Save money on shore excursions? How???

[MaryKayRep]

We research the islands we'll be visiting and check out their offerings. There are pros and cons to booking on your own vs booking with the Cruise Line. The most important reason to book with your cruise line is that if for some reason you're delayed in returning to the ship....they will NOT leave without you...or they will get you to the next island. If you book on your own and literally miss the boat....you will be on your as far as getting back to the ship...especially if it's left port!! Could be VERY costly! Something to think about! We booked a "Duck Tour" online before we got to Hawai'i...and made sure we returned to the ship well before it left Honolulu! PS. That was one of THE BEST excursions we've ever taken!!!

[rdthiessen]

We hardly ever book shore excursions through the ship. We usually purchase or borrow from the library a guide to the places we are visiting, and make a list of what we want to see or do. When we walk off the ship, we approach the taxi drivers waiting at the end of the dock and tell them what we want to do. They will often have a van and give us a reduced price if we can find four other people (they usually like to take 6 passengers in a van). When that happens, I turn around and look for people who seem to be wandering aimlessly off the ship. I approach them and tell them what we are planning to do for the next 3-4 hours, and ask if they want to join us. We have been successful every time, and saved a pile of money. We will also try to do things together with our fellow table guests if they are interested.

 

We have done this in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and have never had problems in terms of being treated poorly or being late for the ship. The taxi drivers are nearly always very friendly and love to answer questions about their area.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I keep reading about people saving money by booking their own cruise excursions and not using the excursions offered by the cruise ship. We are going on an Eastern Caribbean cruise in October (CocoCay Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten). I don't even know where to begin to find information for these ports.

 

How do you plan your own shore excursion? How do you know if you can trust the companies you are booking through? How do you manage your time so you don't miss the ship?

At least when booking through the cruise line all these details are pretty much taken care of...

 

Help please! Thanks :)

 

Lots of good advice so far, I just want to add a little to it.

 

Some independent tour operators will have you pre-pay, put down a deposit, or some don't require $ in advance, just to sign up for a slot so they know & can plan. If there is pre-payment required or a deposit, ask what happens if your ship does not make the port. So far the ones that have needed $ down or prepaid tours have said that all funds would be refunded. I communicate by email so have a written record of that.

 

You can find out a lot by doing internet searches on the tour guide or company name, and by searches here on cruise critic or by asking for recommendations if your search doesn't come up with much. Another good site for port planning is tripadvisor.

 

And any reputable tour guide will make sure to have you back on board on time. But I still am aware of the time & keep tabs on things myself. Keep your watch set to ships time, there can be a difference between the local and ships time. I make sure we are all back on board at least an hour before the time they tell you to be back on board (this is different from sail away! Usually half an hour before. Don't push it because if the gangway is up they may not put it back down even if they are still docked).

 

I remember on the caribbean cruises I took when I was first starting to go on cruises, I booked some shore excursions and thought "ouch, so expensive." Then walked off the ship with the other people in our group, and saw the pier area lined with taxis & mini buses with signs on top, advertising the same tours & same itineraries, for half the price the ship was charging. Or less. Did not see this in Europe, but in the caribbean you are likely to be able to find something without a lot of pre-planning. I still do now though, because I want to get the best tour I can.

[BahamaMamas]

I would prefer to book excursions directly with the tour company but I'm concerned with the ship missing a port due to weather or something (hurricane season) in which case I would get a refund/credit from the ship if I booked through the cruiseline but I doubt I would get a refund from the tour company.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I would prefer to book excursions directly with the tour company but I'm concerned with the ship missing a port due to weather or something (hurricane season) in which case I would get a refund/credit from the ship if I booked through the cruiseline but I doubt I would get a refund from the tour company.

Check with the tour company. So far all of my private excursions have either written on their website or answered emails saying they would refund all costs if the ship did not make port. And they will know if the port has been canceled, possibly before you do.

 

Also, some of the tours I've booked have not required prepayment, or even a deposit. So in that case I would send off an email if I needed to cancel my reservation, out of a courtesy, but obviously they aren't going to be coming after you if they don't even have billing information.

[BahamaMamas]

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely check out the cancellation policies of the tours I'm interested in. I hate the idea of booking in advance because I like flexibility but if they offer an easy out, I'm in!

[BahamaMamas]

Darn, I tried to book with Blue Lagoon for the Dolphin Swim as a Nassau excursion and they pretty much rejected my reservation saying I need to book through NCL because of an arrangement they have. NCL charges about $45 more per person. :(

[CanWeGoYet?]

Darn, I tried to book with Blue Lagoon for the Dolphin Swim as a Nassau excursion and they pretty much rejected my reservation saying I need to book through NCL because of an arrangement they have. NCL charges about $45 more per person. :(

 

That's too bad. This is sneaky, but you can always try to do it on the day of your excursion. If you tell the guys who pick people up at the dock to run them over to the island that you want to do a dolphin swim, don't volunteer that you are an NCL passenger I bet you could do it for the lower price. I don't think they would remember your name by that time. If you wanted to be extra sure you could pay cash. $45 more a person for a family can add up quickly. Just check out their schedule for the times the shows run to allow yourself plenty of time to get back. They really pad the activity times to allow you lots of time to sit around waiting, and buying food or refreshments.

 

These things can sell out, but in this economy not everyone is knocking themselves out to do the pricier excursions like dolphin swims. The day we were at Nassau, the slips were full of other cruise ships and there was lots of unsold spaces for the different activities. They tried to upsell everyone to the dolphin swim from the dolphin encounter.

[BahamaMamas]

Yeah I was thinking of just booking the day of at the facility but was afraid they would sell out since there's limited space. We're going during late September (hurricane season and school's back in session), so I'm sure there's less chance of a sell out. I just have to decide to risk it or not! :confused:

[Lance1224]

Hi,

Here is a little tip we picked up from a fellow CC'er. In your cabin you usually get a list of tours for each port you visit. The list states what is included in the tour . Cut out the description and note the price. Then,go off the ship and talk to the local taxi operators. You then show them the description and say how much?? . We did this a few times with another couple and saved $$$$$ depending on the number of people.:)

[MrsPete]

I keep reading about people saving money by booking their own cruise excursions and not using the excursions offered by the cruise ship. We are going on an Eastern Caribbean cruise in October (CocoCay Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten). I don't even know where to begin to find information for these ports.

 

How do you plan your own shore excursion? How do you know if you can trust the companies you are booking through? How do you manage your time so you don't miss the ship?

At least when booking through the cruise line all these details are pretty much taken care of...

 

Help please! Thanks :)

Start by googling "shore excursions St. Thomas". Once you've chosen a couple options that appeal to you, check the Ports of Call threads on this board. You'll find plenty of websites that'll advertise various tours. If you find that multiple people recommend a certain tour guide, you can trust that you'll like them too.

 

You can check your ship's itinerary right now to see what time(s) you'll be in port. That'll allow you to decide whether to register for the 9:00 tour or the 1:30 tour. When you book, ask the tour operator about ship time vs. island time; they're used to this question.

 

Ashore, have every member of your party wear a watch and be sure that everyone understands clearly the importance of being back on the ship in time. Do not cut it too close -- assume that you'll need to be back aboard maybe 2 hours ahead of sailing time; this means that IF you have transportation trouble, you'll still make it back. We've never had a bit of trouble making it back, and we usually have plenty of time to shop at the markets right around the port; however, we always carry enough money for a taxi JUST IN CASE. Plan carefully, keep an eye on your time, but don't be overly paranoid about making it back to the ship. You make it to places at home on time, right? You can read a watch. The stories I've read on this board about people who missed the boat always involve one of three problems: 1) Drinking and losing track of time, 2) Shopping and losing track of time, and 3) Failing to pay attention to ship's time vs. shore time.

 

When you're making your reservations, pay attention to transportation. MOST excursions say, "We'll pick you up at the port". If this is so, just look for the person holding the sign with the company name. Others say, "Meet us at ___ location." That means you may need to take a taxi to a certain spot in town -- usually a big restaurant or simliar. Obviously, it's easier to use a company that picks you up at the port/returns you to the port.

 

Finally, keep in mind that EVERY choice isn't condusive to private tours. When you visit the private islands, it's going to be ship's tours or simply a beach day (we go beach day). In some ports the ship "buys out" certain super-popular choices (like the dolphin swims); essentially they promise to pay the tour operator whether they provide people or not, and in exchange the tour operator refuses to take reservations from private individuals. And for some choices the transportation is tricky: For example, to get to the Tulum ruins in Cozumel, you must take a bus/taxi to the ferry, take the ferry over to the mainland, then ride a bus for an hour to the site. Too much can go wrong on your own; in those circumstances, it makes sense to leave the driving to the ship -- actually, I'd argue that the whole idea isn't well-suited to an 8-hour stay in Cozumel, and I'd suggest something altogether different.

 

And along those lines (yeah, I was just kidding when I said "finally"), some things are just crazy to do as an excursion at all. For example, you can buy a "beach break" for $30-40 per person. Folks, that's just a taxi ride. And you have to follow their schedule. If you just want to go to the beach, just take a taxi on your own.

 

 

 

 

Yes, the ship WILL take care of these details for you, but there's a big trade-off. If you leave these details to them, you'll

 

- pay more, MUCH MORE for the same experience.

 

- You'll be in a large group. Some of the more popular tours (i.e., dolphin swims or stingray tours) have over 100 people in the group. On the other hand, private tours we've taken seem to be 10-12 people. I know which one I find more enjoyable.

 

- With a ship's tour, you'll have to move at their speed. You'll have no say-so in whether you stop in at a bar for a drink (or a restroom stop), and you'll be forced to spend an hour at a nasty straw market that gives the ship a kick-back. Smaller tours allow you some latitude in what you want to do.

 

- Private tours get moving faster. While the ship's tour is waiting for the stragglers, the private tours are already off to have fun -- so you get more time on the island. The best example I have of this: We did a private tour to Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica. We were the SECOND GROUP to climb the falls, so we weren't at all crowded. The guides let us stop to take pictures and play. As we were leaving the falls, the ship's excursion people were just arriving -- it looked like more than a thousand people coming down that hill. Our tablemates were in that crowd, and the experience they described was much different: They waited hours to get their turn at the falls, and they reported that the guides hurried them along, trying to get everyone through as quickly as possible.

[MrsPete]

When we were in Hawaii on the NCL Pride of America, we took the $29 PP round trip transportation to the Port city of LaHaina. We had previously made reservations online with the Save the Whales foundation to go whale watching for better than 1/2 what the shore excursion desk was charging. When we got to the dock, we found it was the same tour offered on the ship and we had many of our ship mates on the boat who paid much more than we had. It pays to check out other options.

Yes, that's happened to us too. I"m the planner/payer in our family, so I was the only person who knew that we'd paid SO MUCH LESS than the others were discussing. I just kept my mouth shut. Those people couldn't change their choices at that point, and it just seemed polite.

[MrsPete]

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely check out the cancellation policies of the tours I'm interested in. I hate the idea of booking in advance because I like flexibility but if they offer an easy out, I'm in!

I'm on the other end of that spectrum. I like to make my plans well in advance and sign up first. Why? Because usually I want the morning excursion. That way we can leave the ship quickly, get to our plans, and then have the afternoon to eat, shop, and wander -- and still make it back to the ship at our leisure. Depending upon the excursion, it may mean avoiding the super-hot mid-day sun.

 

If you wait to book, you may be unable to get into popular excursions or you may be forced to take the less popular timeslots.

[trilium]

MY DAUGHTER and I took a local tour on St.Thomas and St John last time we cruised the Caribbean. I found the tours by using the Internet and plugging in the name of the port followed by local tours.

Both were good tours and in St Thomas we spent and hour on a beach after touring the island before being returned to the ship.

We had been to the port on several occasions and found it was interesting to actually see the islands in their glory. Good luck with your searching.:)

[bjdamascus]

On our first cruise (8 years ago to Alaska) we booked exerything throught he cruiselines. As others have said, shore excursions though the cruise lines are not really inflated in certain places, such as Alaska, but ridiculous in others. Also, there are places (one of the islands in Hawaii) where the independent operators will not allow you to book as an individual as their bread and butter comes through the cruiselines.

 

Other reasons why we still sometimes book throught the cruiseline, regardless of where we're at, are 1) the logistics of getting to and from the ship in time if we have a shorter amount of time in port 2) with only dh and myself, it actually IS more economical than doing a private excursion 3) the "political" situation in the country

 

That being said, here's my strategy for booking excursions

 

1) If we're going to a place that we've never been, I read the descriptions of the shore excursions offered by the cruiselines, just to get an idea of what there is to see and do there

2) Read the boards/ports of call here on CC - so many suggestions! We have never been steered wrong about private/independent tours

3) Scour the websites of the independent operators as well as the visitors information center of the place we'll be in port

4) Read the reviews on Virtual Tourist and others (can't think of their names - they were already mentioned here)

5) Contact the individual vendors - preferably by phone - make sure we know the terms of payment/cancellation/what happens if the ship arrives late or not at all

6) For "bigger" trips (such as the Mediterranean in three weeks!), we ALWAYS get traveler insurance through Travel Guard. We've never had to use it, but the one time we didn't get it, we regretted it! It's piece of mind for us.

 

In Hawaii last summer, we booked only two excursions through NCL. The rest we did through Robert's Hawaii and another (name escapes me at the moment) company - definitely saved $$$$$. Not only that, we were in smaller groups (6-15 people max) and had a very relaxed pace. We were in Honolulu for three days pre cruise, and even booked an excursion to Pearl Harbor. Although it would've been cheaper to do it on our own, we learned so much and got so much more out of it than if we just winged it alone!

 

So, bottom line, don't be afraid to explore! Do your homework. Most of all, decide what is most important to you, and let that drive your decision! Good luck!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

But be street smart