Nicaragua Adventures: Beware of the Small Print

First time posters who come here to rant or complain about a company don't have a lot creditability since you are just using this site, and probably others, to make the company look bad. We don't know their cancellation policy or their side of the story. That is the risk you assume when you book trips independently. It is your responsibility to get there. It is not their faulty you didn't make it. No different that if you had booked an on-ward flight not connect to your original flight. I did that recently and lost $135/each because the original flight was canceled and we were re-booked to a completely different city. If you had booked the ship's tour it would have been more expensive but completely refunded. Generous of you to use our Fed govt mileage deduction when you have no idea what their true costs were. Even using your numbers you should be paying closer to $100 just for mileage. Then there is the cost of the driver, wear and tear on the van. Maybe they turned down other business because of your booking. Why should they take it in the shorts, when they were willing and able to delivery what you contact for?

What did the cruise company do for you? The last cruise that we were on give us a $100/person ship credit when they had to miss a port for weather.

I'm not sure what the US business mileage allowance has to do with a trip in Nicaragua, but I agree with Frank - there is more than just mileage involved (like the driver's wages). It was not their fault that you couldn't show up for your tour. How is your little rant supposed to "help others"? How could knowing this prevent it from happening to someone else? They can't control the weather, either.

I'm afraid I agree with the posters above. It's not the cruise line's fault that foul weather created a port cancellation, and not Nica-adventures fault that you missed your tour. It's the risk you took booking an independent, non ship-sponsored excursion that was reliant on everything coming off without a hitch.

There's almost always a minimal cancellation date for any sort of tourist service - hotel rooms, tours, car service - so that they have time to make other arrangements and not to be out the income.

If you bought trip insurance, you might check the fine print to see if your missed tour might be covered.

Hi folks,

I am not here to whine and complain. For all I know Nica-Adventures is a great tour company.
I wish to alert others about a problem that could arise.

As I wrote. "I do not expect the tour company to be out-of-pocket for expenses associated with their preparing for our visit. They did send a van 130 km from Managua to meet us, and I have no concern about paying a total of $75 US for the trip. (The FedGov allows 56 cents/mile deduction for use of a vehicle)".

I use the 56 cents/mile figure because that is what one can deduct as business expenses in the US. I think that that is reasonable for NI as well.

OK, add $20 for the driver at $10/hr.

They still want us to pay full price for them to do nothing.

As for being a first-time poster, there has to be a first time for everything, no?

They did do something: they not only drove that distance, but they also blocked the time for you. You were the no-show; it wasn't their fault.

If you can afford the cruise, you should be able to afford the loss when you take a risk on a non-ship sponsored excursion.

The one sure way to avoid this problem is to buy one's shore excursions from the cruise ship. You posted this same review on TripAdvisor, giving the company a "poor" rating. The company has 170 "excellent" reviews and no "terrible" reviews. Your review is the only poor one.

I figured that is what she was doing. Trying to hit all of the travel sites with a negative review and maybe sham them into doing something that was not their fault. Wonder what his/her business is and would he completely refund a customer who failed to complete a contract?

They still want us to pay full price for them to do nothing.

U.S milage rates do not apply: you were traveling in a foreign country. They didn't do 'nothing': they took your reservation on good faith. You didn't show in the 11th hour. Not their fault, and the people booked to manage your tour very likely counted on that income to support their families. A day of lost income in Nicaragua could be more detrimental than you have any idea.

My, my, my

I'm here because my mailbox was loaded with a list of replies.

You folks do have a lot of time on your hands.

If all the posts were sympathetic and full of commiseration, would you still have come back and said "you folks have too much time on your hands" ?

And who is running around posting this tale of woe on all the travel web sites?

Was this tour booked through the cruise line? If it was not, then what is the tour company's cancellation policy? I suspect that it was probably 14 days in advance. If you take a tour not booked through the cruise line; you are on the hook for it. That is why we always carry our own travel insurance that covers trip cancellations.

If you aren't getting the answers you wanted, you can delete the whole thread.

your rant title reads "beware of the small print", but then you don't say a word about that fine print.

So what does the "fine print" say about cancelling the excursion at the time it is due to start - effectively a no-show?