Excursions in port

Quick question, has anyone waited until you are at port to see if you can get a better deal on an excursion? For example if we could book a sightseeing tour of Juneau for $50 per person ahead of time, would it be possible to find a tour at the pier for $10 off per person instead from the same company or even another? Trying to see about savings for our family. Granted those tours we do not want to chance missing we will book ahead but just wondering about other options.

This is a frequently asked question. Here's the thread and responses from last week.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2169089

My response is the same .... wouldn't you prefer to go with a tried and true vendor rather than taking your chances with an unknown at the dock? You might get a great deal and great experience or you might not.

There are budget friendly options at every port. Not everyone can afford bear viewing and heli-dog sledding and flightseeing. If you look thru the trip reports (STICKY near the top of the page), you'll find quite a few family reports. Perhaps their experiences will help you with your decisions.

This is a frequently asked question. Here's the thread and responses from last week.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2169089

 

My response is the same .... wouldn't you prefer to go with a tried and true vendor rather than taking your chances with an unknown at the dock? You might get a great deal and great experience or you might not.

There are budget friendly options at every port. Not everyone can afford bear viewing and heli-dog sledding and flightseeing. If you look thru the trip reports (STICKY near the top of the page), you'll find quite a few family reports. Perhaps their experiences will help you with your decisions.

EXACTLY.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Cheers

Len

I assume difference with the cheaper prices is the lack of insurance if you miss the boat. Look for earlier tours to ensure you have sufficient time before get back to avoid missing your boat.

I believe cruise booked tours depart once everyone is on loaded on the bus... do private tours wait until they have a nearly full bus before departing?

I assume difference with the cheaper prices is the lack of insurance if you miss the boat. Look for earlier tours to ensure you have sufficient time before get back to avoid missing your boat.

 

I believe cruise booked tours depart once everyone is on loaded on the bus... do private tours wait until they have a nearly full bus before departing?

No, probably not an issue, due to the private tours being smaller.

This OP, is basing their choice on price. They "may" be able to find something cheaper in port. With that choice, they are giving up time in port, and have to be open how their time will be filled. The tour isn't the priority. May work for them.

The "missing the boat" is NOT an issue in Alaska. There aren't any reports of any vendors being responsible for this. So, I wouldn't be perpetuating this myth without specific facts of this happening.

I generally book all of my port tours way ahead of time--mostly because I'm a "planner"...but, also because I like to get recommendations, read the reiviews, etc. Most of the time, this works out very well...Other times, we've had a few issues--even when booked ahead. Once, in Koper, Slovenia, our highly recommended (by Rick Steves, no less) tour guide was a no-show at the pier...and we had to improvise last minute...Ended up arranging a tour with a woman we met at the pier (who was their as the point woman for a tour company picking up some others on our ship)...She made some quick phone calls back to her office and, a few minutes later, we had a guide--and her as a driver--and had an absolutely phenomenal tour of Slovenia--Ljubjana and the caves. The originally pre-booked guide could not have been better. Last minute worked well.

On occasion, we have not booked until we actually get to the port...It's never been in hopes of beating a price...rather, because we just hadn't decided upon what to do...Once was in Dunedin, New Zealand...we got off the ship and found a lot of kiosks and card tables selling local tours...My wife spotted one for the Blue Penguin Sanctuary--that we probably never would have found searching the net (we hadn't seen it when researching Dunedin)...We secided to go...and it turned out to be one of my wife's favorite tours on that trip...

The other time I recall not pre-booking something was in Ketchikan, Alaska...On that cruise, we pre-booked the other ports--whale watching in Icy Strait Point...a horseback riding tour to the Yukon in Skagway...helicopter glacier landing in Juneau...Couldn't figure out what to do in Ketchikan. When we got off the ship in Ketchikan, there was a little tourism building next to the pier...and, inside, a wide array of available tours...We opted for a VERY Cheap City tour by bus--with visits to the Totem Pole Park, the Fish Hatchery, etc. The tour was "okay"...not great, but good enough...definitely worth the price...

This June, for our Alaska cruise, we've pre-booked whale watching in ISP, a full day Yukon tour...both with private providers...and a Duck Tour in Ketchikan--through the cruise line since the difference in price with booking it privately is only $2 pp and, I imagine, we might not be able to get the right times privately since the cruise line has likely monopolized it...The only port we are leaving unbooked this time is Juneau--where we will likely either just catch a shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier--or take a tour--haven't decided yet...

My advice though, for Alaska is this:

There are some tours you most definitely want to pre-book...For example, in Icy Strait Point, when we went to book our Whale Watching trip, we found that most of the private providers are limited to SIX passengers only per boat...and there are a limited number of boats and providers...By the time we went to book, the first couple of providers we contacted were already sold out for the date...another only had space on a 7:30 am tour...and we were afraid of not making that one...We finally found a very well-reviewed provider (Misty Bay Lodge) with space on a 9:00 am trip--so we grabbed it...But, say you are in ISP and want to whale watch, DON'T wait until you get there and hope to find someone. The same can likely be said about helicopter tours, seaplane tours, and the like...All will have limited opportunities and limited space...AND, remember, YOUR ship may be dumping 2-3,000 passengers in port and is likely not the only ship in port!

OTOH, if all you want is a simple bus or taxi tour, more likely you will find something available...

But, if you may want to do something special, don't leave it off just in hope of saving $10 pp...

Take look at the On Your Own section at the ports at www.cruiseportinsider.com

Ketchikan is the only port where I remember there being tour hawkers on the dock.

BTW I prefer to have my tours pre planned - either doing some of the DIY stuff or using locals or at last resort cruise line tours.

 

Ketchikan is the only port where I remember there being tour hawkers on the dock.

 

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Both the tram and library area in Juneau are filled with tour booths. In Skagway there are booths at the end of the 3 docks.

Even Sitka has an information booth with tour assistance booking, and Hoonah has the tour building on the right, for contracted tour booking.

Plenty of walk up possibilities.

Quick question, has anyone waited until you are at port to see if you can get a better deal on an excursion? For example if we could book a sightseeing tour of Juneau for $50 per person ahead of time, would it be possible to find a tour at the pier for $10 off per person instead from the same company or even another? Trying to see about savings for our family. Granted those tours we do not want to chance missing we will book ahead but just wondering about other options.

With a little advance planning, you can have a wonderful day and get to see a great deal that way, sometimes even more than you get booking tours from vendors because you can personalize it to do exactly what you want, when you want and plan out your route to avoid backtracking.

For example, you drive out to Mendenhall Glacier whenever you want, stay there as long as you like, leave whenever you are ready without needing to waste time waiting for a bus, and get to visit other attractions out in the same vicinity as well.

There have already been lots of threads on planning your own sightseeing tours, so I won't get into the details of how to go about it at each port here, but am only tossing out the idea as an alternate possibility.

If you have any questions, Budget Queen is a great source who has provided advice to many of us here through the years, as have others.

If you want to take the scenic drive up into the Yukon and Emerald Lake from Skagway, be sure to get a copy of Murray's Guide.

If you are set on whale watching or flightseeing however, of course you can't do those from a rental car. ;)