Pre-book Excursions or wing it?

[USA SHARK]

We've been driving ourselves crazy trying to decide which excursions to do, if any, on our Liberty cruise to the Western Caribbean 4-24. We originally wanted to do the dolphin experience, but are having second thoughts after reading reviews. We are very active and thought about the jeep to the caverns, but just not sure. :confused:

 

Then we thought maybe we would meet some really cool people to hang out with and that it might be better to just wing it and keep our options open. There's always plenty of options once at port. :D

 

So what do you do? Do you book excursions in advance or do you play it by ear?

[Skywench]

I have never pre booked any excursions. To be honest, I don't do a lot of them anyway. I prefer to just play it by ear and see what I feel like doing the day before.

[CruiseLover824]

Personally, I like to have everything pretty much figured out before I get off the ship. Now, that doesn't mean I have actually booked shore excursions through the ship for every port, but I know where I want to go prior to the cruise.

 

Sometimes I think the port areas can be confusing. I am not sure exactly which ports you are stopping in---you said Western. If this includes a stop in Belize, you really should have a plan before arriving. Belize is not the place you want to just walk out of the gate and try to find an excursion.

 

If you are going to Cozumel, I LOVED the Dolphin Swim and Ride excursion that we did through Carnival. It was a little expensive, but IMHO it was worth it. I have always wanted to swim with dolphins, and found it to be a great experience. The Carnival trip went to Dolphinaris. I also know that Dolphin Discovery is there too.

 

If your cruise stops in Grand Cayman, there were plenty of vendors offering tours when you get off the tenders. It was VERY crowded since there were 2 Carnival ships unloading tenders together.

 

Roatan is an awesome island, but I am not sure I would wing it there either. I do remember that there were tour operators offering trips in the pier area, but I that was at Coxen Hole, not Mahogany Bay.

 

Hope that helps...:D

[gopher_grad]

We pre-booked our excursion through Carnival. We didn't want to take a chance on having them sell out and being disappointed.

 

Not sure where your destinations our for the Western Caribbean but we did the deep water dolphin swim at Atlantis in Nassau and absolutely loved it.

[cruisegirl515]

I just returned from my first cruise. I did a little bit of both, I pre-booked some excursions and other stops I left it oprn. I think it really depends on the port and what you enjoy. If there is something you absolutly want to do, pre-book it. Excursions do sell out. I was on an Eastern cruise, so I can;t really helpyou with the western ports, but on the "beach" ports that we had, Half Moon Cay and Grand turk, I would recommend just enjoying the beach and skipping the expensive excursions, unlessyou really enjoy scuba diving or snorkling.

[sallyb]

Can you please say what ports you are going to? It would help to give more specific answers. Depending on the port, I will book through Carnival, book independently, or just get a cab.

[Time2CruiseAgain]

I think the decision is going to be based on your personality - I'm a planner and like to know what I will be doing ahead of time - some people like to wing it! Of course, as has been said before, some tours do book full, so winging it you do take a chance.

 

Be sure to pick at least one thing daring, challenging, different than what you would ever do - something totally memorable! For example, in Grand Cayman we swam with stingrays and for our upcoming Dream cruise, we are zip-lining in Roatan - something I would have NEVER thought I'd do!!!

 

Have fun choosing!!

[Vanessa L]

I haven't booked anything with the cruise lines for over 10 years. There is just too much competition out there and you can get the same tours for WAY less. Most reputable tour companies can also be trusted to get you back to the ship on time. The best thing I have found for info is to go to the individual port of call threads and read up what folks are doing. I know I can count on unbiased reviews from my fellow ccers ;) This is how we found out about Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel (HIGHLY recommended by me, let me know if you want pics :D) and the Serenity Tour we are going to take in St. Lucia this fall.

 

I try to plan ahead just so I have some idea how much to budget, etc. Some ports we don't get off the ship at all (except to restock our liquor cabinet at home ;) then right back on the ship), the Bahamas and any stop in Jamaica are 2 that come to mind.

 

For me, the best thing to do is read the port threads, decide what we want to do, book it and then forget it until a few days out. DH and I have decided to stop looking at choices once we decide on one and book it. We can second guess ourselves to death and is completely nonproductive, IMHO.

[misguidedangel]

I would say that in Cozumel and Grand Cayman you can go on your own, but Jamaica, do a tour. Jamaica can be scary for may people (politeness always rules and don't ignore).

 

Grand Cayman will have buses that will take you tours, but you generally wait until the bus fills up and sometimes you don't get what you bargained for, but in our case, $20 was a fair price!!!

 

Cozumel--personally, it is a good port to just mill around the cruise center area off Puerta Maya and do some shopping and have a drink or two. If you want to go to the beach you can probably get a cab to take you to a good beach.

 

Ocho Rios--I did the Jamaica bobsled at Mystic Mountain and man, was that a thrill!!!! I got one run included and bought two more runs for $20...wow, the faster you go the better it is....It is available in a tour with Dunn's Rver Falls or not.....

 

Shopping--Island Village is a great place to shop and a easy, casual walk back to the pier, and SAFE! Taj Mahal is steps away from Island Village, but you have to go through the street and people asking you for money..it is annoying.....There are some vendors inside the gated port area. I picked up a nice walking stick for my mother for a decent price that I didn't rip em off....

[ppeckham]

The decision whether to prebook depends upon what you want to do in which port. The more popular excursions book quickly. The dolphin swim in Cozumel and Stingray City in Grand Cayman are among the more popular. Plus you get the specific times you want.

 

I generally book through Carnival particularly if I've not been to the port before. The Carnival sponsored tours are required to get you back to the ship. If your tour is delayed, the ship will wait.

 

As someone else noted, you'll want to book excursions at Jamaica and Belize. Duns River Falls in Jamaica has been our favorite. In Belize we toured the ruins. However I heard the cave tubing was fabulous.

 

We've been to Cozumel so many times I'm at ease with just taking a taxi into San Miguel and walking around.

[seashinesunshine]

We always just wing it. But if there is something that is a must do, then book it before you go, something like the Dolphins might fully book, something like a snorkel excursion will probably not. You never know how you are going to feel, tired or energetic, and you may want to change your plans. But some people, for budget reasons, like to have everything fully booked and paid for before they leave.

[purrlinda]

I don't like having to think or make decisions on vacation so I do all of that and the planning before I go. I cruise because it's a great way to see multiple places and I want to make the most of that.

 

So for my upcoming cruise, I've made the following plans:

 

St. Thomas: Early morning taxi to Magen's Bay to get a nice spot and enjoy the beach before it gets too crowded. At about 2PM I'll get a taxi to the tram entrance and go up to the top of Paradise Point then go back to the ship.

 

Dominica: Emerald Pool and Beach Pleasures (Booked directly with Carnival)

 

Barbados: Morning Coast to Coast Panorama (booked with Carnival), then taking a taxi to The Boatyard for some beach fun and Jet Ski action.

 

St. Lucia: Taxi to Sandals Regency La Toc to enjoy a day of all inclusive fun.

 

St. Kitts: Jim and Rose's Taxi Tour booked directly with Rose. This hits everything I wanted to see on the colonial and historic end, as well as includes Beach time down at Cockleshell.

 

St. Maarten: Up very early to taxi to Maho Beach. Stay for a few hours then taxi back to the ship to pick up my Golden Eagle Catamaran excursion (booked through Carnival).

 

Having this all planned out makes the actual trip easy for me. A few of the people that I am going with are going to play everything by ear. That would leave me anxious so I think this will work for me nicely. :-)

[USA SHARK]

Personally, I like to have everything pretty much figured out before I get off the ship. Now, that doesn't mean I have actually booked shore excursions through the ship for every port, but I know where I want to go prior to the cruise.

 

Sometimes I think the port areas can be confusing. I am not sure exactly which ports you are stopping in---you said Western. If this includes a stop in Belize, you really should have a plan before arriving. Belize is not the place you want to just walk out of the gate and try to find an excursion.

 

If you are going to Cozumel, I LOVED the Dolphin Swim and Ride excursion that we did through Carnival. It was a little expensive, but IMHO it was worth it. I have always wanted to swim with dolphins, and found it to be a great experience. The Carnival trip went to Dolphinaris. I also know that Dolphin Discovery is there too.

 

If your cruise stops in Grand Cayman, there were plenty of vendors offering tours when you get off the tenders. It was VERY crowded since there were 2 Carnival ships unloading tenders together.

 

Roatan is an awesome island, but I am not sure I would wing it there either. I do remember that there were tour operators offering trips in the pier area, but I that was at Coxen Hole, not Mahogany Bay.

 

Hope that helps...:D

 

 

Big help! Thanks! We are actually stopping in Cozumel, Grand Caymen and Jamaica. All pretty big ports I think. I appreciate your advice.

[CruiseLover824]

Big help! Thanks! We are actually stopping in Cozumel, Grand Caymen and Jamaica. All pretty big ports I think. I appreciate your advice.

 

No problem! I have been to Jamaica too....i would stick with a tour there if I were to return. I found some, not all, of the local people in Jamaica to be kinda pushy. I had a great time at Dunn's River Falls when in Ocho Rios. The rocks were somewhat tricky to climb up, but well worth it!

 

Have a great cruise!

[golfadj]

It has been quite a few years since we booked a tour with the cruise line.

 

We will read up on the boards (unless we have been there before and know what we want to do) and book what we want to do.

 

We have in the past not booked anything and left the ship and found a local tour guide/taxi driver.

 

Have had mixed results with this so most likely will prebook on our own.

 

We will though use a local taxi to take us to someplace like a beach.