Shore excursions

Having previously sailed with Regent on a port intensive cruise, we found that the excursions, whilst interesting for some, were somewhat onerous. We spent a great deal of time waiting to board coaches, hanging around waiting for latecomers and it felt like a 2 hour trip was being crammed into 5 hours.

Without wishing to be too critical and being branded a philistine I sometimes wished that they could include a trip to a local beach as an alternative for those who are culturally spent, to experience a bit of relaxation and chilling out.

Am I on my own here or are is someone out there with like views?

Having previously sailed with Regent on a port intensive cruise, we found that the excursions, whilst interesting for some, were somewhat onerous. We spent a great deal of time waiting to board coaches, hanging around waiting for latecomers and it felt like a 2 hour trip was being crammed into 5 hours.

 

Without wishing to be too critical and being branded a philistine I sometimes wished that they could include a trip to a local beach as an alternative for those who are culturally spent, to experience a bit of relaxation and chilling out.

 

Am I on my own here or are is someone out there with like views?

At the risk of being bashed for saying this routinely = I pretty much have written off Regent because the excursions no longer suit me. I prefer to arrange my own tours, grab a taxi, do a hop on hop off bus, just walk around and drink in my surroundings. I might consider them again if if went on a cruise only where I would want to have a tour in every port. Otherwise, I take other lines now for the most part.

Good thinking, Charleyben. Our recent port-intensive Caribbean cruise had a couple of those jaunts but they were very popular so still a bit onerous queuing for buses, etc. plus overflowing some of the beach facilities.

I'd prefer excursions not be included but it seems they are with us for the nonce.

We also have had enough of included excursions but understand that there are some people don't mind the hassle that goes along with having included excursions. If there were an opt out option, I believe that some people that left Regent would return.

In terms of the OPs question, while I personally have no interest in spending time at a beach, I can understand that some people would enjoy it. In some cities, where the beaches are nearby, it would be a great idea to have the shuttle bus drop off some guests downtown and others at the beach (with the beach drop-offs and pick-ups being less frequent than downtown).

That is a great idea TC. We would love a beach drop off occasionally with the shuttle coming back to pick us up.

Eager2Travel,

You're in luck. On the December, Cape Town to Singapore cruise, five of the ports have beach day excursions.

Thanks Dave Fr.

We noticed the beach possibilities on that cruise. While we are not the usual beach lovers warm beautiful water has a pull all its own. We have read and heard about the beauty of the sea in that part of the world. We are looking forward to it.

Booked on Cape Town to Cape Town November 24 Very disappointed in shore excursion choices So far the best choices were cancelled. Hope that becoming part of NCL hasn't effected regents quality

Booked on Cape Town to Cape Town November 24 Very disappointed in shore excursion choices So far the best choices were cancelled. Hope that becoming part of NCL hasn't effected regents quality

Do not think that NCL has anything to do with this. On our Cape Town cruise 2 1/2 years ago, the same excursions were offered (in Cape Town and Nimibia -- did not visit other countries). At least one cancellation occurred because the people that own the property can no longer provide the excursion.

See you on board November 24th:-)

Booked on Cape Town to Cape Town November 24 Very disappointed in shore excursion choices So far the best choices were cancelled. Hope that becoming part of NCL hasn't effected regents quality

We did Cape Town to Cape Town with Seabourn last December.

The shore excursions that we took were mostly disappointing. No reflection on Seabourn, and so the same probably applies to Regent. I think it's just the way things are in South Africa.

The ports were definitely ones that needed some research and in hindsight we'd have planned a lot more beforehand and arranged our own tours.

It wasn't helped that we travelled over the Christmas and New Year period so a lot of places were closed due to the holidays, or services reduced etc.

The ports we visited were : Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Richards Bay, Maputo Mozambique, and Mossel Bay.

Of all of those only Mossel Bay was do-able, in our opinion, with minimal prior research.

None of those ports are particularly interesting in themselves, it's necessary to travel some distance from them for a good excursion.

I don't care what port you are in, where in the world you are cruising, a private tour is ALWAYS far superior to a bus tour from a ship. That is why these "free" excursions are such a ripoff.

I don't care what port you are in, where in the world you are cruising, a private tour is ALWAYS far superior to a bus tour from a ship. That is why these "free" excursions are such a ripoff.

Can't argue with that!

We are booked on the November Cape Town to Cape Town cruise and the only port I don't care for is Maputo. I see no point paying $169/person for a visa for a place I don't care to see. I'm in the minority when it comes to excursions. I like having the excursions added. I like to choose excursions ahead of time and know that when I get on the ship my days are planned without my having to look for tours for every port. While private excursions are very nice I think they are too expensive. So far we have enjoyed our excursions. The guides have been good, the locations to our liking, and I don't mind traveling in a bus with a group. On our last cruise three weeks ago we had excellent guides and the buses only had between 20 and 25 people. So far I enjoy the all inclusive aspect. That said, if Regent keeps on raising prices my opinion may change.

Forevertravel:):)

I'm with forevertravel. We have had excellent results on both Regent and SS excursions free or not.

I ABSOLUTELY DISAGREE that private tours are ALWAYS better than a bus tour from a ship. We have been on many private tours that weren't worth a plugged nickel. I'll bet wripro and Octoberkat have been too.:D

forevertravel, We are doing Capetown-Capetown on O and actually they have a half-way decent Maputo tour. We were going to take the day off and instead signed up. I will admit our choices have been about half private v. O's offering, part of it due to $$$s

forevertravel, We are doing Capetown-Capetown on O and actually they have a half-way decent Maputo tour. We were going to take the day off and instead signed up. I will admit our choices have been about half private v. O's offering, part of it due to $$$s

Which Maputo tour are you referring to?

Discover Maputo as opposed to City, Sun and Sea.

Discover Maputo as opposed to City, Sun and Sea.

Thanks! The excursion we were originally booked on was cancelled!

Having previously sailed with Regent on a port intensive cruise, we found that the excursions, whilst interesting for some, were somewhat onerous. We spent a great deal of time waiting to board coaches, hanging around waiting for latecomers and it felt like a 2 hour trip was being crammed into 5 hours.

 

Without wishing to be too critical and being branded a philistine I sometimes wished that they could include a trip to a local beach as an alternative for those who are culturally spent, to experience a bit of relaxation and chilling out.

 

Am I on my own here or are is someone out there with like views?

Just returned from a 10 day port-intensive cruise of the Baltic followed by 20 days (including 10 sea days) to the north.

The 10 day could have easily been done independently (with local tour agency) or just going ashore on the shuttle bus. A local agency in Russia would take care of the Visa requirement. because we had already paid Regent, we mainly opted for the about 32-person bus tours. Regent offered a good variety of excursions. They reserved the front 8 bus seats (until bus departure) for those with mobility issues; we sat near the back door and got off the bus quickly. DW and I were lucky and had good to outstanding local guides; heard complaints about other guides.

Regent had a new (to me) system for starting excursions. No excursion was called for obtaining bus tickets until the busses were ready and then a person could leave the theatre immediately upon obtaining his/her tickets - it worked nicely to avoid the previous crowds at the back of the theater or on shore. The crew member (young, Spanish) directing the excursion exchange PLEASANTLY controlled the process. The biggest problem with the process was US, the passengers!

Another pleasant surprise was how well the Russian Customs handled our transfers ashore and back from the cruise terminal where the Voyager, Viking Star, and 4 large boats were docked. Lucky SS Whisper and Seaborn were docked downtown St. Petersburg near the English Embankment - 20 minute drive away from us.

On the 20-day segment, Murmansk and Solevetsky island would have been difficult to arrange with a local guide but could be done on you own (perhaps) with a guide book and definitely needing rubles

We were on the 10 day Baltic cruise straight after DeepFreeze63 and whilst the included tours were OK I certainly would not have 'paid' to do them and actually on a couple of the walking tours we cut out early and used the guided walks in Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports book as the tours were so slow. On the one in Riga we were actually losing the will to live :) The St Petersburg tours were better apart from the canal cruise and shopping one which was abysmal. A quick up and down 2 of the rivers on a boat which had plastic chairs set up on deck instead of fixed benches followed by 45 mins in a tacky tourist shop with nothing else to do as it was surrounded by high rise flats (or it could have been hotels as they looked quite new). As a first time Regent cruiser I quite liked the idea of the included tours but now I know I don't like the idea at all! I would certainly sail Regent again but only if their prices were the same as non-trip included cruise lines of a comparable quality then we would be much more picky and would mainly go off and do our own thing.

Techno123 brings up a good point -- one that Regent should take note of. Included excursions do tend to bring new passengers ..... but they do not necessarily want to continue having them after trying them a few times. And, as indicated earlier in in this thread (and previous threads), some passengers leave Regent because they do not want to pay for something that they do not want. Still hoping for an opt out option!

Techno123 brings up a good point -- one that Regent should take note of. Included excursions do tend to bring new passengers ..... but they do not necessarily want to continue having them after trying them a few times. And, as indicated earlier in in this thread (and previous threads), some passengers leave Regent because they do not want to pay for something that they do not want. Still hoping for an opt out option!

and THATS why we left Regent for Oceania and Crystal

I have been on my fair share of Regent Cruises and I like the included excursions. I cannot remember having to wait for the buses or waiting more than 10 min in the lounge prior.

The excursion experience all depends on the local tour guide. I have had both good and bad FREE ones and private ones.

I have been on my fair share of Regent Cruises and I like the included excursions. I cannot remember having to wait for the buses or waiting more than 10 min in the lounge prior.

 

The excursion experience all depends on the local tour guide. I have had both good and bad FREE ones and private ones.

You have been fortunate! We have had to wait up to an hour in an overcrowded theater. Both times the excursions were scheduled within a 1/2 hour of docking. It took a long time to clear the ship which accounts for the long wait. IMO, multiple excursions should not be scheduled close to docking time to take into consideration the delays that often occur (more now that ever given the extra security measures being taken in many ports).

Another issue we have had multiple times is the excursion running way over time causing chaos on the buses. The last time we were due to be back at the ship when the bus stopped at a scheduled shopping area. Passengers were extremely irate as they had other plans based on the time they return to the ship. We were lucky that 100% of passengers wanted to return to the ship immediately (other buses were not so lucky as the tour guide was not as flexible).

We have also had wonderful excursions but still would like an opt out option. We would not even use the option in some areas (Middle East and Africa for example) but would definitely use it in Europe, Alaska and the Caribbean.

How are the excursions from Lima to Buenos Aires?

Does anyone know?