Hi,
I'll be on a cruise ship in September and am currently signed up for a 5-hour Pisa "Get Your Guide" tour out of La Spezia.
They also have an extension to an 8-hour tour that includes Lucca. However, I worry when a reviewer reported that their tour was late and only came back 15 minutes before the boat sailed. Is anyone familiar with the "Get Your Guide" tours and am I cutting it too close?
they don't provide the tours. they are like airbnb for tours. You book with them and they book with an actual tour company. Depends who they contract with - they would be the ones getting back late or not,
but the big question is - how much do you want to risk it. What happened to others is really irrelevant to your particular tour. Just like flying, they can be on time most of the time, it is only if your experience is late that matters.
What's the worst that could happen if you are late to the ship - or miss it altogether? What would you do then?
Then you can decide if you want to risk it.
Just as a heads up, Get Your Guide is not a tour company. They are 3rd-party resellers of tours so are not the company conducting whatever tour you're looking at. Most of us advise booking directly with the companies operating the tours so if there's a problem you're not dealing with a middleman.
While not everyone has had a negative experience, here's one from last year:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/dont-use-get-your-guide
But to be fair, opinions are mixed; here's a lively thread on the subject:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/get-your-guide
Editing to add: if you closely scan the GYG listing for the tour you booked, there should be mention of the actual company providing the tour. For instance, this one....
....lists Sightseeing Experience/City Sightseeing as the provider. Still, I'd be hesitant to push the timing envelope where a deadline for boarding is concerned.
I agree with Nigel.
Scroll down on the Get your Guide description and it will show the company you are booking. Read reviews for that company.
I have used Get your Guide to look for tour companies, but I always book directly with the operating company.
I wouldn't consider booking any non cruise line excursion with a return to ship of less than 1 hour prior to departure unless i was willing to pay my own way to the next port.
We are experienced travelers and used a Get Your Guide tour in Lucca. We only had two nights there, and I hadn't planned ahead, so could find not much available booking directly with a guide.
The tour group was about 40 people, no audio system used, and the guide kept selling tickets as people approached. There's no way 40 people can hear a guide in a busy city environment. The guide probably had done the tour hundreds of times and was pretty bored with it- no enthusiasm or humor. We left after an hour (two hour tour.) It was about 15€ each- you get what you pay for. We made a rookie mistake, and we aren't rookies.
I think it depends on the exact tour you're using from Get Your Guide. Is it a large group tour of 20+ people or a small tour limited to 10 or less? The more people that are on the tour, the more logistical problems you can run into.
If I was in your shoes, the stress of missing my cruise wouldn't be worth the 3 extra hours. I would just self-tour those two cities.
If you choose to self tour, the Rick Steves Italy guide has information on sites, etc. for Lucca and Pisa.
I think it's a generally poor idea to take excursions when cruising that are different from what the cruise line offers. Cruise-sponsored excursions have the responsibility to get you back on the boat in time. Independent excursion operators have no such imperative.
The best guide in Lucca is Paola Moschini if you can book her. She will customize a tour for you and is a true local with a passion for all things Luccese.
https://www.paolamoschini.com/
I've booked walking tours through company and the guides were also good: https://en.turislucca.com/shore-excursions/
The difference is they offer shore excursions if you also need transportation. I haven't used their shore excursions but my other experiences with them were good and they are local.
Enjoy your time ashore,
=Tod
Thank you everyone for your replies... All the info I received is much appreciated!
