Celebrity's Shore Excursion "Guaranteed Return To Ship" is no gimmick.

Here is one story that made me glad we took the ship's tour (the other was in France). We had OBC to use up so we took the ship tour in Jamaica. We got to the destination and I saw someone I had been running into all over the ship. I pointed him out to my husband (the gentleman carried a toy dog everywhere and my husband didn't believe it until I showed him). He was not on the bus on the way with us, but he had shown up there later.

We were the first back to the bus and sat there waiting and people watching. Our guide started looking more frantic even though almost everyone appeared to be on the bus. She told us that someone on the tour had not followed directions and was still out on the zipline portion of the tour. I looked at my husband and told him I knew it was the dog guy. He told me I was wrong because he had not been on the bus.

We had an almost one hour ride back and only about 30 minutes to make it when this guy nonchalantly strolled up and got on the bus with his dog. The driver proceeded to drive back like my husband during rush hour. My husband asked him if he had ever considered trying out for this little thing we had back home called NASCAR to the amusement of everyone on board.

About this time, as our guide was chewing her nails, the local police pull the bus driver over for speeding. As the driver got off with his identification the guide started to hyperventilate and said that she had never seen the police pull over a tour bus. She was convinced they were going to take him to jail, but after a while he climbed back on and we took off again.

We got back to port and the driver started to stop. The people waiting for us started yelling and waved him to come on. The driver jumped the curb and drove down the sidewalks through the market. The vendors had closed up and were walking towards the exits and had to scramble out of the way. We pulled up to the bottom of the ramp. They rang us all back on board and yanked up the gangplank behind us.

I am glad we took the ship's tour.

At least you have a great story to share with others...

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The biggest Alaska excursion price difference I've seen online between celebrity vs, independent tour operators is 10 per person. Maybe those ports are an exception to the cruise mark ups but I prefer the convenience of celebrity handling everything for that relatively small price difference.

 

I've always taken private excursions until a cruise we took this year. We had a lot of OBCs to use up. So we thought we may as well use the OBCs for a few shore excursions. Twice we sat in the theatre way past the tour start times, waiting to be called (and the tours were not extended by the amount of time we sat waiting). The tours were all disorganized and crowded. No apologies for delays were received. /QUOTE]

 

And you said nothing to the tour desk upon your return? We had a problem on a ship's tour when a promised stop was not made. I mentioned our disappointment to the ship's staff, bingo, we were refunded more than a fair amount. I suspect I was the only one to voice a complaint and the only one to gain some compensation.

 

People who constantly complain should be ignored, but there are times when it pays to speak up. After all, we're not cattle, right?;)

As I said ,we were on the same excursion and the only reason we booked on the ship was that it was Falmouth, Jamaica and I have read a lot of stories about this port and going outside the gates. Once we left on the bus and traveled on the bus we felt we made the right choice. Going on a 1 1/2 hr ride both ways was enough to make sure if anything happened we were covered, which ended up as the right thing to do!

Have you ever taken one?

While I usually schedule private tours or go DIY, occasionally we take a ship's excursion depending on the port and if a lot of travel is involved getting to the site where we want to visit.

 

Plenty; I used to exclusively book excursions through the cruise line. After I became a regular on Cruise Critic I learned from others about the benefits/advantages of booking privately. Had a couple cruises with very active roll calls and some wonderful, extremely knowledgeable people who organized some amazing private excursions. Saw so much more than on any cruise line excursion I'd ever been on, was MUCH smaller groups, incredible guides - we saw everything the equivalent ship excursion saw, but arrived before the masses and were able to do a lot more since there wasn't so much waiting around for the last person to meander back to the coach bus. Also no lengthy shopping stops at lame venues paying the ship a kickback for the stop. Lunch breaks were spent at venues popular with locals, not tourists. Much more 1:1 time to chat with the guide and ask questions (because of the small group). Chances to tweak and customize the itinerary. All these advantages and generally the cost was significantly cheaper than the equivalent cruise excursion. I was skeptical at first (and a bit nervous my first few private excursions), but the difference in quality and value proved to be night and day based on my experiences.

Last time I did a cruise ship excursion was a few years ago on my Holy Land cruise. Had booked privately with a reputable vendor in Egypt, but the port was cancelled because of unrest a few weeks before the cruise. One replacement port (Crete) was not frequently called upon by cruise ships and I was unable to find anything privately that was appealing; booked what seemed the best on paper the cruise ship was offering and was a miserable experience, painstakingly slow pace, boring guide, stops at tourist traps etc. etc. (would have had a much better time staying aboard).

Sure booking with the cruise line is right for some people and does have some advantages (especially for certain ports and/or certain excursions), but for most people and most ports if one is willing to do a little research the clear overall advantage goes to the privately booked excursions. This is why when I encounter threads about shore excursions I always point out my feelings; I am very grateful when I was new to Cruise Critic that I was able to benefit from others' advice on this important topic.

Plenty; I used to exclusively book excursions through the cruise line. After I became a regular on Cruise Critic I learned from others about the benefits/advantages of booking privately. Had a couple cruises with very active roll calls and some wonderful, extremely knowledgeable people who organized some amazing private excursions. Saw so much more than on any cruise line excursion I'd ever been on, was MUCH smaller groups, incredible guides - we saw everything the equivalent ship excursion saw, but arrived before the masses and were able to do a lot more since there wasn't so much waiting around for the last person to meander back to the coach bus. Also no lengthy shopping stops at lame venues paying the ship a kickback for the stop. Lunch breaks were spent at venues popular with locals, not tourists. Much more 1:1 time to chat with the guide and ask questions (because of the small group). Chances to tweak and customize the itinerary. All these advantages and generally the cost was significantly cheaper than the equivalent cruise excursion. I was skeptical at first (and a bit nervous my first few private excursions), but the difference in quality and value proved to be night and day based on my experiences.

 

Last time I did a cruise ship excursion was a few years ago on my Holy Land cruise. Had booked privately with a reputable vendor in Egypt, but the port was cancelled because of unrest a few weeks before the cruise. One replacement port (Crete) was not frequently called upon by cruise ships and I was unable to find anything privately that was appealing; booked what seemed the best on paper the cruise ship was offering and was a miserable experience, painstakingly slow pace, boring guide, stops at tourist traps etc. etc. (would have had a much better time staying aboard).

 

Sure booking with the cruise line is right for some people and does have some advantages (especially for certain ports and/or certain excursions), but for most people and most ports if one is willing to do a little research the clear overall advantage goes to the privately booked excursions. This is why when I encounter threads about shore excursions I always point out my feelings; I am very grateful when I was new to Cruise Critic that I was able to benefit from others' advice on this important topic.

Well said !

.........We booked a tour in Vancouver once independently. Well, one of the buses broke down so there was an hour delay in getting one in working condition to our location. Then, the driver had to make an additional stop. What a time to book a tour independently. Well, all worked out because several of the other passengers on our same bus had purchased their tour through the ship ... we were saved. :D

It is always a good idea, when feasible, to plan for any independent return to the ship on the same train, bus, ferry, whatever that a ship's excursion is using, especially when you are returning close to sailaway time.

It is much the same way that even people who normally never use the ship's airport transfers will use them if flying in on the day of the cruise.

In case of delayed arrival, they know that the ship is more likely to wait for passengers arriving on its own transfer bus than for an individual who is arriving independently

(unless you happen to be Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, or the captain). :D

For example, on Alaska cruises that stop at Skagway, we sometimes like to take the ferry from Skagway over to Haines and rent a car there.

So we check the ship's shore excursions to see if the ship has any excursion that will be returning from Haines on the last ferry of the day.

If so, we book the last ferry return for ourselves, reasonably confident that the ship will wait for the ferry in case it should be late.

But if the ship does not have an excursion returning on the last ferry, then we will book our own return on an earlier ferry.

In any case, whenever we go off exploring on our own at any port, we like to have contingency information for how and where we would be able to catch up with the ship if we should miss it, and at what cost......... just in case.

And we always take the port agent contact info with us.

Also, we are well aware that if the ship should ever need to leave port before their tour returns, for whatever reason, they will pay for the passengers on their own excursion to catch up with the ship, but they won't pay for us if we are traveling independently.

So as slight a risk as that may be, it needs to be one that we are willing to take.

Wow! I don't get why this post has elicited hostile responses! It doesn't appear as though Gonzo is insulting anyone. He is not personally calling people on ships tours "cattle". The reference to cattle is describing how the ships tours treat people. I think he was trying to point out some of the issues with booking through the cruise line so that the OP will be aware.

 

...............

But there's a kinder, gentler way to state an opinion.;):)

But there's a kinder, gentler way to state an opinion.;):)

People are allowed to express opinions. I saw nothing offensive in it. Nothing rude was said. I think the responses criticizing the post were the unkind, non-gentle posts!

We were on that same tour!I could not believe that they dropped us off at the Oasis dock area! If you don't know they did refund all of our money on that excursion and others got there money back too! Bob

Why would they refund the money?

Did the excursion not do what it was supposed to do?

I do not see arriving back to the ship late as being a reason to refund any money.

The biggest Alaska excursion price difference I've seen online between celebrity vs, independent tour operators is 10 per person. Maybe those ports are an exception to the cruise mark ups but I prefer the convenience of celebrity handling everything for that relatively small price difference.

Price is not always the reason we book independent tours.

In Juneau, for example, we paid more than the ship's tour cost to do whale watching with Harv & Marv. There is a big difference in the Harv & Marv experience with just six people on the boat and the ship's tour with 100 or more people on their boat.

Independent tours usually use smaller vehicles and thus can often get to sights that the big tour buses cannot.

And if you are on an independent tour with from 4 to 16 people, rest room stops are quicker and there is less chance that you will be wasting time waiting for stragglers to return to the bus.

And on an independent tour you can usually ask to stop when a great scenic overview is encountered. I can remember many ship's tours where I could only dream of having stopped at some very scenic sights.

With all the great reports on Cruise Critic about independent tours that posters have enjoyed, it is easy to find great guides for independent tours. On ship's tours, we have had guides who have ranged from excellent to horrible. When you are vising a port that may be the only time in your life you will go there, you do not want to take a chance on the quality of the guide on the ship's excursion.

I've been on both sorts of tours, and I know what to expect on a ship's tour so it's okay. We have complained about a ship's tour once and got a refund - I can't remember what the problem was but it may have been a missed stop.

It is the ability to choose which type of tour suits you best at any given port that is important. Whether of not someone views a ship tour as lesser than a private tour is irrelevant for me - it's what suits me best at the time. Everyone has their preference but that doesn't make their view right for everyone else. It's right for them, and that's fine.

I have done both many times over the years. As a solo cruiser sometimes

I cannot get an independent operator to do anything with:rolleyes:.....

they normally want more than 1.......and I have also found quite a few

cruiseline tours that are not "cattle calls"....I have done some culinary

trips that were small and fabulous:D (yes, through the cruiseline).

Other times, I have gone independent, example would be when I went

to Europe. We had a large active roll call and there were alot of tours

that we shared so that was good.

So for me, it just depends....sometimes I do the cruiseline, sometimes

I don't.

What an attitude!!! Insult people by calling them "cattle" and accusing them of being too stupid to do anything else. Way to make your point of how superior you are. :rolleyes:

 

Sheesh! We get it. You prefer to do private tours or go out on your own. But there is no reason to ridicule people who do things differently than you. Their needs and comfort zone preferences are equally important to them as yours is to you. No need to be so critical. :mad:

Amen!

I find some of the reply's so interesting, if you don't do it their way you are wrong. On our cruise to Europe in August i did do a lot of research and for us i decided it was worth the money on all day tours to book with Celebrity just to make sure we got back in time and half days i booked with Viator. We never felt like a cattle call with Celebrity and they were first class and yes more money. Our 4 tours with Viator were good with just one exception and even it was ok and they were less expensive but to tell people never book with Celebrity i think that is a choice everyone has to see for themselves. What worked for us may not work for you but take what everyone says and decide for yourself.

People are allowed to express opinions. I saw nothing offensive in it. Nothing rude was said. I think the responses criticizing the post were the unkind, non-gentle posts!

Ummmm, I said nothing about not being allowed to express an opinion. You saw nothing wrong with the post but others did. By the same token, I suppose I could say I could say I saw nothing wrong with the responses.;)

It would be nice if everyone took a moment to consider their comment and post in a kinder, gentler way.:)

On my very first X cruise (the Zenith in 1992), I suffered a dislocated shoulder in Cozumel while on a ship's excursion snorkeling trip. A wave caught me while I was holding the excursion boat ladder with one hand. I was spun around and my shoulder dislocated.

 

I was taken by ambulance to the hospital, given some good Mexican drugs, treated and released. The hospital called the ship's port agent who called the Zenith. The port agent met us (wife, daughter, and me) at the hospital and took us to the tender waiting for us. The ship actually waited 45 minutes for us past sailing time!

 

I have no idea if that would happen in 2017 - and I don't plan on finding out!!

A lot of the time it depends. It depends upon the port and how long the ship can stay, it depends upon the schedule and if the ship can wait and still make it to the next port on time. It is all up to the captain and the particular situation.

While I agree with you in general, there are some tours/ports where we do take Celebrity Cruises. Belize comes to mind where the port stop is not long and some of the ruins are quite a distance away involving bus and then boat to get to. Our last visit, there were three small buses...we were on the first bus and arrived back 15 minutes after the ship was scheduled to depart. The other two busses followed with the last one arriving about 45 minutes after the scheduled time. The ship, of course, waited.

 

Our rule of thumb when arranging tours ourselves or small groups is that we want to be back at the ship 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure time. Sometimes that means shortening a tour guides normal tour, but we'd rather not fret about missing the ship than force seeing everything.

Good advice. :)

It is always a good idea, when feasible, to plan for any independent return to the ship on the same train, bus, ferry, whatever that a ship's excursion is using, especially when you are returning close to sailaway time.

 

It is much the same way that even people who normally never use the ship's airport transfers will use them if flying in on the day of the cruise.

In case of delayed arrival, they know that the ship is more likely to wait for passengers arriving on its own transfer bus than for an individual who is arriving independently

(unless you happen to be Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, or the captain). :D

 

For example, on Alaska cruises that stop at Skagway, we sometimes like to take the ferry from Skagway over to Haines and rent a car there.

So we check the ship's shore excursions to see if the ship has any excursion that will be returning from Haines on the last ferry of the day.

 

If so, we book the last ferry return for ourselves, reasonably confident that the ship will wait for the ferry in case it should be late.

 

But if the ship does not have an excursion returning on the last ferry, then we will book our own return on an earlier ferry.

 

In any case, whenever we go off exploring on our own at any port, we like to have contingency information for how and where we would be able to catch up with the ship if we should miss it, and at what cost......... just in case.

And we always take the port agent contact info with us.

 

 

Also, we are well aware that if the ship should ever need to leave port before their tour returns, for whatever reason, they will pay for the passengers on their own excursion to catch up with the ship, but they won't pay for us if we are traveling independently.

So as slight a risk as that may be, it needs to be one that we are willing to take.

 

Since you mentioned the Haines Ferry, I though that I would mention this particular example. There was a case a few years ago where the weather worsened during the day after the cruise ship passengers traveled to Haines (including a ships excursion). The weather got bad enough that the ferry could not return. The ship had to depart Skagway and continue to Juneau. The next day after the weather cleared the ferry made it back to Skagway where Princess flew their excursion passengers to Juneau. Never did hear if their were any independent travelers caught by this, but if so they would have had to make their own flight arrangements.

Thank you to the OP and everyone else who shared stories of excursion close calls and missed departures. I think it's a good reminder not to take it for granted that you are taking a risk booking with an independent company. Things can and do go wrong, even with the most reputable private operation. It's interesting and reassuring to hear how the guaranteed return works when something unexpected happens.

That said, I've taken a mix of private and X sponsored excursions on my cruises. I generally try to apply a common sense cost / benefit analysis to the decision. If the time in port is on the shorter side, if we need to tender ashore instead of walk off, if the excursion requires an extended or complicated trip inland and is scheduled to return close to departure time, etc., then I'll usually opt to pay Celebrity and get the guaranteed return that the extra cost buys. On the other hand, if it's an easy port to access, the trip is expected to return many hours prior to departure, and there are some very well recommended private companies to book with, than I'll usually go that route. I definitely recommend doing your research. I've only been unhappy with two tours (one X and one private) and each could have been avoided if I had planned ahead.

Price has rarely been a factor when comparing X excursions to comparable private tours, but sometimes a private company will offer something expanded or unique that X simply does not. I'm also not averse to exploring on my own if the destination is easy to navigate.

So, research, use common sense, and enjoy! :)

If you enjoy overpaying to be herded like cattle on an overcrowded excursion with zero ability to personalize, lots of wasted time and often forced "shopping" stops at venues that give a kickback to the cruise line, so be it. :rolleyes:

 

If one does a little research and books with a reputable private vendor and utilizes a little common sense the chances of missing the ship are minuscule. Perhaps the tiny, remote chance of missing the ship is enough to entice some people to overpay for an inferior experience, but many informed cruisers refuse to partake in a cruise line excursion.

This tour was actually fairly small, about 16 people in a small bus. It didn't feel like a cattle call and there were no stops for shopping. Though I have no doubt it'd be cheaper if I did this on my own, it would have been impossible to fit everything we saw that day into a private tour and still make it to the ship on time.

I've done both and my choice mostly depends on the port. In Jamaica, I felt more comfortable with Celebrity. When I was in Italy, we took a private tour through very reputable company with 4 other people on the ship. In fact, we ended up switching ports last minute and our private tour guide was waiting for us before the paid shore excursion buses and tours relocated to the new port. It ended up being cheaper than Celebrity and being in a small van with 6 people was much better than a large tour bus.

I largely agree with Gonzo70. Do some research, read your Roll Call and you can save time, money and customize your experience. There are some exceptions for me. Just returned from India and since I couldn't fine anything of interest to me on my Roll Call I decided in these ports I'd rely on Celebrity. Three of the tours were well worth the price, but the tour to Goa was just unwanted shopping. I spoke to the Excursions staff about it and learned that I wasn't alone. Many of the ports Celebrity visits have Hop On buses and we use them. One might also check for free shuttles. In San Juan you can take a free "train" to the major sites.

We very rarely take ship excursions as they tend to be very overpriced and we prefer to be in a small group or visit particular things.

 

The only time we do take ship excursions are when there are time constraints or we can't find a suitable alternative.

 

Yes, things do happen, but it is highly unlikely that the ship will sail without you as long as you have booked with a reputable company and you plan to get back well in time.

While on our Equinox cruise in August past, we all stood at the sunset bar and watched the ship pull away from the port, while a young couple who had missed the ship, by a minute, stood in disbelief.. my heart broke for them! They were on their honeymoon.:( A gentleman standing beside me said, well hard luck to them, after all over 2,000 guests made it back to the ship on time! :eek: I still felt for them, and thought of them often through the next few days. Are lesson learnt... albeit, a very hard one for this young couple!

Call me cattle. I think I'm informed. I like only having to give them my money and they do it all. We like doing a tours that are about 4 hours. A lot of the ports we just walk off the ship. I like doing some shopping. What is great is that we have all have choices. Our next vacation is 25 days with a 12 night cruise in Asia. I'm thinking we are only booking 3 tours total all through Celebrity.

 

We did a cruise out of Singapore. The CC gathering was all about finding people and getting their money for private tours. Then Indonesia changed our ports stops around. It was fun to watch the people trying to get on the internet to change around their private tours.

I cruised out of Singapore and 24 passengers took the very expensive Cambodia excursion. To cut a very long story short, Celebrity 'forgot' to process the visas. They were delayed. Bottom line they arrived back at the ship 3 hours after sailing time and no MDR was kept open for them.

No-one gets it right all the time.

Annie