How many people are on an Oceania excursion

[newanne]

I don't typically book a ship's shore excursion, as they seem overpriced and too many people on them.   I have recently read that Oceania only has 16 people on their Shore excursions.  Is this true of all their excursions or just the OS ones?   Also, do you find that taking the shore excursion option in OLife is worth it.  We usually take the OBC.

 

Thanks,

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, newanne said:

I don't typically book a ship's shore excursion, as they seem overpriced and too many people on them.   I have recently read that Oceania only has 16 people on their Shore excursions.  Is this true of all their excursions or just the OS ones?   Also, do you find that taking the shore excursion option in OLife is worth it.  We usually take the OBC.

 

Thanks,

It’s the OE ones that are kept at 10-16 folks. But many of the other O tours (including some OS and even O Life eligible tours often are limited to smaller transports and/or multiple guides. It’s only the panoramic bus tours that will usually top a couple of dozen.

FWIW. The combo of O Life included tours and added paid ones may qualify for YWYW discount on the paid ones. Do the math and you will find some situations where your total package of O tours is bottom line priced at close to what you’d have with private group tours (for which YOU had to do all the planning and risk change issues.

[pinotlover]

Totally depends upon the popularity of the tour versus what else is being offered that day. I’ve seen 60 passenger buses being entirely full before, and that’s on longer more active tours not just panoramic ones. Some days Oceania will run 2-3 bus loads of the same tour. Meanwhile, other tours may have 15-25 on the bus.

 

It’s really a box of chocolates. If you see a tour that you’re signed up for has sold out, expect that bus to be full. If Oceania is offering 3-4 shorex, at a given port, that are 2.5-3 hours long, and then just one that is 5.5 hours long expect that latter one to be packed.

[1985rz1]

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Totally depends upon the popularity of the tour versus what else is being offered that day. I’ve seen 60 passenger buses being entirely full before, and that’s on longer more active tours not just panoramic ones. Some days Oceania will run 2-3 bus loads of the same tour. Meanwhile, other tours may have 15-25 on the bus.

 

It’s really a box of chocolates. If you see a tour that you’re signed up for has sold out, expect that bus to be full. If Oceania is offering 3-4 shorex, at a given port, that are 2.5-3 hours long, and then just one that is 5.5 hours long expect that latter one to be packed.

On our Ireland cruises, busses seemed to be limited to 30 for our day long tours, and some times there were multiple busses of 30.

[Flatbush Flyer]

56 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

On our Ireland cruises, busses seemed to be limited to 30 for our day long tours, and some times there were multiple busses of 30.

This is more along the truth of O’s “panoramic” bus tours. Often they are multiple forty passenger busses for a single panoramic (I.e. mostly driving/sightseeing) trip and there are usually empty seats on each bus). If these busses do stop (e.g., for museum tours), there will often be more than a single tour guide meeting the bus to take over fir that stop.

 

It should be added that O has increased its offerings of full day excursions (6-8 hours) that include a meal and exclusive access to certain attractions. These are not inexpensive at retail cost. But, combining the included O Life tours (picking the most expensive ones that interest you can double the perk value from $100 to $200) and enough paid ones to meet the YWYW minimum number of tours required for your cruise gets a 25% discount on the paid ones. In many cases, the net cost May pleasantly surprise you.

Of course, independent private/semi-private tours are a best bet in many situations (e.g., Maohe Nui in Bora Bora). So, bottom line for us is usually a combination of ship and private. And, with so many port changes these days, ship’s Destination Services handling all the changes is an important consideration.
 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Flatbush Flyer

[1985rz1]

18 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

This is more along the truth of O’s “panoramic” bus tours. Often they are multiple forty passenger busses for a single panoramic (I.e. mostly driving/sightseeing) trip and there are usually empty seats on each bus). If these busses do stop (e.g., for museum tours), there will often be more than a single tour guide meeting the bus to take over fir that stop.

 

Ours were not traditional panoramic tours, but destination focused, but since they were pretty far inland, there were long rides to and from  the destinations.

18 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 

It should be added that O has increased its offerings of full day excursions (6-8 hours) that include a meal and exclusive access to certain attractions. These are not inexpensive at retail cost.

 

Yes, several ours included lunch and they were consistent :  chicken with brown gravy and a half pint of beer, everytime 😄.  Irish staples.

 

 

18 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

But, combining the included O Life tours (picking the most expensive ones that interest you can double the perk value from $100 to $200) and enough paid ones to meet the YWYW minimum number of tours required for your cruise gets a 25% discount on the paid ones. In many cases, the net cost May pleasantly surprise you.

 

Yes, we did take advantage of these options and were pleased with the pricing.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by 1985rz1