HAL shore excursion descriptions

[cruisemom42]

16 hours ago, liberty176 said:

Thanks @oakridger, you're very kind.  I saw the same thing when I searched under Europe, that's why I tried to provide the link!  The call is "Westman Islands (Heimaey)," but neither destination is listed by trying to filter.  Attaching an image of the description, but it may be too small.

 

This is the July 10 sailing of the Nieuw Statendam, call is on July 11.  

 

I think I can help a bit with this. I was just on a ship that called at Heimaey Island and I took a very similar tour with basically the same order as described. The population of the island is very small and I suspect they only offer 1 or 2 shore excursions to any ship that calls. I looked at a private excursion as well, but at the time I was offered 25% off the ship excursions and the timing worked better, so I did that. I compared notes later with the private excursion and it seemed they did all the same things with a few differences.

 

At any rate, my recollections:

 

-- The Sprangen Cliff (cliff diving) was sort of a non-event. The bus parked by the cliff and watched as one local who was "experienced" in doing this demonstrated his skill. We did not even get off the bus. *yawn*

 

-- Next stop is at the golf course. You drive through the course up to a point where the bus stops for a quick (15-20 minute) photo shoot of the course, the mountains behind, and also you are right at the spot where the Viking ruins are in front of you on one side of the road (basically just the bare outline of foundations) and the reconstructed Viking longhouse is directly opposite on the other side of the road. The reconstructed house was not open when we were there (morning). Someone on the private tour said it was open later. Photo of the house:

 

 

 

-- View the outer islands:  this was basically just a scenic drive along the coast of Heimaey with views to nearby small islands, one of which was only recently formed by volcanic action.

 

-- Puffin colony:  Following the drive along the coast, the bus climbed up a hill with some hairpin turns (on a large bus, rather exciting to watch 😱) to reach a nice, paved lookout spot where it was possible to take photos of the islands and some of the coastline. Then there was a short, easy (paved) walk to the cliff overlooking the puffin colony (hundreds of them), which was probably the highlight of the tour for me and I'd guess many others:

 

 

 

 

 

-- Viewpoint over old town and old & new volcanoes:  This was the last stop on our tour. It was about a 20-25 minute stop. There are nice signboards with info. The local guide pointed out the old and new volcanoes and told us her mother's personal harrowing story of the night the new volcano erupted in 1973. Her story was amazing and another high point of the tour. The hardiness of these people amazes me -- most of them came back to the island after the eruption. The photo below shows the old town and, on the left, the huge surge of lava that stopped short of covering the whole town:

 

 

 

 

For some reason, we didn't see the stave church (Skansinn) or stop to look at any ruined houses on the way back. I think our town was running long (people spent a lot of time with the puffins). 

 

This stop was a "sleeper" hit for me. I wasn't expecting that much but the story and evidence of the volcanic eruption and the puffins, combined with a pretty sun/clouds day and lots of scenic views made it very worthwhile. I would highly recommend you take some kind of tour here that will get you "around" the island, rather than just staying in town near port.

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by cruisemom42

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, boulders said:

I've never had an independent provider cancel a tour.

 

I would've said the same pre-Covid. Since Covid I've had mixed luck, unfortunately. I think the tourism sector lost a lot of good qualified (English speaking) private guides during the shutdown. I've had a tour canceled in Japan (no English speaking guides available), and one in Iceland was canceled on me last minute due to not having enough participants signed on.

 

[Reagan0712]

After doing online research I decided to cancel my HAL excursion in Qaqortoq and just walk around town. Good decision. I was able to take my time and found the little shop that sold yarn and the grocery store on the upper street where I resupplied myself with some small snacks for the trip home.

I wish I had ditched the ship excursion in Corner Brook and just stayed in town. It was over three hours on the bus just with three stops. One at a picturesque cove with an outhouse, another at another cove with boats and houses, and the third was at a church for a small, delicious luncheon provided by the church ladies. Fortunately, across from the church was a convenience store that sold Pepsi and I, plus several others, stocked up since HAL is Pepsi free.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Reagan0712 said:

After doing online research I decided to cancel my HAL excursion in Qaqortoq and just walk around town. Good decision. I was able to take my time and found the little shop that sold yarn and the grocery store on the upper street where I resupplied myself with some small snacks for the trip home.

I wish I had ditched the ship excursion in Corner Brook and just stayed in town. It was over three hours on the bus just with three stops. One at a picturesque cove with an outhouse, another at another cove with boats and houses, and the third was at a church for a small, delicious luncheon provided by the church ladies. Fortunately, across from the church was a convenience store that sold Pepsi and I, plus several others, stocked up since HAL is Pepsi free.

Speaking of Corner Brook, we have visited that town one time (I think it was on a VOV cruise).  As is our usual practice, we DID not book an excursion and did not notice any private tours that got our interest.  Instead, we walked off the ship, explored the town and than hiked a few miles though the nearby forrest/park where they had some well-marked (and maintained) trails.  Of course, hiking (or long walks) is not for everyone (especially cruisers who use elevators to go one deck).  If we ever return to that port, and the weather is good, we will be off for more hiking/exploration.

 

Hank

[Mike07]

5 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Wow, Hank, $105 for a 2-hour walking tour! I guess it's a bargain on my cruise next summer. The walking tour in Quaqatorq is "only" $99.95. 

 

 

 

 

I've seen similar prices for free hikes that are but a 10 minute public bus ride for nominal amounts of local currency.

 

HAL Shorex team: "Norway is an expensive country"

 

 

[Mary229]

42 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

I've seen similar prices for free hikes that are but a 10 minute public bus ride for nominal amounts of local currency.

 

HAL Shorex team: "Norway is an expensive country"

 

 

Some places are expensive and the expense is hiring a highly paid guide. We found we were capable of doing the same things by ourselves.  The minimum wage in Norway is over $25 an hour and your talented guide certainly doesn’t work for the minimum 

[liberty176]

11 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

think I can help a bit with this.

Wow, @cruisemom42, you are incredible!!  Thank you so much for all these details.

[Woofbite]

On 9/21/2023 at 5:51 AM, Mary229 said:

I have noticed they have started doing so on many of my shore excursions.  I would also like them to state the number of participants per vehicle.  When I grow up I want to be the person to write the descriptions 😁

 

HAL needs to take lessons from their sister company Princess. 

Here's one example from Montego Bay Rose Hall Great House & Beach 5 hr. tour:

 

 

 

Tour timeline may vary to avoid overcrowding, etc.

Depart from ship for a guided tour of Rose Hall Great House

• Transport type: Air Conditioned Mini Bus
• Transport Capacity: 20
• Travel time: 00:45
• Time at site: 00:45
• Free time at site: 10
• Inside visit: Yes
• Air conditioned: No
• Walking distance: 84
• Steps: 75
• Wheelchair accessible: No
• Restroom available: Yes
• Shopping available: Yes

Free time at Doctor's Cave Beach, Margaritaville and the hip strip for shopping

• Transport type: Walking
• Transport Capacity: 20
• Travel time: 00:30
• Time at site: 02:30
• Free time at site: 150
• Inside visit: No
• Walking distance: 700
• Steps: 15
• Wheelchair accessible: No
• Restroom available: Yes
• Shopping available: Yes

Cruise aboard a catamaran and return to your ship

• Transport type: Catamaran
• Transport Capacity: 20
• Travel time: 00:30

 

[sandiego1]

On 9/21/2023 at 4:33 AM, Caribbean Chris said:

Private tour may well be better, if it’s smaller vehicle, better guide, etc.  I’ve had both good & bad experiences with both ship-provided and independent tours, as I’m sure we all have. There are some points in favor of a HAL tour, including sometimes being on the first tender.

 

As far as price goes, HAL now promotes a best price guarantee - if you find the same tour at a better price, they’ll refund 110% of the price difference as an onboard credit.  Has anyone tried it?

I tried but it didn't work. HAL often adds an insignificant item to their tour to ensure it's impossible to have an exact match. For example, for the Flam, Norway train ride, they offered a waffle and a "host" to escort you to the train station. The price was more than double the price to buy the train ticket independently. When I tried to get the "best price guarantee," I was informed that the tours weren't identical because of the waffle and the host. That was one very expensive waffle! We declined the tour and did it on our own. The train station was visible from the ship and a very short walk!