Back to Ship Guarantee for Cruise Excursions
Will we make it back on time? What if I miss the ship?
Yes, you will. And it is a good question, especially given you are in a foreign country and all the hype Carnival throws at you.
Many of our shore excursions massage and tours clients worry about making it back to the ship on time.
When I went on my cruise provide, the idea of missing the ship was daunting, and I remember the multiple reminders from Carnival that we would be left behind if we were late - and only wait if we were on a ship-sponsored excursion.
So, it’s natural to have some thought about booking a massage or tour with a locally owned company like ours.
Here is my local expat 2 pesos of perspective, and my guarantee as a business owner. I want people to have safe, fun adventures. It’s not really fun if you are worried about basic safety and taking care of your kids and family.
What is included in this Guarantee?
Practically, I would personally cover your travel, food, and lodging expenses and be sure you get back to the next port or home port. So financially covering the cost of hotel, food, transportation, and helping to coordinate it according to our plan.
How can you make this Guarantee?
It would not be difficult to do any of this, and the likely hood is so low, I am happy to offer this for the mental relaxation of our groups. Feeling safe and taken care of helps everyone have more fun.
No really, practically how would you do this?
In Ensenada, we are only 5-hour drive from Long Beach. So, really, just a drive back to port in Long Beach or San Francisco to meet your ship when it is back. Or the next port on the ship’s itinerary.
With regards to documents, as a US citizen, you will be allowed back into the country, even without the perfect documents. The ship leaves your documents anyway. My experience living here is that even with the wrong documents, you will just have to sit through some border bureaucracy to get back across the border.
This would look like getting your group a hotel and food downtown to relax for the night, and planning transportation back. I would probably drive you back myself, and you might have to share with dogs Tina and Lola if I can’t find a dog sitter on short notice.
This is important since some clients have mentioned this. I understand it is important to cover your bases to make sure the vacation adventure is safe.
So I hope this information helps. I would like to say as a small business owner, I love to give clients a great experience in Ensenada, and take care of my team. It easy to imagine solving this situation. So as a small business guy, Jesse from Wi, you have my guarantee to get you back to the ship, or take care of you and get you home. For a bit of off-color humor, this guarantee reminds me of the Tommy Boy scene. We are real people to take care of you and our team. Yes, you can call me at home, even if I am watching NetFlix or eating tacos!
We get you back so no stress, Gauranteed!
Tips from around the web include:
Take note of All aboard time. It’s pretty obvious and there is no time zone difference in Ensenada. We get you back by all aboard time, and in Ensenada the Ship time is always same as local Long Beach and San Francisco time.
If you want to avoid the cost or big bus environment of most ship sponsored excursions, pick a reputable local excursion company, quality social media reviews are pretty hard to fake for a local small business. You can smell fake stuff. At least I can on Amazon products. . .
Plan to be back 30 min before all aboard time. Plan to keep your stress levels down. It is just recognizing that we are weird, irrational beings and adding the extra padding helps us enjoy the day more. When we do custom quotes, we give an estimate of the length of tour, so book an early departure. Most ships open doors by 8:15 and we frequently have groups leaving 8:30 and 8:45. 9 am is a comfortable time for most.
Take your own adventure within sight of Cruiseport. The cruise port is downtown and ships are huge, so it’s easy to wander and adventure with the ship in sight. And if feels safer that you can get back easier.
Take an organized excursion rather than your own adventure. I honestly prefer my own adventures, but only when I have time to flow with the situation. In a shore day situation, keep your own adventures within walking distance of ship, or use an excursion to keep the stress low. If you have been to Ensenada many times, you can know the scope of the area.
Pay attention to all aboard time. Although they are usually the same with the regular schedules here of Carnival Radiance, Miracle, Norweigan Bless, Disney, and others, it does change with the weather. The ship announces this many times and in many places.
If you decide to book with a local company like mine, look for reviews on customer service and support. I honestly love it when I call or email and get an answer back. Communication makes the adventure feel much better.
Call ship or port authority if you are late. We have those numbers for you in case something happened, like an earthquake that destroyed the road, but not the bus you were on.
What will happen if I am late for the cruise ship?
The ship doesn’t leave at the time they announce. If you arrive late, the gangway will already be up.
When they realize you are not on the ship, you are scanned. They will announce your name, look for you in the room, and search for your travel documents. If the ship must leave without you, they will give the documents to port representative, the individual responsible for the costs for travel.
As you approach the ship, you might be a bit embarrassed, with fellow passengers having a laugh at your bad situation. Humans aren’t always kind in anonymous groups, sorry. You tube is filled with videos of ‘pier runners’ and others jerring at them for making the ship wait.
Is it true they won’t wait for you?
I have seen articles where the ship does wait, but don’t plan on it. You can imagine that the ship would have the incentive to use this threat to keep everyone timely, and maybe to keep profits with their own tour companies.
I understand it is logistically complex to organize thousands of vacationing people and make sure they have a fun, safe time. This stern warning about missing the ship makes sense. And then if they leave you, they can say some of human’s favorite words, “I told you so!”
What if this happens? Will we miss the ship?
We have a few too many chocolate tequila tastings in Bufadora, wine tasting in Valle de Guadalupe or margaritas at La Riviera. I guess if you were on your own you might lose track of time. Since you are with us, we watch the time and get you back. Our guides would literally come to find you and say, time to go.
What if your vehicle breaks down? Our drivers are a team, even a vehicle fails we have other vehicles and all the other tour drivers would assist. Ensenada is a kind place. Even drivers outside our team would assist.
What if there is crazy weather and washed-out roads? Other than potholes, Ensenada has good infrastructure, and roads, so no mudslides or such here like in the more tropical areas. Earthquakes, monsoons, and hurricanes just aren’t a thing. Even in Valle de Guadalupe, where our wine tasting goes, we stay on paved roads.
What about construction traffic delays? It is true there is construction on the main road to the South; Bufadora, Horseback Riding, Zipline, and Kayaking. Our drivers know this, so we adjusted pick-up times during the summer traffic. So we had a bit of longer rides, but never anyone missing the ship. And this includes our team of 12 drivers doing tours and 4-8 massage couples or groups each ship day. And none of the drivers friends have had this situation either.
What if there is accident traffic? Our drivers work as a team, so any surprising accidents would be quickly communicated to adjust the tour time. We throughout the day, our team shares information on travel time, so any delays are shared.
What if my Custom Tour is too long? Perhaps you take extra time eating at Bufadora or a long walk after Horseback Riding on the Beach. We just shorten the tour. Since we are offering custom tours, we do sometimes have to deny a tour. For example, our Ultimate Adventure has ATV, Horseback, and Zipline. During the summer with construction, it was not possible to combine these three activities with massage in our spa. So, during the custom quote and booking emails, we modify for shorter.
What if I take too long to eat or shop? If you took a morning tour to bufadora and decided to pet tigers and have a super long lunch, and had a 120min afternoon massage booked at 1pm. And lunch and tequila tasting allowed you to get to the spa at 1:45, we simply shorten the massage. No big deal. And you always have our phone number and email, and the driver is always waiting for you.
How many activities can I fit in? Three activities with early departure time is still a stress free day. For example, Horseback Riding - Bufadora - Massage. Or ATV-Zipline- Bufadora. We do these all the time to maximize your time.
Our service is personalized and flexible, not a big bus tour on rigid schedule. We accommodate to you and the ship. This means taco stops, traffic, souvenirs, and pharmacy store stops too.
What if I get time wrong? Ship time and Ensenada time is the same. And the ship announces the time many, many times.
What if you drop us off at La Riviera or Downtown? In Ensenada, you can literally see the ship from downtown. So you can walk back easily, or local cab. There are shuttles too.
What if I don’t have phone service? Our guides have phone service and can make calls to us, or emergency calls no problem.
What if I fall asleep in massage? Yes, this a common experience with my spa team. I actually fall asleep occasionally in my weekly massage. So, we will wake you up.
