Daily Excursions

We are in the process of deciding on a cruise. The excursions look to be pretty pricey. We will probably sign up for some, but is there a way to see the port of call on your own? This will be our first cruise ever!:)

It depends on the port

Join your roll call & see if any are doing private tours usually cheaper & smaller group than the ships tours

Or do some research for the port & see what interests you there & how to get around

Enjoy

In a number of ports there is shuttle bus service into town so you can do exploring on your own.

Another option is to check http://www.TomsPortGuides.com. He has many detailed descriptions of various ports of call. Check your itinerary and see if they have guides for your ports.

In the majority of ports, sure, you can do it on your own. But some are easier than others.

Mura

also look into something called Hop On Hop Off tour buses. They are usually double decker and you can ride an entire loop to see a city or you can get off at stops, spend time at that location (museum, park, shopping, historical sites) and then get back on.

They are wonderful ways to see a city and they are offered, by different companies, around the world.

I also use Frommers.com. Type in the city, then "things to do" and then on the left column are often walking tours. You can print out the description and the maps and do your own walking tour. Fodors.com is also good and in some places RickSteves.com is wonderful.

Tell us where you're going and we can help!

Do whatever you dan to avoid buying excursions from the cruise line, especially Oceania where they are outrageously expensive. Private guides, when shared with one or two other couples are far less expensive, far better and you set the agenda. Plus you don't sit in a bus with forty other people. Or if it's a small port with a nice little town just walk around on your own. Or most ports will offer many taxi drivers who will take you around for a fraction of the cost. Just be sure you agree on the cost before you get in the cab and that the driver speaks English.

Cruise Critic "meet & greets" are also a good way to connect with fellow passengers that are interested in sharing "do it on your own" shore excursions.

By doing a bit of research from different forurms, books and travel articles, it is very very easy to find all sorts of tours and activities that will cost you 1/2 of what the ship wants... Your labors will save you thousands$$$

Also, look at the Roll Call for your ship and cruise date....many times there will be people on the roll call putting together private tours they are organizing for just share the cost...

In a recent cruises here are some examples Fishing alaska, ship $350pp On your own $200 Hawaii: volcanoes and waterfalls tour ship $135pp, on your own $23.00 Same with transfers from airport to ship and VV, ship wants $280pp you can do it for $28.00 :o etc etc

And, whats very satisifying is you get to design your own tours, the way you want, where you want....The planning can be as much fun through anticipation as the actual tour;p

Dan has got it exactly right :)

One thing he did miss is that ship's tours are inevitably large groups typically in a bus. Considerable time is spent simply getting the group on and off the bus at each stop. Also, imagine 40 or so people jockeying for the view or access to the displays. And, as he mentioned, you can decide what you want to see and how long to spend seeing it.

For example, on our recent Australia circumnavigation on Sirena I arranged a private wine tasting tour in Geelong for 2 couples. I was able to select the wineries (and types of wines) with the advice of the tour operator and also to set the schedule so as to avoid crossing paths with the ship's bus tours. We did arrive at one winery as the ship's tour was finishing. 40 or so people were crammed into a tasting room the size of my living room with 2 attendants pouring. We went to lunch (as we had planned) at a very nice outdoor restaurant adjacent to the winery. An hour later we were in the same tasting room with no one else there. We were able to taste the wines and discuss them with the staff there and also to get additional tastes of reserve wines. Our cost was roughly 60% of the ship tour. They went to 2 wineries and we went to 4 and we had lunch included. In addition, our guide/driver was a font of local knowledge and history.

It does take a bit of effort but it is not at all hard to do. I found this tour operator on TripAdvisor (as well as several others); the web makes all this fairly easy. The rewards are well worth the effort.

Regards, Robbie

Don't forget Trip Advisor to research tours in the ports you will visit. You can read other cruisers' reviews and see their ratings, then go to the tour provider's website.

Often, travel agents can hook you up with private/semi-private tours. We did Rome, Florence and Pisa with another couple in comfortable limos for reasonable prices last November. We were able to set our own itineraries, seeing what we wished at our own pace.

I will tell you that we did shorex on ATW16 since there were some ports that Oceania had acquired all of the good guides, especially those that spoke English and safe vehicles OR we took them since safety was an issue.

If you're doing Europe you shouldn't have a problem with personal safety.

Do keep in mind that O will wait for their excursions arriving back to the ship late, but not the private ones. All it takes is road construction, an accident, or something else beyond anyone's control to arrive late at the ship.

Good advice in cbb post. It all depends on where you are traveling.

You didn't tell where you are planning to go. But it's fine to do private tours or your own things in some places like most ports in Europe. In other parts of the world... Asia, Africa, you need to be careful with your choices, especially without previous experience. You may consider some ship tours there. Enjoy your cruise.