were allowed to disembark. My family was placed in a line that was stopped for long periods of time. We made if off the ship before 1:30 pm but there were extremely long lines for the shuttles and there was a priority system in place. My family walked to the pick up and we got there at 2:00pm. I wasn't able to contact our driver and communicated through a person on the emergency number. We were informed that we were too late. The chaos was with our cruise ship. However, I purchased insurance and thought I was good to go, but, my claim was denied because the tour went as scheduled and supposedly others from my ship arrived in time. The insurance definitely wasn't worth it. In the past, the cruise ship skipped a port and I received and automatic refund. You can cancel your excursions, but it has to be 24 hours in advance. I can see no reason at all for buying the insurance. In Juneau, there were many vendors with comparable or better pricing. I ended up taking the excursion I wanted at a better price. I also learned that I could book through local vendors online. Whenever I book an excursion even with Shore Excursion Group, I want to know that the goal is to get me back at least two hours before all aboard. I blame my cruise ship for the chaos, but I will keep my options open moving forward with excursions and I'll never waste money again on a Shore Excursion Group insurance policy.