Cruiseline shore excursions ... are they really that bad?

[SleepingUgly]

I've been reading the "Ports of Call" boards and find that most of the people who frequent those boards like booking excursions independently. However, there are a few islands on our upcoming Galaxy / Southern Caribbean cruise for which there are cruiseline shore excursions in which I am interested. Mostly, the length of the excursions is what appeals to me -- 3-3.5 hours tours that leave fairly early in the morning (8-8:30 am), which means we can get back to the ship in time for lunch, and then have the afternoon free to wander about / relax a bit. Most of the independent tours really push their full-day tours, and we've already booked a few of those (as part of a group and as a private tour), but I do not want us to be on full-day tours on every island.

 

So my question is -- Are the cruiseline shore excursions really "that" awful? I've heard stories of large herds of passengers being led around like sheep, but from what I recall of my RCCL shore excursions a few years back, they were not too bad and the tour guides were quite entertaining and knowledgeable. Can someone please enlighten me as to what Celebrity shore excursions are like, especially in the Southern Caribbean region?

 

Many thanks,

Linda

[Host Anne]

Hi Linda ~ I think many of the cruiseline excursions are just fine. They usually cost more than independent tours and probably do have more participants than an independent tour might have but many people are more comfortable booking with the cruiseline than they are on their own. If you find some excursions that are appealing through the cruiseline, that's great. Maybe the better thing to check is how many other cruiselines are in ports with you that might be doing the same excursions. This is when I've found ship excursions locales to become overcrowded. We recently did an excursion to the Baths on Virgin Gorda (we were on a land vacation) but the day we picked had three other ships in Tortola (a lot of cruise traffic for this small port) and the Baths were so crowded with cruise tours that it was difficult to walk the trail.

 

So, I think many of the ship excursions are fine....there are just some variables that can affect the experience.

 

Have a great time whatever you choose to do.

[dcintheam]

Hi Linda,

 

I agree with the hostess Anne. It all depends on what you want to do. We've booked both on board and on our own and some of the ones we booked separately were more crowded than ones from the cruiseline. My suggestion is to check out the cruiseline brochure see what you like. Then check the boards to see what others have suggested. Or post some questions. Sometimes you can book your own excursion and go where the cruiseline goes, but for less money.

 

I usually see what the cruiseline offers as a clue to what is available then go from there.

 

Good luck!

Colyn

[Petert]

Hi Linda,

 

The cruise line excursions have some advantages, such as being prescreened; assuring that in the event of a problem that the cruise ship personell know your situation; in the event your excursion being canceled you have recourse with the on board rep. You will also have a fairly detailed description of the excursion from the cruise line. We also like to take a half day city tour excursion when we visit a new port of call, to familiarize us with the area. Then we can better decide what we want to do with the rest of the day. If you have something you particularly want to do or see, booking ahead assures you that the excursion will not be sold out.

 

When you revisit ports you will have a better idea of how you want to spend your time. You have the right idea checking the boards for information about the experiences others have had. The more you learn, the better chance that your visit will be a success.

 

petert

[Lois R]

Good morning.:)

 

Are the cruiseline excursions really that bad? No.

 

I sail solo and have used the ship's excursions many, many,

many times.

Unless I have a roll call where we were all friendly enough to

book something together by an independent operator I always

book through the ship.

I think I had one poor experience out of 10 cruises.

 

The prices may be a bit more but going on my own I feel it

is worth it. Its a great way for me to meet other pax and

if the tour is running late and its through the cruiseline, the

ship will wait.

[DebCatLady]

We've booked through the ship and independently abd have never been disappointed. I have noticed that some of the tours offered by the ships are identical or closely mimic some of the independent tours. But you can often times save a little money by doing it on your own.

 

Deb

[chessbriar]

I have never had andy problems with ship sponsored tours. But with a private tour you may get a longer more in depth tour or it might be cheaper.

[mii]

I have done both ship and independent. I have done more cruiseline excursions and they are just fine. Sure sometimes they are more expensive than independent but if you find a ship's excursion that you like go for it. It will be you that ultimately decides what is best for you.

 

Marilyn

[kruisecat]

We have done both ships and independent tours and have been happy with both. For me mostly it comes down to $$$. For our upcoming cruise to Alaska we are doing a heli tour and glacier landing. The tour that the ship offers is run by the same company that we booked directly with at a $50/person savings. They are the only company running this tour in Skagway so either way we'd be using them why not just do it for $100 less!

[Rev22:17]

Linda,

 

I've been reading the "Ports of Call" boards and find that most of the people who frequent those boards like booking excursions independently. However, there are a few islands on our upcoming Galaxy / Southern Caribbean cruise for which there are cruiseline shore excursions in which I am interested. Mostly, the length of the excursions is what appeals to me -- 3-3.5 hours tours that leave fairly early in the morning (8-8:30 am), which means we can get back to the ship in time for lunch, and then have the afternoon free to wander about / relax a bit. Most of the independent tours really push their full-day tours, and we've already booked a few of those (as part of a group and as a private tour), but I do not want us to be on full-day tours on every island.

 

So my question is -- Are the cruiseline shore excursions really "that" awful? I've heard stories of large herds of passengers being led around like sheep, but from what I recall of my RCCL shore excursions a few years back, they were not too bad and the tour guides were quite entertaining and knowledgeable. Can someone please enlighten me as to what Celebrity shore excursions are like, especially in the Southern Caribbean region?

 

I generally use the ship's excursions for several reasons.

 

>> 1. The cruise lines vet the operators pretty thoroughy. You can count on clean vehicles that have been properly maintained so that they are safe and reliable, safe drivers, and knowledgeable guides who are reasonably fluent in English even where it is not the native language. The cruise lines also bend over backward to ensure that the shore excursions do match the published descriptions, subject to last minute changes forced by unforeseeable circumstances. Some independent operators are not so reputable.

 

>> 2. The ship's excursions leave from the pier or the cruise terminal and return to the pier or the cruise terminal. If you book an independent excursion, you may have to get to and from the operator's facility, which may be in another area of the city, on your own.

 

>> 3. If the ship's schedule changes, the cruise line protects you so you get a full refund of the price. If you book an independent excursion and miss it due to cancellation of the port of call or late arrival, you may forfeit the price of the excursion.

 

>> 4. The ship's shore excursion staff monitor the progress of shore excursions. If an excursion is behind schedule, the ship will either delay sailing or make other arrangements to bring passengers on delayed shore excursions back aboard. If this is not possible, the cruise line will arrange alternate transportation to the next port of call and provide lodging and meals for the affected passengers. If you take an independent tour and miss sailing due to traffic, etc., you bear the cost of travel to rejoin the ship and the cost of lodging and meals until you do so.

 

OTOH, there are two significant advantages to independent tours.

 

>> 1. Independent tours typically are less expensive than the cruise line's tours because the operators of the tours sold through the cruise lines have higher costs to maintain the standards that the major cruise lines require and to pay sales commissions to the cruise lines.

 

>> 2. Private tours provide more flexibility to tailor a tour to your interests. They also may be less expensive than the cruise line's tours if you have enough people in the group.

 

Your choice.

 

Norm.

[Norcal Cruiser]

When you are on a ship sponsored shore excursion your ship will wait for you if there are any problems.Isn't that worth something?I have been on four cruises and booked shore excursions through Celebrity on all of them.Never been disappointed.We've had local people on all these excursions lead the tour.That lends some local information from a local.There are people who will never be pleased.I heard someone in Costa Rica complain to the shore excursion desk that she went to Bird Island expecting to see birds and didn't see a one.The ever patient lady at the shore excursion desk explained that bird island was called Bird Island because it looked like a bird.The passenger still tried to get a refund for not seeing birds!Some people can not be pleased!:confused: Kathy

[uktog]

I think as everyone has said,it all depends and I too use a mix between ship and private. I will use a private tour if

1. I am absolutely happy about the credentials of the provider, usually by feedback on these boards (ie using Captain Larry in Alaska)

2. I see no risk in missing the ship (i.e. Careys in Honolulu as we had an overnight stop/Red October in Russia etc)

3. There is something fundamental I want to see and I cannot get the combination of sights (but only if I am satisfied on 1 and 2) (ie Lois Classic Cars in Ketchikan)

 

otherwise it is the cruiseline trips for me which I know are not private set to my agenda (wish others would remember that on some trips!) but where I know IF there is a problem (and we have had 2 in 10 cruises, so over 50 ship excursions) we can have it dealt with - actualy we raised only one issue with the cruiseline and were immediately refunded, the other, as the trip was over running due to the "efforts" of a fellow passenger diverting the itinerary to their agenda and we had later plans for something else, we quietly left the tour, had a word with the guide and took a relatively inexpensive cab back to the ship.

 

Our next cruise will have 5 ships excursions and 2 private ones.

 

Personally (and this is just choice) if it is my first time on the island/port I NEVER risk taking a chance with locals and always have evrything planned before we leave home.

 

And finally, just as the cost of my cruise is a taboo subject, I do not like to engage in excursion price and what I got/am going to get conversations with my table friends. It can become depressing and in the end of the day, I know 99.9% of the time I will enjoy and be very happy with what I get - even though I am sure someone will have got if for £5 less

 

AJ

[osiebosie]

We always do our own.

 

I cannot remember which line it was, maybe it was Celebrity, but there was a couple who did a ship excursion and got left behind. I haven't heard of that happening much, but apparently it DOES happen.

 

That's not our reason for not doing ship excursions. We did one once, on Celebrity, and did not like being on the timetable of the excursion. We wanted to leave long before the bus did, so we spent about an hour just standing around waiting. We also found out later we could have done our visit to the volcano cheaper. That was it for us; no more ship excursions. We always rent a car or take a taxi. We've had some of the most amazing experiences on our own.

 

We've gone snorkeling before, on our own, and seen the excursion group just a few feet away. We paid alot less, even with a taxi ride to the beach.

 

Everyone is different and likes different ways to do things. Experiment with excursions and see what suits you best.

 

Shay

[SleepingUgly]

Thanks, everyone, for your response. Greatly appreciate.

 

I have already booked a few private tours with operators who have come highly recommended on these boards. However, there are a few islands for which I have nothing planned yet. Yes, this will be our first time to many of these islands, so yes, I would like to plan ahead and have island tours pre-arranged. BUT, we are also traveling with our two young children, and I wanted to keep a few days "open" to either touring or relaxing, depending on the kids' moods. I wouldn't want to plan something everyday, for every island, only to have the kids worn out after just a few days, kwim?

 

The cruiseline shore excursions that I've been thinking about are actually quite inexpensive, IMO. I mean, we're talking about an average of @$30 per person for a 3-to-4 hour tour. That, to me, is not outrageous at all. And frankly, having already done so much research into the islands, I'm getting a bit tired and am thinking of just signing up for a ship tour and have someone else handle the details. :D

 

One more question -- If I book a shore excursion with Celebrity in advance, can I cancel later on and receive a full refund? I recall that, on my cruises several years ago on RCCL, we were able to receive refunds for excursion that had been booked the first day we were on the ship. Does Celebrity also offer refunds if we just happened to change our minds later on?

 

Thanks again for everyone's input!

 

Linda

[Kathie44]

We were on Mercury from 1/29-2/9. Looking at my daily bulletins and the excursion booking form, it says last day to cancel is two days before at 6 or 7:30 PM. For example, the excursions for the first port, 1/31 Cabo San Lucas, had to be canceled by 7:30 PM on 1/29 (departure day). At the other ports it was 2 days before at 6 PM.

We booked a catamaran snorkel excursion two years ago from Galaxy in Cozumel and it was so windy and rough, the excursion company offered instant refunds at boarding time for anyone who decided not to go. We went and I snorkeled and had a great time.