Carnival vs DIY Excursions

We are sailing on the Dream Thanksgiving week. This is a cruise with a lot of "firsts" for us: first time booking Early Saver rates, first time sailing during a major holiday, and first time booking some (not all) of our excursions outside of the cruise line.

In Key West, my wife wanted me to book parasailing for us and our 2 kids. Carnival had it for something like $89pp, but I booked it through, apparently, the same vendor for $52. I'm pretty sure it's the same vendor based on the logo on the parachute in the Carnival photo.

In Freeport, there seem to be few "good" excursions, and they all seem to go to the same beach -- you just get different amenities based on the price you choose to pay and what color wristband you have. I found Resort For a Day dot com, and, for about the same price, we're going to enjoy the Wyndham's all-inclusive hospitality. We're just responsible for our own transportation from and to the ship -- so we'll have to keep an eye on the time.

In Nassau, I did book the dolphin encounter, but, fortunately, Carnival is having a sale on that particular excursion. We went to Balmoral Island this past June while on an NCL cruise, and I have to say it is less than impressive.

So, how do you do your excursions? Ever run into any problems going the DIY route? The only previous DIY experience we have is taking a cab to and from a beach.

Have always done/planned my own excursions.... Alot of good information on Cruise critic with fellow cruiser input. Also another prominent website with cruiser feedback. I normally save 20-25% from the ship excursion price. Some people get intimidated on doing it on their own....However you will find the private excursion companies cater to cruisers and know that their reputation is on the line. I also research and look at reviews/feedback on all inclusive type resorts for a beach/pool day break. Another great option on port days. Sounds like you are well on your way to independence and controlling your own planning. Good luck!!

When I book my own, I always try to do it the first part of our port day, having FTTF helps with this as you can get off the ship first. Last time we were in Jamaica we booked a resort for a day off of that same website and it was fantastic. We got back to the ship in plenty of time, but the traffic was bad, and after we got back to ship there was a bad fatality wreck on "the road" through town that shut down traffic for hours. There were 3 buses of people that got back to the ship hours after we were supposed to leave port, but because they were on Carnival excursions they held the ship. We are going back to Jamaica in December and have decided to do a Carnival excursion at that port this time, to be on the safe side.

We only book our own excursions. With the exception of FTTF and cabanas at HMC, we've never booked a Carnival excursion. It's cheaper, less crowded and more fun to do it on your own.

We're retired and walking long distances isn't an option for my DH so ....We made a "personal rule" for ourselves :)

If we want to go somewhere taxis would be readibly available ... we book independently.

If we're going out into the country where we can't hail a taxi if the tour vehicle breaks down or there's some other problem ... we book thru the cruise line.

I'm sure there are others who think that's unnecessarily cautious but it makes us comfortable and in our minds that comfort may be worthy of the few extra $$ it would cost us. Just another point of view ..... :)

We generally book independently, and have never had an issue with quality or being late. And, we've had SO MANY fun experiences. You just have to "do the homework" like the previous posters said, visiting top travel sites, and cross-comparing with the "Ports of Call" board on this site.

My favorite tours:

--Being the only family booked on an early Capt Marvin Stingray City excursion, resulting in the boat and stingrays to ourselves

--Hiring a private guide to spend the day driving us around Havana, Cuba.

--Taking a hysterically authentic river tour to spend the day with the Embera Indians in Panama. They were topless!!!!!

--Spending an entire day jet-boating around St Martin in a speedboat, stopping for lunch at a French beachside cafe, and watching the planes fly over our heads while we were anchored offshore.

--ATVing in Curacao, and feeling like we were traveling across the moon.

--Spending a spectacular day riding on a houseboat down a river in the Dominican Republic.

--Spending another spectacular day on a boat/beach adventure with the same company in the Dominican Republic---and getting half of our tour fare for free because I had almost 40 others signed up to go on the same tour.

--Cooking an authentic Mexican lunch in a rustic neighborhood after spending the morning visiting some amazing ruins.

--Segwaying in Aruba.

--Having a private mini bus and guide each day we were in Europe on our MED cruise--and being beyond impressed when our tour guide in Rome presented us with my son's sunglasses, that he had left in the previous day's minivan in Sorrento. The tour guides worked together to get him his glasses back!!!! And, our tour guides would merely wink at the guards posted at each of the big sights (David statue, Coliseum, etc), and we would walk in, bypassing everyone else in line. Eating at those same guides favorite local restaurants--the best!!

Be adventurous--and find fun things to do with your traveling party!

CeleBrat

We mostly do our own thing, booking independent. The only time I would book a Ship excursion is if it was a really long excursion, such as Tulum. That excursion takes all day. from the moment you leave the boat until just before leaving the port for the day. That type of excursion I would consider taking a ship tour, just for fear of being late. Other than that, its cheaper and usually less people doing your own thing.

I have only ever booked one Carnival excursion. The first excursion on the very first cruise ever.

I've been all through the Caribbean with private excursions. I use CC and Trip Advisor and research, research, research.

My personal thought is that Carnival excursions are like herding cattle. I was out at Stingray City in Grand Cayman with Moby Dick Tours and saw this first hand. Our boat had 15 people on it along with squid for the stingrays and here comes a Carnival excursion. What appears to be 200 people sardined on a tiny boat with no food at all for the stingrays. I was having a great time and I can assure you that if I had been on that Carnival boat, I'd have been miserable.

I have zero qualms about booking private. I save money and have better, longer excursions with much smaller groups involved. I've done this in Mexico, Honduras, Aruba, St Thomas, St Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Belize, Puerto Rico and Curacao. I would think twice about it in a European country but not in the Caribbean. These excursion operators stake their reputations on the ability to get you back to the ship on time and even when I've been on a boat excursion with mechanical issues, there was a backup plan and we've never been close at being late.

We always go on our own except when we were in Alaska. The distances are so great that I felt better booking through the ship - just in case.

Been on 25 cruises and have booked ship excursions probably five times. Three of them were in Alaska. :)

We are sailing on the Dream Thanksgiving week. This is a cruise with a lot of "firsts" for us: first time booking Early Saver rates, first time sailing during a major holiday, and first time booking some (not all) of our excursions outside of the cruise line.

 

In Key West, my wife wanted me to book parasailing for us and our 2 kids. Carnival had it for something like $89pp, but I booked it through, apparently, the same vendor for $52. I'm pretty sure it's the same vendor based on the logo on the parachute in the Carnival photo.

 

In Freeport, there seem to be few "good" excursions, and they all seem to go to the same beach -- you just get different amenities based on the price you choose to pay and what color wristband you have. I found Resort For a Day dot com, and, for about the same price, we're going to enjoy the Wyndham's all-inclusive hospitality. We're just responsible for our own transportation from and to the ship -- so we'll have to keep an eye on the time.

 

In Nassau, I did book the dolphin encounter, but, fortunately, Carnival is having a sale on that particular excursion. We went to Balmoral Island this past June while on an NCL cruise, and I have to say it is less than impressive.

 

So, how do you do your excursions? Ever run into any problems going the DIY route? The only previous DIY experience we have is taking a cab to and from a beach.

We only booked excursions through the ship on our very first cruise. We did not know any better and others had us scared about going off and missing the boat. Since then we have only done private excursions and 14 cruises later our private tours have ALWAYS been better than the first two we did with the ship.

On our first trip we booked a snorkeling tour with the ship at Grand Cayman, we walked from the dock about 35 feet, got into a pontoon and went right back out in a small "lagoon" area between the shore and the ship...:(

We have since taken several snorkeling excursions (Grand Cayman and elsewhere) and it has been fantastic! Stingray City being one of our most favorite.

Our private tours have always proven to be cheaper, smaller and more willing to make extra/unscheduled stops to better our experience.

One thing I do try to do- pre arrange those tours, be able to see reviews on other sites and make contact with them before leaving home.

We have not had a a bad on our own experience yet!

First few tours we did were ship tours.

After we understood the difference we always book privately. They are cheaper better and less crowded.

We do make sure they are scheduled to be back at the port well before sail time and check out the reputation of the provider.

It does not happen very often, but sometimes conditions will cause you to be late getting back to the ship. If you are on a Carnival excursion, they will wait for you. If you are on your own excursion and are late, the ship may or may not be there. On our last cruise (a coastal California), four of our table mates missed the ship because of traffic. They met the ship the next day and told us that they got caught up in the hills around Santa Barbara because of a wild fire and the fire department was keeping everyone in place for safety. They were on the coast and saw the ship sailing away. Lucky for them it was a short ride down to LA to meet the ship the next day. So if you are on your own, be prepared for the unexpected.

We have only ever booked one excursion through Carnival and the only reason we did that was because we couldn't find it anywhere else. We have never had any problems with private companies. We are just always mindful of the time and go with reputable companies that have good ratings.

I just booked a ship tour only because my mother insisted she didn't want to risk missing the boat. No matter how many times I told her, I got this (in my George Lopez voice), she wasn't budging. Luckily the tour I wanted to do outside of Carnival was of course cheaper and Carnival gave me the difference in price. I'm just not gonna like the whole crowding situation.

I hear you... I Place Carnival excursions in 4 buckets 1) For cruise newbees 2) For worry warts 3) Willing to pay extra for the convenience and 4) Offers an excursion which interests me and I can't find privately (but this is rare). Best to not rock the boat with your Mom. Keeps her happy and less worried. Last thing you need is for a reminder every 15' asking "are we on schedule...will we get back in time?" etc

In our many Caribbean

excursions probably 80% done by research.

Although once in BVI we were to meet and pay a tour guide for our bucket list for Virgin Gorda....he didn’t show :eek:

Luckily another tour was short 2 people in port and we just hopped in! Was a total blast!

Life is short, sometimes you gotta go with your gut and take the plunge. :cool:

Have not done a cruise line tour in probably 20 years but we have an upcoming cruise where we will do it thru the cruise line.

Goingto Maui and will do road to Hana. It is a very long tour on a very windy two lane road and if we miss the ship long swim back to US.

Thus we booked thru the cruise line.

We have only done one Carnival excursion. Reasons: Distance from port plus multiple modes of transportation along the way. It seemed slightly risky for not making it back on time. In the end, for this particular tour, it was about equal pricewise with the private ones and in many cases cheaper too. We were also pleasantly surprised at how small the group was. Ordinarily we use private companies or go on our own. We book private for price, private or smaller groups and an overall better experience. We will also go out on our own when we feel we can be in good control of our travel factors. In St Thomas for example we are totally comfortable going to St John on our own. You need to take taxis and ferries, but the timing of the day is very much within your control.

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Depending on how long the ship is in port we usually go the 'DIY' route on Caribbean and Mediterranean Cruises.

In the Mediterranean, we took the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and in Naples we took the train to Pompeii with ample time getting back on board.

Instead of being rushed from tour-stop-to-tour-stop excursions, we explore the cities, sample the local cuisine, culture, take in the sights, etc. on our own.

In a way, it's a nice respite from the daily hustle and bustle on board ship.

When we started cruising we didn't know any better and only did ship sponsored excursions, but we have been pleased with them. We haven't done any private "excursions" yet, but have explored two ports on our own walking and had great times those days too.

Our first cruise we did a pub crawl which was a lot of fun with a great sized group (around 12), but the guide left us at the last stop with directions back to the ship. We made it back in time, but I doubt the ship would have waited for stragglers since the activity officially ended with plenty of time to walk back. Many excursions will get you back in time, but you need to keep watching the clock if you decide to shop or do anything else in port before getting on the ship.

For our upcoming Bahamas cruise we will:

just spend the day at Princess Cay - no need for an excursion

take the ship's Snuba excursion - it is actually cheaper than the same excursion with Stuart Cove privately (but private might be less crowded)

kayak at Freeport - this excursion takes almost the entire time at port, so we wanted the ship guarantee for return and didn't see it offered privately during the time we will be there.

We will check each time both private vs ship, but we haven't found private to be better yet for the excursions we want.

I hear you... I Place Carnival excursions in 4 buckets 1) For cruise newbees 2) For worry warts 3) Willing to pay extra for the convenience and 4) Offers an excursion which interests me and I can't find privately (but this is rare). Best to not rock the boat with your Mom. Keeps her happy and less worried. Last thing you need is for a reminder every 15' asking "are we on schedule...will we get back in time?" etc

You have obviously met my mother LOLOLOL!!! That would be her! You sure we gonna get back in time? I don't want the boat to leave us. How long before we leave? We should go now just in case.

She would work my last good and bad nerve!!! So to keep her happy and keep me sane, we will be herded with all the other guests for a Carnival excursion. Had we did it the way I wanted, we would have been half way through our excursion before the Carnival folks showed up.

 

Our first cruise we did a pub crawl which was a lot of fun with a great sized group (around 12), but the guide left us at the last stop with directions back to the ship. We made it back in time, but I doubt the ship would have waited for stragglers since the activity officially ended with plenty of time to walk back. Many excursions will get you back in time, but you need to keep watching the clock if you decide to shop or do anything else in port before getting on the ship.

 

Would be very unhappy with tour guide that didnt take us back to the ship. Cruise line would have heard about it from me

you will not miss the ship with a private excursion. This is all they do for a living. Their business depends on you having a good time and getting you back to the ship.

Would be very unhappy with tour guide that didnt take us back to the ship. Cruise line would have heard about it from me

We were in Saint John, NB Canada - so it was easy to feel safe. Many in the group wanted to continue drinking at the last stop and I'm sure the guide was only booked for so long. I've heard of a bar hop in Nassau that is similar where the guide leaves you at the last stop to finish on your own.