Cruise ship shore excursions vs local excursions

[kingbri]

Hi in November we sail out of Sydney on the Millenium to Singapore up the Queensland coast and going over the top with a visit to Darwin.

I have on other cruise areas always booked shore trips with a local company either before sailing or at the dockside, any suggestions from fellow cruisers on locals who they have used in ths past. Stops include Newcastle Brisbane Cairns Darwin.

Is there much choice on the dockside?

King Brian

[Sutho]

Originally Posted by kingbri

Hi in November we sail out of Sydney on the Millenium to Singapore up the Queensland coast and going over the top with a visit to Darwin.

I have on other cruise areas always booked shore trips with a local company either before sailing or at the dockside, any suggestions from fellow cruisers on locals who they have used in ths past. Stops include Newcastle Brisbane Cairns Darwin.

Is there much choice on the dockside?

King Brian

Living in Newcastle (it is a relatively small city) I am not sure you would find many private companies and will be lucky if you do. There are plenty of tourist/historic things to see in the city if you wanted to take a taxi around or use the bus services. Alternatively Newcastle is the gateway to the Hunter Valley Vineyards which are very good and worth a visit if you are into wine and scenic places. Not worth hiring a car to go there as allot of the roads are covered in pot holes and there are still gravel roads leading into the area. I know the place and all the back roads up there and the quickest way in and out and no GPS in the world knows the roads up there I know of.

If you want to tour the city of Newcastle you can do it on your own locally with help of locals and tour guides at the port.

If you want to go to the vineyards I would probably suggest a ships shore excursion or if you are lucky a private company to take you.

[rugbypopsie]

Originally Posted by kingbri

Hi in November we sail out of Sydney on the Millenium to Singapore up the Queensland coast and going over the top with a visit to Darwin.

I have on other cruise areas always booked shore trips with a local company either before sailing or at the dockside, any suggestions from fellow cruisers on locals who they have used in ths past. Stops include Newcastle Brisbane Cairns Darwin.

Is there much choice on the dockside?

King Brian

Have you checked to see if there is a roll call for your cruise..if there is you may find plenty of suggestions from cruisers who are familiar with the ports you are visiting. Plus opportunities to join in already arranged tours.

Sue

[Topaz_M]

You can also do a search on this board for each of those ports. They have been covered in detail many times before

[midwife]

Originally Posted by kingbri

Hi in November we sail out of Sydney on the Millenium to Singapore up the Queensland coast and going over the top with a visit to Darwin.

I have on other cruise areas always booked shore trips with a local company either before sailing or at the dockside, any suggestions from fellow cruisers on locals who they have used in ths past. Stops include Newcastle Brisbane Cairns Darwin.

Is there much choice on the dockside?

King Brian

Hi Brian
We are on the same cruise. There is a very active roll all for this cruise. There is a private tour being organized for Airlie Beach.

We have been to many of the towns on the cruise, but not Newcastle. Am starting to look for tours this week.

Looking forward to meeting the cruise critic members during this cruise.

PETA
midwife

[Kinkacruiser]

Within you roll call group, try to locate private operators as much as possible. It's one of the best advantages of joining it. You can expect to pay aound 30% more for a ship tour than a private tour. That said, sometimes the ship tours are just more convenient. Darwin operators for instance like to be paid up front.
Happy tour-finding.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

If you do find a private tour operator....
never ever pay for it up front.
Your ship may not make the port...weather,breakdowns etc, and even though some operators say they will refund if your ship doesnt arrive, it may be a different story when it comes to refunding.
Any good operator will expect payment at the end of a tour.

[Sandielle]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

If you do find a private tour operator....
never ever pay for it up front.
Your ship may not make the port...weather,breakdowns etc, and even though some operators say they will refund if your ship doesnt arrive, it may be a different story when it comes to refunding.
Any good operator will expect payment at the end of a tour.

True. A sad case in point...we were asked to pay up front for a gondola/tram tour in Christchurch, but we didn't make it because of that dreadful earthquake. Luckily we decided to just buy tickets on the day. They did say they would refund the money if we booked, and I believe them, but I don't know whether or not their business survived the earthquake. I hope for their sakes it did.

[Sutho]

Hunter Valley Vineyards are worthwhile from Newcastle. I live in Newcastle and have been there recently with a girl I am taking on my next cruise. It is a scenic place and lots of wineries to visit.

[kingbri]

Thanks for all the help, i will also add our names to the roll call today, please keep any suggestions coming!!!!