ship excursions vs. independent-anyone ever been left?

[Hlitner]

After reading a few other threads this morning I started thinking about general travel philosophy. As a long-time (more then 40 years) travel lover and cruiser these kind of threads make me a little sad. DW and I have experienced wonderful and amazing moments throughout the world, and in just about every case the best things (and best food) have happened when we were on our own. If you follow some of the threads here on CC you will find cruisers who fear doing anything ashore on their own (or not on a cruise ship excursion), are afraid to eat anything off the ship (including in such great foodie counties as France, Italy, Spain, etc), spend a lot of time ruminating on missing the ship, getting sick, getting seasick, meeting rude people on ships (and shore), having bad experiences with the crew, have to sleep on bad mattresses in dirty cabins breathing bad air, etc etc. If you hang around the Guest Relations desk on nearly any cruise you will hear a constant parade of whiners complaining about rough seas, too cold, too hot, too noisy, too quiet, tours too expensive, the ship "rocks," etc etc. One wonders why many of these folks ever leave their home :)

 

Hank

[kylenne]

After reading a few other threads this morning I started thinking about general travel philosophy. As a long-time (more then 40 years) travel lover and cruiser these kind of threads make me a little sad. DW and I have experienced wonderful and amazing moments throughout the world, and in just about every case the best things (and best food) have happened when we were on our own. If you follow some of the threads here on CC you will find cruisers who fear doing anything ashore on their own (or not on a cruise ship excursion), are afraid to eat anything off the ship (including in such great foodie counties as France, Italy, Spain, etc), spend a lot of time ruminating on missing the ship, getting sick, getting seasick, meeting rude people on ships (and shore), having bad experiences with the crew, have to sleep on bad mattresses in dirty cabins breathing bad air, etc etc. If you hang around the Guest Relations desk on nearly any cruise you will hear a constant parade of whiners complaining about rough seas, too cold, too hot, too noisy, too quiet, tours too expensive, the ship "rocks," etc etc. One wonders why many of these folks ever leave their home :)

 

Hank

 

Well said. :) As a first time cruiser in the eastern Med with my family (two of which were experienced cruisers), we took zero ship tours and we had exactly zero issues in European ports. Don't let the paranoid folks scare you off. A little common sense and planning ahead goes a long way. Fortunately, we happen to have an incredible resource at our fingertips right here at CC. Do your homework about each port, the experienced folks here are a wealth of great information and recommendations for quality local independent operators. You'll be fine.

 

Obviously, what this really comes down to is comfort level and personal preference, but I'm a native New Yorker that has spent my whole life navigating one of the most crowded urban jungles on earth and dealing with public transportation. So I felt 100% comfortable DIYing it with my Rick Steves guide in Athens, and at no point were we remotely in danger of missing the ship. I'm an independent type of person who likes to go at my own pace when traveling, it runs in the family, and I know that a ship tour would not be my cup of tea.

 

The one port where we did opt to take a tour because of the distance and the educational experience was Kusadasi. And I have to tell you, watching the hordes of folks crowding around those paddles being rushed through the Ephesus ruins while my party of 4 had a leisurely stroll with our amazing private tour guide confirmed that ship tours are not for me. Especially knowing we'd paid a fraction of what the folks in the hordes did (thank you CC!). We had an fantastic time at our own pace, enjoyed wonderful conversations with our guide about her culture that we would never have had on a bus with a billion other people, and got back to the port area in plenty of time to take a gander at the shops in the market and sample local treats. Don't be afraid, just do your homework. Life's too short to spend it freaking out. :)

[suzski]

As a long-time (more then 40 years) travel lover and cruiser these kind of threads make me a little sad. DW and I have experienced wonderful and amazing moments throughout the world, and in just about every case the best things (and best food) have happened when we were on our own.

 

Completely agree! On our cruise last fall my DH and I rented a car in Corfu with another couple we had met on an earlier cruise and drove to Old Perithia for what was intended to be just a few hours. While there, we lucked upon Saskia who, with her husband, is working to help restore this gem of a town and has already restored one of the old residences into a beautiful Bed and Breakfast. Through her, we had a glimpse of what it is like to live here - I was able to purchase some local honey from a couple that has lived here all their lives and actually attended the now completely ruined school. She showed us around, had lunch with us and had the taverna owners bring us a dessert tray of the local specialties. It was a magical day.

 

You would never have gotten that had you been on a ship's tour.

[roebud]

Took a 12 Day Med cruise about 3 years ago and planned every port excursion with private tour companies. We were picked up before the massive cow crowd that took the ship's excursions, and were back before the bus load of ship cruisers reached port. The independent land tour companies realize that you need to be on that ship before it sails and they want to get you back in time... trust me, it will reflect negatively on their reviews if they mess up. We are their bread and butter, and they work very hard giving you an awesome experience. They are natives.....lived there all their lives, and know how the traffic flows and all the back roads. I can't imagine touring a port any other way!

[kingfish45]

As a rule, I would rather explore on my on. However, in some cases that is not possible. On multi nights in a port I would consider a private excursion for sure on the first Day. On the day it leaves,I do not like to be over 30 minutes away. At ports that dock right in town,I just like to walk off and on and get lost in the local culture.

[dsrdsrdsr]

... we routinely rent cars in Kusadasi (Turkey) where there is very little traffic once you get clear of the city (this takes less then 10 min).

 

Hank

Please don't think I'm in any way a nitpicker, bus Kusadasi isn't in Europe. ;)

 

As for the question, I've never been close to being left, but I was once last passenger on board (5 minutes before sailing) from a ship's coach tour in Israel. I'd have hated to be sitting in that traffic jam on my own responsibility. In general, if I'm travelling independently, I make sure I'm back close enough to the ship by early afternoon. (And I won't hire a car, because I don't fancy learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Not a problem for Americans, of course.)

[Hlitner]

Please don't think I'm in any way a nitpicker, bus Kusadasi isn't in Europe. ;)

 

As for the question, I've never been close to being left, but I was once last passenger on board (5 minutes before sailing) from a ship's coach tour in Israel. I'd have hated to be sitting in that traffic jam on my own responsibility. In general, if I'm travelling independently, I make sure I'm back close enough to the ship by early afternoon. (And I won't hire a car, because I don't fancy learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Not a problem for Americans, of course.)

 

Good point about Kusadasi. We sometimes forget that Turkey spans two continents and I used to love saying I drove between Europe and Asia (did this in Istanbul). And we agree with your philosophy about getting back near the ship a bit early. We actually use a system where we like to go to the furthest point from the port early in the day and work our way back so we are near the port later in the day. We will sometimes take some risk if we know its easy to catch the ship the following day (such as if a ship is going from Civitavecchia to Livorno).

 

As to driving on the wrong side of the road, a friend of ours (a Brit) says there is a simple solution. Just stop at a "pub" and down a few pints and then its like normal driving :) And then there are some of the roads in Western Ireland where the left and right lanes are one and the same.

 

Hank

[latebloomer56]

Well our bus broke down a few years ago. We were 2 hours late and the ship needed to leave the dock due to tides or space don't really remember which. However they had a tender waiting for all 45 of us. The tour company the ship used called when we were almost back. Think if we were on our own would have been left behind.

Only know of 1 couple that was on the Fire and Ice trip several years ago. They were on 2 of our tours and were always the late ones (15-20 mins.) we've all had them I'm sure. They were left in Iceland and could only meet up with use in Canada 4 days later. They did nothing but complain to everyone they happened to reconize from one place or another. I was sorry his vacation had a glitch, but was hard to feel bad for her.

We use cruise only tours because we save time as we never wait in long line to get in anyplace. That said we would take the ship transfer to say London from Southhampton but then go our own way. We have been there 3 time and are comfortable with the area. Also language is an issue in some ports again ship tours for us.

It is what ever you like it's your vacation. We know folks who think half the enjoyment is exploring on their own.

[SLWAtlanta]

Well funny you shuold ask...One cruise in Hawaii we totally underestimated the traffic in Waikiki Beach. That short route took us almost an hour. We literally got to the rental car place. Threw the keys on the counter while 15 people waited in line and dashed to the ship. There were no less than 6 other ships in port that day. So we thought we were good seeing other obvious cruisers. We got to our line and all chaos broke out "there you are" "we've been calling and calling you" "Oh, Finally, thanks goodness". Sure enough I had 5 missed calls on my cell phone but had not heard or checked due to the rush we were in. As soon as they checked us in they literally were rolling up the ramp and we were shoved off before we got to our cabin even. At dinner that night several people saw us running on board and said something to us...so embarrassing. I'm not even sure how late we were but they waited on US...just US...as far as I know. Next cruise in Honduras they spent about 30 minutes calling a guy (probably drunk) on the attached beach. Finally got to the point where they were like "JIM SALE, wake up, your ship is leaving" He was the only one out there and you could see one person was left. Disown that group of friends who left you. I think someone finally went to get him. We all cheered as he made his way onboard.

All that said I still only book my excursions privately. My sister #1 does not like people or crowds, I know why cruise then, so we have to do private tours. We always save several hours over what the cruise line says and end up getting to see lots more and avoid the crowds...and cattlecall lol. And usually much cheaper as well. These excursions are not with some pitfalls however so you also have to learn to go with the flow. Missed the ferry in Cancun and therefore tour guy had left us. Had to spend another hour waiting on him to come back so we could get to Tulum but still beat the cruisetour there somehow. AND we were back in time to do some serious shopping in Playa del Carmen.

[Host Walt]

Our experience on a Princess Mediterranean cruise taught us not to assume that even a ship arranged shorex is safe.

 

We booked a Princess excursion from Livorno to Pisa, then to Florence.

 

The excursion was fine and went according to plan until the end, and involved seven separate buses because of the number of people signing up.

 

After the escorted sightseeing we were provided 30 minutes on our own to shop. Because it was pouring rain at 3:00pm, the pickup time (for a 6:00pm sailing time - it's a long drive to Livorno) most huddled in a store front in Florence and the buses loaded up ignoring the actual bus assignment lists and, once full, closed up and headed out.

 

My wife was the last one on her bus and I boarded the next one. In the confusion of handling literally hundreds of people in the pouring rain I decided that we'd be better off just staying separated rather than making a fuss.

 

Turns out that was the saving moment.

 

My bus arrived along side the ship and the ShoreEx Manager was checking in the buses, not the passengers. My wife wasn't there at shipside. Assuming my wife, having left Florence a few minutes before I did, decided to board rather than waiting in the rain, I boarded and went directly to our cabin. No one there. I went back down and asked the ShoreEx Manager if all the buses had checked in. She said yes and that she was about ready to notify the Captain.

 

I told her there must still be a bus en route because my wife is not back. She said that wasn't her problem because all the buses on her manifest were accounted for. Being a rather persistent type I made a fuss and told her it was impossible and she really needs to wait. She radioed to someone on board who told her to pack up and be ready to sail, so she did.

 

I decided to stay on shore so I could make the trip to the next port with my wife. Then in the gloom of the rain I saw headlights heading toward the ship. It was the last bus. I succeeded getting the ShoreEx Manager's attention who was about to be the last one to board ship and she started to panic. She contacted the bridge and ran out to the boarding area as the bus arrived and disgorged about 50 people, my wife among them.

 

No apologies, nothing. Just a ShoreEx manager who was asking the last busload to move quickly as the ship is ready to sail.

 

The moral of this story is never assume the ship will wait for their own excursions because mistakes frequently occur. In this case Princess would have left several of its passengers behind on an empty dock in the rain with apparently no one there to help.

 

If a ship sponsored shorex looks like it is cutting things close making it back, make a fuss and insist that the escort communicates with the ship staff to ensure the ship will be held.

 

A psotscript. Because of late arrivals of shorex folks back to the tender dock in Cannes, a later port, the tenders were still running at least 30 minutes after scheduled departure. The Livorno experience of some of the late returns caused some to say they will never use a ship sponsored excursion again. Too much stress.

[smeyer418]

the point of all of this is do what you yourself feel comfortable doing. I rarely take ships sponsored tours. They are too expensive and too much of a cattle call. That being said I have done ships tours and one of the best tours ever was a ship sponsored tour. That is how it is sometimes. But if you take a private tour, the operator doesn't want you spending extra time with them either. They will get you back to the ship because they don't want to deal with you or the complaints you make on the internet. That is different from a self guided tour where you drive yourself and you have only you self to blame if you miss the boat(yes I know its a ship).

As one of the many example is Egypt private tours- for the most part these are the same companies that the cruise lines use-although with the current events in Egypt no one is going there anyway.

As for safety or hand picked companies on a ship sponsored tour, you know the cruise lines disclaim any responsibility for the tour or the tour company selection.

There are some places where I feel safer on a ships tour but that is again my personal level of risk taking.

Cost is a major factor, it will cost you 2 or 3 times to take the same cruise with the cruise company. I have many examples of this. But for some the extra cost is worth the saving of the hassle of doing the booking and driving themselves.

So in the end its what you feel comfortable with...and its neither right of wrong to do the ships tour or on your own.

[Hlitner]

Walt, That is really an interesting tale of woe. What I find even more curious then the Shorex's actions (or lack thereof) is the fact that the Captain would have been aware that 50 souls were missing since Princess utilizes the general industry standard cruise card system that tracks who is and who is not onboard. The Captain is notified, before leaving any port, of the number and names of missing passengers. The norm is that they would make a shipwide announcement asking those folks to please contact Guest Relations immediately. In years of cruising we have heard these announcements many times, but its generally for 1 or 2 couples. It is hard to imagine any Captain leaving a port with the knowledge of 50 missing folks without further investigation. So this makes your experience even more alarming.

 

By the way, we salute you for waiting off the ship for DW (chivalry is alive and well in your family). We know a few guys that would have stayed on the ship and perhaps even had a drink to celebrate (only kidding).

 

Hank

[Pushka]

That Livorno excursion sounds dreadful but as there were 50 or so people on that bus that means that those people hadn't swiped their security cards so that would surely ring warning bells that something was badly amiss. I know they don't wait for stragglers but 50 people is way more than that.

 

I'd hate to be bussing with so many people and have so little time on our own to explore.

 

Goodness, if my husband didn't show up I'd wait for him. That isn't being chivalrous, it's looking after the people you care about and have travelled with.

[dsrdsrdsr]

The moral of this story is never assume the ship will wait for their own excursions because mistakes frequently occur. In this case Princess would have left several of its passengers behind on an empty dock in the rain with apparently no one there to help.

Mistakes like this may occasionally occur, but not frequently. Any excursion manager who regularly forgot to count how many buses they had, would be very quickly out of a job.

 

As for there being no-one around to help, as long as at least one of the abandoned passengers had a ship's paper with them, they would have the port agent's phone number who would no doubt be of use. And I'm sure the cruise company wouldn't just tell the passengers "tough luck, you shouldn't have booked with us" - they'd get all-expenses paid travel to the next port.

[John Bull]

Thanks for sharing the Livorno experience with us.

That's a pretty appalling tale all-round.:mad:

 

As comments by other posters, the captain should have been made aware of dozens of unswiped cards.:confused:

And if the shorex manager can't count up to seven, he should be sent back to nursery school for a refresher course.:rolleyes:

 

But it goes much deeper than that.

I used to drive tour buses.

When we had several buses all on one trip, my colleagues & I always asked passengers to note the bus number and to always return to the same bus, and sit in the same seats. If there were organisers on the buses, they always did that instead of the drivers. Standard procedure.

Heads can the be counted, & the bus can leave from each stop with correct numbers.

The point was always made that if you hop on a different bus without saying anything the driver or organiser on that bus, having counted the correct number of heads, can easily leave someone else behind.

Or the bus to which you should have returned will needlessly wait for you, unaware that you're aboard one that's already on its way.

And if passengers have the same seats throughout, even if driver/organiser fouls-up there's a strong chance that when the bus starts to move off someone will call out "there were folk on the seat in front of us but it's empty."

 

Yes, occasionally systems can fall apart. But if it's a free-for-all, at the very least the drivers - or organisers if on the buses - should have been in a position to know whether they'd rounded up all the passengers. Even if that meant that before moving off the driver or organiser of the last bus phoned their colleagues for a count of "two short" or "three extra" so that they knew how many should be on that last bus.

 

And that's for excursions where leaving folk behind would usually cost no more than a taxi-ride home.

 

It ain't rocket-science :rolleyes:

 

JB :)

[FlightMedic555]

We just returned 4 days ago from the Oceania ship which went from Miami to Lima. Overpriced does not do justice to what the ship charges. Cave tubing in Belize, $50 privately, $149 from the ship. A tour in Salvarry Peru, $65 privately with a group from Cruise Critic, $285 from the ship (same exact company - our guide literally wrote the book on the ruins we visited as we purchased the book). At least on Oceania you could save 50-75% by arranging for your own excursions.

 

That being said, if we were in port from a scheduled 8:00 am arrival with a departure of 6:00 pm I looked to see what time the first ship sponsored excursions were scheduled to depart and arranged my excursion to start at that same time of 30 minutes later. I also arranged to be back about 2 hours before the last tender or required on board time.

[cruiser9999]

It is not only a matter of missing a ship's departure, rather it is unscrupulous (private) operators who can demand extra $$$'s (and at the last minute) to get you back to the boat on time. They don't care about reputations because you will not be back with them and there are thousands of others looking for bargains when the next ship docks. In 'safe' countries (and especially those where we have been before) we do our own thing. In more dangerous countries (e.g. Mexico, Belize, Venezuela etc) we stick to the ship's tours. There has been more than one occasion when a ship's tour was held ransom (and this is not publicized). The ship (and the compnay behind it) has a lot more bargaining power for a hostage release than a few tourists on a private tour. Next time you are on a cruise, talk to the ships' officers - if you get a talkative one, then off the record they can tell you a lot that you never read about.

[dsrdsrdsr]

There has been more than one occasion when a ship's tour was held ransom (and this is not publicized). The ship (and the compnay behind it) has a lot more bargaining power for a hostage release than a few tourists on a private tour. Next time you are on a cruise, talk to the ships' officers - if you get a talkative one, then off the record they can tell you a lot that you never read about.

I know how they keep the officers quiet, but how come none of the 50+ passengers on each occasion ever say anything? Are there any CC threads about tour buses being ransomed?

[smeyer418]

bt

It is not only a matter of missing a ship's departure, rather it is unscrupulous (private) operators who can demand extra $$$'s (and at the last minute) to get you back to the boat on time. They don't care about reputations because you will not be back with them and there are thousands of others looking for bargains when the next ship docks. In 'safe' countries (and especially those where we have been before) we do our own thing. In more dangerous countries (e.g. Mexico, Belize, Venezuela etc) we stick to the ship's tours. There has been more than one occasion when a ship's tour was held ransom (and this is not publicized). The ship (and the compnay behind it) has a lot more bargaining power for a hostage release than a few tourists on a private tour. Next time you are on a cruise, talk to the ships' officers - if you get a talkative one, then off the record they can tell you a lot that you never read about.

 

 

 

so its more likely a cruise lines tours will be held ramsome because the cruise line will pay?...another reason to go on a private tour..

 

btw the internet allows people to complain about unscrupulous operators so if you do your home work before...a bad review can kill your business. Are there fly by nights out there? of course but not if you do your homework before.

as I said before its your own individual risk tolerance but don't be swayed by people crying wolf unnecessarily...

[varoo]

Please don't think I'm in any way a nitpicker, bus Kusadasi isn't in Europe. ;)

 

As for the question, I've never been close to being left, but I was once last passenger on board (5 minutes before sailing) from a ship's coach tour in Israel. I'd have hated to be sitting in that traffic jam on my own responsibility. In general, if I'm travelling independently, I make sure I'm back close enough to the ship by early afternoon. (And I won't hire a car, because I don't fancy learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Not a problem for Americans, of course.)

Aw, be fair now.

 

At least when Brits rent a car in the USA, you receive a car with an automatic shift.

 

You miss out on all the challenging and terrifying fun we Americans got our first time driving in England.

As if starting out driving in London traffic on the "wrong" side of the road is not bad enough, not only do your countrymen and women insist on putting the driver's seat on the "wrong" side of the car, but they require us to use the "wrong" hand to work a floor stick shift that is located on the "wrong" side of the driver. :eek:

 

No, we have never been left behind at any port either although we have cut it close several times, but never at a port where it would have been a major problem if we had missed the ship.

We are only willing to cut it close at locations where we know we can easily catch up with the ship at the next port, should it be necessary.

 

We are among the many cruise passengers who do a mix of private excursions, ship excursions, and just heading out on our own with the little port maps and guide books.

[cruiser9999]

I know how they keep the officers quiet, but how come none of the 50+ passengers on each occasion ever say anything? Are there any CC threads about tour buses being ransomed?

 

I don't recall the cruise line (not NCL) but some years ago there apparently was an incident on Margarita Island where a tour group was involuntarily detained and the ship would not leave port until all had safely been returned to the ship. Last year passengers were robbed on a ship-sponsored tour (http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/22-carnival-cruise-passengers-robbed-gunpoint-ship-sponsored-tour-mexico-198368 ). Here's an incident on St. Kitts http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2010/11/celebrity-passengers-robbed-on-st-kitts/131080/1... I hate to think what the results could have been if these people were out on their own. We were in South America a few years ago and went on a ship-tour. We were somewhat surprised to see our tour group surrounded by security guards when we were walking around the town square. A couple of other people went out on their own - they were robbed in the dock complex (before they even made it out of the main gates).

[Jono 70]

Our experience on a Princess Mediterranean cruise taught us not to assume that even a ship arranged shorex is safe.

 

We booked a Princess excursion from Livorno to Pisa, then to Florence.

 

The excursion was fine and went according to plan until the end, and involved seven separate buses because of the number of people signing up.

 

After the escorted sightseeing we were provided 30 minutes on our own to shop. Because it was pouring rain at 3:00pm, the pickup time (for a 6:00pm sailing time - it's a long drive to Livorno) most huddled in a store front in Florence and the buses loaded up ignoring the actual bus assignment lists and, once full, closed up and headed out.

 

My wife was the last one on her bus and I boarded the next one. In the confusion of handling literally hundreds of people in the pouring rain I decided that we'd be better off just staying separated rather than making a fuss.

 

Turns out that was the saving moment.

 

My bus arrived along side the ship and the ShoreEx Manager was checking in the buses, not the passengers. My wife wasn't there at shipside. Assuming my wife, having left Florence a few minutes before I did, decided to board rather than waiting in the rain, I boarded and went directly to our cabin. No one there. I went back down and asked the ShoreEx Manager if all the buses had checked in. She said yes and that she was about ready to notify the Captain.

 

I told her there must still be a bus en route because my wife is not back. She said that wasn't her problem because all the buses on her manifest were accounted for. Being a rather persistent type I made a fuss and told her it was impossible and she really needs to wait. She radioed to someone on board who told her to pack up and be ready to sail, so she did.

 

I decided to stay on shore so I could make the trip to the next port with my wife. Then in the gloom of the rain I saw headlights heading toward the ship. It was the last bus. I succeeded getting the ShoreEx Manager's attention who was about to be the last one to board ship and she started to panic. She contacted the bridge and ran out to the boarding area as the bus arrived and disgorged about 50 people, my wife among them.

 

No apologies, nothing. Just a ShoreEx manager who was asking the last busload to move quickly as the ship is ready to sail.

 

The moral of this story is never assume the ship will wait for their own excursions because mistakes frequently occur. In this case Princess would have left several of its passengers behind on an empty dock in the rain with apparently no one there to help.

 

If a ship sponsored shorex looks like it is cutting things close making it back, make a fuss and insist that the escort communicates with the ship staff to ensure the ship will be held.

 

A psotscript. Because of late arrivals of shorex folks back to the tender dock in Cannes, a later port, the tenders were still running at least 30 minutes after scheduled departure. The Livorno experience of some of the late returns caused some to say they will never use a ship sponsored excursion again. Too much stress.

 

Bad luck there mate. You almost managed to ditch her. Better luck next time :p.

[vickytraveller]

We are considering to take a private tour in Saint Petersburg, Russia. We'll be there for two days and I assume private tour companies have more flexibility and a lot more to offer than ship tours. We'd take a chance on that ) I agree that bringing customers late for the ship will be the end to their business so they have insurance, backup plans, etc. All companies I'm writing to make sure that will never happen. Any experience on that?

[sapper1]

We are considering to take a private tour in Saint Petersburg, Russia. We'll be there for two days and I assume private tour companies have more flexibility and a lot more to offer than ship tours. We'd take a chance on that ) I agree that bringing customers late for the ship will be the end to their business so they have insurance, backup plans, etc. All companies I'm writing to make sure that will never happen. Any experience on that?

 

We have done a private tour in St Petersburg in the past and will do so again this June. The private company provides your visa and therefore if they do not get you back in time they are in deep trouble. You cannot move about the country other than under the supervision of the company so in the very slim chance you did not get back, the company would have to look after you.

 

If one of the companies were to have a history of missing the ship I would expect they would lose the right to hold visas for passengers.

[WhansaMi]

We are considering to take a private tour in Saint Petersburg, Russia. We'll be there for two days and I assume private tour companies have more flexibility and a lot more to offer than ship tours. We'd take a chance on that ) I agree that bringing customers late for the ship will be the end to their business so they have insurance, backup plans, etc. All companies I'm writing to make sure that will never happen. Any experience on that?

 

Absolutely, positively take a private tour in St. Pete's!

 

And, don't get freaked out by the spiel from the cruise ship. We had done a lot of research here prior to our trip and had chosen to do a private excursion a company. The day before the trip, at the port talk, the person in charge made it seem that this was a risky thing. Some of our fellow passengers were all concerned about it. The port talk person made it sound like we might be denied entry into the country, that we would be in long, long, llllooonnnngggg lines... and even that we could be detained.

 

Not only were we not detained, but we were off within a minute or two -- it was the ship's tours that were held up with the long lines! Without an exception, everyone on the ship's tour was a little dissatisfied with the tour, for various reasons, and said they wished they'd come with us.

 

I would say that, because of the visa, this port is the one where the distinction is the greatest -- you either go with the ship's tour or a private... few people go on their own. I have never seen a significant problem listed on this board about the independent tours. I may have missed something.... but, if one is there, I can assure you it is an anomaly.