Ziplining through a jungle canopy or mountain biking in a rain forest are exciting, once in a lifetime excursions that cruise line passengers go on every day around the world. These are not just fun and exciting for the guests but also for the tour operators. However, administrative duties, which are necessary for the operation of any good excursions, aren’t the most exciting part to your job. There are ways in which you can go about simplifying the administration of your shore excursion, and that’s what we are here to share with you today.
1. Coordinate With The Cruise Line Early
It is vital that you build up a good relationship with partnering cruise lines prior to delivering the shore excursion, as you will need to negotiate, arrange and agree many things as a team. For example, prices, minimum numbers for excursions, cancellation procedures and payment methods. Making sure that you have good communications with partnering cruise companies will ensure that there is no room for error and most importantly it will save you from having to carry out admin duties last-minute or more than once.
2. Properly Insure Your Excursion
Most of you will already be well aware of the reasons why it is important to have insurance, and though it isn’t compulsory to have an insurance policy in place it may stop you from working alongside certain cruise lines. Having adequate insurance will simplify the administration due to the fact that any unforeseen incidents will be properly dealt with through the insurance provider.
3. Make Your Sign Up And Waiver Materials Available Online
Taking bookings online can cut down admin duties dramatically and can help with housekeeping too. Being able to process payments online will ensure efficiency and may even lure in more customers.
4. Employ Someone With Excellent Local Knowledge
Like we mentioned earlier, communication is key and this also applies to communications with passengers. Many passengers will have questions about their surroundings and the destinations they chose to travel to, which is why we suggest you employ someone who has an excellent local knowledge. Employing someone with this knowledge will save you from having to do the research yourself and may even contribute to a better overall customer service.
5. Convert Your Port Questionnaires Into Online Surveys
Most tour escorts will seek verbal or written feedback from participants using forms and questionnaires upon completion of the excursion and although this is useful, a lot of work can go into compiling a report on the results. Turning your port questionnaires into an online survey will save paperwork and will enable results to be measured with more ease and accuracy, and you can even look about installing software to do this for you. To let people know, simply use direct mail and invite them to complete the survey upon their return.
The Bottom Line
Make life at work as easy as possible with just a few tweaks and changes. It may be more work at the onset, but over time, you’ll realize just how much you’re saving in terms of time, money, and headache when you simplify the administration of your shore excursion.