Other than cruise line tours

[flare3192]

Travel agent has recommended we consider shoreexcursionsgroup.com and toursbylocals.com in addition to Viking tours or in lieu of in some ports. Just wondering if you do your own tours in port and who you use -- if you are happy with staying with Viking or happy using other options.

 

Thanks

[Clay Clayton]

29 minutes ago, flare3192 said:

Travel agent has recommended we consider shoreexcursionsgroup.com and toursbylocals.com in addition to Viking tours or in lieu of in some ports. Just wondering if you do your own tours in port and who you use -- if you are happy with staying with Viking or happy using other options.

 

Thanks

It’s been our experience for our first visits to ports, we have been happy with Viking’s included excursions to give us an overview of the new place. Since those excursions usually leave additional port time, we then wander on our own.

 

When we do independent excursions, I usually don’t go through one of the excursion agencies as your agent has suggested.  Instead I research ports here on CruiseCritic and on TripAdvisor and select what we want to do and contact the tour directly. Often, we will get a small group together via the rollcall for our cruise to save everyone some money. 

[CDNPolar]

We have often used Viator and always been happy with their options.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, flare3192 said:

Travel agent has recommended we consider shoreexcursionsgroup.com and toursbylocals.com in addition to Viking tours or in lieu of in some ports. Just wondering if you do your own tours in port and who you use -- if you are happy with staying with Viking or happy using other options.

 

Thanks

 

Whether we use a Viking shore-ex or private tour is based on a risk assessment. In port with significant traffic issues we will stay with a shore-ex and when the cost of getting to the next port is significant and/or takes a number of days, we also stick with shore-ex.

 

When booking private tours we avoid bulk resellers, preferring to find a quality tour provider. Takes a little more research, but we find it worth the effort.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, flare3192 said:

Travel agent has recommended we consider shoreexcursionsgroup.com and toursbylocals.com in addition to Viking tours or in lieu of in some ports. Just wondering if you do your own tours in port and who you use -- if you are happy with staying with Viking or happy using other options.

 

Thanks

 

Our experience is that costs for a cruise line excursion can run from 2X - 3X the cost of the same, or similar excursion booked privately. This is NOT unique to Viking - it's been consistent across other lines. We have sometimes opted to pay more than the ship's tour cost, but for a more private and personalized experience - we've had only a few Tours by Locals, but all were excellent. Viator and TripAdvisor have also been useful, as have specific references from these boards.

 

Further to @Heidi13's comments, you need to evaluate your personal risk tolerance regarding local tours. A select few may guarantee to get you back to the ship if they cause you to miss the sailing (as would the ship tour). Most are well aware of sailing constraints and will have you back in time for sailing (it tends to be fatal to their business to do otherwise). Ask the question of any potential provider - a reputable one will have no issue in responding to you. Again, a benefit of private tours is the ability to specify your wish to be back by a certain time, consistent with your own comfort level.

 

That said, stuff can happen. All the assurances in the world don't help if your transport breaks down 60 miles from the ship, an hour before all-aboard.

 

Our personal rule of thumb is that we will take a local tour if we can easily catch up with the ship the following day, should we miss it AND if we are comfortable with our ability to navigate the local culture and language. If the ship is leaving for a multi-day  passage, or we are uncertain that we can arrange the necessary travel, we use the ship's offerings.

 

By using these guidelines, we have had great success with local tour providers over the years without any problems. As mentioned, these boards are full of good recommendations for specific tours and companies. Enjoy! 🍺🥌

[donaldsc]

53 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Whether we use a Viking shore-ex or private tour is based on a risk assessment. In port with significant traffic issues we will stay with a shore-ex and when the cost of getting to the next port is significant and/or takes a number of days, we also stick with shore-ex.

 

When booking private tours we avoid bulk resellers, preferring to find a quality tour provider. Takes a little more research, but we find it worth the effort.

 

There is nothing inherently wrong w the bulk sites such as Viator or TripAdvisor.  They are convenient to use and most of the time they work well unless there are issues.  The problem is three fold.  One is that the tour operator has to share the fee with the consolidator which reduces their income.  More important is that when there are problems you can't deal w the tour operator directly but you have to deal w the consolidator.  This can be a real issue if the problem needs an immediate solution.  Finally you loose one of the real advantage of doing private tours as you can not work with the tour operator to modify the tour but you have to work through the consolidator.  If you can live with these issues and I prefer not to sites like Viator work. 

 

There is a way that you can use the bulk sites to find a good tour w/o actually purchasing the tour on the bulk site.  What you can do is to go onto the bulk reseller sites to find the tour that you like and then do a bit of work to find the identity of the company actually doing the tour and book the tour directly.  When I do this I make sure that the tour company knows that this is what I have done.  They get to make more money on the tour and they generally treat me well.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

DON

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Our experience is that costs for a cruise line excursion can run from 2X - 3X the cost of the same, or similar excursion booked privately. This is NOT unique to Viking - it's been consistent across other lines.

 

That said, stuff can happen. All the assurances in the world don't help if your transport breaks down 60 miles from the ship, an hour before all-aboard.

 

🥌

Our experience is slightly different than yours. We have found that Viking’s markup has been less than on other mass market lines and in a couple of case almost exactly what we could purchase the same tour for directly. The only difference being the size of the group.

 

Agree with you about “stuff” happening. But as you also said, the tour guides future rests on getting you back to the ship. When we were in Puerto Madryn Argentina I had arranged a daylong small group tour for 8 of us from our rollcall. We were headed back from our nature tour in the peninsula north of the port when the guide quietly asked me if I would be agreeable to making a stop and picking up some others from the ship. Their guide had called and their van had a flat tire.  Our group of course agreed to being slightly uncomfortable for the last 30 minutes of our drive as we all knew it could have just as easily been us. The point of this long winded story is that I think most guides work together to make sure that no one gets left behind. 

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

What you can do is to go onto the bulk reseller sites to find the tour that you like and then do a bit of work to find the identity of the company actually doing the tour and book the tour directly.  

 

Excellent advice - it's what we try to do as well. 🥌🍺

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Our experience is slightly different than yours. We have found that Viking’s markup has been less than on other mass market lines and in a couple of case almost exactly what we could purchase the same tour for directly. The only difference being the size of the group.

 

Agree with you about “stuff” happening. But as you also said, the tour guides future rests on getting you back to the ship. When we were in Puerto Madryn Argentina I had arranged a daylong small group tour for 8 of us from our rollcall. We were headed back from our nature tour in the peninsula north of the port when the guide quietly asked me if I would be agreeable to making a stop and picking up some others from the ship. Their guide had called and their van had a flat tire.  Our group of course agreed to being slightly uncomfortable for the last 30 minutes of our drive as we all knew it could have just as easily been us. The point of this long winded story is that I think most guides work together to make sure that no one gets left behind. 

 

We are (unfortunately) limited in our Viking experience, so haven't noticed the "equivalent pricing" tours as yet - but I'll pay more attention, as it would be quite interesting to see. We found Viking's tour pricing to be competitive among the lines we know and the couple we've taken were all fine. (I don't at all begrudge the lines their markup - they have to make a profit and they also look after the planning / logistics / "back to ship promise" aspects of a tour.)

 

Great story about your Argentinian experience - that was a class act all the way around! Hopefully, the huge impacts of the pandemic on experience tour guides will not make it harder for them to react that way in the future. 🥌🍺

[DrKoob]

6 hours ago, flare3192 said:

Travel agent has recommended we consider shoreexcursionsgroup.com and toursbylocals.com in addition to Viking tours or in lieu of in some ports. Just wondering if you do your own tours in port and who you use -- if you are happy with staying with Viking or happy using other options.

 

Thanks

I agree with all the folks who have posted. Just wanted to say that we have used ToursByLocals and they are outstanding. We got two great guides in Iceland. Another superb one in Amsterdam. We are on Viking Sky next week from Athens to Barcelona and we are using TBL the day before the cruise in Athens and the day after in Barcelona.

 

Jim

[Azulann]

6 hours ago, flare3192 said:

Travel agent has recommended we consider shoreexcursionsgroup.com and toursbylocals.com in addition to Viking tours or in lieu of in some ports. Just wondering if you do your own tours in port and who you use -- if you are happy with staying with Viking or happy using other options.

 

Thanks

What ports are you visiting?  I have done private tours, used Spanish Day tours and Barcelona day tours when in Spain . excellent. at the same time on our roll call, a member found a  indivdul our guide for the Basque Region of Spain.

 One of the best tours ever!!!

 

 

I found a Wine expert for a great our in Italy. Both times we researched a lot on  the internet  to find the person and then emailed them , with ongoing conversations.  Also in Turkey we had great private  guides which I researched  by myself.  

Summary, you can find private tour guides but do you research first.

Roll calls are a great place to find additional  folks to fill out the van for the private day tour.  

[WNcruiser]

6 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

It’s been our experience for our first visits to ports, we have been happy with Viking’s included excursions to give us an overview of the new place. Since those excursions usually leave additional port time, we then wander on our own.

 

When we do independent excursions, I usually don’t go through one of the excursion agencies as your agent has suggested.  Instead I research ports here on CruiseCritic and on TripAdvisor and select what we want to do and contact the tour directly. Often, we will get a small group together via the rollcall for our cruise to save everyone some money. 

Excellent advice. I have been arranging and joining private tours for years. The websites mentioned or Viator are only 3rd party brokers that use large companies. Do some research as Clay mentioned and get a small group together. We have met many great friends (and guides) on these tours. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by WNcruiser

[lackcreativity]

Most of your responses have been from those who use outside vendors for tours. We did that only once, in St. Petersburg ( lucky to do that four years ago) with Alla Tours. It was a great tour, and provided a comprehensive three day package that we could not match with Viking. 

 

All the rest of our excursions, over four cruises so far, have been with Viking. We combine a few optional excursions  each trip along with  included excursions, supplemented by time on our own. We then take the Viking shuttles back to the ship. We don't mind the 25/30 size groups on the Viking tours, since the Quiet Vox headphones allow you to wander a bit away from the guide to take pictures etc. without missing what is being said. Most have been good to great, with a  very few that were disappointing. Those few were always related to the quality of the guide.

 

We do read carefully the description of the offered excursions, not too often selecting one that is exclusively a bus ride. Viking does tend to add a walking tour component to most of the panoramic tours, but not always. 

[Azulann]

lackcreativty,

 All my private tours were on Celebrity sailings. Since  doing Viking Ocean, I have been done the included tours or one of the optional tours. I have found them exactly what they  stated. The optional ones were outstanding, and well worth the price. And the price was not outlandish . 

 

[lackcreativity]

Azulann,

Agree completely. I have never selected an optional excursion that I regretted paying for afterwards. On our last trip this April, after nearly three years away (thanks, Covid), we splurged on more optional excursions than usual. We were going from Barcelona to Venice(ish). Maybe it was a case of "absence makes the heart grow fonder", but one excursion was better than the next. I think I would happily repeat that entire cruise if, say, money was no object!

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Azulann,

Agree completely. I have never selected an optional excursion that I regretted paying for afterwards. On our last trip this April, after nearly three years away (thanks, Covid), we splurged on more optional excursions than usual. We were going from Barcelona to Venice(ish). Maybe it was a case of "absence makes the heart grow fonder", but one excursion was better than the next. I think I would happily repeat that entire cruise if, say, money was no object!

We are taking the same cruise in the reverse direction next April. Do you mind sharing which optional excursions you chose?

[flare3192]

Thank you. We are on the 22 day Istanbul to Rome cruise in May and have never been to any of the cities. It is overwhelming to look at all the options so if you have any suggestions on the company tours I would be appreciative. Thank you

[KBs mum]

We rarely book tours, only doing so if whatever it is would be difficult to do on our own for whatever reason, usually a lack of public transport or taxis. A couple of times it was for safety reasons. 

There's no right or wrong answer, go with whatever option suits you best, cobblers to anyone else's opinion! 

[Mich3554]

22 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Our experience is slightly different than yours. We have found that Viking’s markup has been less than on other mass market lines and in a couple of case almost exactly what we could purchase the same tour for directly. The only difference being the size of the group.

 

Agree with you about “stuff” happening. But as you also said, the tour guides future rests on getting you back to the ship. When we were in Puerto Madryn Argentina I had arranged a daylong small group tour for 8 of us from our rollcall. We were headed back from our nature tour in the peninsula north of the port when the guide quietly asked me if I would be agreeable to making a stop and picking up some others from the ship. Their guide had called and their van had a flat tire.  Our group of course agreed to being slightly uncomfortable for the last 30 minutes of our drive as we all knew it could have just as easily been us. The point of this long winded story is that I think most guides work together to make sure that no one gets left behind. 

Puerto Madryn was the one time I was incredibly happy we were on a Viking tour.  We had gone to the penguin colony in Punta Tombo and were nearly 2 hours late getting back.  Then on the way back to the port, a semi took off the bus’s side mirror when we got caught in a horrible traffic backup.  The bus pulled up to the ship, we boarded and we were away from the dock before we got to our cabin.  

[lackcreativity]

13 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We are taking the same cruise in the reverse direction next April. Do you mind sharing which optional excursions you chose?

Happy to share. Just as background, I should offer that I have never met a castle I didn't love, cathedrals still enthrall me, and hilltop towns and walled cities are my dreams come true. Your version of a great vacation of course may vary. 

 

Having been to Barcelona previously, we just took the Included excursion. We had a great guide, which always makes a tour. Though the description of the tour did not list it, we did make a stop to view the outside of  Sagrada Familia from a nice little park on a side of the church we hadn't seen on our previous tour. That was a bonus, and the walking tour of the Gothic Quarter was another area we had not visited before, so it was a good excursion for us. 

 

From Sete there are several interesting choices, but we went to Montpellier & Chateau Flaugergues. The weather and our guide were both less than satisfactory, but I enjoyed both locations. On the city walking tour we did pop in to take a peek at the interior of a 14th century building now used as a conference center (Hotel de Varennes).Though just a quick view, it was great to get to see the inside of one of the buildings we were passing by. Plus it felt like a castle, so bonus points for that!

 

From Marseille, again there were multiple good options, but we went to Aix-en-Provence. A good guide, better weather, and a Charming town with a capital C.

 

From Monte Carlo, we did the whirlwind tour of Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo. I could have spent a day at any of those places but we didn't have three days in port, so this was the best alternative. We paid the additional six Euros each to go tour the Jardin Exotique at the top of Eze, which was an incredible site. What a hike, so bring your stamina and your comfy shoes.

 

On the two days in Livorno, (we've been to Florence before) we did the included Pisa tour to see inside the church and the baptistry which we had not done before, and the optional tour of the Pitti Palace (again a first visit). Pisa was fine, but not special. The Pitti Palace tour and guide and included lunch were all good. I would not necessarily pick that if it was my first visit to Florence.

 

Rome was a changeover day for the first segment of the cruise, but Viking did provide an included panoramic bus ride to Rome with free time at the Vatican (no inside visit ) for those of us who were taking the second leg of the cruise. Since we have also been to Rome before, we went along for the ride. During the free time in Vatican City (on Easter Saturday no less), we wandered off to have lunch in a little pizza place we had found on our earlier trip. 

 

We were unable to make port in Naples because of very high winds, so for the second time in our travels we missed a chance to go to Pompeii. But that is another story, and we are too lucky to complain!

 

In Sicily, we chose the Enchanting Taormina, which was another highlight in a trip full of them. The guide was fine, but not really relevant as the city is the star of the show. In summer the crowds and the heat would be a challenge, but in April (though a bit busy with Easter holiday crowds) it was a gem.

 

From Crotone we went to Santa Severina, a hilltop town with a castle. We got to tour parts of the castle, so I was in delighted.

 

From Bari, there are several tempting choices, but we went to the Castellana Caves and Polignano a Mare. A scheduling issue at the caves  limited our time in Polignano, but what great seaside town (or I guess I should call it a cliffside town) that was. 

 

In Sibenik, we had planned the included walking tour, but pouring down rain led us to turn in our tickets for that and watch the groups walk off with their red Viking umbrellas from the World Cafe. Luckily, we were docked right in walking distance, so later in the morning the rain stopped and we went out on the same route on our own. It was a very pleasant surprise.

 

Our final surprise was that mid-cruise, Viking learned that our intended port of Fusina (for Venice) was closing for an environmental study and they arranged a last minute docking in Ravenna. With some working of miracles, Viking arranged revised excursions to Venice (we've been multiple times) and also to Ravenna. So we got an unexpected visit to a new location, famous for its mosaics.

 

OneSixtytoOne,

I am sorry for the very long winded reply, but you did ask, and I was glad for the chance to relive the trip. Hope you enjoy yours too.

 

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, lackcreativity said:

On the two days in Livorno, (we've been to Florence before) we did the included Pisa tour to see inside the church and the baptistry which we had not done before, and the optional tour of the Pitti Palace (again a first visit). Pisa was fine, but not special. The Pitti Palace tour and guide and included lunch were all good. I would not necessarily pick that if it was my first visit to Florence.

 

Thanks for the info. We spent 4 days in Florence a few years ago but never made it to Pisa, so I'll probably book that tour. 

 

For anyone visiting Florence try and book a tour of the Vasari Corridor. It's the secret hallway that connects the Pitti Palace with the Uffizi. It crosses on top of the Ponte Vecchio. Here is a picture I took from a window looking down on it.

 

 

Another fascinating location in Florence is the Santa Maria Novella Apothecary. It is the the oldest in the world. Florence means Flower and they have been making soap, lotions, and fragrances from local flora for 800 years. It's adjacent to the church which is also worth a visit..

Edited August 27, 2022 by OneSixtyToOne

[longterm]

On 8/26/2022 at 9:39 AM, flare3192 said:

Travel agent has recommended we consider shoreexcursionsgroup.com and toursbylocals.com in addition to Viking tours or in lieu of in some ports. Just wondering if you do your own tours in port and who you use -- if you are happy with staying with Viking or happy using other options.

 

Thanks

We’ve used toursbylocals.com and been very pleased; our guide in Rome was an archaeologist, so her knowledge of antiquities was extensive. 
 

We’ve also used theRomanGuy.com and were pleased with them as well. 
 

On our excursion to Chichen Itza last week in Cancun, the crowds at the site were large in the entrance pavilion. There are booths lining the walks as you go among the temples; it started raining very hard, but because it was at the end of our tour, our guides instructed us to stay close as we made our way back to the pavilion, which was packed with people avoiding the downpour.

 

Two women chose to stop at every booth, and ignoring the guides, straggled behind so far that they got lost in the crowd. The bus waited a couple of minutes, but ended up leaving the two behind. They had to find a taxi to the next spot, which was five minutes away at a cenote. It was annoying that they ignored the guides and made us wait, but they paid for it with panic and a taxi fare. 

 

The interior of Mexico is not someplace that I would like to get left behind, and had that been us, and were we on a private tour from a Viking ship, I would’ve been panicking mightily. 
 

As others have noted, if I were to do a private tour from a Viking ship, I would err on the side of extreme caution, and give myself hours of leeway, so as not to get left behind.

 

Someone mentioned they have never paid for an optional excursion and been disappointed. Sadly, that has not been the case for us; we did an optional excursion to Munich while on the Viking Grand European river cruise; the drive was two or three hours each way, and combined with a very mediocre tour guide, who managed to leave 2 women behind in downtown unit, it made for a disappointing day. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by longterm

[longterm]

On 8/26/2022 at 10:51 AM, CDNPolar said:

We have often used Viator and always been happy with their options.

Us too. We just used them for a tour in Cancun last week. 

[KBs mum]

On 8/26/2022 at 4:51 PM, CDNPolar said:

We have often used Viator and always been happy with their options.

Are Viator not a 3rd party reseller? 

[longterm]

3 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

Are Viator not a 3rd party reseller? 

Yes; the tour provider in Cancun was a local company whose name I don’t recall.
 

We also used them 10 years ago in Paris to go on two different tours, to Giverny, and to the Normandy beaches and WWII museums. Both were local companies booked through Viator. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by longterm