They were a no-show.
This was supposed to be the highlight of my cruise to Alaska and my one-and-only tour in Sitka on July 16, 2023.
The pick-up location and time was confirmed with Ellie via email before my arrival. I arrived early at Centennial Hall (approx. 1:40 p.m.) and waited at the Tours and Excursions pickup area as per the instructions from Selkie Snorkel.
At 2:09 p.m., with no sight of the purple van, I spoke to Fiona inside Centennial Hall and she was kind enough to place a call to their main line on my behalf but no one answered.
Fast forward to 3:23 p.m., while waiting outside Centennial Hall (still), I decided to leave.
It wasn't until I got back on the ship that I read the email from Selkie Snorkel claiming that they waited at Centennial Hall until 2:15 p.m.
This is completely FALSE.
After emailing my complaint, Ellie was apologetic and issued a refund to my credit card (which I appreciated). I don't know why they didn't show-up. Mistakes happen.
But to claim that you did show-up when you clearly didn't is NOT ok.
In closing, there were some important lessons from this experience:
1.) For Tour Operators: If no one is going to be on-site to answer the main line, activate the call forwarding so that incoming calls are re-directed to the on-duty cell.
2.) For myself, bring your cell phone with you while ashore and make sure it is capable of placing and receiving calls and texts.