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$500 Deposit for ATV excursion


Corky441

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My husband and I will be on the Serenade Southern Caribbean sailing April 3,2020

there are ATV excursions offered through RCCL in both San Juan and St.Kitts

Both are requiring a $500 deposit per person before being able to ride to cover damages. They say that it’s refundable, but what if an ATV is defective and they try to pin it on us ???

had anyone else done these excursions and paid the deposit??

im concerned about not getting our $ back

 

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If the ATV is defective, and they keep your deposit, then dispute the charge with your credit card company and with Royal Caribbean. Take photos and the names/numbers of your fellow cruise/ATV tourists in case you need them as a witness. As these are companies booked through Royal there is a relationship there and if cruise guests were being charged their deposit for a bum ride then I'm sure those cruisers and ATV riders would be extremely vocal on all forums, and Royal would sever the 'shady' relationship.

I've rented almost everything with wheels at some point, and a lot of things not, and its customary for a deposit to be held on a card. I've had them personally range from $100 - $2000. I've never once had a company try to claim a deposit for faulty equipment, which I did have happen twice. FWIW I've booked the ATV tour for my group in San Juan for December '19, should be fun.

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1 hour ago, Levi said:

 

I've rented almost everything with wheels at some point, and a lot of things not, and its customary for a deposit to be held on a card. I've had them personally range from $100 - $2000. I've never once had a company try to claim a deposit for faulty equipment, which I did have happen twice. FWIW I've booked the ATV tour for my group in San Juan for December '19, should be fun.

I'll be interested to hear your review of the excursion

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2 hours ago, Corky441 said:

there are ATV excursions offered through RCCL in both San Juan and St.Kitts

Both are requiring a $500 deposit per person before being able to ride to cover damages. They say that it’s refundable, but what if an ATV is defective and they try to pin it on us ???

had anyone else done these excursions and paid the deposit??

This is the 2nd time i have heard this recently. 

Personally I think it is outrageous on the part of RCCL to allow their vendors to do this.  I just did a private ATV excursion in the ABC islands this past Feb and have another one booked in Cozumel for Nov and no one is asking for a damage deposit.  Its not like these ATV are all that expensive, major brands can easily be had for 15K .

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  • 3 months later...

@Corky441 as promised we did do the ATV excursion through Carabali. There was another for Camp Rico as well but I cannot speak to that.

As for the machines used they were in rough shape. In fact mine would not go into 4x4 and I got stuck in the mud on one of the trails which was actually the most fun part. If you're the type who wants new, pristine, carefully maintained equipment this would not be a tour for you. The stops were beautiful and we took a dip in a very lovely, clear river. Painted ourselves with rocks and minerals, and then got shots at the bar after. 

There is a shuttle/bus that takes you from the port to the venue and its about a 30-40 minute ride. The bus had AC and was comfortable also taking us back to port after the excursion. He makes two stops on the way back one near a shopping area close to port and one back to port directly. 

It was a blast but don't go expecting nothing to go wrong. As I said I did get stuck for a bit until I was pushed out, and another ATV decided it didn't want to go into gear after a stop. Quick fix but my group is generally mechanically inclined and unphased by the odd breakdown in the jungle.

If things like that concern you however I'd choose another excursion. All in all I would do it again without hesitation. It says long pants required but they are more of a suggestion. It does get hot by your legs and you can burn yourself if you're not careful in shorts. They will turn you away if you don't have closed toed shoes and your drivers license.

 

As for the deposit I didn't pay attention. Upon check-in they took my drivers license and a credit card and sent me on my way to pet the cats. Did I mention there were cats? About six of the friendliest little barn cats. I would've paid the money just to pet them all day. On my current credit card statement I have no charges from Carabali so if there was a hold it fell off quickly.

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