Shore Excursions What do You Prefer?

[vickie_bernie]

So when it comes to shore excursions what do you prefer:

 

Princess' excursions

Private excursions booked yourself

Just walking off the ship and winging it

Staying on board

A little of all the above

[lovevacadays]

I have had some great Princess sponsored excursions but my very favorites were two I booked on my own: Mazatlan Frank in Mazatlan and Victor Bodden in Roatan. They were fabulous!

[Putterdude]

In developing nations or those which are politically unsettled we do ship sponsored tours but for the rest we prefer independent tours that we have researched...particularly on CC.

[captainron]

So when it comes to shore excursions what do you prefer:

 

Princess' excursions

Private excursions booked yourself

Just walking off the ship and winging it

Staying on board

A little of all the above

 

Did a day tour (ziplining, beach, croc watch, etc) with Charlie Spto while in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Charlie is the better guide than his colleague (name forgotten).

 

Ciao for now!!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Can't put the last choice. Most of the time, I do the research for the family and then we just wing it and walk around the port. Every once in a while we do a ship-sponsored tour as we have felt the quality has been better for us than ones we have booked independently.

[Pam in CA]

I do a combination of "all of the above." If I'm in a country that I'm unfamiliar with, haven't a clue about the language, and/or don't want to chance getting lost or delayed, I book Princess tours. Sometimes I book independent tours, often with groups put together by members of my roll call; sometimes if I've been to the port before, I wander off the ship and find a local; and sometimes, I don't bother getting off the ship. It all depends on the itinerary, ports, etc. For instance, next January, I'll probably just get off the ship for lunch in Mazarlan and Puerto Vallarta, and stay on the ship in Acapulco. For my upcoming T/A, I've booked private tours in a couple of ports, ship's tours in others, and probably just get off the ship and do a HOHO in Dublin.

[Weluv2cruise2007]

I have always found it to be quite a bit cheaper to do independent or DIY touring. We have even rented a car (in the Caribbean) and practically followed one of the tours (somewhat unintentional!) for a fraction of what it would have cost us for the 5 of us and we were able to control our schedule and not feel like herded cattle. This board and others have been very helpful with sharing the experiences of private tours.

[paul929207]

We do mostly private excursions with members of our roll call. There is usually a group of 6 to 12 of us. It is much cheaper than the ship tours. We see much more than the ship's tours.

[Tak8]

If port time is short, I prefer princess. If it's a day in port, I prefer to research on my own or wing the day. Still up to me to get back, but I've done some great excursions, because I went on my own.

[cb at sea]

Should have said "Wing it, with research ahead of time!" We mainly do beaches, and they seldom need an excursion!

[Croptop]

We're a "walk off and wing it" type of family. When I'm on vacation I hate having to stick to someone else's schedule. Of course the downside is that we probably miss out on something really amazing but as long as we still have fun at each port, I'm satisfied.

[The Wilkies]

Think it really depends on where you are. Have done it ourselves in Europe and the Caribbean, but not in countries such as Guatamala where we did a Princess tour and arrived back at the ship just over 2 hours after the ship should have sailed!!! Dread to think what would have happened it it had been a DIY tour.

[mpace58]

We use Princess sponsored tours. We like the idea that IF something happens and we miss the boat, we will be taken care of.

[shashi883]

When we started cruising we did ship sponsored tours. Now that we got the hang of it we do our research and book our own excursions. Some of the ship tours have been so packed that it isn't even fun. I like smaller groups.