Crystal's Outrageous Excursion Prices

[ak1004]

54 minutes ago, Emdee said:

I have been on Crystal tours where the buses were half full and others where they were full. Same with Regent. It is a crap shoot. If I want the tour then I will pay the price. Sometimes it  comes down to whether I really want to see something or not. I didn’t book the L’Anse aux Meadows tour as I felt it was pricey. How much do I want to see the remains of the former viking settlement…..I don’t know. I may relent on  board.

 

Well, specific excursions are a different matter, but still would like to know the average group size. This is an important factor to me. With all other factors equal, if I look at two similar itineraries on two lines, and I know that line A puts on average 40 people on a bus and line B 25 people, this will be a big factor, even if line B is more expensive.

 

 

[Emdee]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, specific excursions are a different matter, but still would like to know the average group size. This is an important factor to me. With all other factors equal, if I look at two similar itineraries on two lines, and I know that line A puts on average 40 people on a bus and line B 25 people, this will be a big factor, even if line B is more expensive.

 

 

I think Regent definitely has smaller sizes and for a little extra payment you can have a group of 16 and under. So if money is not a factor Regent should be your choice. 
Or you can go on a private excursion …your own or Crystal‘s. We have done both. 

 

[PaulMCO]

 

 

Having been to Egypt many times on both business and cruises (ocean and river), it is really a magical place.  That land overnight is definitely worth the price and certainly seems like A&K set that up.

 

Visiting the Pyramids before it opens -- priceless. 

 

It is better than a tacky Sphinx light show that normal tourists go to.  Instead of that you will have a private reception and dinner in the new Cairo museum hosted by Dr. Zahi Hawas, 

 

Yes the day trips are a little high.  The delta depends on the amenities we did a semi private tour in a large van for $250pp.

 

I highly recommend the overnight in Luxor.  The balloon in the morning dawn was just amazing.

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by PaulMCO

[Keith1010]

6 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, specific excursions are a different matter, but still would like to know the average group size. This is an important factor to me. With all other factors equal, if I look at two similar itineraries on two lines, and I know that line A puts on average 40 people on a bus and line B 25 people, this will be a big factor, even if line B is more expensive.

 

 

The answer is it depends.

 

Group tours could be half full or they could be 90% full.  

 

There will always be a Crystal Escort, a Tour Guide and a Bus Driver although on occasion the tour guide and driver are the same.

 

If you want a guarantee on this I would not book a tour or ask when you are on board and cancel if you don't like the answer.

[ak1004]

3 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

The answer is it depends.

 

Group tours could be half full or they could be 90% full.  

 

There will always be a Crystal Escort, a Tour Guide and a Bus Driver although on occasion the tour guide and driver are the same.

 

If you want a guarantee on this I would not book a tour or ask when you are on board and cancel if you don't like the answer.

 

Thank you Keith.

 

I'm not looking for guarantees, just some estimates.

 

On our last O cruise the groups were consistently 35-40 people, which for me is way too much. It's better on SS (around 30 people on average).

 

I think it's matter of policy. If 120 people registered for a tour, they can book 5 buses, 4 buses or 3 buses. Depends how much they want to save on a bus/guide/driver.

[Keith1010]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Thank you Keith.

 

I'm not looking for guarantees, just some estimates.

 

On our last O cruise the groups were consistently 35-40 people, which for me is way too much. It's better on SS (around 30 people on average).

 

I think it's matter of policy. If 120 people registered for a tour, they can book 5 buses, 4 buses or 3 buses. Depends how much they want to save on a bus/guide/driver.

50% but it can be higher than that and is going to range base on port. Even A/C will as in some ports the local area doesn't have A/C buses.

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, Keith1010 said:

50% but it can be higher than that and is going to range base on port. Even A/C will as in some ports the local area doesn't have A/C buses.

50% of the bus capacity you mean? So around 25 people on average?

[Keith1010]

Just now, ak1004 said:

50% of the bus capacity you mean? So around 25 people on average?

50% on many tours which is 50% of the seats but as I have said numerous times it could be 90%

 

It just depends.

[vistaman]

On 8/12/2023 at 4:41 AM, Treasure Hunter said:

Uh oh. I’m on the Symphony in September 2024. With only 60 days to choose, if you don’t like the prices there’s not much time to make alternate plans. The cruise we booked has two nights on the Seine in Rouen. Every other cruise we’ve ever been on (50 on many other cruise lines) has let us choose excursions six months or more before embarking. This is our first Crystal. Is this the norm? What do mean “A&K “ forgot? We only took A & K on African Safaris and found them to be professionally run. 

I hope you are not in Rouen on a Sunday or Monday morning : the only items you can do is going to the church or  going to eat something in a resto open on sunday . 

[Treasure Hunter]

We are. Sunday through Tuesday. Hopefully the ship will arrange excursions for us. I really want to go to the D-Day Beaches. And perhaps Monets gardens. 

[ctjon]

Based upon A&K past and reputation I;d expect great excursions from them = might take a while to organize.

[Keith1010]

55 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We are. Sunday through Tuesday. Hopefully the ship will arrange excursions for us. I really want to go to the D-Day Beaches. And perhaps Monets gardens. 

We did a great one with Crystal years ago of Normandy from Rouen.

 

Keith

[Treasure Hunter]

Keith thank you. I’ve been so concerned since we have to wait to book. At least we know they can do it. 

[Keith1010]

3 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Keith thank you. I’ve been so concerned since we have to wait to book. At least we know they can do it. 

You are very welcome. It's a great Itinerary for sure.

 

Keith

[Emdee]

11 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Thank you Keith.

 

I'm not looking for guarantees, just some estimates.

 

On our last O cruise the groups were consistently 35-40 people, which for me is way too much. It's better on SS (around 30 people on average).

 

I think it's matter of policy. If 120 people registered for a tour, they can book 5 buses, 4 buses or 3 buses. Depends how much they want to save on a bus/guide/driver.

We never had that experience on SS. We were on the Moon and the buses were at least 40 to 45 people. Even on the cloud they sometimes gathered several zodiacs together before starting the tour. These were not the Cloud hiking tours. 
 

I think this is one of these cases where the correct answer is ….it depends. 
the only solution is to book private excursions of your own or with the ship. On Crystal when the private excursion did not do what it stated it would ( the tour guide decided to rewrite the tour ) Crystal refunded half our money.

[ak1004]

14 minutes ago, Emdee said:

We never had that experience on SS. We were on the Moon and the buses were at least 40 to 45 people. Even on the cloud they sometimes gathered several zodiacs together before starting the tour. These were not the Cloud hiking tours. 
 

I think this is one of these cases where the correct answer is ….it depends. 
the only solution is to book private excursions of your own or with the ship. On Crystal when the private excursion did not do what it stated it would ( the tour guide decided to rewrite the tour ) Crystal refunded half our money.

 

I agree. it probably also depends on the region, maybe number of the ships in the specific port that day (if too many, they might not have enough buses or tour guides).

 

Semi private excursion is definitely a good solution (15-20 people), but it's not always possible. This is why it's important to know what's the cruise line policy. Will they hire more buses/guides when possible and put 25 people in a bus? Or is it matter of policy to have 40+ people? 

[ctjon]

It would be great if the day before the excursions to Normandy if Crystal showed some of the great D-Day movies so your mind can overlay what happened with the beaches and near by sites.  A great experience.

[Roland4]

11 minutes ago, ctjon said:

It would be great if the day before the excursions to Normandy if Crystal showed some of the great D-Day movies so your mind can overlay what happened with the beaches and near by sites.  A great experience.

Like the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan???? 

[May B]

4 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We are. Sunday through Tuesday. Hopefully the ship will arrange excursions for us. I really want to go to the D-Day Beaches. And perhaps Monets gardens. 

We were on Crystal and docked in Honfleurs, and I was hoping for a ship’s tour to Giverny. It wasn’t offered, so we rented a car. It turned out to be quite the adventure, but a wonderful one. We got outstanding photos, and I made placemats and coasters from my favorites, so I get to relive the adventure, every day that I’m home!

 

I'm not sure the water lilies are always “in season”.

 

D-Day beaches will be similar distance but in the other direction. I hope you do get to do both!

Edited August 13, 2023 by May B

[Treasure Hunter]

Thank you but our French is rusty and we haven’t driven there since 1989. So let’s hope an excursion is offered. We were supposed to do a Tauck riverboat from Paris that was canceled three times. I much prefer an ocean going vessel but I know I might not see everything on this trip. 

[BoilerBill]

On 8/11/2023 at 6:33 PM, d5480 said:

Crystal finally at 60 days  released the prices for excursions for the October 9 cruise from Athens to Dubai. The overnight stops in Suez City and Safagra  are for tours of Cairo and Luxor.  Both  are long round trips by bus, especially Luxor which is more than 4 hours each way. The day trips are expensive ($350-$400 pp) but not really unexpected for a cruise line. The overnight trips are outrageous ($2500-$3250 pp) with no justification for bus trips. I think Crystal is taking advantage of the passengers by delaying information and cost. I was told by the Crystal employee that serviced my reservation that this information was coming June 1, July 1, soon, and it was delayed because Abercrombie and Kent had forgotten.  After cancellation would cost 3/4 of the fare I was told information would be at 60 days. I will not be on another Crystal Cruise.

Just for comparison, my wife and I booked an overnight Luxor excursion on our Seabourn cruise in April of this year (2023).  We stayed overnight at the Hilton Luxor Resort and Spa.  The excursion included bus transport to/from Luxor, hotel, an excellent private dinner and entertainment/show, guided entrance to Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple (both day and evening), Valley of the Kings with admission to two tombs, and photo stops at a number of other sites.  It was an excellent excursion, and cost $799 per person. You could book the dawn balloon ride separately via the guide for less than $100 per person.  We did not book the balloon, as we feared that it would be too tiring for us in the midst of two rather busy and strenuous days.  If we were a bit younger, we probably would have done so.

 

All in all, if Crystal is charging something like $2500 pp for this excursion --- it IS truly outrageous, although it is a wonderful experience. 

[BoilerBill]

Just now, BoilerBill said:

Just for comparison, my wife and I booked an overnight Luxor excursion on our Seabourn cruise in April of this year (2023).  We stayed overnight at the Hilton Luxor Resort and Spa.  The excursion included bus transport to/from Luxor, hotel, an excellent private dinner and entertainment/show, guided entrance to Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple (both day and evening), Valley of the Kings with admission to two tombs, and photo stops at a number of other sites.  It was an excellent excursion, and cost $799 per person. You could book the dawn balloon ride separately via the guide for less than $100 per person.  We did not book the balloon, as we feared that it would be too tiring for us in the midst of two rather busy and strenuous days.  If we were a bit younger, we probably would have done so.

 

All in all, if Crystal is charging something like $2500 pp for this excursion --- it IS truly outrageous, although it is a wonderful experience. 

I should add for clarity, that we did book this excursion through Seabourn.  So it is a valid price  comparison for the Crytal excursion/

[bayonejoe]

Just to be clear is the hotel the same for both cruise lines.

thanks

[Fenimore Fenimore]

Immediately upon reading the topic, I thought of this song.

 

When the fare hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That's A&K
When your agent's on the phone and says get a loan
That's A&K

 

... working on more!

[Leejnd4]

Interesting discussion. My thoughts: I rarely bother with ship excursions on ANY cruise line, except where it makes sense or is the only option. For example, we used the Crystal excursion for our day trip to Moscow on our Baltics cruise some years back, because it involved flights (and would have been too challenging to arrange privately). Yes the price was eye-popping but it was very much worth it.

 

But for our tour of St. Petersburg, we hired a private guide for just four of us and it was WAY cheaper than the Crystal tour, plus no bus, and our guide managed to get us to the front of every line. 

 

I find that privately arranged tours are nearly always way better, and significantly less expensive, than ship tours. And they are often the same tour operators used by the ship, only we get a private guide rather than a bus. This goes for every cruise line, and most major port stops.

 

This is one of the reasons I won't cruise the lines that "include" excursions. I've read too many horror stories of the good tours filling up too fast, poor quality tours, etc. Why pay a premium price for "included" excursions when I would rather book them on my own? As for Crystal's excursion prices - that won't be a factor in my decisions, because I probably won't even use them.

 

This is how I cruise, anyway. YMMV.

 

I haven't been to Egypt so I can't comment on the price point of Crystal's overnight tours. Have you checked to see if it's possible to arrange private tours? I don't even know if that's an option, TBH.