Pros and Cons booking excursions w/ independent vendor

[D&L Thomas]

We've always done private excurions. I do extensive (some might say compulsive) research, checking reviews of tour operators through cruise critic and also tripadvisor. Only one private operator has required an upfront deposit (50% of the total, with the rest due at the end of the tour); this was understandable because it was a group of only 12 people.

 

Reputable private tour operators are just as interested as you are in getting you back to the ship in time!

 

Some places (Bermuda comes to mind) it's really best to just head off on your own with a bus pass. Or (St. Thomas) jump in the nearest cab or "jitney" that is waiting at the end of the pier.

 

That said, if I were to travel with children, or someone with a mobility issue, or in an area I considered less safe, I would certainly consider a ship-sponsored tour. Ditto if the ship offered something really unique, like Princess' cooking "excursion" in a private home in Curacao. I need a do-over of that one, since our ship never made it there!

[tip]

I would suggest that you run, don't walk, from most cruise ship excursions!!! They are nothing more than overpriced cattle herds. Why someone would choose to pay 20-50% more for a ship sponsored excursion is beyond me.

 

As others have said, do your homework. Utilize the "Ports of Call" boards on these threads. Look for recommendations. Check out websites and see what the itinerary will entail. Often you will be able to get a customized private tour. Why be waiting for 45 people to get back to the bus at each stop when you and a handful of others on your van will be on your way?

 

As for the "what if you are running late" concerns, we always find a tour that will have us back to the pier at least two hours before "all aboard" and then use that time for shopping close by.

[fleckle]

Also consider the location of the next port and how easy or hard it would be to get there, just in case.

 

If booking with an independent operator, for your own peace of mind just ask what their backup policy is in case their boat or van should develop problems.

 

Most of the reputable companies do have a backup plan and will describe it to you. Usually the vendors cooperate in helping each other out. They are very conscientious about getting cruise ship passengers back to the ship on time because they know that their reputations depend on doing so.

 

In all the years I have been reading Cruise Critic, I cannot recall anyone reporting that people missed the ship because an independent tour operator did not get them back on time.

 

On the other hand, I have read about (and have personally experienced) a number of times when a ship's departure was delayed because a ship's tour was late getting back.

[cruisemom42]

In all the years I have been reading Cruise Critic, I cannot recall anyone reporting that people missed the ship because an independent tour operator did not get them back on time.

 

On the other hand, I have read about (and have personally experienced) a number of times when a ship's departure was delayed because a ship's tour was late getting back.

 

I agree, and I have become convinced in recent years that the ships' excursions get back late because they KNOW they can do so with impunity. So heck yeah, throw in another 10 minutes at the "factory" shopping stop and so on....

 

On the other hand, private tour operators know the ship won't necessarily wait on their customers to get back, if late. I've read stories of drivers calling each other to warn of traffic backups and providing alternate routes, of an agency getting another van on site pronto when the first one conked out, etc.

 

What I haven't read are tales of folks left behind who booked with well vetted operators. Of course, I mostly read the European Ports of Call boards, where there is (IMO) a greater level of professionalism in private tour operators than in some of the Caribbean islands or Mexico....

[bbwex]

We do mostly private excursions. As many have said, they are more intimate, able to get places faster, offer more interaction with the guide, and can be tailored to your specific needs. For instance, I spent a good bit of time researching on the Ports of Call section, and not only got the names of tour operators in some ports, but got very good suggestions as to some extras to see here and there. In Berlin, we stumbled upon a museum that was not on any tour listing, was not on our tour, but we saw it and wanted to go in. That one stop was possibly the most fascinating stop of our entire cruise!

 

Established private operators also live and die by their reputations. Many will guarantee that they will get you back in time or get you to the next port at their expense. I seriously doubt that they ever have to pay on the guarantee. Frankly they know the ships' schedules as well as the cruise companies, and they know what they have to do. If a company missed getting its passengers back to the ship, they would be out of business.

 

Yes the rule is that a ship won't wait for a private tour to return. On the other hand, I have never heard of a case of a private tour that missed a ship. I have heard of ships' tours being late, and I have heard (and seen on You Tube) of individuals that lost track of time and missed the ship, but in all of the posts on CC that I have ever seen, I have never seen one instance of a private tour that was late!

[olemissreb]

Jumping on the private excursion band wagon here! Our first 2 cruises, we did ships excursions and they were fine, but to tell you the truth they weren't memorable (of course that was 20 years ago and I've killed a lot of brain cells since then :D).

 

Our 3rd cruise, we booked 4 ships excursions and one independent. 2 of our ships excursions were cancelled and we didn't have any backup plans. Our independent tour was AMAZING! As everyone has already pointed out - it was a small group (maybe a dozen people). We went to all the places the cruise tours were going, but got in and out before we were overrun with cruise passengers. We got to have an AMAZING lunch cooked by locals at a restaurant on the beach that tourists wouldn't go to unless they've spent many days on the island. Longer beach time and still made it back to the ship with a couple hours to shop.

 

2 years ago - we did all independent excursions and 1 ship excursion. The ships excursion was boring (except for the actual rafting part). The excursion we booked in Curacao required payment in full when booking. When we got to Curacao, it was raining "cats and dogs" and decided to just eat the cost of the excursion and not get off the ship. Tried to call the tour operator, but "duh" I didn't have international calling on my cellphone so it didn't do any good! When we got back to San Juan and I was checking email, there was an email from the tour operator saying they had cancelled the tour and refunded our money!

 

Next year, we are going to Alaska and will book independent tours in every port (with maybe the exception of the Ziprider in Icy Strait - which I think is ship exclusive). I'll have purchased the Toursaver book and will be able to get many of the excursions at a 2-for-1 price (can't do that through a ships excursion). The Alaska ports of call are long (12 hours or more at times) so we can do multiple excursions if we choose and see more of the beautiful 49th state.

 

Check out the ships excursions and then go to the ports of call board (or trip adviser) and see if you can get recommendations on independents that do similar if not the same excursion. While the Cruise Critic Community may be a small part of the cruising community as a whole, this many cruisers recommending the same independent operators can't be all wrong.

 

Most important - regardless if you go independent or through the ship - enjoy your cruise and your excursions with your family! My kids LOVED their first cruise and are almost as excited as me to be going on another one.

[margeecruiser]

Hi - On our Med cruise in 2009, I researched and got recommendations for all our tours. I was scared to death, but it was just perfect. The tour company I used in Italy was great. I found about 20 different recommendations for them and not one negative review. There were 7 adults in our group, one with mobility issues. They used an 8-px van and got really close to the various tour stops, so we did not have a lot of extra walking. We were able to see twice as much in the same time frame and the cost was much, much less.

 

It went so well, my friends and family want me to do it again!

 

The ability to customize the tours to your special needs/wants is the top reason to book independently. No waiting for large groups to take pictures, all go to the one restroom, or shop, shop, shop makes it very nice to have a private tour.

 

Margee

[Jasalth]

To me it all depends on how comfortable you are booking with who you book with.

 

If you are looking for a private company for tours, do research! It might be because we travel with kids, but I would NEVER walk off a boat, hand someone money and get into a car with them.

 

We have taken ship and private tours. We took a ship excursion in Dec, because it included food and came out to be about $4 pp more than if we just did it ourselves. It turned into a mess with the tour company, but the cruise line DID make it okay. Basically our tour guides forgot about us. We had a different tour company kind enough to call them and find out what was going on. We were picked up almost 90 mins later then we were scheduled to. A lot of people gave in and took a cab back, but I am stubborn and I did already pay to be taken back to the ship!!

 

It also depends on what you want to do. Somethings you can't do w/o the cruise line involved (animal encounters and other big $$ things it seems to mostly be).

 

To us it also depends on how... safe you feel where you are going. With some experiences there are places I would not feel safe going out with someone alone. While things do happen on Cruise sponsored excursions, it seems to be away from the norm (the Carnival robbery in Mexico recently as an example). IMO this is another reason not to "walk off the ship and find something". If we don't come home, family members have a print out of our reservation confirmations and the tour company info for every place we were going!

[Steppy08]

After years of cruising, we are doing both ship's excursions and private tours on our upcoming Med. cruise. It just depends on the port and circumstance. I really enjoy not being herded around in groups of 45+ in a huge motor coach that screams tourist. Having alot of experience in traveling with large groups for work (200+ HS kids) I crave doing stuff on my own or in small groups where a simple photo stop doesn't take 20 minutes.

[dane47]

We are sailing FOS in November. I have heard from friends that they found better deals booking excursions with the "locals" rather than through the cruise ship. I want to save money, but I also don't want to miss a connection or risk losing money if something is cancelled. Any thoughts?

 

I want to share an experience I had booking an independent shore excursion. My shore excursion in Cartagena with Marelvy Pena was cancelled today after being booked with her for some time. The reason: she thought I was on the Norwegian Sun and was getting off the ship at 7 a.m. Instead I am on Oceania Regatta and getting off the ship at 8 a.m. Since her tour is starting at 8 a.m. she bumped my husband and me off her tour. So please when booking a tour make sure the independent tour guide understands exactly what ship you are on and the hours you are docked. I am using this as a teaching experience. Don't assume you are booked! Marelvy tried to find us a different tour guide but couldn't. The only offering she could provide was a private tour which was very pricey (225.00) for two people. I am now considering just getting a taxi to Old Town Cartagena and doing our own walking tour.

I hope this will help others to not be disappointed by a cancelled tour.

[Suitcasefull]

I want to share an experience I had booking an independent shore excursion. My shore excursion in Cartagena with Marelvy Pena was cancelled today after being booked with her for some time. The reason: she thought I was on the Norwegian Sun and was getting off the ship at 7 a.m. Instead I am on Oceania Regatta and getting off the ship at 8 a.m. Since her tour is starting at 8 a.m. she bumped my husband and me off her tour. So please when booking a tour make sure the independent tour guide understands exactly what ship you are on and the hours you are docked. I am using this as a teaching experience. Don't assume you are booked! Marelvy tried to find us a different tour guide but couldn't. The only offering she could provide was a private tour which was very pricey (225.00) for two people. I am now considering just getting a taxi to Old Town Cartagena and doing our own walking tour.

I hope this will help others to not be disappointed by a cancelled tour.

 

If it's not too late, check with Dora. She does various tours and also has others working with her. We were very pleased with her last year in Cartagena.

[dane47]

thanks, I have sent Dora an inquiry.

[delily]

There are pros and cons to both ships tours and private ones. I usually have always been a DIYer or booked with private companies. For our Mediterranean tour though I've chosen to do ship's tours. My main reason for going the ship's tour route this time is that a ship's tour will give me maximum hours in port. If you do it on your own you always have to be worried about getting back to the ship on time and therefore most people plan their day accordingly so that they get back with an hour or more to spare. It's the safe thing to do. But that's a very precious wasted hour in my mind, and to me it's worth the extra cost of the ships tour to be able to spend that extra hour or more sightseeing worry free in ports I may not see again. So I am getting something important to me for those extra dollars. Not all ship tours are in large groups either. I've booked many small group tours through the ship. They just cost more. I wouldn't do ships tours (or private company tours) everywhere, all the time. You have to pick and choose what's best for your particular circumstances and locale.