Excursions...Princess or Outside

[chuckles60]

thoughts on booking excursions thought Princess or outside company/vendor

[CruiserBruce]

Discussed here regularly. Many people do. Do know that generally the price difference is not a great in Alaska (cruise line vs. private) as it is in other areas.

[milolii]

Agree with Bruce. For Alaska the price difference is usually minimal. We just booked with Princess. Especially since we had on board credit. 

Enjoy your cruise

[nukesubsailor]

4 hours ago, chuckles60 said:

thoughts on booking excursions thought Princess or outside company/vendor

Someone on a cruise ship posted a video on Facebook that they took as the ship left the pier.  The video showed people running down the pier screaming at the ship to return as their private tour bus had broken down and made them late.  I believe the port was somewhere in China.

I will book my excursions with Princess.

[geoherb]

The best thing is to research on your own what you'd like to do. Some things are a lot less expensive to do on your own. Some things, though, cost about the same but doing them on your own gives you flexibility. For instance, in Juneau you can take one of the shuttles to Mendenhall Glacier rather than the ship's excursion. The cost is just a little bit less. But with the shuttle, you can decide how long you want to spend there rather than being on Princess's time schedule. (Or even less expensive, you can take the city bus and walk the last mile or so.) When I went in June, I took one of the shuttles. I stayed longer than the ship's excursions do.

[Herfnerd]

1 hour ago, nukesubsailor said:

Someone on a cruise ship posted a video on Facebook that they took as the ship left the pier.  The video showed people running down the pier screaming at the ship to return as their private tour bus had broken down and made them late.  I believe the port was somewhere in China.

I will book my excursions with Princess.

All depends on how much of a risk you are willing to take.

 

Most tour operators know that if they fubar an excursion, they won't be in business long and as short as the tourist season is in Alaska, all the more reason to make sure they are on their "A" game.  Just do your due diligence and research the companies - book with a reputable company.  Of all the cruises we have taken, we have never booked an excursion through the cruiseline and have never had any issues.  Not sure if the example you posted about the pier runners in China is a good one because its....China, lol!  (I'm Chinese by the way....)

Edited July 17, 2019 by Herfnerd

[Glaciers]

2 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

Someone on a cruise ship posted a video on Facebook that they took as the ship left the pier.  The video showed people running down the pier screaming at the ship to return as their private tour bus had broken down and made them late.  I believe the port was somewhere in China.

I will book my excursions with Princess.

This is extremely rare in Alaska. I've never seen any posts regarding a private vendor being late and passengers missing the ship in Alaska.  Several posts from folks who saw runners trying to make the ship but those are due to their own fault.

 

As far as booking independent or through the ship, make sure you read the details of the excursions. It may look like you're saving a few bucks one way or the other but the excursions can actually be slightly different.  Many of the cruise line vendors don't even allow you to book independent anymore.

[karatemom2]

Unless it is an excursion that will potentially arrive back close to our departure time or something that we just cannot book independently, we almost always book directly with the vendors. We have done 11 Alaska cruises now and had some of our most amazing excursion booking through independent vendors or just renting a car and touring on our own and have never even come close to missing the ship. 

 

Examples of tours booked through the ship: Evening Wildlife Excursion in Haines from Skagway as it ended very late in the day and I felt more comfortable doing it through Princess - we were literally the last people walking onboard and they closed up the gangway behind us. I was glad to be on a Princess excursion for that one. Another one was a Ziplining Excursion in Ketchikan - the price difference to book it direct was minimal and since it was just my daughter and I, we felt more secure going with Princess.

 

Examples of tours not booked through Princess: White Pass/Yukon train - twice we have gone with Chilkoot Charters, Whale Watching Juneau - once with Orca Enterprises, once with Weather Permitting,  twice on a small boat excursion in Tracy Arm Fjord to Sawyer Glacier with Adventure Bound, Combined Fishing/Whale watching trip with Glacier Wind in Icy Strait Point, Private Tour in Ketchikan with Ketchikan Taxi Tours, Fast Ferry from Haines to Skagway on our own, Gold Coast Salmon Bake in Juneau where we got the local rate because did not come as part of a tour, and a private tour with Memory Makers in Kodiak.

 

These are just some of the highlights in addition to all the times we have rented our own car and done our own tours. Overall I prefer private tours because they are less crowded and more personal and generally offer you more control of your time and plans. I don't like being herded on and off buses and feeling crowded.  I really feel like I get to see more of the real Alaska by getting out on our own. It might not be for everyone, but I have loved those days we have spent in port doing our own thing.

 

Edited July 17, 2019 by karatemom2

[geoherb]

On our first cruise to Alaska, we took an independent kayak excursion while the ship was in Skagway. It was in Haines, which meant catching the ferry to get there. It was something I wanted to do, and our cruise line did not offer the excursion. When we got to Chilkoot Lake, we saw people on another cruise line's excursion. We had two kayaks for us (instead of having to share one). The people on the cruise line's excursion were sharing triple kayaks. We had a guide for the two of us. They had a guide for every eight kayaks--every 24 passengers. We were able to go farther and see more because we didn't have to wait for the slowest people in a group. It was a great experience.

 

On my southbound cruise last month, four people missed the ship in Juneau. They caught up in Ketchikan. I didn't find out why they missed the ship or how much that cost them.

[bluedevil72]

We cruised on Ruby Princess two weeks ago and did independent excursions in three of the four ports.  There were four adults.   In Juneau we did a whale watching tour and Mendenhall Glacier with Juneau Whale Watching.  We’ve done the exact same tour with Orca Enterprises in the past but they’re out of business. It was a good tour although we spent too much time at Mendenhall, which was basically our fault. We met them next to the base of the Mt Roberts Tram so they were easy to find. 

 

In Skagway we rented a car from Avis and drove to Carcross, Yukon and on up to Emerald Lake. We’ve done that before as well. The cost for a full size car was a little less than $200. I tried several ways to get a discount including Costco, but nothing worked.   It’s a great trip but eats up most of the day. 

 

In Ketchikan, where we had limited time, we did the Aleutian Ballad excursion. It is also offered by Princess, but we booked it independently, for I think, about $30 less, and were able to get there before the other cruisers. It’s also right by the ship so there’s no worry about getting back on time. 

 

In Victoria we only had a little over four hours so we thought it prudent to do a ship’s excursion. We did the Orca Whale Watch and enjoyed it.