Carnival Excursions versus Independent Companies

[nschonbe]

Hi there,

 

I'm wondering if I could get some advice on booking excursions. Would you recommend booking excursions with independent companies? If so, what are some good and trustworthy sites where you can book excursions (other than the ones Carnival offers)? I'm specifically interested in excursions in Ocho Rios, Jamaica and in Grand Cayman. Please post any websites or advice. Thanks! :)

[cntrydncr1]

you should check out each of these ports on the port forum here. there is tons of info on vendors that will be a huge help. I always book outside vendors by using the recommendations here.

[ScottsSweetie]

you should check out each of these ports on the port forum here. there is tons of info on vendors that will be a huge help. I always book outside vendors by using the recommendations here.

 

EDITED: Also, lots of good information to be had on that site that advises people about their trips.

(Not sure if we are allowed to mention exact websites, but I think you know what I mean).

Edited October 29, 2015 by ScottsSweetie

[sunshine002]

There are advantages to each.

 

If you look under ports of call you will find reviews on many private tours.

 

If you book it yourself, many times the bus is smaller and the cost is less for a wonderful tour. Also when you book with a local company many times its a way to give back to the locals as opposed to a large company.

 

If you book with Carnival if for any reason the tour is delayed they will hold the ship for you. But more times than not if will be a large bus or buses going to the same destination. When there is a bathroom there is usually a wait due to the amount of people on the tour. This is only done for Carnival tours.

[kona_wahine]

We do both, just depends. For instance, on grand Cayman we booked an independent tour to stingray city because it's jet skis. Carnival doesn't offer anything like that. We do an all inclusive on Cozumel, booked directly with company. We have a couple things booked thru Carnival because it is definitely easier, as you just meet as a group at the ship and all go together and come back together.

[Joeinmo]

We also book independently. The main factor for us is group sizes. For example, we went on a snorkeling excursion in Roatan and there were the three of us on a boat with the captain and snorkeling guide. We showed up and had a great time snorkeling for a half hour or so, then three double high boats showed up and emptied 60 or so people into the water. The fish all but disappeared and we were done snorkeling.

[Geo.714]

Carnival provides good excursions and checks out the tour operator, but their excursion prices are a bit steep.

 

We're sailing on the Miracle over Thanksgiving and we booked two of our excursions through independents for Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan.

 

In PV, we booked a zip line tour that was a two for one at $52 ($21PP). Carnivals price is $99PP. Carnival's tour is an 8 hr tour and includes lunch. The tour we booked is only 5 hours long, but that was fine with us. This gives us extra time to stroll around town and shop and allows time in case something happens so we don't get back to the ship late. Small detail, we're both going to the same place to zip line.

 

In Mazatlan, we booked a 5 hr private city tour for all 10 of us. The van will pick us up and return us to the ship. Again, leaving enough time if something happens to make it back to the ship on time. We saved over $50PP by scheduling the tour ourselves rather than booking the tour from Carnival.

 

Between the zip line and the private tour in Mazatlan, our savings was well over $1,000 for the group.

 

Main thing to remember, when you book through an independent, you leave yourself at risk of not getting what you paid for, and not getting back to the ship on time. The ship won't wait for you, so always make sure and leave yourself enough time to get back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

[rufflesmom]

We do both, just depends. When we went to Cozumel in May, we wanted to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum. The Carnival excursion was 8 hrs, no way would we book independent tour for that long. As it was we got back after 4 which was sail away time. We weren't worried because we were on a ship tour. In Roatan we booked a private driver because we were able to customize what we wanted to see and wanted to go to the iguana farm there. Wasn't sure how long we would be there so we wanted the flexibility.

[sublarry]

Usually if it is our first time to a island or port we will do a carnival excursion to get the lay of the land a little bit. After that we almost always book on our own. We used discountexcursions.com in Grand Cayman as well and loved it. Cozumel we always do our own thing now. As mentioned before use the port guides in this app and then check a few other internet rating sites once you find a couple you like.

 

 

Sublarry

[A&Jfamily]

We agree with the poster that said first time in a port we tend to book through CCL. But after 10 plus cruises and 100% luck booking on our own or simply venturing out independently we have pretty much stopped using the cruise line. I had always said if I went to Jamaica I would book thru the line but for our upcoming trip and after reading the reviews on TA I feel just as secure on an independent tour. Let's hope I didn't just curse us! The only time I might still book they CCL is going to the mainland on a stop in Cozumel. Just too far and too much could impact getting back to the ship.

[firespud]

I would also highly recommend Blue Hole/Secret Falls. One of the best excursions we have ever done. This is one place we would go to again if we ever return to Jamaica. We had previously done Dunn's River and thought there we entirely too many people. Go to Trip Advisor and read the reviews.

[joeyancho]

I would also highly recommend Blue Hole/Secret Falls. One of the best excursions we have ever done. This is one place we would go to again if we ever return to Jamaica. We had previously done Dunn's River and thought there we entirely too many people. Go to Trip Advisor and read the reviews.

 

Could you please tell me if there was any strenuous hiking or walking with the blue hole tour. Wife has bum knee. She is fine with uphill walking but anything strenuous is a no go. Thanks.

[moniquet]

We have done both. After arriving back to the ship with only 5 mins to spare after a hair raising ride (independent tour) we decided not to risk it anymore. Don't do many tours now as have seen all the Caribbean Islands. Most are pretty much the same and we are fed up of obligatory stops Where something is being sold and not very much to see

[pe4all]

Usually if it is our first time to a island or port we will do a carnival excursion to get the lay of the land a little bit. After that we almost always book on our own. As mentioned before use the port guides in this app and then check a few other internet rating sites once you find a couple you like.

Sublarry

This. We always go to the "port of call" board to check reviews, and tripadvisor also. If we have plenty of "getting back to the ship" time at the end of an independent excursion, we go for it. If the time seems tight to us, we do a ship excursion. We don't want to end up as pier runners, or waving to the ship as it leaves without us!:D

[Tapi]

My rule of thumb is that if we are at a port of call that we've never been to, and we want to take an excursion that takes us far from the cruise terminal (and getting back to the port in time by alternative means is questionable), we go with the cruise line excursions.

[nschonbe]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[95turbogirl]

Personally I would only do a carnival excursion from what I recall about Ocho Rios. Just not somewhere I felt safe enough to do my own thing. However almost every other island I've been to I've went with excursions on my own. Usually have had a better experience, smaller groups and more attentive people to us, especially today in Grand Cayman.... We got off the boat and went to the octagon shaped stand with people with signs that said stingray city and coral reef $45.... The lady actually offered it for $40....we waited till like 945 to get off the ship so it wasn't such a crowd getting off. The lady instructed us to be back for the bus by 1030 and then we were then taken to yacht club where we boarded a small 2 deck boat and greeted by this awesome guy named David Evans and took a boat ride out to an uncrowded Stingray City and got to spend time interacting with these beautiful creatures and had more than 25 pictures by David and given a phenomenal deal to purchase a disc with these amazing pictures. Usually with companies offering "photo ops" its usually only 1 image or only a few for at least $25 for these few imags. I'm a picture person so I think this is awesome he's an amazing professional under water photographer and I've spent hundreds on pictures that weren't this amazing. Just saying! We also booked our own Dolphin Swim online at http://www.cozumel-tours.com/dolphins.htm at CHANKANAAB PARK. At half of what carnival charges!

[nybumpkin]

We do both Carnival excursions and independent tours. In some cases, you will find that an excursion you really want to do is available only through the cruise line. We've had that happen several times. The other factor we consider is time in port. We had one tour where we were thankful we had booked through the cruise line, as the catamaran was delayed returning to port because a line was fouled in one of the propellers, and we made it back to the ship right at back on board time. However, understand also that cruise passengers are the independent tour operators' bread and butter - if they had a group miss the ship, you can guarantee that it will be reported on a review site and will hurt that operator. Most of the time I'm not worried about whether we'll miss the ship.

[riffatsea]

First of all you are allowed to post links to Trip Advisor.

They actually own Cruise Critic.

We do both Carnival excursions and private ones depending on the port and the type of activity we wish to do.

I have just learned that Carnival's low price guarantee will give you on board credit of 110%of the cost difference if you find an independent tour that matches exactly to a Carnival one and is less expensive.

I actually found on in the Cayman Islands but I didn't know about this policy at the time.

I paid $40 for a Stingray + Coral Gardens snorkel tour and the Carnival one was I think $79 or something like that. I used Captain Marvin. They were great! Even though the ship tendered in a different area than usual they were still waiting for us with a bus to take us on the tour.

In Ocho Rios we got Peat Taylor from the Trip Advisor site and he let us plan our own tour since the ones from the ship did things that didn't interest us.

[firespud]

Could you please tell me if there was any strenuous hiking or walking with the blue hole tour. Wife has bum knee. She is fine with uphill walking but anything strenuous is a no go. Thanks.

 

I don't recall the walk to the falls being strenuous, but there was some uphill. When you get to the falls, in order to really enjoy the experience, you have to walk in the water, over rocks doing a good bit of stepping up. This might be a little to much for someone with knee problems.

[wantocruisemore]

We lean to private but have done both. We do carnival when we are going an hour or more from port, frequently for ruins. Also do carnival if only way to do particular tour like Maya Key in Roatan.

[ScottsSweetie]

We do both, and take into consideration price, length of excursion (return time), and distance away from ship. Also, some ports have extremely heavy traffic concerns and some do not.

 

Sometimes, the small details can make a difference. We cruised last November with my in-laws. MIL loves to snorkel, and has a bit of a bad knee. When researching excursions from Falmouth, there were a couple of independent companies that looked great and had good prices, but their boats only had ladders. The CCL excursion was on a boat with the stairs that extended into the water for easy entrance and exit - that was our choice for that reason, even though it was a little pricier.