First time cruisers...explain to me excursions please

Hello,

I'm getting a bit nervous. Going on our first cruise in less than 2 weeks - NCL Gateway.

I am looking at excursions and I'm curious. How does it work exactly.

Once the ship arrives, do we have the option to stay on the boat, leave the boat on our own and explore and/or book an excursion?

When do we need to be back? Are we all leaving the ship at the same time?

I guess those are more logistic questions around arriving at port.

We will be stopping at Stirrup Cay, Ocho Rios, Cozumel.

Any details/info would be appreciated!

Thanks a bunch

Hello,

I'm getting a bit nervous. Going on our first cruise in less than 2 weeks - NCL Gateway.

I am looking at excursions and I'm curious. How does it work exactly.

Once the ship arrives, do we have the option to stay on the boat, leave the boat on our own and explore and/or book an excursion?

When do we need to be back? Are we all leaving the ship at the same time?

I guess those are more logistic questions around arriving at port.

We will be stopping at Stirrup Cay, Ocho Rios, Cozumel.

Any details/info would be appreciated!

Thanks a bunch

Basically yes.

You can stay on the boat, wander into town on your own, depending on the port how you get there, do an excursion booked through the cruise line or one booked privately.

Most people leave the ship around the Sam time, we like to leav a bit later once the rich is over, but we tend to do our own thing in most Ports.

Mostly you need to be back about half an hour before the ship is scheduled to depart, this will be posted at the gangway as you disembark.

Yes, you can just stay on the ship or pretty much go on and off the ship as often as you would like once the ship has been cleared. You do need to be back on board 30 minutes before you leave.

You can go into town on your own or take an excursion either through the cruise line or a private one.

Keith

You can research the various ports right here on CC and find out what each has to offer and whether it is a port you want to explore on your own or take an excursion. You can get on and off the ship as many times as you like (DH and I usually do some exploring and return to the ship to eat lunch and then may go out again). This is faster and easier in dock ports (Where you just walk from the ship on a pier or board walk) than tender ports (where a small boat takes people to and from land to ship). There will be announcements in your daily ship's paper and over the intercom of what time you to be back aboard. Take these seriously as the ship will not wait. The only exception is if you are on an excursion booked THROUGH THE SHIP (they will NOT wait for private excursions). On the port boards you can find reviews of excursions also. Hope this helps, enjoy your cruise!

Congrats on your first cruise. I know how nerve-wracking it can be. My first cruise, not knowing what we were doing, wasted soooo much money on ship excursions. THEN I found cruise critic. :)

Here is a thread about Stir up cay:http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2159075 Click on this and read. You will learn a lot and know what to expect. It is a beach day and no excursion is required.

You did not specify what you like to do. Are you beach people? History? Snorkeling? Etc....

Cozumel is GREAT. So much to do for so little money. I have many suggestions, but I do not know what you are looking for.

Please come back and let us know.

Stirrup Cay is NCL private island. You can do whatever you want to do here. There is a free BBQ at lunch time. You will tender to shore. As a rule, your daily program will give you the place where you can get your tender tickets.

If you decide to book the ship's excursions for your other 2 ports, check your tickets for the time and place you are to meet.

Since this is your first cruise, I suggest you take a ship's excursion. That way if the excursion runs late, the ship will wait for you. The ship will not wait for people who do independent tours that may run late.

A guidebook is a very useful tool..especially if you want to do things on your own. It's best to know something about where you're going.

Excursions can be pretty pricey...and for many things, they are not needed! The cruise line is counting on you knowing nothing about your ports, so you will feel you must pay them to show you a good time....

Libraries have guidebooks..or you can buy one!

The only caveat:...make sure your WATCH is set to the same time as the ship's clocks...don't use your cell phone to tell time in port....your phone will show local time, and ship's time may be different!!!

Yes...Stirrup Cay is the private island day....consider it to be part of the ship...on the beach, everything works just like on the ship! There is no need to book any kind of tour there...it's a beach day, pure and simple!

Hello,

I'm getting a bit nervous. Going on our first cruise in less than 2 weeks - NCL Gateway.

I am looking at excursions and I'm curious. How does it work exactly.

Once the ship arrives, do we have the option to stay on the boat, leave the boat on our own and explore and/or book an excursion?

When do we need to be back? Are we all leaving the ship at the same time?

I guess those are more logistic questions around arriving at port.

We will be stopping at Stirrup Cay, Ocho Rios, Cozumel.

Any details/info would be appreciated!

Thanks a bunch

The Getaway was at Stirrup Cay (also known as Cococay) the same time my ship was this past October. It's a very pretty island - not much to do but great for relaxing.

WOW! You guys are so awesome! Love CC. It really helps!

I did book the Wave Runner excursion at Stirrup. It looks super fun. However...the only time left was 8:30a. I guess we will have to be the first one off the ship that first morning.

Not sure if the other excursions look as fun. I'd love to visit Ocho Rios/Jamaica and to visit the town of Cozumel. We do not need to do zipline, ATV and bobsleigh...we can do that any other time.

Any suggestions about those ports would be great.

Also thinking that we will spend some time on the Spice H2O - adults only area as we will not have our kids of this Gateway cruise.

Again, this is our first time and want to get the most we can of our time together :-)

Thank you all.