Private excursions

On some of our cruises we spoke with people who joined privately arranged tours through cruise critic.

As I understand it, cruise critic members on a particular cruise take the initiative to arrange private tours that others can join.

Is that correct?

Yes, that can happen....you will need to go to your "Roll Call" on these boards to start chatting with others on your ship and sailing.

And, depending on what you want to do, you might find you don't even need an excursion to do it! A guidebook is most helpful in deciding what to do, and how to do it!

The answer to your question is "yes." Go to the roll call for your cruise -- under the roll call section, go to your cruise line, then your particular ship, and then look for a section for your particular cruise. If there is not one already, follow the guidelines and set one up, but double check that you do not already have one.

We almost always do private tours, and we often have found others to join us on the roll calls.

Yes, others can join to the extent there is space available.

Some private tours are priced by the van. That is, the per-person cost is very high when only 2 of the 8 seats are filled, but much more affordable when all 8 seats are filled.

A driver or agency will ask for the higher 2-person rate for each couple they load into an 8-seater vehicle, but if you come in with friends, you get a better per person rate -- you guarantee the van is full, and you're all happy and off on your trip more quickly. Better than spending agonizing time waiting for the driver to work the crowd to fill the last couple of spots!

Before the trip, check tour prices online, and then ask for the best price for a full van -- and fill it up with friends met here on roll call. There is some risk, yes, of people not showing up. It hasn't burned us... yet.

The larger your group is, the more negotiating power you have on the dock, too. Choose ONE spokesperson, max two, to work a deal for your group.

My family knows to let me do the negotiating, to just stand back. They signal by taking off their sunglasses when they are good with the price.