Escalating Shore excursion prices

[EDLOS]

On my upcoming cruise on Jewel, a 3 and 1/2 hour City Tour is $119.00 per person. and many longer are over $200/ person After finishing a B 2 B Celebrity of 29 days in March where all of their Shorex were virtually half of NCL prices. The price differential is striking !

Yes I know I don't have to take the excursions.

Also last November on the Star I don't recall prices this high.

[shof515]

i noticed the same thing on my Escape to Bermuda cruise in a few weeks

 

they was a tour i was thinking of doing it, pricing started at around $40 per person which is not that bad. Now, when i check it..it is $60 dollars per person..Yikes!!!!..i also noticed other excursions also went up by like 10 dollars too.

[murcor]

I agree with what you said!

 

 

 

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[GenXGirl]

If it’s for Alaska you can find almost all the tours directly from the vendor.

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

On my upcoming cruise on Jewel, a 3 and 1/2 hour City Tour is $119.00 per person. and many longer are over $200/ person After finishing a B 2 B Celebrity of 29 days in March where all of their Shorex were virtually half of NCL prices. The price differential is striking ! Yes I know I don't have to take the excursions. Also last November on the Star I don't recall prices this high.

 

I posted this comparison a few months back https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2599519

[Nebr.cruiser]

That's why we hardly ever take ship tours. And, I have noticed that Norwegian's tours are especially high.

 

Try a private tour; usually better price and better quality.

[AusQueen]

I think all cruise liners do this. Day tours in St Petersburg was like US $350 - $ 380 in Princess. Fantastic tour though - comprehensive of what was on offer. It is the same with tours around the Middle East, Egypt, etc. It is always tempting to book with 3rd parties and we have met people on the cruise that have done the same. Some of them told us that they were only brought to some of the places they have agreed upon , etc. Some of them were happy with what was covered by their 3rd party guide. I don't want to stress while I am on vacation. I always have this fear of the ship sailing without us. We stick with the tours of the shipping line because it guarantees that the ship will wait for your return to the ship from their tours. We have had a few in the past when we literally arrived about 30 minutes before the ship was set to sail. It could be stressful.

Edited April 22, 2018 by AusQueen
typo

[leaclingman]

We typically book our own thing, especially if we’ve been to that particular port before. I do a ton of research on trip advisor and in many cases we are walking near the port (like Cozumel) so you pretty much see the ship wherever you are. You can see the reviews of the stops we made on our last NCL cruise (Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel) and what we selected to do. I’ve included links directly to those vendors if anyone is interested. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

 

 

 

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[Casino Comp Chick]

i noticed the same thing on my Escape to Bermuda cruise in a few weeks

 

they was a tour i was thinking of doing it, pricing started at around $40 per person which is not that bad. Now, when i check it..it is $60 dollars per person..Yikes!!!!..i also noticed other excursions also went up by like 10 dollars too.

I saw that yesterday, the trip to Horsehoe bay is $45 RT per person now.....you can take the same bus at the port for $16 round trip per person and stay as long as you like.

Ridiculous

[tallnthensome]

I agree with the other posters that say book your own private excursions, NCL's are getting ridiculous. We are already planning our 15 day Panama Canal for next March. I have two young daughters in tow and their prices have driven me to private, highly rated, highly reputable local tours (Trip Advisor) instead. The prices are half of what NCL want and are longer and more private. If NCL's continues to raise their excursion prices out of greed then they are going to lose all and any money I had planned on spending with them. I'm not spending $500 on a 6 hour excursion, NCL can forget it and see how zero dollars works for them from me now.

[leaclingman]

I agree with the other posters that say book your own private excursions, NCL's are getting ridiculous. We are already planning our 15 day Panama Canal for next March. I have two young daughters in tow and their prices have driven me to private, highly rated, highly reputable local tours (Trip Advisor) instead. The prices are half of what NCL want and are longer and more private. If NCL's continues to raise their excursion prices out of greed then they are going to lose all and any money I had planned on spending with them. I'm not spending $500 on a 6 hour excursion, NCL can forget it and see how zero dollars works for them from me now.

 

 

 

We did a fun Segway tour in Cartagena , lookup Segway Cartagena. Had a blast and we were back in PLENTY of time. The Panama Canal itinerary is great fun :)

 

 

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[chrpai]

I'd assume they have to pay for all those "free" $50 per port shore excursion credits somehow, right? ;)

[Expat Cruise]

Tours are a profit center for the cruise lines. I take very few cruise ship tours. Most of the time can find a private tour at a much better deal. Private tours seem to be easy to find in most cities the roll call feature here works very well.

 

The only time maybe a tour through the ship is better is in places with major traffic problems, because if on a ship tour the ships will wait if the tour is late.Not because the cruise lines are being nice but because they would be responsible for all costs of getting you back on the ship and any losses caused by leaving you behind.

[havanadaydreaming]

i usually do port research on CC and TA boards with focus on finding the most unique options in local area.

 

we did very good finding phenomenal non cruiseline excursions in St Lucia, Nassau, Tortola, St Maarten, etc.

 

 

 

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[Doug R.]

i noticed the same thing on my Escape to Bermuda cruise in a few weeks

 

they was a tour i was thinking of doing it, pricing started at around $40 per person which is not that bad. Now, when i check it..it is $60 dollars per person..Yikes!!!!..i also noticed other excursions also went up by like 10 dollars too.

.

You really do not need to book ship tours on a Bermuda cruise. When you get off the ship at the Royal Dockyards there are vendors offering tours. Additionally, most land attractions are easily accessible by bus and ferry, if you are rich by taxi and if foolishly brave by scooter.

[shof515]

.

You really do not need to book ship tours on a Bermuda cruise. When you get off the ship at the Royal Dockyards there are vendors offering tours. Additionally, most land attractions are easily accessible by bus and ferry, if you are rich by taxi and if foolishly brave by scooter.

yes i know, but with the latitude shore excursion discount plus using up some onboard credit..i can go on tour that will cost nothing (FREE!!)

[PTC DAWG]

Too high? Don’t book, I enjoy the empty ship myself...