What are Regent excursions like?

[Oregonian]

We're contemplating both Regent's 16 day Singapore to Hong Kong trip in February 2013 and Oceania's equivalent 17 day cruise. We've been on Oceania in the Med before and loved it. One of the attractions on Regent is that excursions are included, although I've typically arranged private excursions of 8-12 people and these have turned out great (not to mention that I actually enjoyed doing the research). So my question is what are Regent excursions like -- large bus tours or tours with fewer people like semi-private tours? I might add that there was only one tour on Oceania we didn't like and this was a ship excursion by bus.

 

PS, does anybody have any idea on typical costs of 8-10 person private excursions in SE Asia?

[Travelcat2]

While I do not have a lot of answers, I can tell you that Regent and Oceania use the same tour companies. Many "included" excursions are on buses with a maximum of 30 people per bus. Regent preferred excursions (with a cost) are often (not always) smaller groups -- many include lunch.

 

Since you enjoy research (as I do), try Googling "private day tours in ........." and/or "small group day tours in .........". That is how we find most of ours. Also check out the Ports section of CruiseCritic. You can ask for tour company recommendations there. Here is a link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

[Klala]

My husband and I use toursbylocals.com when we travel. you can set up tours for 1-10 depending on the tour/guide. We have used it several times and have never had a problem.

[alexandra cruiser]

we just did east.caribbean,,and on islands most bus tours,,,were on small trolley type bus,,with 12 or so people...then DH had a few horseback tours with 16 or so in each group...only 1 time was reg bus used in St. Maarten,,then 40 or so,,,but can always take bus,,then go off on own.;)

[RachelG]

It is correct that Regent and Oceania tours use the same companies, and as far as I can tell, the tours are identical. Only difference is that with Regent, many of them are included. And the ones with a surcharge cost less extra than the full price of the tour which you would pay with Oceania.

 

I say this because we had good friends who went on the same exact itinerary on Oceania that we did on Regent. My friend wanted my advice on which tours to pick, so she showed me her list with the tour descriptions, prices, etc. Ironically, her Oceania cruise ended up costing more than our Regent one because of the add-ons.

[Hambagahle]

A quick answer to the question "what is the likely cost of setting up private tours in SE Asia" is that it will vary enormously depending on which country you are in and whether you need a van or bus for the tour. I have set up private tours for small groups (myself and friends) In Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam and Malaysia. Sort of "quick and dirty" estimate, including guide and transport, was about $100 pp for a morning and $150 for a FD. Varies a lot also depending on entrances etc that need to be paid...

[Emperor Norton]

Regents tours can be very hit or miss. In my experience in Europe you're batting 50/50 with the pay extra tours. Some I felt were worth the money, others I felt as if I should have been paid to suffer through. The "freebie" tours I recall were blah to just OK. Id rather the excursion price leave my fare and let me spend for the better tours that the line offered as Radisson (or what Crystal and Silversea offer).

[Travelcat2]

There are really many variables. For instance, in Israel and Jordan, there were 8-11 hour "free" excursions that also provided lunch. The quality of the tours were excellent! We also went on a half-day tour in Egypt to a Bedouin camp -- a once in a lifetime experience. They gave us tea and were baking bread on a stone that we also ate. This was an amazing experience (also included a 1 hour roundtrip jeep ride in the desert -- quite a wild ride). Again, this was a "free" excursion.

 

The included excursions in some parts of the world we have visited have been mediocre. On our upcoming cruise that stops in Med. ports, we do not have high expectations and have chosen mostly excursions with a charge.

 

There is always the choice to plan your own excursions and avoid being on a bus with around 28 other passengers. For us, it depends upon the port.

[chicagogal]

The two free tours that we were able go on recently were both very good in our opinion (although we heard others complain about the same ones)

 

I took a trolley tour with Truman White House tour in Key West which I really enjoyed as orientation to the city and to learn so much about Truman (I had never been there and was alone while my husband sought out a deep sea fishing trip on shore) I'm sure this would be easy to do on your own as well, but I appreciated being part of a group.

 

The other was the 7 1/2 hours (became 8 or more) New River boat cruise and Lamanai Mayan Ruins tour in Belize. It was ~3 hours on the bus RT and about same on the boat. 90 mins at ruins and a 45 minute barbecue lunch. We had an excellent guide and boat driver and it unexpectedly also became a mini bird watching expedition as well, once they knew we (maybe no one else?) were interested. (Side bar on that - we LOVED it but others were bored stopping to look at birds so frequently. We were last to board the boat and took the only seats left - unshaded in the front row- where we could chat with guide and driver) We enjoyed the lunch and ate everything. Some thought it was not very good and compared it to what they could have had on the ship.

 

ADVICE: Many also complained about the 6 + hours of total travel time and the rough walking at the ruins and how late lunch was coming AFTER the ruins. That was all fully disclosed up at front , however, so DO READ THE LONG descriptions on line or in your precruise doc book , not just the short blurbs in the cabin.

[RachelG]

Chicagogal, that is in my top best ever excursions on Regent. We really loved it. If people complained about the food, that is their problem. It was typical Belizean food. We had spent time in Belize previously, so I guess we knew what to expect. But it really was typical of the country and quite good by those standards.

[chicagogal]

Chicagogal, that is in my top best ever excursions on Regent. We really loved it. If people complained about the food, that is their problem. It was typical Belizean food. We had spent time in Belize previously, so I guess we knew what to expect. But it really was typical of the country and quite good by those standards.

 

I totally agree! And the cooks/servers were so proud of it, too!