excursions non cruise bookings and comments on here

[mbclaw13]

I have read numerous boards and dont understand why there is so much negativity on booking a non ship excurison. if folks do the research and can get a better deal than paying $50.00 more why not do it. the only thing i see as a benefit for booking on ship is you are first to board and if somthing happens the ship says they will cover the issues. but the tour i have researched also says they would reimburse you if you dont dock for some reason.

 

we leave in 4 weeks i booked mine through non cruise and dont see what the big issue is and why folks write the meanest comments to those who booked off cruise. am I missing something?

[sparks1093]

I've never seen anyone taken to task for booking a non-ship excursion.

[susie8862]

I have read numerous boards and dont understand why there is so much negativity on booking a non ship excurison. if folks do the research and can get a better deal than paying $50.00 more why not do it. the only thing i see as a benefit for booking on ship is you are first to board and if somthing happens the ship says they will cover the issues. but the tour i have researched also says they would reimburse you if you dont dock for some reason.

 

we leave in 4 weeks i booked mine through non cruise and dont see what the big issue is and why folks write the meanest comments to those who booked off cruise. am I missing something?

I don't know. I, personally have never paid for an excursion. We have always done everything on our own. I can understand if it is your first cruise and you do not know what you are doing, but other than that.....NOPE....saving my money for DOD'S :eek:

[mondello]

Booking through the cruiseline or on your own is strictly personal choice. You can't go wrong either way until something does go wrong. I place as much importance upon it as whether to book a cruise direct online, use a PVP or TA.

[iowagirl411]

You couldn't have gotten that impression on THIS board. Experienced cruisers are constantly suggesting that newer cruisers look into booking excursions independently - especially as a cost saving tip. The only caveat sometimes being that 1st time cruisers should be very diligent in their research or stick to "ship" excursions until they get the "hang" of things.

[Capette]

Ditto.. I've never seen anyone flamed on this board for suggesting non-cruiseline excursions. It really is a comfort and personal choice. Just do your research. Trip Advisor is a very good resource to check out. Then again if you decide to choose Chuck and Ted's Fly by Night Tour Company and you miss the ship because your stuck in the rainforest with just your Sail and Sign and your Superman underwear on then well... lesson learned.

[CruzerDeb]

This seems to be coming out of "left field". I've never seen anyone taken to task for booking their own excursions. Seems to be encouraged, actually.

[maldenmusic]

I never book my excursions through the cruise lines and have never had any negative experience.

[okgirl]

I've never seen anyone taken to task for booking a non-ship excursion.

 

Neither have I. In fact it seems almost the opposite here on the Carnival boards and the port of call boards.......

 

OP are you finding flaming going on in a specific section???

[mbclaw13]

Thanks I don't recall the name if the post yesterday it was under carnival section

Some of the comments were just so rude I felt bad for the original poster. Most folks on here are so helpful and some of the folks comments were just mean and weird.

[Banditswife]

I would agree that most posts on here actually encourage booking tours privately. We learned about tour companies on here & trip advisor.

 

On the other hand, there are sometimes posters who try to stir the pot, maybe you experienced something like that.

[TaraLynne]

I have read numerous boards and dont understand why there is so much negativity on booking a non ship excurison. if folks do the research and can get a better deal than paying $50.00 more why not do it. the only thing i see as a benefit for booking on ship is you are first to board and if somthing happens the ship says they will cover the issues. but the tour i have researched also says they would reimburse you if you dont dock for some reason.

 

we leave in 4 weeks i booked mine through non cruise and dont see what the big issue is and why folks write the meanest comments to those who booked off cruise. am I missing something?

 

hmm, I've never seen such negativity on these boards...in fact I would say that more often people are claiming that the non-Carnival excursions are BETTER than the ship ones. Personally I've only ever done ship-sponsored excursions because I was always either traveling with my parents, the excursion I wanted was only available through the cruise line (i.e. the Champagne Cat Sail on St. Thomas), or for instance with our honeymoon cruise we did a honeymoon registry and it was easier to choose cruise line excursions for that.

[grozas]

We normally book thur carnival because some of my family can't make a decision and always change their mind the day before the excursion.

[not-enough-cruising]

I never book my excursions through the cruise lines and have never had any negative experience.

 

 

+1, and i also agree with posters saying it may not be the best thing for a first time cruiser to do, but after you have one or two cruises under your belt and you learn how the whole system works there is noting wrong with booking independently, I do it all the time. :D

[jsjjkelly]

We've booked non cruise excursions for our past 2 cruises. The only time I've ever seen comments about booking Carnival over a private is because the actual excursion takes so long there's issues getting back on time. I'm thinking of when we were considering touring a Mayan ruin. We opted to do something else.

 

Also, we're considering something Carnival for the Dominican Republic because it doesn't sound very safe.

 

But otherwise, save your money, book a non cruise excursion and have fun!

 

Shawn

[ibcnusoon]

I book both Carnival-sponsored excursions and private excursions, depending on the port, the trip itself, and the timing.

 

I booked a private jet-ski 3-hour tour on Grand Cayman, but when we took the 7 hour mayan ruins tour in Belize, I booked with the ship. Luckily I did because we were delayed coming back by 1 hour, and the ship waited for us.

[golfadj]

With only one exception i believe, we never pay for our private tours in advance.

[skittl1321]

My personal rule is if it is more than an hour (or 90 minutes, I never remember what my rule is...) away from the ship- I book through Carnival. Too many things can happen on the road.

 

But most excursions- happily do on my own.

[jtdlmc]

There was a post not too long ago (within the past month) where someone blamed people who buy non-cruise sponsored excursions as another reason for fares to increase. Why do people have to question the OP on this - if you have never seen such a post, then move on and don't comment, why the need to contradict the OP???

[sparks1093]

There was a post not too long ago (within the past month) where someone blamed people who buy non-cruise sponsored excursions as another reason for fares to increase. Why do people have to question the OP on this - if you have never seen such a post, then move on and don't comment, why the need to contradict the OP???

 

Not contradicting, just giving my own observations. Why do you have to question us questioning the OP?;):D