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Booking Excursions and Beach Loungers????


curlylocks0_1
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New to cruising few questions when booking excursions if you have a long shore day and book two excursions do you go back to the ship in between or do they transport you from one to the other????

Also how does Booking Beach Loungers work it has a 730am time on them ,can you do something else like a boat tour then go use the loungers after ????Thanks for the help we are booked Jan 19 on RC to the ABC islands

Edited by curlylocks0_1
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No need to go back to the ship for the 2nd excursion, unless specified as the meeting place. But you can always discuss with the shore excursion staff how you will handle that situation if you are already on shore.

 

 

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In most cases it is not always practical to take two excursions at a port as often time doesn't permit to do this.

 

If you do allow extra time so that if the first one runs over you have time for the second.

 

And do pace yourself allowing time to take a break and for lunch.

 

Keith

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We did the ABC islands and actually did do 2 excursions on one day. One was booked through the ship, the other independently.

The first was a 2 hour snorkeling trip, 8:30ish AM, picked up and dropped off at pier.

2nd was an ATV trip, 1:00ish pm, picked up and dropped off at pier.

After the first event, we went back to the ship, changed, had lunch and then headed back out to meet the 2nd tour.

Worked perfectly.

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Depending on your port, it's not necessary to "book beach loungers" thru the ship, or even, in advance! Almost all beaches have lounger rentals....go to the beach, rent chairs for as long as you want them...leave when you're ready! A guidebook is a handy resource for DIY things!

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If you do book two excursions it is likely one is a morning tour and the other in the afternoon. The cruise ship excursions generally begin and end at the ship....so the norm would be to come back to the ship, grab a quick lunch, and then go off on your afternoon tour.

 

As to beach chairs/loungers you can do that as part of an excursion and you are generally going to paying the big bucks. Or, you can simply make your way to a beach and rent your own loungers (and usually save a lot of money over an excursion..plus you get to pick the beach). In some cases you can possibly get free loungers by agreeing to buy lunch and/or drinks from the beach facility. But all this depends on what port and where you go. You can get a lot of guidance by simply looking at the Cruise Critic Ports of Call section and finding your port/island.

 

For what its worth, there are many experienced cruisers who never take excursions....especially on Caribbean islands/ports. On most islands there are other less costly options such as using public transportation (or even a taxi) to get to a beach. On some islands there are numerous beach options (i.e. Antigua likes to boast that they have 365 beaches). Personally, we prefer beaches that are not popular or crowded with lots of other cruisers :).

 

Hank

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  • 2 weeks later...

Unless you are one of the cruise lines private islands, I would not recommend booking beach loungers. It will be expensive and you will typically be at a crowded beach with overpriced concessions. Over the years, I've learned to ask some of the crew members where they like to go on a day off. Purser staff, entertainers, and shop staff seem to be good ones to ask. They've never failed to come up with a recommendation for a nice stretch of beach where I can get a beach chair, as well as a bite of lunch. Always make sure to work out your return trip with the cab driver and leave yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship.

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DW and I are probably what you might call very independent. We have traveled and cruised the world for decades and seldom take any kind of excursion or tour. We do our homework and generally do our own thing. When it comes to islands (anywhere in the world) we usually have our favorite beaches (even as seniors we remain beach lovers). On nearly every Caribbean island we have our favorite places...most of which we access by public transportation...and sometimes by rental car. Our criteria are simple.....first......we try to avoid beaches frequented by tour groups (especially cruise line excursions). And 2nd....we want beaches that have some character, rental chairs, decent water....and preferably a beach from which there is half decent snorkeling.

 

When we go to a beach we simply negotiate for beach loungers (and sometimes get them for free). My advice is to do some homework on your ports. Read through the Cruise Critic Ports of Call thread...for your port/island. Then do a Google Search for that island by simply typing in the name of the island and beaches. Then take a look on Tripadvisor (search for the island) and see what TA has to say...and then look at the Tripadvisor forum (they have one for each destination). Spend a few minutes on each port and you will quickly build your own short list of desired beaches. You can then spend a little time doing some additional homework on those beaches and even post specific questions here on the appropriate CC Port of Call forum...and/or also post questions on the relevant Trip Advisor forum. This takes some time when you first start to travel...but as you gain experience it takes much less time. And its all fun.

 

We are soon going on a 3 week Caribbean cruise to 10 ports...all of which we have visited many times. But, today I spent an hour looking at posts on two islands (Curacao and Martinique) because we are hoping to discover some new ideas. Part of the fun is not getting to set in one's ways...and keeping an open mind.

 

So why not just take ship excursions? For one thing, they are usually overpriced. And you are usually guaranteed to be crammed into an area with many other cruisers. Some like this and it makes them secure. For us, we prefer to get away from most other cruisers and preferably find a better place frequented by locals and residents.

 

Hank

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