So about those excursions...

What's the best way to score them? Third party with guarantee of back to ship on time? The cruise line itself? Looking for any help, thanks!

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We always book our own excursions at every port. If you read through the forum for most of the ports you will see the same suggestions coming up many times. We have never had a bad experience when we book with one of the often mentioned companies here on Cruise Critic or Trip Advisor. If we haven't been to the port before I look to see what the cruise line offers~they know what is available and what are the highlights of the port stop. Our guide can usually get us to the popular sights and through them before the masses from the cruise ship get there. We have always made sure that our driver/tour guide knows what time we need to be back and usually ask to be dropped off about an hour before final boarding. Never had any problems! You will save a ton of money and have a better experience when you stay away from the ship's tours which are usually very crowded and overpriced!

Many people, like arlogdog above, book their own shore excursions. The benefits are that they are much cheaper, much smaller, and usually far more enjoyable. I like to do research on the cruise's destinations almost as much as the trip itself. Since this is the Cozumel thread, I'll tell you that one of the things I learned is that there would be five big cruise ships in port the day that we're there. A total of almost 18,000 people. And that's before the itinerary changes due to the hurricanes.

I learned that lots of people found the long historical/architectural tours hot and boring. Since I've been to Greece, Egypt, and Peru, I decided against any of those. While going through this thread and others, I found that the Cozumel Bar Hop kept coming up. The opposite side of the island, four bars, no kids, almost unanimously positive reviews. We have a winner!

The primary selling point of buying excursions through the cruise line is that they will wait for cruisers delayed -only- if they purchase an excursion through the cruise line, but they will leave those who don't. This almost never happens, and sometimes seems like a slightly comical kind of blackmail to get you to book through them. That stated, however, in Guatemala I was on a bus which developed engine trouble and had to be replaced. It was a ship sponsored tour, and the ship did wait. Since then, if there's any logical possibility that a private tour could be delayed, I go with the one sold through the cruise line.

What are you looking to see/do while visiting Cozumel? Easy enough to spend a day on the beach or snorkel on your own.

So my two cruise stops are Progreso/Yucatán and Cozumel. I have a wonderful book about cruising that I purchased that gave the names of two third party companies to use, Shore Trips and Cruising Excursions, both of whom are guaranteed to get you back to the ship on time. Has anyone used these or something similar? As far as what we are interested in, the Mayan ruins for sure and then maybe some snorkeling and shopping. I think our longer port is Yucatán.

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If you are staying on the Island at Cozumel during your port day, then this can easily be done without booking thru the Cruise Ship, and without booking thru one of the third party excursion consolidator/retailers mentioned.

I am only familiar with Cozumel, and not your other port.

What are you interested in doing on Cozumel?

Unless you are interested in something like a guided jeep tour, then you can easily hop a taxi to most any snorkeling or beach club on Cozumel. And you can book directly thru one of several snorkel boat tour providers without going thru a third party.

For example, you could taxi to Chankanaab or Mr.Sanchos/Playa Mia/Paradise Beach, and come and go on your own time, without being a part of an organized tour group, on their schedule.

The only big reason to book with the ship is if you are booking a longer excursion that could easily make one late for returning to the ship, due to traffic, bus delay, etc. On cozumel, I would only take an excursion over to the Mainland when booked thru the ship.

You can snorkel from the shore on Cozumel at the Money Bar - about a $12 cab ride each way - with great facilities, rental gear, and good food/drinks/service; no admission fee.

We used Eagle Ray a few years ago for a snorkel trip and were happy.

Never been (Yet!) but I suspect you'll have more opportunities to see Mayan ruins from Progresso; there are some small ruins on Coz (IMHO not worth your time); otherwise you'll need to take an all day excursion to the mainland described above.

We either book an excursion with the ship or take a taxi to where we want to go. :)

The excursion operators you mentioned are options, we've never used them because we prefer to book an excursion with an operator who has great feedback and is a local and so is more intimate with the area and not run by a larger company that provides excursions throughout the Caribbean and the world. And there are tons of very reliable and trustworthy independent excursion operators you can get recommendations for here and on other forums like trip advisor, just depends on what you are interested in. If you don't want to read through the threads here for ideas, look at the excursions offered through your ship, then look for independent excursion outfit recommendations here or go with the ship.

More important to me than any guarantee is travel insurance, and many policies include coverage for delayed excursions if you are really concerned about that.

The excursion operators you mentioned are options, we've never used them because we prefer to book an excursion with an operator who has great feedback and is a local and so is more intimate with the area and not run by a larger company that provides excursions throughout the Caribbean and the world. And there are tons of very reliable and trustworthy independent excursion operators you can get recommendations for here and on other forums like trip advisor, just depends on what you are interested in. If you don't want to read through the threads here for ideas, look at the excursions offered through your ship, then look for independent excursion outfit recommendations here or go with the ship.

More important to me than any guarantee is travel insurance, and many policies include coverage for delayed excursions if you are really concerned about that.

This is fabulous. Thank you!

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Many people, like arlogdog above, book their own shore excursions. The benefits are that they are much cheaper, much smaller, and usually far more enjoyable. I like to do research on the cruise's destinations almost as much as the trip itself. Since this is the Cozumel thread, I'll tell you that one of the things I learned is that there would be five big cruise ships in port the day that we're there. A total of almost 18,000 people. And that's before the itinerary changes due to the hurricanes.

 

 

 

I learned that lots of people found the long historical/architectural tours hot and boring. Since I've been to Greece, Egypt, and Peru, I decided against any of those. While going through this thread and others, I found that the Cozumel Bar Hop kept coming up. The opposite side of the island, four bars, no kids, almost unanimously positive reviews. We have a winner!

 

 

 

The primary selling point of buying excursions through the cruise line is that they will wait for cruisers delayed -only- if they purchase an excursion through the cruise line, but they will leave those who don't. This almost never happens, and sometimes seems like a slightly comical kind of blackmail to get you to book through them. That stated, however, in Guatemala I was on a bus which developed engine trouble and had to be replaced. It was a ship sponsored tour, and the ship did wait. Since then, if there's any logical possibility that a private tour could be delayed, I go with the one sold through the cruise line.

Thank you so much for this! I appreciate it!

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So my two cruise stops are Progreso/Yucatán and Cozumel. I have a wonderful book about cruising that I purchased that gave the names of two third party companies to use, Shore Trips and Cruising Excursions, both of whom are guaranteed to get you back to the ship on time. Has anyone used these or something similar? As far as what we are interested in, the Mayan ruins for sure and then maybe some snorkeling and shopping. I think our longer port is Yucatán.

 

 

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Progreso would probably be best for ruins (although I think there is some cenote snorkeling?) and Cozumel for beach time, shopping and snorkeling.

The two third party companies you mention are brokers for independent tour operators. The second one seems to be U.K. Based - are you or the book from U.K. Commonly used brokers for the Caribbean are Island Marketing or ShoreExcursioneer.

In Progresso tours generally booked through the ship, or Autoprogresso. Cozumel is easy to do on your own, once you have decided where you are going, lots of taxis in main tourist area and list of prices at the taxi dispatch.

Thanks everyone with the insight so far! I think for the first time, to be safe, I'm just going to book through the cruise line and then take it from there for the next cruise. Little nervous with it being my first cruise but I learn quick after I get to experience something like this. I'm sure even though a little more expensive they're still fantastic tours. But definitely keep the suggestions coming on what to do! Especially in Cozumel. What's the hot spots for food and shopping there?

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Carnival has a lowest price match gurantee. Find the excursion you want from a private company that matches Carnival's. That way you get the lower price and the security of traveling with the ship. BTW the ship excursions are done by local contracted companies and not the cruise lines.

I think for the first time, to be safe, I'm just going to book through the cruise line and then take it from there for the next cruise. Little nervous with it being my first cruise but I learn quick after I get to experience something like this.

I think that's very sensible approach. Another advantage of taking booking through the cruise line is that if it is necessary for the ship the be anchored off shore, passengers are brought in by small boats called tenders. Those people who have tours organized by the cruise line get off the ship first. Once you get to experience the whole excursion situation for yourself, you can try an independent tour. I can't stress enough to read the excursion reviews here on Cruise Critic and other sites as well, including Trip Advisor and the Cruise company's own website. It's hard to recommend specific excursions because there are a variety options like jet skis, snorkeling, historic sites, etc. They aim to attract many people with different interests.