Overpriced rccl excursions

[jbond]

I always book my own excursions because the ships are always overpriced and crowded.

There are times when you can't book your own excursions, there are some that are only available through the ship. The BOSS excursion in St Thomas is ship only and I would have missed out on a great experience if I'd not booked through RCI.

In Cozumel we booked the Fury through the ship....70.00. We've done this many times. The crew recognized us once and said if we just go through them it is only 20.00. However, sometimes the fun (though it may cost extra) is hanging with your fellow pax.

It's not $20 through the Fury Cats, more like $50. Still a saving, but it has major drawbacks. We intend to do The Fury Cats again in January. Their website shows two pickup times, 1:00 & 2:00 pm. It's a 3 1/2 hour trip. The bad news is that the Mariner leaves Cozumel at 4:00 pm.:( The Fury Cat website doesn't pickup cruise passengers and doesn't accept cruise passenger reservations. So we will be paying $69 for RCI's excursion, but it beats swimming to the nnext port, Grand Cayman.:rolleyes:

[Arzeena]

I agree completely. If you take the time to do enough research before booking a private tour, you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect, and know whether the private tour is a good idea in that area.

 

As for Cozumel, I had the same experience as johneeo (and the same driver) a couple months before his trip, when I sailed the Liberty of the Seas with my two friends. We were 3 ladies in Cozumel, and we felt perfectly safe the entire time with our guide. And he was constantly checking and asking us if we were okay, having a good time, and comfortable with what we were doing. It was a really nice day. DH and I are actually booked with Alberto again in September. So in this instance (Cozumel), booking private is the way to go, IMO.

 

We've only done one ship excursion in all our cruises with Royal. In St. Thomas, we took the ferry to St. John, since we wouldn't have to worry about the logistics of getting there. The ferry left right from the pier.

 

Otherwise, we've always booked with a local tour guide who has a great reputation here on CC and elsewhere. I can recommend that method in St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Antigua, Aruba, and San Juan. In St. Maarten, we actually randomly hired a taxi driver to take us around (because I've read that that was a perfectly fine thing to do on that particular island). Again, we felt safe the whole time. Each guide has been professional, informative, and enjoyable. We've never been disappointed. Takes some effort and research on our part, but in the end it pays off, at least it does in most of the Caribbean. Now, if I were going to another part of the world that was completely unfamiliar to me, I would consider one of Royal's excursions. We'll see when we travel elsewhere. To each his own.

 

Faith and Johneeo can you post Alberto's details, please? how do we contact him for quotes? We will be going to Cozumel on a cruise and would not mind trying him out after such good reviews. The first time we went to Cozumel we took NCL's excursion to Tulum. I would not have done a private excursion there due to time and distance factors, but this time I want to see Cozumel beaches etc.

[Host Faith]

Faith and Johneeo can you post Alberto's details, please? how do we contact him for quotes? We will be going to Cozumel on a cruise and would not mind trying him out after such good reviews. The first time we went to Cozumel we took NCL's excursion to Tulum. I would not have done a private excursion there due to time and distance factors, but this time I want to see Cozumel beaches etc.

 

Absolutely! Looks like they're updating their website right now (toursplaza.com), but you can email the drivers at eduardoczm at gmail dot com. Eduardo is very nice and helpful. You can request Alberto specifically (they have a couple different drivers).

On Tripadvisor

 

CC thread: hiring a driver for the day

:)

[grand isle joe]

.....maybe O'bama can give you a bail out?.........