RCL sponsored excursion v. Private excursions

We are new to cruising so I'm a bit lost. Other than cost, are there any downsides to using RCLs excursions compared to the private excursions mentioned on this board?

I think it is more personal preference than anything. Many people have cost concerns, others know if they go with a ship sponsored excursion the ship will wait for them with a private tour the ship will not wait. I think many people don't want to feel part of the herd, so private is their choice.

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If you are willing to book a private excursion you will have a more personal experience. We have been to Roatan a few different time and have used both Victor Bodden and Rony's services. Both are excellent. We like to go with the private tours as we can change our plans as we go. You can't do that on a ship tour. We can spend as much or as little time doing each activity as we want to.

We like to get away from the crowds a bit and have never had any problem getting back to the ship on time. We never take ship sponsored excursions as it is much less expensive to do it on our own; and we like it better. It is a very personal choice. Our friends that we have taken multiple cruises with will not take anything but a ship sponsored excursion. I enjoy spending time planning on what I want to see on each island and we just talk with our driver about what they recommend. The tour guides have always had good suggestions once they know generally what we want to do for the day~and what we want to avoid.