Reviews of RCI excursions

[CaptJerry51]

I have my first cruise on RCI next June and am looking at their excursions.  I am finding their descriptions a little light in content and RCI does not provide for reviews to be posted.  I would like to be able to find out a little bit more about those I am interested in.

 

My questions are:

- should I assume that everything land based is done via a 40-50 passenger bus - Yes?  The description says nothing about the transportation.  This may be by design.

- where can I see reviews from prior passengers of each tour?  Often these reviews add a lot of detail - the good and not so good about the excursion.

[smokeybandit]

Google the name of the excursion. You're likely to find reviews, though not necessarily specific to RC passengers. but you can still find what you need.

[shof515]

with some good googling of the shore excursion title, you can usually find the tour provider website or a page on trip advisor/viator

[cruiselvr04]

For a very short period of time Royal did have reviews.  I think a lot were so negative they quit doing it. 
 

The best thing I can say is stay away from anything that says panoramic or describes you will drive by….it also sometimes says how long the bus ride is.  I google how far what you’re going to see is from the pier.  

[firefly333]

6 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

The best thing I can say is stay away from anything that says panoramic or describes you will drive by….it also sometimes says how long the bus ride is.  I google how far what you’re going to see is from the pier.  

Lol I'm ok with panoramic views we drive by. The ones I stay away from say they are a walking tour. I can do a walking tour on my own, i want to be driven to see the sights. Ac included. 

[Mum2Mercury]

3 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

For a very short period of time Royal did have reviews.  I think a lot were so negative they quit doing it. 

Cruise ships do not excel at shore excursions.  

Remember you have the option to go with private tours.  

3 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

The best thing I can say is stay away from anything that says panoramic or describes you will drive by….it also sometimes says how long the bus ride is.  I google how far what you’re going to see is from the pier.  

Totally agree.  I have no interest in "city tours" or driving past interesting things. 

On our first cruise we didn't think about the distance between the pier and our excursion site, so we were surprised by a 45 minute ride.  We didn't know what we didn't know.  Yes, now I always use Google to check how far the drive is ... it's part of my "Is this worthwhile?" thought process.  

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Lol I'm ok with panoramic views we drive by. The ones I stay away from say they are a walking tour. I can do a walking tour on my own, i want to be driven to see the sights. Ac included. 

This isn't my idea of fun at all ... but that's why it's essential to know what's going to happen on your excursion!  Check out your potential excursions on this board or other online websites.  

Edited November 20, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[livingonthebeach]

The ship sanctioned excursions are truly hit or miss. I've been on great ones and not so good ones. The only real advantage to these tours is knowing if there's a problem getting back on time, you won't miss the ship = the ship won't leave you stranded in a foreign port. Is it worth the extra money? Some may say yes due to the removal of stress in getting back on time. Will you miss out on a fantastic local tour for less money? Probably. 

[island lady]

Indeed, RCI used to post reviews (with pictures even) of the tours.  But that was years ago.  If it was due to so many bad reviews...I think the fix should have been to improve the tours and make them as described...which many are not even close!  😠

 

Hit and miss on those tours for us...IMHO I would say 30-40% are actually worth it, and that is being optimistic.  And like mentioned...we only do the RCI tours in cities we are not familiar with, and do feel better knowing RCI is responsible for getting us back to the ship.  

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

Indeed, RCI used to post reviews (with pictures even) of the tours.  But that was years ago.  If it was due to so many bad reviews...I think the fix should have been to improve the tours and make them as described...which many are not even close!  😠

 

Hit and miss on those tours for us...IMHO I would say 30-40% are actually worth it, and that is being optimistic.  And like mentioned...we only do the RCI tours in cities we are not familiar with, and do feel better knowing RCI is responsible for getting us back to the ship.  

 

Yes, absolutely agree. Often they are just using the supplier's own description and those frequently leave a lot to be desired. They really need to have an actual RC employee check out every excursion that they sell and then do proper write-ups like Princess have on their website.

 

One other benefit I like having with a ship-sponsored excursion is the ease of getting a refund if a port call is switched or missed.

[HxFx]

I wish you could at least (easily) look at what excursions they offer even if you haven't booked a cruise with that port. I sometimes use that as a deciding factor for deciding on a cruise if ports are the focus (looking at you Falmouth!) Carnival does have reviews on their shore excursions and often have the same tours (or at least same beach/activity location). Plus, you can look them up from their website without having a cruise booked.

 

Sometimes it's nice to read reviews from a cruiser's perspective as other reviews may be from those on a land tour. Just go to the "Explore" tab and look all the way to the right. Hopefully it will give you an idea of what you are looking for. If you see a tour you like but Royal doesn't offer it, you can probably find it to do on your own outside of the ship's excursions.

Edited November 20, 2023 by HxFx

[island lady]

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

Yes, absolutely agree. Often they are just using the supplier's own description and those frequently leave a lot to be desired. They really need to have an actual RC employee check out every excursion that they sell and then do proper write-ups like Princess have on their website.

 

One other benefit I like having with a ship-sponsored excursion is the ease of getting a refund if a port call is switched or missed.

 

Totally agree.  Have mentioned that several times to the shore excursion staff, after a bad tour.  "Please put someone on these tours at least once to check them out for accuracy".   We are paying RCI for the product, and they are getting their cut.  Time to get their head out of the sand.  😉 

[jeh10641]

I use TripAdvisor to see what any port has to offer. Sometimes I use the ship excursion, sometimes I use private tours. Mostly I had good experiences with both. Occasionally there are glitches in both cases. My interests lie in history and culture not beaches.

 

Look at past cruises for the same ports on Cruise Critic. Sometimes passengers have recommendations or criticisms.

Edited November 20, 2023 by jeh10641
Second thought.

[steveru621]

On 11/19/2023 at 5:18 PM, cruiselvr04 said:

stay away from anything that says panoramic

 

Nothing wrong with a senior tour.  RCI is only an agent.

[mslhb]

I started looking at the Holland America website. They seem to have similar tours but actually show the reviews. I have become very picky with what cruise ship tours I book.

[jean87510]

Look at carnival website as well.