Destinations: Shorex 101
by John Hawks

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For these reasons, more agents have begun turning to private shore excursion operators to schedule side trips for their cruise clients.

These specialty operators usually work with carefully selected ground operators in various cruise ports to offer personalized, customizable shore excursion options for individuals or small groups. They offer many advantages for agents and their cruisers:

• They pay commissions on these bookings. Typically, these companies pay around 10 percent on shore excursions.
  
  
• They handle the booking hassles. Because they know the cruise ports and the local ground operators, they can prepare these trips much more quickly than the average agent who sells cruises going everywhere.
  
  
• They offer much more variety and choice than the typical cruise line excursion. If your clients want to sleep in late during a daylong port stop, for example, you can arrange a later start time for their excursion by using a private operator.

At the recent cruise3sixty show sponsored by CLIA in Fort Lauderdale, two companies promoted themselves heavily in this arena: Key Tours (an OSSN supplier member!) at www.keytours.com and ShoreTrips at www.shoretrips.com. They reported a growing surge of interest in their services, especially among agents booking clients onto the largest ships now in service (imagine the confusion during port stops when the arrival of a mega-ship brings several dozen motorcoaches and vans to the port to pick up excursion passengers!) or into ports in regions such as the Mediterranean that may not be as well known to agents as, say, Caribbean cruise stops.

Keep these caveats in mind as you consider using private shore excursion operators:

• Find out what happens if the ship arrives late to the port (or skips it altogether). Some companies have a standing policy of refunding shore excursion payments in full if the ship doesn't make it on time or at all, but others don't cover the trip payments. Travel insurance for these cruises (including the excursions) is always a good idea.
  
  
• Ask questions and request referrals if you've never used a company before. Don’t assume anything when you’re using a private shore excursion company for the first time. Ask about its background – and get the trip details in writing! Also, you should ask for the names of a couple of other agents who’ve used the company, if you’d like to check references.

Private shore excursion operators can add significant dollars to your bottom line as an agent – and keep your cruise clients happy with the extra options and better service! But, check the details and recommend travel insurance to protect your clients’ trips (and your business).

(Credits: Nikos A. Kanellopoulos; Edwin P. Ewing, Jr.; Magalie L'Abbé; Heidas)