Booking Excursions Directly

[Room7]

What sites do I go to to book excursions directly though the tour companies? Me and 10 others will be on the splendor in August. Any recommendations for the best valued excursions?

[bubbadog]

[SIZE=3][COLOR=teal]WHEN We went to europe,I did alot of research,by going to the ports of call,section here in cruisecritic,and also the reviews,I WAS very happy i did this,it gave me several excursion companies,and the ones to not go with,I ENDED up having a great cruise,with no complications,and also very relieved,I HOPE this helps you out,and have a great cruise.:p:D[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

What ports are you going to?

It really depends on what you want to do as to which sites to go to. I usually start off by going to Trip Advisor to see what is highly rated at the place I'm visiting (whether it be by cruise or a land vacation). Then I do an internet search for tour companies. You can also get a lot of good recommendations from the Ports of Call boards - many cruisers post their favorite excursions on these boards, since they are specific to the port.

Hope that helps.

[golfadj]

I go to the port of call pages to look at see what others have done and their thoughts.

[govgurl]

I also recommend checking out Trip Advisor. It's a good way to get a sense of the top attractions and things to do in each port, and if it's a popular cruise port many of the reviews will likely be from fellow cruisers.

Also, look at the excursions your ship offers, figure out which ones sound good to you, and then google around to see if there is a cheaper, independent option. Oftentimes if the ship offers a tour of a certain place, or a sailing expedition, or a snorkeling thing, there's an independent operator out there offering the same or similar for less money. I often use the list of excursions offered by the cruise line as a jumping off point or idea sparker.

The CC port of call boards ar great, but work best when you're asking specific questions. Try researching on your own first to at least narrow down some of your ideas.