First time cruiser - are princess port tours worth it?

[calikak]

We've done both. The downside to independent excursions is that there is risk involved: risk that if you're back late to the ship, they'll leave without you; risk that if the port call is cancelled due to weather, you won't be entitled to a refund. The upside is that in some places, the difference in price is really huge, and you can often personalize your sightseeing itinerary. In Belfast, our CC group took an independent tour that cost less than half what the nearly-identical Princess tour cost. And we were able to pick exactly what we wanted to see, rather than being locked into what Princess thinks you should see (i.e., expensive tourist shops). Then again, we missed two of the ports where we had independent excursions booked, and were only able to get partial refunds from the independent tour operators (although I think we still came out ahead, or at least broke even, with the savings on the Belfast tour). So, it's really about the level of risk you're willing to assume. In English-speaking countries (US, Canada, Ireland and the UK) I'm more willing to go with an independent tour, because I can negotiate about canellation policies and explain how important it is for the tour to get back on time. In non-English-speaking countries, I'd probably stick with the Princess tours, even if they're more expensive.

[Phamer55]

None of the 3 private tours I took in the Mediterranean were prepaid. We paid in cash (Euros) at the conclusion of the tour. So in the unlikely event that our ship missed a port, we would not have been out on any money. Does Princess give refunds on excursions if YOU miss the tour (for example, you are sick)? If not, then those tours might be more risky as far as your money is concerned.

[Northender]

None of the 3 private tours I took in the Mediterranean were prepaid. We paid in cash (Euros) at the conclusion of the tour. So in the unlikely event that our ship missed a port, we would not have been out on any money. Does Princess give refunds on excursions if YOU miss the tour (for example, you are sick)? If not, then those tours might be more risky as far as your money is concerned.

 

With Princess, you can cancel ANY tour up to 24 hours ahead. I am sure if you were sick, they would make an exception. They list in the patter everyday if you do not want to do the next days excursion, just bring the tickets back for cancellation. They usually have a waiting list for most excursions :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Donlou, sorry, thought you were serious (I've read enuf posts to know some people have definite opinions about everything).

 

On our last cruise, we booked one excursion right there at the port and pre-booked one thru Princess. Today we were showing our photos to somebody and hubby said he thought the ship excursion was so much better (and more comfortable). But we rarely go on excursions at all; we mostly just grab a taxi and go someplace and enjoy the beach or town. A couple of times we've negotiated a tour with a taxi driver we decided we liked. Those were very enjoyable and informative.

[mathtchr]

I am a firm believer in the private tour operators. You will save $$$ and see more with a private driver. They might have the day somewhat planned, but you can change anything that you want including shopping, going to some remote beach, dining at an out of the way restaurant , etc. If you can find 3 couples here on the boards to share in the cost of a driver with a mini-van it sure beats the prices from the ships tours. We have done both and we much prefer the private guides. Read the boards for the cities you will be visiting and get some info on the private drivers that you see mentioned over and over again. You will not be dissatisfied. I was truly anxious the first time that I hired a private driver, but after the first one my fears were laid to rest.

[vacationhappy]

We just returned and did a mix of ship tours, private tours, and "on our own". We really liked the ships tours, they are very well done and handle complex logistics easily. We had mixed experiences with our private tours - Angel Tours in Rome was outstanding, Spiros in Athens was just OK, our taxi driver in Livorno was great. So, I think that you need to figure out which ports are really important to you and determine what you specifically want to see in each port. I the ship offers a tour that accomodates what you want then I would go with it. If not, then I would seek out a private tour.

[kruisey]

None of the 3 private tours I took in the Mediterranean were prepaid. We paid in cash (Euros) at the conclusion of the tour. So in the unlikely event that our ship missed a port, we would not have been out on any money. Does Princess give refunds on excursions if YOU miss the tour (for example, you are sick)? If not, then those tours might be more risky as far as your money is concerned.

I had Norwalk on my last cruise and was not allowed on my excursion....I informed the excursion department and they gave me a full refund for that days trip :)

[woodofpine]

In Naples, Princess offers a hike to the summit of Visuvious followed by a tour of Pompei. That hike (easily do-able by anyone without impairments) was terrific and the guided bus ride to and up part of the mountain was very informative and therefore added a lot to the Pompei tour that followed, also the view was GREAT!

 

The evening after Naples, ask a nautical officer when the ship will cruise by the volvanic island of Stromboli (for us it was 1 AM). Stromboli is the longest continuously erupting volcano (1,000 years) seeing the lava pulse from the mountain in the distance at night is worth either staying up for or setting an alarm. Shooting the Straights of Missina around 4:30-5 AM made that an interesting night. If Istanbul is on the itinerary the Straights of Gallipoli are also a terrific late night view.

[Pam in CA]

I am a firm believer in the private tour operators. You will save $$$ and see more with a private driver. They might have the day somewhat planned, but you can change anything that you want including shopping, going to some remote beach, dining at an out of the way restaurant , etc. If you can find 3 couples here on the boards to share in the cost of a driver with a mini-van it sure beats the prices from the ships tours. We have done both and we much prefer the private guides. Read the boards for the cities you will be visiting and get some info on the private drivers that you see mentioned over and over again. You will not be dissatisfied. I was truly anxious the first time that I hired a private driver, but after the first one my fears were laid to rest.

That's fine and probably good advice in the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera. But would you do the same thing in Kusadasi or Istanbul? What if you were stuck in traffic on the Amalfi Drive (which happened to my sister)? If you're unfamiliar with the country and going there for the first time, I still strongly suggest the ship's tours.

[KAJOKG]

That's fine and probably good advice in the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera. But would you do the same thing in Kusadasi or Istanbul? What if you were stuck in traffic on the Amalfi Drive (which happened to my sister)? If you're unfamiliar with the country and going there for the first time, I still strongly suggest the ship's tours.

Pam, you are so on the mark. My daughter and SIL took a taxi tour in Columbia (not a wise idea in the first place). They were with another couple. Got caught in a serious traffic jam on the way back to the ship. It was very, very closd to boarding time...they were on top of a mountain and could see the ship and heard the ship's whistle. Driver kept saying not to worry, his sister had extra bed rooms. They were a wreck! All my daughter kept thinking is here they were in Columbia of all places and without a passport on them. She was the most experienced traveler among them and knew the dire consequences of that. They made it back to the ship just barely in time. It was a private tour and the ship would not have waited for them. They never have done that again. They do lots of traveling on land so they leave those tours for those times, but always, always take ship's excursions. They do not ever want that experience again.

Oh, one more thing Pam....Go Sox!!!

[JEMS]

Definitely take the ships tours for all the above reasons.

We took our first Med trip on the Golden Princess two years ago - from Barcelona to Venice. To avoid delays in flight plans and jet lag, we arrived in Barcelona the day before boarding and stayed @ a hotel recommended and booked by Princess. The day of arrival we did go to Picasso museum on our own then went back to the hotel for a much needed nap. The Princess rep @ hotel made us dinner reservations, which were @ 9 p.m. ( the earliest time Barcelona restaurants start serving). We took a taxi there and were very pleased w/ location on beach, etc.

On the following morning we took a tour which included Princess picking up all our luggage @ the hotel for transportation to the ship. We went through Las Ramblas and to the Gaudi Cathedral, among other sites. We couldn't have been happier with all the arrangements (DH is a PLANNER). We were delivered to the ship @ boarding time without any problems.

Enjoy!!

[iancal]

If you are used to independent travel, and you have done your reseach, then I believe that non ship's tours offer a great alternative. We usually arrange our own. Not because of the money but we typically end up with a much better tour. For a start, the largest group we go with is typically 8 vs. a busload. Usually we try to use an independent operator-that way the money stays with them vs. most of it going to Princess. It really boils down to personal choice and past experience. We did four tours on our Car. trip in Feb-one with a 'cruise group' and the remaining three through independent operators. They were all great. At the end of the 10 day trip many people on board were getting oh so tired of the tour director/shopping director's shrill endorsement of only 'certain' shops and the constant warnings about 3rd party vs. Princess tours. This is one thing that I dislike about Princess-although this could have just been her personality (a real little 'princess').

[KAJOKG]

Most everyone has probably already heard about the Star Princess delay in Jamaica last April. There was a torrential downpour and roads were washed out. Nine busloads of folks on a Princess Excursion did not get back to the ship until after 1 a.m. The ship waited for them and finally pulled anchor at 2:30 a.m. I was on that cruise, although not on an excursion. I can tell you that those passengers were ever so grateful that they were on a Princess excursion. None were looking forward to staying behind in Jamaica. Talked to one young couple who were on a private tour and they thought surely they would be left behind....but because the ship waited for those on the buses, these passengers made it back in just before the Princess excursion passengers did. It's one thing to take private tours while traveling on land, but you do take chances when on a cruise. If the ship leaves, you are on your own and financially responsible for all the expenses from then on.

[woodofpine]

For long distance touring, especially traffic congested coastal Italy (or Florence from Livorno, Paris - Le Havre, Berlin) the assurance that the ship will wait for a ship tour would alleviate valid anxiety over returns.

 

That said, if you are staying fairly local pre-aranging a personal guide can be culturally fulfilling as well as an all around good value. There's nothing wrong with doing some self study and going it alone either.

 

I did a taxi tour in Cartagena with my mother due to lack of wheelchair accessible ship tours, and we had a terrific time. The cabbie was very accomodating and would either wait or do drop offs and pick-up at various places (the "mall" in Boca Grande, La Popa Monestary). Cabs that enter the cruise terminal require special security clearance in Cartagena. As a result, I felt much more secure than in Colon Panama. Generally, we now do Caribbean locales on our own.

 

As for Turkey, Turkey's Ministry of Tourism has very rigorous guide certification requirements. If you surf the web, you'll find many sites where certified guides offer up their services and linguistic and educational resumes (yes, there are Korean and Japanese speaking Turkish guides available). We booked a private guide in Istanbul and had a terrific family tour including small local restaurants, etc. Istanbul is also quite easy to get around on one's own without a guide. The lions' share of the must see sites are within walking distance of each other. Don't be shocked by the entry fees at the Topkapi; even the local guides complain that it is probably the most expensive museum entry in the world... You'll need to hit an ATM machine for local currency (lire) which are like a gazillion to the $. Traffic in Istanbul can be mighty thick toward the end of the day, but the cruise ship terminal is centrally located to the historic district so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

As far as security goes, Turkey is the "good kid in a tough neighborhood". There have been incidents (where haven't there been?), but it wasn't too long ago that the Turkish government was criticized for keeping TOO tight a lid on things, esp. regarding the Kurds. The typical Turk is pro-west. Not to dwell on it unnecessarily, but I suspect that one's safer on one's own or with a local guide than being in a large cruise ship tourist bus.

[Pam in CA]

On our Royal Princess cruise this Spring, the Shore Excursion Director told people, "Make sure you take a camera so you can take a picture of the ship as it sails away." Yes, I know this was probably annoying to some people but lo and behold, four people did exactly that in Barcelona and had to make their own way to Cannes to catch up with the ship the next day.

 

I suspect that one's safer on one's own or with a local guide than being in a large cruise ship tourist bus.

I take issue with this statement. I don't think that's true at all.

[woodofpine]

Quote:

 

I suspect that one's safer on one's own or with a local guide than being in a large cruise ship tourist bus.

 

And:

 

I take issue with this statement. I don't think that's true at all.

 

What's your basis for taking issue. Personally, I've only known two people killed by terrorists. Both were canned up in transportation with a couple hundred other Americans. Both we're either in the USA or in route. Unless you're blonde, most Americans could walk the streets of Istanbul in casual wear and be indistinguishable from the locals.

 

It largely depends on where in world you are. Some places you might be safer in a large group. But in others, you're a bigger more obvious target.

[Pam in CA]

Woodofpine... I'm sorry you've lost friends that way. I lost some in airplanes on 9/11 but I wouldn't, and didn't, stop flying because I suspect a terrorist is going to be onboard.

 

I've been in Istanbul and the tourists stood out dramatically. Even with dark hair or dark coloring, they are obvious by their clothing, cameras hung around their necks, etc.; there's absolutely no way they would be taken for locals. However, I agree that the locals are generally pro-Western.

 

When we went on a Princess tour to Cairo, we went in a caravan of buses with a troop truck at the front and a troop truck following, and with two armed soldiers as well as two Princess reps on each bus. Yes, we could very well have been a target but I felt that Princess took every precaution. I certainly wouldn't have attempted to do it on my own.

 

I don't think that a blanket statement that you're not safe on a Princess tour bus is accurate. But that's my opinion.

[woodofpine]

To each their own opinion... that's one great thing we've got here in the US of A.

 

No doubt 9/11 was the Bummer to End All Bummers. I had a relative on American Flt 11, and an old study-abroad buddy was unfortunate enough to have flown Pan Am 103. But that's sort of my point, these cowardly swine don't generally have the guts to go manno a manno. They're attracted to hit and run on big targets. None of that has prevented me from flying or travelling. I was last in Istanbul post 9/11 and I think most can blend in there... Of you're right, that scrutinized you'll be noted as a foreigner, but Istanbul is a pretty secular modern place.

 

Egypt is another story (and I liked Egypt, slumming it long ago during the Sadat - Begin detente). I realize that Princess and other lines have resorted to armed caravan travel there. That's the responsible thing to do. Heck - the Regal Princess had naval escort and armed marines aboard traversing the Red Sea after the onset of the Iraq war. I NEVER said that Princess buses are not safe.

 

I do think I'd be more anxious in the mid-east travelling in an armed caravan as a large western tourist target than I would keeping a low profile travelling alone. That's just my personal thing based on having spent time over there. I used to travel on business in the gulf during the Iran - Iraq war. I had several Palestinian business contacts. Only once, briefly, did I have a strong sense "I better get the H outta here!", (so I did). Of course, things have taken a turn for the worse over time - but maybe not!

 

My old man always wanted to travel to the holy lands, but said he wouldn't, "'til they stop throwing rocks at each other!". Fearing he might not ever go, he finally decided to do a tour there - in Summer of '75! He and my mother took a bus from Damascus through the Bekka Valley to Beirut - precisely when Beirut exploded! They turned back, and the Bekka Valley exploded the following week. My brother and I gave him a lot of ribbing for that one! He visited Uganda - six months later Air Marshall Idi Amin took over. He visited Afghanistan and about six months later the Russians invaded! We used to joke that a lot of these places ought to pay him to stay away!

 

The more things change the more they stay the same...

[KAJOKG]

My old man always wanted to travel to the holy lands, but said he wouldn't, "'til they stop throwing rocks at each other!". Fearing he might not ever go, he finally decided to do a tour there - in Summer of '75! He and my mother took a bus from Damascus through the Bekka Valley to Beirut - precisely when Beirut exploded! They turned back, and the Bekka Valley exploded the following week. My brother and I gave him a lot of ribbing for that one! He visited Uganda - six months later Air Marshall Idi Amin took over. He visited Afghanistan and about six months later the Russians invaded! We used to joke that a lot of these places ought to pay him to stay away!

...

We also bit the bullet and visited Israel in 1978. It is the one trip out of the many we have taken that I will never, never forget. Once we arrived there and for the next 2 weeks we learned lessons that stay with us always! We saw the strife going on. We were up in the Golan Heights and heard some shelling of a Kibbutz. The market in Tel Aviv was bombed the day before we arrived. I am not a nervous Nelly traveler. We traveled all over Communist Russia and the Balkan states when they were under Communist control. BUT, I sure don't ever want to be left behind and watch my ship sail away without me. I would take a local tour guide only if it was an early morning tour which returned to the ship by 1 p.m. BTW, I am sure happy that we put worries aside and that we took the Israeli trip when we did.

[woodofpine]

A REALLY wonderful country.

 

Kusadaisi - probably more efficiently done (all round) via the cruise line.

 

Istanbul is a judgment call, there are a TON of highly educated, western oriented, gov't licensed guides respectfully praying that you'll give them an economic break - rather than go cruise line 'Herdistan'...

[Buffalo Bob]

I guess that I am different from most Princess Cruisers. My wife and I just returned from the 8/6 Grand Cruise from Rome to Venice. We had booked only 2 tours through Princess - that in Florence because of its distance from the port and that in Ephessis because we did not want to deal with local transportation in Turkey. (Ephessis was cancelled and we ended up seeing Rhodes on our own). On the tour buses you are are typical tourist. Taking local transportation allows you to get a real feel for the area and people. If you want to spend 6 hours on a beach in Mykonos and relax at a taverna, you have the flexibility to do it. By the end of our cruise many passengers were cancelling tours because they were tired of all day bus excursions - you really don't need to see every church and village on Santorini. Spend longer amounts of time in one or two places and you will feel that you have experienced something real.

[woodofpine]

Bob said it all...

[Phamer55]

I also agree with Bob!

[woodofpine]

OP - check this out as a "for instance"

 

quote:

 

Just came back from an Athens and Greek Island and Turkey Cruise. I am so happy that I did not use the ship's port cruises. The people were herded onto large crowded buses. We used a local company both in Kusadasi and Istanbul And Athens. The company is Ekol Travel, located right at the Harbour in Kusadasi (our 1st destination in Turkey) and an office in Istanbul....we were met by private car, guide and driver who took us around in an air conditioned Mercedes (Toyota Camry was another option.) Because there were just three of us we chose the car to a minibus (good for 12 people.)

 

We had our own guide and driver. We were told that we can stay for as long as short a time as we desired. As we all know buses have tight schedules and they take you to their "cousins" shops to buy stuff. Our driver took us to the wholesale factory to buy what we needed at great prices.

 

Our guide was extremely knoweldgeable with a University degree in History. And his English was impeccable. The cost was less than what the ship offered to us....and we even were treated to a great lunch.

 

Ekol travel's web site http://www.ekoltravel.com. I spoke to a Mr. Fevzi Turhan and Mr. Sehap Akin in Kusadasi to make the arrangements in Kusadasi....and when we cruised to Istanbul, his staff met us at the port. This tour in Turkey and Greece was the highlight of our cruise.

 

If you want more information, I am in Maryland and please feel free to call me at 301-758-1018.

[travelnnana]

Did the Med in 2003 - echo those who say - ship's tours for Florence and Rome - those ports are far from the docks - also where the ship docks in Venice is far from downtown - Monaco/Monte Carlo is very easy on your own - don't need a tour guide - trust your intuition and don't miss the ship. I read on this board several years ago about someone who missed the ship in Citavecchia and had to get to Athens on their own $$$.

My scrapbook is on:http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/calcteach1/my_photos

Enjoy this great cruise.