Ships Tours.

[chromered7]

Depending on the your itinerary stops and the region of the world you are in do find that the ships tours are are too expensive and value for money?

In Europe we have found that in most places you are able to do them by yourself obviously with always an eye on the time. When we did a middle eastern cruise we did a mixture ships tours , by ourselves and on one occasion in Israel my wife unwittingly became organised a tour for 10 people.

For Cruise lines that have included tours are they as good or a cheaper version of of what you have paid for on other cruises?

 

 

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[jelayne]

We primarily do private tours. Over 40 cruises and I don’t think we have done more that 10-12 ships tours. We prefer touring with smaller groups of 6-8 and rarely are ships tour that size.

[realnice46]

We only do ship tours if there are no other options. As an example for our cruise in April we stop in Koper from 7-4 so ships tour option to make sue we get back to ship on time. There’s been other times when ships tour was only option for a particular place we wanted to visit.

Otherwise much cheaper to book tours on your own . We also just use public transportation.

[Esprit]

After having a near miss a few years ago, my wife wont do private tours again!

 

Fortunately we've got a crew discount on the ship's tours booked for next month's cruise:cool:

[jkgourmet]

We do ship tours ONLY in areas that may be less safe than others (Tunisia a few years ago, for example), tours that have very long days, and tours that involve multiple transportation methods (small boat and bus, for example). In 20+ cruises, that's maybe four ship sponsored excursions - none were bad, but three were overly expensive.

[ggo85]

We have almost always done ship's tours. The reason is that they are so "easy." Sign up and show up. You know that you'll be first off the ship/get the first tender for an early morning tour. You don't worry about missing the ship on your return. And, for the most part, I've found ship's tours to be quite good; occasionally exceptional. The downsides are that you are at the mercy of those who won't come back to the bus on time, you are usually in a large group, and the cost is often more than doing a personal tour.

 

We have done private tours twice -- in Israel and in Iceland. In both cases, we wanted to see something specific that wasn't covered by any ship's tour. Those tours were both fantastic and memorable. We went alone (our preference) so the cost was quite high but we had a guide/driver entirely to ourselves. The downside for me of a private tour was having to find a tour company that is reputable and then make all of the arrangements -- lots of emails back and forth. Also finding the driver when we docked wasn't always easy (based on where they are permitted to park).

 

I absolutely understand why most people want to do private tours. They can be personalized, they cover more ground, they involve fewer people, and they generally are cheaper. However, for people who don't have the time/desire to "do it yourself," ship's tours provide a convenient alternative.

[lisiamc]

We do them sometimes. It really depends on the port, the likelihood of missing the ship, and other factors. When we were in Skagway, Alaska, the ship offered a tour on the White Pass railway for a few dollars more than it would have been if we’d booked privately, and we were able to get on and off the train right on the pier, instead of walking into town. So taking the ship’s excursion can make sense.

[vickykay]

WE usually do private tours with small groups with others met on these boards. Occasionally we do take a ship excursion if it makes sense, ie tendered port, or a half day in a port ( full day followed by a half day in Iceland so we did the ships excursion to the Blue Lagoon since the ship was leaving at 1:00 and we didn’t want to stress about the time).

[Purplsmurf]

Occasionally we do a private tour if it is first thing in the morning and we are in port all day. Years ago we were at the Panama Canal and were to do a 4 hour ship tour. We left our 2 1/2 year old in the kids club. Fortunately it was a ship tour because the 4 hours turned into 8. The ship was supposed to sail 2 hours before we got back. Since it was a ship tour it didn’t leave without us, thank goodness, as our son would’ve sailed off without us! Ever since then we don’t take any chances!

[mandream]

We very rarely do ships tours. I don't enjoy being shuttled around in a large group. We much prefer the flexibility and benefits a private tour provides.

 

Mike

[mom says]

Like many of the PPs, we only take ships tours when necessary. MUCH prefer private tours or independant tour operators. Smaller groups, ability to go where the ship tours don't or can't, none of the obligatory shopping stop nonsense. And they are almost always less expensive than similar or identical ship tours. In all our cruises, we've never missed the ship due to the tour operator getting to the dock late.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We haven't done a ship tour in years and like many others have stated, will only do one if there is no other good option, depending on conditions at the port, length of time in port or other considerations.

 

We do a combo of independent small tours and DIY.

 

We just don't like the atmosphere and crowds of many ship tours, not to mention the price.

[Hlitner]

We cruise frequently all over the world and have been doing it for decades. When it comes to ports, we only consider a cruise line excursion if it is the ONLY reasonable option to do what we desire. This means that we take about 1 ship tour for every 100 ports :). Our first choice is to do things on our own using a rental car, public transport and/or our legs. Second choice is to join with a small group on a private tour.

 

Why do we strongly dislike ship excursions? 1. Too many people. 2. Waiting around for that one slow person/couple who holds up every large tour group. 3. We do not like large buses. 4. Cruise line excursions are usually overpriced. and most importantly we prefer to do what we want, when we want, with who we want :).

 

Hank

[chemmo]

Like others we do sometimes use ships tours....full day tight schedule ones (like the Panama Canal), tendered stops and when we have a surplus of OBC.

 

Our preference is for ports where you only have to get off the ship and there is something to see or do. It is a little sad that so many cruise ships (not just X) seem to moor in container ports rather than main ports, there are a few itineraries we have been put off because of this.

[smtcan]

As others have said, we use ships' tours only when necessary and prefer either DIY or small groups. Much of the enjoyment of travel for me is researching and planning what we will do in each city either on a cruise or land based holiday.

 

One example I will never forget was when we took the train from Villefranche to Monte Carlo. We went to the palace to see the changing of the guard. We were in time to get a good position to watch the ceremony. About ten minutes before time, four X tour buses arrived. They slowly discharged their passengers, most of whom headed straight to the washrooms. The line for the ladies stretched up the hill and had hardly moved when the ceremony finished. Most of those passengers missed what they had come to see.

[TeeRick]

We cruise frequently all over the world and have been doing it for decades. When it comes to ports, we only consider a cruise line excursion if it is the ONLY reasonable option to do what we desire. This means that we take about 1 ship tour for every 100 ports :). Our first choice is to do things on our own using a rental car, public transport and/or our legs. Second choice is to join with a small group on a private tour.

 

Why do we strongly dislike ship excursions? 1. Too many people. 2. Waiting around for that one slow person/couple who holds up every large tour group. 3. We do not like large buses. 4. Cruise line excursions are usually overpriced. and most importantly we prefer to do what we want, when we want, with who we want :).

 

Hank

 

Hank- good summary.

[ggo85]

One example I will never forget was when we took the train from Villefranche to Monte Carlo. We went to the palace to see the changing of the guard. We were in time to get a good position to watch the ceremony. About ten minutes before time, four X tour buses arrived. They slowly discharged their passengers, most of whom headed straight to the washrooms. The line for the ladies stretched up the hill and had hardly moved when the ceremony finished. Most of those passengers missed what they had come to see.

 

Sounds like a very poor tour guide. I did a ship's tour in Monaco. The guide got us to the same area about 45 minutes before the event. Explained exactly where to stand and what time we needed to be there. We had plenty of time to use washrooms, get food, walk around, etc. and still get a perfect position to watch the ceremony.

 

Not saying ship's tours are perfect -- they definitely are not. But any tour involving a guide is largely dependent on the knowledge and skill of the guide. The best ones can handle a situation even with a large group in terms of getting them to the right places with the max time.

 

The fact is that some folks have the time and inclination to do the research and make their own plans and others don't. I'm one who doesn't -- and thus am willing to pay more and give up some flexibility in order to have someone else do the work for me.

[George C]

We did Europe 2 years ago had 8 ports , did private tours with fellow roll call for 6 of them , one ships tour and one on our own. Our tours with fellow roll call members were all great between 6 and 10 people , so less crowded and much cheaper than ships tour.

[gerelmx]

First cruises we do self tours, after a bad experience that we almost miss the ship at Curacao, we booked ship tour in the Norwegian Fjords, in one of this tour we miss the ship, at the end of the tour one of the life boats of the Splendour OTS was waiting for ship passengers, we reach the ship at the middle of the Fjord. Now we always book ship tours. We feel better and never have a problem. You can book this tours in advance onboard a previous cruise with a 10% discount. Or wait for the Flash sales

Edited June 14, 2018 by gerelmx

[IslaSarah]

I usually book independently to save money and get other options, usually in smaller groups. We've ended up with private tours when we were the only ones in the group on a couple of independent excursions. It was a ship tour (a different line) a few years ago where the guide kept telling us we'd get extra time at each stop and in the end we only had 10 minutes instead of 90 at the beach because he'd gotten the all aboard time wrong.

 

I also like to know I'm supporting a local business rather than it being funneled through a huge multinational corporation. I feel like there's more opportunity for real interaction with locals to learn the truth about the destination when it's owner-operated or a very small company with smaller groups.

[varoo]

Depending on the your itinerary stops and the region of the world you are in do find that the ships tours are are too expensive and value for money?

It depends. There can be so many variables involved that it would take a long time to try to list them all, and even then the list would probably not be complete.

My brief answer is that sometimes we take ship tours, sometimes we take private tours, sometimes we do a self-guided tour that we picked up from a friend or a brochure or the internet or a tourist booth, and sometimes we just go off on our own without taking any tour at all, just walking, or renting a vehicle, or using public transportion.

Edited June 15, 2018 by varoo

[Bob++]

We have done both - as others have said, you have to weigh up the alternatives and make a choice. In Flaam, we wanted to go on the train but when I tried to book directly, there were no seats available, I guess because the ship had booked most of them.

 

In Egypt, we booked a personal tour with our own driver and guide and an overnight stay in Cairo. We had a far better experience, for a lot less money, than others who took the ship's offering. (So sad they don't go there anymore)

 

In Europe where public transport is usually good and reliable, we usually DIY although we nearly came unstuck in Sorento when, after a trip to Herculaneum, we got on the wrong train to get back. We still made it though, with half-an-hour to spare.

 

For me, planning and research is half the fun of any holiday and especially a cruise where one only has part of a day in which to explore.

[Bruin Steve]

I never base it on trying to save money...

I generally prefer to tour in smaller groups--say 6-8 people. You can hear your guide. You don't wait for 40+ people to load on and off a bus. You can get to more places more efficiently...and even to some places the big tours can't go because of the number of people. I can personalize my tours--adding specific sites I want to visit and NOT visiting some places the big shorexes take you--like sales opportunities.

 

That said, for me, it really depends a lot on where in the world I am going. There are areas where I don't want to be off on my own--usually third world countries with political or crime issues where traveling in small groups may be dangerous. I also consider whether local providers might meet my standards as to vehicle maintenance, security and insurance. I have also taken shorexes where there is a dearth of local recommended providers...or where I can't find others on my roll call willing to go with us (though, even then, we have at times hired a guide just for the two of us).

 

I have also done shorexes where it's the only practical way of visiting a place (like when we went to the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona from a port stop in Bilbao).

 

When we visit Southeast Asia this December, my wife has insisted we take ALL Celebrity Shorexes--something about being in Vietnam and Thailand has her a bit frightened--So, even though there are some guides recommended on these boards, we are doing it all through Celebrity. Keeping my wife happy is another reason to do the shorex thing.

 

"Getting back to the ship on time" has never been a concern. Any good, professional local tour guide knows how to do this. We were on a private excursion in Panama a few years back and someone in our group got concerned about the time. Our guide said "Don't worry. First, we monitor all of the communications between the ship and the cruise line tours on our radio. Second...look out of our rear window. See those two buses behind us? Those are the cruise line shore excursions. We will be back on time."