We booked "Maxi Catamaran Check-out from Nice or Villefranche with transport," expecting a 4-hour experience with ample time to swim and enjoy the water, based on the information the tour provider has on Viator. While the sunset views over Nice and Ville-franche-sur-Mer were nice, the timeline didn't align with what was advertised on Viator. We met at the Beau Rivage hotel at 6:30 PM, boarded the cruise after 7:00 PM, and returned to the dock by 9:00 PM. This made it roughly a 2-hour experience instead of the advertised 4 hours, with only about 20 minutes allotted for anchoring and swimming. The water in Ville-franche-sur-Mer was beautiful and felt great, but the time there passed too quickly. After the tour I checked the Viator description again to confirm I wasn't mistaken about the booked duration; I was able to reconfirm that the Viator description does state 4 hours and I found this operator (AMC Cape Grace) lists another excursion on Viator as "Nice | The Sunset | Villefranche-sur-Mer" where guests meet at the port for a 2 hour cruise - this is ultimately the cruise I was on. For my experience, I paid an additional $90 for car service and a shorter cruise. It's frustrating to realize I essentially paid a markup for a basic car ride to a tour that was half the duration promised. When I reached out to the tour operator they were unhelpful and offered several excuses that did not align with the details they posted for their tour on Viator. As a consumer, I must rely on the details provided there and in this case, they were mismatched. Afterward, when I researched the booking on the AMC Grace website (I could see the tour company after receiving the tickets), their itinerary and details were much more in-depth. I can see they probably set up their Viator booking incorrectly; the 4-hour excursion should only be available for the mid-afternoon option (as their website shows), but it appears available for all three time slots on Viator. The driver only gave me the boarding tickets as we exited the car; otherwise, I might have caught this discrepancy earlier. I definitely learned a lesson from this booking.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are pleased that you enjoyed the beautiful views of Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, as well as the time spent in the water. Please note that sunset cruises can vary in timing and itinerary depending on the season and the time of sunset, as the schedule is adapted to the changing daylight hours. We are sorry that the experience did not fully meet your expectations, and we appreciate your feedback regarding the time available for swimming. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again on board for an experience that you will fully enjoy.
