Are OE excursions worth the upcharge?

[babydrum]

6 hours ago, LHT28 said:

When is your cruise?

Did you not get the PDF file  from your TA or Oceania

Here are some tours  for  a cruise next May but they probably offer on other cruises to the same ports

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/middle-east-cruises/jerusalem-to-barcelona-RVA240529/port-jerusalem-HFA/?voyageday=2&sr=#all

 

Also check the Land Tour package  it may be expensive  but they look after  hotels etc..

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/middle-east-cruises/jerusalem-to-barcelona-RVA240529/hotels/

Thanks, I'm holding the Oceania tours in my cart for Jerusalem but I was hoping to read some reviews on how well they were executed.  When I booked with Holland, a lot of the tours had reviews and some were very helpful.  If I can't get at least 1 couple to join us on the private tour, then I'll book with Oceania and I guess I'll put out a review of their shore excursions on CC.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed because that would be my preference.

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, the more ports the better said:

 If the excursion sells out, then you know there are 16.  This happened on an excursion to Hanoi.  We changed to the regular tour as 6 hours on a mini bus with 16 would be uncomfortable.

Well, there is that I guess. Thank you. OE is sounding less attractive all the time tbh. 

[LHT28]

10 hours ago, babydrum said:

I have 5 days in Israel.  First day Ashdod, 3 days Haifa and last day Ashdod.  I considered getting a permission to leave the ship and get a hotel in Jerusalem for 4 nights and doing all of my tours from there.  The last day of my stay is on the Sabbath and I heard it's hard to get transportation out after 2:00.  Guided Tours Israel is available for a private tour on my days,  If I can get two couples the prices below would apply which are very reasonable.  If we do it on our own it averages $910 for us per day and I'd be better off using a ship's tour.  Would you mind sharing the name of the company you used?  I'd rather have a Christian focused tour without the politics.

 

 

Did you check the overland package  with O

It is more than your DIY  but includes a hotel & some meals

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/grand-voyage-cruises/dubai-to-barcelona-RVA240514A/hotels/overland/3/?sr=%2fcruise-finder%23time_frame%3d2024-5%26ship%3dRVA%26sort%3dfeatured%3adesc%26page%3d1%26pageSize%3d10

[babydrum]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Did you check the overland package  with O

It is more than your DIY  but includes a hotel & some meals

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/grand-voyage-cruises/dubai-to-barcelona-RVA240514A/hotels/overland/3/?sr=%2fcruise-finder%23time_frame%3d2024-5%26ship%3dRVA%26sort%3dfeatured%3adesc%26page%3d1%26pageSize%3d10

No I hadn't seen that.  It would give us an evening in Jerusalem to explore and transportation to and from the ship.  Seems to include guided tour for the Jerusalem part.  I'm definitely going to look further into this.  I wish they had it for more days.  Thanks LHT28!

[Sabbycat]

On 9/7/2023 at 8:32 PM, DRKofSA said:

Cruising September 2024 10 day portal to antiquity that goes to mykonos, istanbul, ephesus, rhodes, malta, palerma and amalfi.

We see some excursion price differences between regular tours and Oceania Exclusive (OE) tours of $90 per person and more.  are they worth the extra cost?

 

what number of people should one expect on a non-OE excursion?

 

if anyone has recommendations on great excursions at these locations, would appreciate the input.

 

 

We always choose the OE over the regular tour. Much prefer the smaller more intimate group. Was it better than the big group, no idea as we didn't do the big group, but we really enjoyed the smaller group size. Easier to maneuver, ask questions and hear. 

[Elbig]

We have some both. I don’t think its worth the price difference. YMMV. 

[ak1004]

On our last cruise on the Riviera in May, all tours were consistently around 36-40 people. I don't know if this is the new normal, but if this continues, we will use the excursions credit to book the OE tours and book private tours in the rest of the ports. Being on a bus with 40 people is just not my cup of tea.

 

However, if they return to more reasonable size of ~25-30, then maybe.. but in any case, we won't book ship excursions beyond the credit amount. 

[EJL2023]

19 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

On our last cruise on the Riviera in May, all tours were consistently around 36-40 people. I don't know if this is the new normal, but if this continues, we will use the excursions credit to book the OE tours and book private tours in the rest of the ports. Being on a bus with 40 people is just not my cup of tea.

 

However, if they return to more reasonable size of ~25-30, then maybe.. but in any case, we won't book ship excursions beyond the credit amount. 

On ours in May on Vista most were in the 25-30 range. 27 seemed to be a popular number as I recall. 

[ak1004]

9 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

On ours in May on Vista most were in the 25-30 range. 27 seemed to be a popular number as I recall. 

Well, this is much more reasonable. Hopefully our cruise was an exception and not the new normal.

[LWFM]

Hello  DRKofSA,

 

We are also sailing on the Riviera September 28, 2024 Athens to Istanbul. Just in case you are not aware Rosh Hashanah is October 2, to October 4 2024.  Due to the Holiday we booked the the OS Day in Jerusalem from Haifa on October 1 and  OS Acre on October 2. The private tour price point was high for Jerusalem. We also had concerns about traveling for 12 hours in a mini bus. We decided to go with 4 ship excursions, all OS, Santorini, Israel (2) and Ephesus. After the Simply more 25% discount we only went over the Shore Excursion credit about $47.00 pp.. 

 

We are in the process of researching private tours in Port Said, Alexandria and Istanbul. I asked O about a private overnight tour Port Said to  Cairo to Alexandria. They said we had to ask permission. Our TA can help us with arrangements but we are still on the fence re an overnight. The shore excursions opened up yesterday and O is not offering any overnights on our Cruise ( that might change). Recommendations regarding licensed guides in Egypt seem to focus on 3 or 4 Companies. Not sure I like any of them so if you ( or anyone else) has a recommendation please post.

 

If this is your first time in Istanbul definitely hire a private guide. We love Istanbul. 

 

PS. We are from the Orlando area. 

[PelicanLvr]

On 9/10/2023 at 11:15 PM, babydrum said:

I have 5 days in Israel.  First day Ashdod, 3 days Haifa and last day Ashdod.  I considered getting a permission to leave the ship and get a hotel in Jerusalem for 4 nights and doing all of my tours from there.  The last day of my stay is on the Sabbath and I heard it's hard to get transportation out after 2:00.  Guided Tours Israel is available for a private tour on my days,  If I can get two couples the prices below would apply which are very reasonable.  If we do it on our own it averages $910 for us per day and I'd be better off using a ship's tour.  Would you mind sharing the name of the company you used?  I'd rather have a Christian focused tour without the politics.

 

May 27, 2024 - Jerusalem and Bethlehem : $159 per person

May 28, 2024 - Biblical Galilee : $159 per person

May 29, 2024 - Acre and Rosh Hanikra: $159 per person

May 20, 2024 - West Coast - Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Caesarea: $159 per person

May 31, 2024 - Dead Sea and Masada : $179 per person

We did 5 days of private (just DW and me) tours with GTI on a non-cruise land trip there.  Eventhough that was about 10 years ago, it remains perhaps the most interesting and broadening travel experiences we've had.  We are Christian and GTI did a great Christian focused tour.  Our guide was aware of the "large tour" bus schedules and we were kept away from them.  Many sites were quiet.  The guide knew many of the guards etc. and doors were opened for us that are usually closed.  We had open discussions in the car between sites about all subjects and felt like we got an insight into so much.  It's great to have the same guide for all 5 days and you really get to really know them and Israel.  

 

Yes, you will save a few dollars doing the crowded and slow-moving ship tours.  But we saw so much more and Israel is so worth the small investment to get the most out of your visit.   

 

 

 

 

[sunlover12]

I can also say that I've never been on a ship excursion with 40 people on the bus.   Most of them have been in the 25-30 range. 

It depends on the location too.   On a South Pacific cruise you won't be in a large bus because they don't have them.  You'll be in a van, pick-up truck or boat.  Europe and other locations are different but still....it's not going to be 40 people. Not in my experience anyway. 

[ak1004]

13 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

I can also say that I've never been on a ship excursion with 40 people on the bus.   Most of them have been in the 25-30 range. 

It depends on the location too.   On a South Pacific cruise you won't be in a large bus because they don't have them.  You'll be in a van, pick-up truck or boat.  Europe and other locations are different but still....it's not going to be 40 people. Not in my experience anyway. 

 

Our cruise was Barcelona-London. We did 4 or 5 excursions from the ship, including Bordeaux, La Coruna, Cadiz among others. I always count number of people of excursions and confirm with the guide. ALL excursions were between 36-40 people. I hope this was an exception and not the new normal.

[ak1004]

13 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

I can also say that I've never been on a ship excursion with 40 people on the bus.   Most of them have been in the 25-30 range. 

It depends on the location too.   On a South Pacific cruise you won't be in a large bus because they don't have them.  You'll be in a van, pick-up truck or boat.  Europe and other locations are different but still....it's not going to be 40 people. Not in my experience anyway. 

 

Our cruise was Barcelona-London. We did 4 or 5 excursions from the ship, including Bordeaux, La Coruna, Cadiz among others. I always count number of people of excursions and confirm with the guide. ALL excursions were between 36-40 people. I hope this was an exception and not the new normal.