I booked my travel two months in advance and paid in full when I booked. The day before we were supposed to have our private driver, the company reached out and said that they were going to have to combine our group of three with a group of four people. This was super upsetting because we paid the premium to have a private driver so that we did not have to share with anyone. We had friends that we had on the ship, and we asked if we could be paired with them because they had also booked the same transport company based off of our recommendation that we gave them while we were on the ship. The company said that they would combine us with their group and we will all be together, but we would each have to be paying the full amount. This was disappointing as we would only have one driver and not be in a private car and the total cost for that vehicle was now double (each family paying for it by the original price $600+$600=$1,200.00). It seemed like they should have given us at least some kind of discount and so we asked if they would be willing to. They said they would not. Then, between 11 PM and midnight the night before we ported for a 9am departure, the company notified us that they had to cancel our reservation entirely and we would have no private transport. They tried to make me feel better by saying that we would be able to get a cab at the cruise port terminal. Thankfully we were able to get a cab the next morning and the cost was half of what we would have spent through this excursion. We did end up saving money in the long run, but I would absolutely not advise anyone to book through this company as they are charging double what they should be, and they canceled with less than 12 hour notice of our excursion.
We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment caused. Unfortunately, an unexpected last-minute operational issue made it impossible for us to provide the scheduled private transfer. We fully understand how frustrating this must have been, especially after booking and paying well in advance. The alternative arrangements we proposed were intended to avoid leaving you without transportation, but we recognise that they did not meet the expectations of the private service you had booked. When the unexpected issue could not be resolved, we informed you as soon as we received final confirmation and suggested taking a taxi from the cruise terminal only to ensure that you would still be able to reach Portofino. We sincerely apologise for the very short notice and for the stress caused. This was an exceptional and unforeseen situation, and it does not reflect the standard of service we aim to provide.
