Non Carnival Excursions During Current Climate

[momof3cruisers]

I would snorkel i. Grand Cayman. There are several bars/restaurants etc along the rock wall to the left of where the tender drops you off. One….hmmm…Edie’s? Ruby’s? It has been awhile, has snorkel gear you can rent as well as lockers and you basically walk down the steps/ladder into the ocean. 
 

IIm going to Cozumel in Feb. We are using the same company as last time we were there. Safe tours Cozumel. You are literally on your own tour and it’s not that expensive. They will take you wherever you want to go. My daughter and I are going snorkeling on a glass bottom boat and then doing an island tour for three hours. The boat will have up to 8 other people on it but the tour is by ourselves. Less possible contagion that way. I think I paid $80 each. 

[grizzle-bizzle]

Something that scared us off is that direct reserved excursions typically have 24 hr cancelation policies and if they decide they won't let the ship dock and there's a port change then you might be on the hook where or you booked with carnival you'd have no issues. Also if you were to get sick onboard the doc would let you out of the excursion without any advance notice. Just something to consider. I'll either book something with the line or just walk/take a tazi/uber somewhere. 

[ninjacat123]

3 hours ago, grizzle-bizzle said:

Something that scared us off is that direct reserved excursions typically have 24 hr cancelation policies and if they decide they won't let the ship dock and there's a port change then you might be on the hook where or you booked with carnival you'd have no issues. Also if you were to get sick onboard the doc would let you out of the excursion without any advance notice. Just something to consider. I'll either book something with the line or just walk/take a tazi/uber somewhere. 

That happened to me and my mom on our Mardi Gras cruise last October.  She woke up not feeling well so I called Guest Services and Carnival immediately refunded our excursion for that day.  

[teknoge3k]

We won't ever do Carnival excursions either. At ports, some companies went out of business due to no cruises, but a lot are still operational and there are some new companies at different ports as well. 

[cocomango]

Pre-pandemic, I avoided booking through Carnival and used Shore Excursioneer for many cruises. 

 

From Shore Excursioneer- A favorite one was the stingray city in Grand Cayman. We were in a small boat of 10 people getting personalized service and here comes the Carnival tour with a bigger boat but oh so crowded !   We did also do the Sharks and 2 other snorkeling stops in Belize. It was a rough day, get off the tender, walk to the meeting spot, ride a bus, then a boat.  It was still a good excursion though. 

 

On our most recent cruise, I decided to book through Carnival only mainly to ensure that protocols are followed. Just wanted to play it safe all around.  Also picked a less popular excursion at Nassau. So great to not have a crowd at the beach.  

[mlshum]

I have done this both ways.  I like the security of knowing they won’t leave without me if i’m on a ship excursion.  Also, now that port cancellations are quite possible, I like knowing that I will get my money back if something unexpected happens.

 

But... those are simply my preferences.

[Cruzmomma77]

On 1/19/2022 at 11:42 AM, jeffr6596 said:

I'm sure I will get some passionate responses to the following questions.  At this point I am just fact gathering so I can decide which way to go on our upcoming cruise.

 

We are cruising on a 7 day Western Caribbean out of Galveston with ports of Cozumel, Belize, and Mohogany Bay.

 

I would like to have a spontaneous option for excursions.  We are not ready to commit to schedule an excursion yet because we want to see what the weather will be like as well as just wanting flexibility in how we spend our time.

 

In the past, pre C19, I have always just purchased excursions at the port.  For those of you who have cruised in the past year could you answer a few questions:

1. Are the tour groups still active at the port where you can walk up and purchase your excursion without reservation?

2. If you were going to do a snorkeling excursion, which of our 3 stops would you recommend?

3. If you have a favorite excursion you have taken, not scheduled through Carnival, what would it be?  Which location?  Approximate cost?

 

TIA

Belize has a beautiful reef so I would choose there to snorkel. We are actually looking at there for a land vacation for our honeymoon and plan to snorkel the days away! 
As far as excursions, I’m in the same boat. However, we have always purchased from an outside excursion company and love them. When we had to cancel the first Covid go-around they refunded pretty quickly. I’m afraid to book anything right now due to not sure if we will make all our ports of call. 😞

[Kanyon71]

We usually do an excursion or maybe two through carnival but a lot of the islands we have been to often enough that we use an outside company or just snag something around the pier. This year whatever we do will probably end up through carnival simply for the fact that we have no idea if the ports will get cancelled last second or not. Just more for peace of mind to be honest. In the years we have cruised we’ve never been late getting back to port with the outside excursion companies. It’s in their best interest to not mess up peoples vacations or they won’t exist long. 

[Bgcruising]

On 1/20/2022 at 11:02 AM, sanger727 said:

I'd much rather be in a van with 4 people I don't know than a charter bus with 30. 

 

Carnival still packs the buses. 

[Purvis1231]

I have booked non-Carnival excursions many times but I prefer booking a Carnival excursion with a price match. This has saved me some money and given me the confidence of a Carnival excursion. 

[Doggielover68]

Carnival excursions still support the local economy. The vendors are still locals. The only difference is that they have been vetted by the cruiseline and your return is guaranteed. Currently, excursions are not crowded and the tour operators follow covid protocols. 

 

I was on a carnival excursion in Belize the other day, snorkeling the barrier reef far off the coast and our single boat was having engine problems. Fortunately they got things going and we didn't get stranded in the middle of the ocean, but if we had, the ship would have waited for us. 

 

Even the equipment for vetted vendors seems worse for wear in the current climate and I would be concerned relying on an outside vendor at this current time, especially if I'm going far away from the port without a backup option to get back to the ship. 

 

As for snorkeling, all 3 ports are great options. I always do a snorkeling excursion in Belize.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, Doggielover68 said:

Carnival excursions still support the local economy. The vendors are still locals. The only difference is that they have been vetted by the cruiseline and your return is guaranteed. Currently, excursions are not crowded and the tour operators follow covid protocols. 

 

I was on a carnival excursion in Belize the other day, snorkeling the barrier reef far off the coast and our single boat was having engine problems. Fortunately they got things going and we didn't get stranded in the middle of the ocean, but if we had, the ship would have waited for us. 

 

Even the equipment for vetted vendors seems worse for wear in the current climate and I would be concerned relying on an outside vendor at this current time, especially if I'm going far away from the port without a backup option to get back to the ship. 

 

As for snorkeling, all 3 ports are great options. I always do a snorkeling excursion in Belize.

Yes, the vendors are local and it still supports the local economy, but they get less of a share if you use Carnival (or any other cruise line) excursions instead of booking directly with them.

[sanger727]

I’ve been on too many wonderful independent excursions to put carnival excursions ahead due to the ‘security’. I have paid the same price as cruise line excursions in some situations. Usually when the independent excursion uses the same vendor. But the quality is so much better. For example, we wanted to do an ATV tour in st Martin and there’s only one provider for that there. We initially started with the cruise line excursion; it was advertised as a 3 hour out and back and there were about 20 people on it so it was constant start and stop. We broke off with our tour. It had 6 people on it and we toured the entire island with some off roading. No way I would have switched to the cruise line version.

[Doggielover68]

15 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, the vendors are local and it still supports the local economy, but they get less of a share if you use Carnival (or any other cruise line) excursions instead of booking directly with them.

I get that, but in exchange I get to have my peace of mind. I do venture off on my own in some ports, but there are others that I simply won't (i.e. Belize because everything is far away). 

[DrSea]

I agree with a lot of things that people say. 

 

If I am going to somewhere were there is a large tour group going and it is pretty close, I will chance it and book with a random local person. It can be a low risk at times.

 

Ex. Ocho Rios and the waterfall. I was thinking of booking it through HAL, but they were full. So I just got off shore and booked with a random dude. It was only $20 per person and that included the fair to get in and tip. I ended up joining the same freaking HAL/NCL tour group at a fraction of the cost. I think HAL was like $80/person. I don't recall. It was so close that I could honestly just walk from the Waterfall to the port. In those situations, I would just book it myself and not use the cruise line. 

 

Another Ex. Beach day in the cayman islands. I could book it through HAL or CCL and pay around $40-60. I don't recall these prices as they were all pre pandemic prices. But I ended up paying <$10 for the bus ride round trip and access to the resort (for bathroom purposes). It was like 5 miles from the port, but there were so many options to get back to the ship that I could find my way back. I had to walk about a block from the bus station. But on the way, I saw all the shops that I was going to look at anyways. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Doggielover68 said:

I get that, but in exchange I get to have my peace of mind. I do venture off on my own in some ports, but there are others that I simply won't (i.e. Belize because everything is far away). 

I agree that when something is far away, cruise line excursions are by far the safest way to go. We did a cruise for Mayan ruins and took cruise line (Royal Caribbean) excursions in both Cozumel and Belize. 

[DrSea]

20 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I agree that when something is far away, cruise line excursions are by far the safest way to go. We did a cruise for Mayan ruins and took cruise line (Royal Caribbean) excursions in both Cozumel and Belize. 

cruises where the drive is >30 minutes is my cut off where I would book with a cruise line. 

 

Or really cold places like Alaska. I would think to book with the cruise line. 

[Top_of_the_Cube]

Considering the OP's original question, I would be nervous grabbing a random tour after getting off the ship.  I do not, though, feel any more safe or secure taking a ship-sponsored excursion than I do a private tour that I have researched.  And, for as far back as I recall, I have always dealt with independent companies that automatically refund any money you have pre-paid if your ship does not make port.  In fact, most of the businesses I use only require a small deposit, with a few not requiring anything at all up front.  I think that is to make you feel more comfortable using them when compared to something through the ship.  I admit that I do not know the policy if you should be unable to make the excursion because of some medical or health reason, or what would happen if you are a no-show.

 

I remember an experience on a private tour in Belize.  The Owner-Operator of the company was our guide.  While riding on the bus back to the port, he got a call from another company saying their bus had broken down.  Our guy instantly called around to find transportation to get all those passengers of the other company back to the tenders in time to get back to their ship.  I talked with him, and he mentioned that if any passenger on one of their trips ever misses a ship, that would cripple the independent tour industry.  So, he said they work together to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

I would be very surprised if it never happens, but I do watch for news and have not heard a reported incident of a tour not getting cruise passengers back to the port in time.  Although, there have been stories of passengers missing their ships because, once they got back to the port, they stopped at a bar.