Crystal's Outrageous Excursion Prices

[travelwell]

For a perspective on cost, we had a 2021 WC on Regent booked. We had 3 overlands booked. The most expensive of the ones we choose was a 3 night with  flights to Ayers Rock. We were to stay at the luxury hotel Longitude 131 with included activities and food. I can not find my old paperwork but I believe it was $5000- $6000 per person. The Luxor, Petra 2 night overland I believe was $2000pp. We really looked at prices as leaving the ship for days means you are paying for both. As this was to be our only WC we felt worth it. I would assume A and K to have high quality excursions with the price to match.
Excursions are more expensive post Covid. We have been on SB recently and noted both private and ships shore excursions much more expensive. 
We have sailed with Regent, SB and Crystal pre Covid and find more similarities then differences regarding shore excursions. I do think the feeling of increased cost is pervasive and talked about on most every cruise line.

 

[Worldtraveler22]

On 8/14/2023 at 9:43 AM, 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. 

Quick question.  Did the ship handle your visa for Egypt or did you have to buy it in advance of your cruise?  Inquiring minds want to know?  Did you also go to Oman and Dubai?  If so, what did you do for visas there?

[latsyrc]

8 minutes ago, Worldtraveler22 said:

Quick question.  Did the ship handle your visa for Egypt or did you have to buy it in advance of your cruise?  Inquiring minds want to know?  Did you also go to Oman and Dubai?  If so, what did you do for visas there?

If you Google web sites of each country you will find requirements for Visas. As I'm reading it, Dubai does not require Visas and Oman only requires them for stays over 14 days. Sure hope I'm reading it right.

[Worldtraveler22]

6 minutes ago, latsyrc said:

If you Google web sites of each country you will find requirements for Visas. As I'm reading it, Dubai does not require Visas and Oman only requires them for stays over 14 days. Sure hope I'm reading it right.

I did. The answer about cruise ships is not well covered. 

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Choice in cruise lines is good.

 

I don't care for SS and so glad there are big differences between the lines.

 

As to shared tours. Done that many times and have no interest in doing it anymore.

 

So in the case with Crystal I like that tours are not included.

 

I prefer private tours so we can see precisely what we want and even change it up during the tour and not wait on others.

 

In the case of Muscat we didn't need a tour.  Negotiated with a taxi driver and saw those sites we wanted to see.

 

Keith

 

Yes, you made it very clear that you don't care for SS. Many SS fans don't care for Crystal. And many travelers would gladly sail on both as long as the itinerary and the price are right.

 

My point was that even if the line includes excursions, sometimes the price is less than lines that don't, so even if you don't like ship excursions, you can take private tours.

 

Regarding Muscat, you are much braver than me. I know the Middle East way too well, I would never take a private tour in those ports that I mentioned. Sometimes you have no choice but to take the ship excursion.

[ak1004]

12 minutes ago, latsyrc said:

If you Google web sites of each country you will find requirements for Visas. As I'm reading it, Dubai does not require Visas and Oman only requires them for stays over 14 days. Sure hope I'm reading it right.

You are correct. On our cruise last year Dubai and Oman did not require a visa, cruise ship or not.

[Keith1010]

1 minute ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, you made it very clear that you don't care for SS. Many SS fans don't care for Crystal. And many travelers would gladly sail on both as long as the itinerary and the price are right.

 

My point was that even if the line includes excursions, sometimes the price is less than lines that don't, so even if you don't like ship excursions, you can take private tours.

 

Regarding Muscat, you are much braver than me. I know the Middle East way too well, I would never take a private tour in those ports that I mentioned. Sometimes you have no choice but to take the ship excursion.

You missed my point.  We don't do shared excursions anymore so when they are included we are paying big money for something we don't want.  

 

I am a very seasoned international traveler both business and pleasure.  We know where we won't go it alone.

 

I've only been to one place where we couldn't do it on our own and back then it was Saudi Arabia. Not sure how it is today for that. We did the ships excursion although back then we did ships excursions plus private ones.

 

We also do private ones though Crystal and we also do them on our own. We factor in many things in making those decisions as well.

Choice is good.

 

Keith

[BoilerBill]

3 hours ago, Worldtraveler22 said:

Quick question.  Did the ship handle your visa for Egypt or did you have to buy it in advance of your cruise?  Inquiring minds want to know?  Did you also go to Oman and Dubai?  If so, what did you do for visas there?

First, I am US citizen, so answers could depend your specific nationality.  For US citizens, in-transit ship passengers do not require a visa for Egypt for visits up to 48 hours.  Similarly, there were no visa requirements for Oman or Dubai (where we embarked the cruise).  We disembarked the cruise in Istanbul, and a visa was required from Turkey (which was easily obtained in minutes on-line). 

[Worldtraveler22]

27 minutes ago, BoilerBill said:

First, I am US citizen, so answers could depend your specific nationality.  For US citizens, in-transit ship passengers do not require a visa for Egypt for visits up to 48 hours.  Similarly, there were no visa requirements for Oman or Dubai (where we embarked the cruise).  We disembarked the cruise in Istanbul, and a visa was required from Turkey (which was easily obtained in minutes on-line). 

Thank you.  I am a US Citizen too.  But, we are in Egypt longer than 48 hours, it's 4 days.  Could be that we need "something".  Thank you.

[SirValiant]

For what it is worth, I did notice today a few small price reductions on the Oct 5th Quebec to NY trip from the time they were first posted. The "Vintage Car" Excursion for example was well over a grand originally and now is in the 9's. 

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We had some amazing private tours over the years through our roll call threads.

On one cruise the same 10 people through the Baltic did all our tours together and the same group of people still books sailings together (except us - we were Crystalized).  On a Med Itinerary, we had a similar group and on our 2019 Crystal British Isles, we had a tour guide in Scotland that will be quite memorable in 3 ports.   We like to mix it up for variety.

 

@Leejnd4 We did a private tour in Casablanca and to the Hassan Mosque.  We could not wait to get back to the ship. It was fine in Agadir - we had a different guide. 

[AtA]

On 8/12/2023 at 7:16 PM, Emdee said:

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. 

 

Regent fills their busses on the included tours and the tours are nothing to write home about.

The one tour we paid an additional $150 was only about 20 people and it was very good.

[AtA]

On 8/15/2023 at 11:41 AM, ak1004 said:

 

 

As for lines with included excursions - I agree, it's not ideal, but what if the overall price is still cheaper than another line with no excursions included? Yes, it's possible, all 3 ours SS cruises were slightly cheaper than comparable cruises on SB and way cheaper than Crystal. So it's all on case by case basis.

We found the included tours on SS and Regent were not nearly as good as those on Crystal and the busses were filled.  

[Emdee]

2 hours ago, AtA said:

Regent fills their busses on the included tours and the tours are nothing to write home about.

The one tour we paid an additional $150 was only about 20 people and it was very good.

I must have done at least 100 or more tours on Regent over the years…..maybe closer to 200. 
We have had full buses and half empty buses. We have had jeep tours, small plane tours and helicopter tours. Yes, some tours are sub par but others were excellent. Although the buses were full in Israel the tours were excellent. Elsewhere not so good. All the small plane and helicopter tours were excellent. 
Had similar experiences with Crystal though I have taken less bus tours on Crystal and did a mix and match of private tours, ship’s tours and ship’s private tours. 

[tryber]

2 hours ago, Emdee said:

I must have done at least 100 or more tours on Regent over the years…..maybe closer to 200. 
We have had full buses and half empty buses. We have had jeep tours, small plane tours and helicopter tours. Yes, some tours are sub par but others were excellent. Although the buses were full in Israel the tours were excellent. Elsewhere not so good. All the small plane and helicopter tours were excellent. 
Had similar experiences with Crystal though I have taken less bus tours on Crystal and did a mix and match of private tours, ship’s tours and ship’s private tours. 

 

The plane, jeep and helicopter tours on Regent are included in the fare price?  

[Leejnd4]

30 minutes ago, tryber said:

 

The plane, jeep and helicopter tours on Regent are included in the fare price?  

I"m thinking not. 😉 I haven't done a Regent cruise since they started including tours, and I've heard too many horror stories about their included tours. And if you have to pay $150 for a *better* tour just to avoid a sub-par tour, then what's the value of having included tours? 

 

7 hours ago, ChatKat in Ca. said:

We had some amazing private tours over the years through our roll call threads.

On one cruise the same 10 people through the Baltic did all our tours together and the same group of people still books sailings together (except us - we were Crystalized).  On a Med Itinerary, we had a similar group and on our 2019 Crystal British Isles, we had a tour guide in Scotland that will be quite memorable in 3 ports.   We like to mix it up for variety.

 

@Leejnd4 We did a private tour in Casablanca and to the Hassan Mosque.  We could not wait to get back to the ship. It was fine in Agadir - we had a different guide. 

 

On my very first Regent cruise (Med) we had a group of 12 people, and we did nearly all our private tours together in some combination too! And I still keep in touch with several of them, all these years later. 🙂 

[Emdee]

2 hours ago, tryber said:

 

The plane, jeep and helicopter tours on Regent are included in the fare price?  

The jeep was  but the plane and helicopter were not. I actually think we paid for 1 jeep tour ( in the desert near Petra) but the other was included. Most of these were pre Covid. Was only on one Regent post Covid. 
 

A number of the paid tours were covered by OBC. 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Emdee

[Keith1010]

I went back to the post that started this thread and then most other posts.

 

Then I thought of all of the cruises we took across all cruise lines back in the day when none of them included excursions.

 

It is not a new revelation that cruise line tours are more expensive than you can usually do on your own.  Does anyone actually think this is a new revelation?  

 

On a related note if you book a tour directly through the one giving a tour or book it through one of those tour companies that resell tours such as tours by locals is it a revelation that you pay more by booking it through them versus directly with the tour guide? 

 

Is it a revelation that most items cost a lot more than they did a few years ago before Covid?  Flights? Hotels? Food? Gasoline?  Is this a revelation? We stayed at an exceptional hotel in Paris in 2017.  The cost for the room is now three times as much as it was.  In other places such as Miami it is 30 to 40% higher.  

 

Personally I've looked at the pricing of the Crystal tours that are not overlands and they are overall what I would expect. Some seem in the same price as before and others up a little bit. I am talking about tours that range between $50.00 and $400.00.

 

As to the overlands which started this discussion.  They have always been expensive. Expensive when we did the overland Safaris in 2014 and 2015 and expensive today.  Can you do it cheaper on your own? Yes. Is that a revelation?  No.

 

When we did Safari we realize that Crystal has to make money on the tour, and the tour operator they book with has to make money. So it is a no brainer that if you just book the tour on your own you cut out the tour operator and the cruise line.  

 

And keep in mind that Crystal has a rep on the tour. When we did the Safari there were say 10 of us and a Crystal rep. The Crystal rep had to fly, stay at the lodge in their own room, eat the food, go on the rides, etc,. etc., etc. So we were paying one tenth of their cost or with two of us 20%. So is it a revelation that this would also add to the cost.

 

Is  it a revelation that if you book a pre or post cruise hotel you pay more than if you book it on your own.

 

And is it a revelation that there are other costs that you won't incur if you book a tour on your own? This includes the land based employees who plan the tours, inspect the sites to make sure they meet Crystal safety standards, negotiate contracts, have on board teams of six or so employees on the ships, hold insurance for the tours, sometimes eat costs , etc. etc. Is this really a revelation?

 

As to A&K, those tours that they organize likely will be pricey. We've done some over the years and while they were pricey they were quite unique. They are high end tours for sure.

 

Anyway, no one is forced to book a tour with Crystal.  These days it is very easy to book a tour privately if you care to do so.  

 

Overlands have always been pricey and that includes Luxor, Safaris, and other overland trips. 

 

Keith

 

 

[sondi 14]

LeeAnn

We were in that group of 12 on the Regent cruise. I tried to email you when I read about your Mom’s passing but the address I have is an old one. I still remember our great Mother’s Day in Les Baux. 
 

I’ve been reading the Crystal boards as my husband and I are considering a cruise with Crystal next year and I was interested in how people are liking the new Crystal. 

 

Sondra
 

[lucas34]

3 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I went back to the post that started this thread and then most other posts.

 

Then I thought of all of the cruises we took across all cruise lines back in the day when none of them included excursions.

 

It is not a new revelation that cruise line tours are more expensive than you can usually do on your own.  Does anyone actually think this is a new revelation?  

 

On a related note if you book a tour directly through the one giving a tour or book it through one of those tour companies that resell tours such as tours by locals is it a revelation that you pay more by booking it through them versus directly with the tour guide? 

 

Is it a revelation that most items cost a lot more than they did a few years ago before Covid?  Flights? Hotels? Food? Gasoline?  Is this a revelation? We stayed at an exceptional hotel in Paris in 2017.  The cost for the room is now three times as much as it was.  In other places such as Miami it is 30 to 40% higher.  

 

Personally I've looked at the pricing of the Crystal tours that are not overlands and they are overall what I would expect. Some seem in the same price as before and others up a little bit. I am talking about tours that range between $50.00 and $400.00.

 

As to the overlands which started this discussion.  They have always been expensive. Expensive when we did the overland Safaris in 2014 and 2015 and expensive today.  Can you do it cheaper on your own? Yes. Is that a revelation?  No.

 

When we did Safari we realize that Crystal has to make money on the tour, and the tour operator they book with has to make money. So it is a no brainer that if you just book the tour on your own you cut out the tour operator and the cruise line.  

 

And keep in mind that Crystal has a rep on the tour. When we did the Safari there were say 10 of us and a Crystal rep. The Crystal rep had to fly, stay at the lodge in their own room, eat the food, go on the rides, etc,. etc., etc. So we were paying one tenth of their cost or with two of us 20%. So is it a revelation that this would also add to the cost.

 

Is  it a revelation that if you book a pre or post cruise hotel you pay more than if you book it on your own.

 

And is it a revelation that there are other costs that you won't incur if you book a tour on your own? This includes the land based employees who plan the tours, inspect the sites to make sure they meet Crystal safety standards, negotiate contracts, have on board teams of six or so employees on the ships, hold insurance for the tours, sometimes eat costs , etc. etc. Is this really a revelation?

 

As to A&K, those tours that they organize likely will be pricey. We've done some over the years and while they were pricey they were quite unique. They are high end tours for sure.

 

Anyway, no one is forced to book a tour with Crystal.  These days it is very easy to book a tour privately if you care to do so.  

 

Overlands have always been pricey and that includes Luxor, Safaris, and other overland trips. 

 

Keith

 

 

Working with cruise business during several years, every 16. pax cruise line get one free. Cruise line´s rep. usually go free too for "quality issues".

[ChatKat in Ca.]

On our 2019 British Isles itinerary, we booked directly with the guide.  We had full day tours in a van for about $100 pp

[Leejnd4]

8 hours ago, sondi 14 said:

LeeAnn

We were in that group of 12 on the Regent cruise. I tried to email you when I read about your Mom’s passing but the address I have is an old one. I still remember our great Mother’s Day in Les Baux. 
 

I’ve been reading the Crystal boards as my husband and I are considering a cruise with Crystal next year and I was interested in how people are liking the new Crystal. 

 

Sondra
 

SONDRA! So wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for the kind words about my Mom. We're having her Memorial service on September 9. And yes, that Mothers Day in Les Beaux was one of the highlights of that cruise. I was going through photos the other day and came across one of Mom accepting those flowers I had delivered to her at that gorgeous restaurant in Les Beaux during our lunch together, and the look on her face...oh boy. I fell apart just seeing the joy. She was SO surprised, and thrilled! 

 

Our private tours on that cruise were truly some of the best tours I've ever taken on any cruise. I feel like I've been chasing that whole experience ever since, and have never quite matched it. 🙂 

 

Hmm...have you thought about booking a cruise on Symphony next year? Like maybe...Rome to Venice on Nov. 4 2024? 😁😁😁

Edited August 18, 2023 by Leejnd4

[BoilerBill]

16 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I went back to the post that started this thread and then most other posts.

 

Then I thought of all of the cruises we took across all cruise lines back in the day when none of them included excursions.

 

It is not a new revelation that cruise line tours are more expensive than you can usually do on your own.  Does anyone actually think this is a new revelation?  

 

On a related note if you book a tour directly through the one giving a tour or book it through one of those tour companies that resell tours such as tours by locals is it a revelation that you pay more by booking it through them versus directly with the tour guide? 

 

Is it a revelation that most items cost a lot more than they did a few years ago before Covid?  Flights? Hotels? Food? Gasoline?  Is this a revelation? We stayed at an exceptional hotel in Paris in 2017.  The cost for the room is now three times as much as it was.  In other places such as Miami it is 30 to 40% higher.  

 

Personally I've looked at the pricing of the Crystal tours that are not overlands and they are overall what I would expect. Some seem in the same price as before and others up a little bit. I am talking about tours that range between $50.00 and $400.00.

 

As to the overlands which started this discussion.  They have always been expensive. Expensive when we did the overland Safaris in 2014 and 2015 and expensive today.  Can you do it cheaper on your own? Yes. Is that a revelation?  No.

 

When we did Safari we realize that Crystal has to make money on the tour, and the tour operator they book with has to make money. So it is a no brainer that if you just book the tour on your own you cut out the tour operator and the cruise line.  

 

And keep in mind that Crystal has a rep on the tour. When we did the Safari there were say 10 of us and a Crystal rep. The Crystal rep had to fly, stay at the lodge in their own room, eat the food, go on the rides, etc,. etc., etc. So we were paying one tenth of their cost or with two of us 20%. So is it a revelation that this would also add to the cost.

 

Is  it a revelation that if you book a pre or post cruise hotel you pay more than if you book it on your own.

 

And is it a revelation that there are other costs that you won't incur if you book a tour on your own? This includes the land based employees who plan the tours, inspect the sites to make sure they meet Crystal safety standards, negotiate contracts, have on board teams of six or so employees on the ships, hold insurance for the tours, sometimes eat costs , etc. etc. Is this really a revelation?

 

As to A&K, those tours that they organize likely will be pricey. We've done some over the years and while they were pricey they were quite unique. They are high end tours for sure.

 

Anyway, no one is forced to book a tour with Crystal.  These days it is very easy to book a tour privately if you care to do so.  

 

Overlands have always been pricey and that includes Luxor, Safaris, and other overland trips. 

 

Keith

 

 

It is indeed good to go back to the OP, which is what I redid in replying.  That is why I provided the detailed information that this Crystal overnight tour to Luxor appears to be almost triple the cost of a factually comparable overnight to Luxor purchased from Seabourn and taken 4 months ago.  Seabourn had a cruise rep on the tour who stayed overnight with us, and Seabourn provided armed security (an absolute must in this location, imho) that accompanied us at all times. 

 

Of course it is no revelation that everything is more expensive now than pre-Covid.  The comparison I gave is apples-to-apples.  Of course it is no revelation that booking independently is cheaper than booking through the cruise line.  But the direct comparison I provided was between two cruise line overnight excursions at essentially the same point in time and with nearly identical same attributes.

 

Although I have never cruised on Crystal, I fully appreciate it's long time reputation as a wonderful luxury cruise line.  I am not intending to denigrate it in any way.  I merely thought that giving facts to respond directly to the OP would be helpful in quantifying what the OP felt was an outrageous price.  Factually, and inarguably, it IS an outrageous price when compared to the same product from another luxury cruise company.

 

I have only been reading this Crystal CC board about the enhanced Crystal to determine whether we may like to try Crystal in the future.  And we most likely will.  But goodness gracious, it is regrettable that a simple factual comparison in response to an OP feeling evokes this kind of defensive reaction to one single thing that is not particularly praiseworthy.  

 

[Roland4]

13 hours ago, lucas34 said:

Working with cruise business during several years, every 16. pax cruise line get one free. Cruise line´s rep. usually go free too for "quality issues".

From the cruise line in a group booking on the cruise that is correct, but I do not think that holds true from the tour operators.

[AtA]

19 hours ago, sondi 14 said:

LeeAnn

We were in that group of 12 on the Regent cruise. I tried to email you when I read about your Mom’s passing but the address I have is an old one. I still remember our great Mother’s Day in Les Baux. 
 

I’ve been reading the Crystal boards as my husband and I are considering a cruise with Crystal next year and I was interested in how people are liking the new Crystal. 

 

Sondra
 

We used to like Regent before they added tours and we tried Regent again this past March while waiting for Crystal to return. Regent is good. We were on the inaugural Crystal cruise and are booked on 2 more and have an open booking for a third. In fact we are also waiting to see the 2025 schedule because we booked an area of the world with Regent for this coming year. If Crystal does that same area in 2025, we are cancelling  the 2024 Regent cruise to book Crystal. Crystal just is better. 

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by AtA