going on excursion -but not really participating?

[Logans_Grandpa]

Mrs and I are going on first cruise at end of January/ Carnival-Eastern Carribean. She loves to snorkel, i could care less. Im happy sitting on the boat and reading. Question is, anyone know how to book he excursion? Im not snorkelling, just making sure she gets around ok (mobility issues) -Do you think I'd have to pay full rate?

 

Also, we'll be in Grand Turk and St Thomas-which of these do you suggest has the "best snorkeling" of the two? Our ship is only one in port in GT, 4 in total in USVI..I'm thnking that should factor into our decision as well?

 

Cheers and thanks

[Keith1010]

You have a couple of options. One is to book the excursion with her via the cruise line. Many cruise line charge you at the time of booking but you can cancel most of these on the ship as long as it is done by a specified date.

 

Or you could look at a private one. A good source for private ones would be to post on the respective ports of call boards. There is a board for St. Thomas and a separate one for Grand Turk. I believe that your best option will be St. Thomas, but others might know better.

 

Keith

[John Bull]

If you go on ship's excursion, you'll be expected to pay the same - whether you snorkel or not.

Which IMHO is perfectly fair & reasonable, since you'll be taking up a space on a boat (& probably a bus) which doesn't have elastic sides, & you'll be costing the operator the same whether you go into the water or not.

And I very strongly suspect that'll be the case with an independently-booked excursion too.

 

I agree that ST T is probably the best bet, but there's not a lot else to do on GT & that may be a factor to consider.

 

JB :)

Edited December 18, 2013 by John Bull

[aquilegia]

Well, yes, you will pay full rate. Why should the company have a reduction in income because you choose not to snorkel? Provided you've paid in full, I'm sure they'll be happy for you to stay on the boat though.

[5326jan]

Well, yes, you will pay full rate. Why should the company have a reduction in income because you choose not to snorkel? Provided you've paid in full, I'm sure they'll be happy for you to stay on the boat though.

 

Yes. This was correct when we went on a snorkeling tour as a family. DD and I "people watched" from the boat. We still had a great time and got to be part of the day, while DH and DS snorkeled. You're paying for the seat, they don't really care what you do. :)

[spookwife]

Mrs and I are going on first cruise at end of January/ Carnival-Eastern Carribean. She loves to snorkel, i could care less. Im happy sitting on the boat and reading. Question is, anyone know how to book he excursion? Im not snorkelling, just making sure she gets around ok (mobility issues) -Do you think I'd have to pay full rate?

 

Also, we'll be in Grand Turk and St Thomas-which of these do you suggest has the "best snorkeling" of the two? Our ship is only one in port in GT, 4 in total in USVI..I'm thnking that should factor into our decision as well?

 

Cheers and thanks

 

of course you will pay the full rate. plus take a spot away from someone who wants to snorkel.

 

can she instead snorkel from land at one of the stops? even if on her own or through a private excursion?

[MermaidWatcher]

You have a couple of options. One is to book the excursion with her via the cruise line. Many cruise line charge you at the time of booking but you can cancel most of these on the ship as long as it is done by a specified date.

Or you could look at a private one. A good source for private ones would be to post on the respective ports of call boards. There is a board for St. Thomas and a separate one for Grand Turk. I believe that your best option will be St. Thomas, but others might know better.Keith

 

I think his "how to book" question was geared towards the point of can he book as an "observer" for a lesser price, but that is my interpretation.

[MermaidWatcher]

If you take a spot on the excursion, you can expect to pay the same as everyone else. Look at it from the operators point of view, if they sold discounted prices for observers, and each participant brought along the rest of their family, it would not be long before the loss of revenue would put them out of business.

That being said, I also think there could be a remote chance. If you are booking direct, and the excursion has open slots, they may be willing to sell a spot for at least some income from that seat. If at all, this would probably be sold to you purely on a space available basis, at the dock, and talking to someone in the office with the authority to make such a decision, not a ticket seller.

[Logans_Grandpa]

Mermaid, you nailed the intent of my question. I shouldnt post after my bed time because in rereading it, it made no sense to me either.

 

Thank you all for your input.

So where is my wife snorkeling? St thomas, with 3 other ships in port or Grand Turk with no other ships that day?

[Algebralovr]

I wouldn't count on paying less. The excursions that offer the pay less for observer option are usually the 'swim with dolphins' excursions where only a few people get in the special water area.

 

St Thomas has a number if nice snorkeling places, particularly near St John (the little island that is mostly park). I recommend it.

[klfrodo]

Mermaid, you nailed the intent of my question. I shouldnt post after my bed time because in rereading it, it made no sense to me either.

 

Thank you all for your input.

So where is my wife snorkeling? St thomas, with 3 other ships in port or Grand Turk with no other ships that day?

 

Even with 3 other ships, I'd still recommend St. Thomas.

I did a SNUBA excursion in Grand Turk and the reef was dead or dying. No fish, no color.

[Logans_Grandpa]

Thanks all, we've booked a day trip in St Thomas, we'll save the day in Grand Turk for a wander about

[Buck Turgidson]

I have done a bit of snorkeling, I brought my own fins, mask and snorkel, fairly inexpensive. I grab a taxi by the ship with my wife and tell the driver to take me to a nice snorkeling spot. My wife sits on the sand while I snorkel. Then I grab another taxi for the trip back .:)

[Fydlstyx]

of course you will pay the full rate. plus take a spot away from someone who wants to snorkel.

 

can she instead snorkel from land at one of the stops? even if on her own or through a private excursion?

 

Why should his wife have to snorkel from land at one of the stops rather than take an excursion she wants to take? What an awful comment. Good grief, he isn't "taking a spot" away from anyone. As others have said, he will be charged full fee and will be accompanying his wife on an excursion on which he has as much right to be as anyone else.

 

Honestly, every single time I come to these boards, I am surprised at how downright rude people can be.

[sherilyn70]

Im not snorkelling, just making sure she gets around ok (mobility issues) -Do you think I'd have to pay full rate?

I just wanted to say that's very sweet of you. My husband would do the same thing. I recently became mobility challenged and he keeps telling me that I can still pick any excursion I want and he will make sure it happens and that I can do it. We went snorkling on our 2012 cruise and it was our first time, we discovered that mustaches and snorkling gear don't get along well so he ended up hanging back on the boat. I don't think I could do a trip like that one again though... we went out into the middle of the ocean and then jumped off the boat and had to climb back up using the side ladder. My leg couldn't handle that these days.

[limace]

Why should his wife have to snorkel from land at one of the stops rather than take an excursion she wants to take? What an awful comment. Good grief, he isn't "taking a spot" away from anyone. As others have said, he will be charged full fee and will be accompanying his wife on an excursion on which he has as much right to be as anyone else.

 

Honestly, every single time I come to these boards, I am surprised at how downright rude people can be.

 

 

Amen! Man, people, take a moment to think about how your response might sound or make people feel before you post.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OCruisers]

When you go on the excursion, it doesn't matter if you take the option to snorkel or not. You'll be charged full price.

There will be others doing this for the sail rather than to snorkel. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Cruisin' Chick]

Why should his wife have to snorkel from land at one of the stops rather than take an excursion she wants to take? What an awful comment. Good grief, he isn't "taking a spot" away from anyone. As others have said, he will be charged full fee and will be accompanying his wife on an excursion on which he has as much right to be as anyone else.

 

Honestly, every single time I come to these boards, I am surprised at how downright rude people can be.

 

I don't see it as rude. I don't snorkel but my hubby wanted to on our second cruise together. We did book a snorkeling excursion through the ship, but it got cancelled because of weather conditions. He tried to snorkel on his own in the previous port, but the water is all churned up so he figures he would have been disappointed with the excursion too. I just waded into the water in the tidepool he was leaving from and would have been staying on the boat for the second one.

 

Years later, we booked another snorkeling trip. He went off the boat with my daughter and the others, while I stayed on board with a woman with toddler. As I brought a puzzle magazine with, I wasn't bored. We did see some whales pretty close as a bonus and we were served a lunch. So it wasn't a total waste to spend the full price on me. I didn't expect to get a discount just because I had chickened out (not the best swimmer or even close to it:o).

 

There's only so many spaces on the boat, so I'm sure the operator of the excursion didn't care if some of us stayed on board or not and certainly wouldn't have given us a discount. Just as easily two snorkelers could have taken the place of that other woman and me.