spindrift Posted November 20, 2012 #1 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Is anyone else seeing a significant increase in the cost of the Destination's excursions? We have sailed many, many times with them and usually book our excursions prior to departure. In our upcoming trip to the South Pacific this time, I nearly fell out of the chair in looking at the costs. I keep spread sheets on all of our trips, and we have never paid that much for excursions. I find that really disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted November 20, 2012 #2 Share Posted November 20, 2012 The prices of O's shore excursions are off the charts. They are a multiple many times over of the cost of an great private tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molliem Posted November 20, 2012 #3 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi: Like everything else, prices go up. You need to go to Roll Call and check comments for your cruise. You may find someone organizing private tours usually will be about half the cost for same itinerary. if you are on March 14, 2013 Sidney to Papeete, there are private tours. We have been arranging them for years and have not taken a ship tour for years. EL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisedreamer1 Posted November 21, 2012 #4 Share Posted November 21, 2012 In general, the cost for almost everything in the Pacific is more expensive for a start and then add Oceania's mark up and you have those prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted November 21, 2012 #5 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Many of the ports in the area use Currencies like the Australian or New Zealand dollar which have risen from being 20% below the US dollar to above it in many cases . The forcast for the the future is for more dollar decline. Oceania is just hedging their bets However, I agree that private tours are 50% cheaper. One problem, that many see in Hawaii and Tahiti is that the ship uses up all available resources . There simply is no one left after the ship tours contract out their shore trips. It is not like Europe or the Carribe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted November 21, 2012 #6 Share Posted November 21, 2012 When I sailed on the PG, I was able to book two private tours from the identical companies the ship used, for 50% less. The best tours in French Polynesia are run by individuals (not large companies) and you have to book them fast. I suggest you go on the PG boards where you will find a ton of information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted November 21, 2012 #7 Share Posted November 21, 2012 ALWAYS, whenever possible book private tours. And yes, O's tours are generally more expensive than even the luxury lines. Just like their internet packages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvenLee Posted November 21, 2012 #8 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Is anyone else seeing a significant increase in the cost of the Destination's excursions? We have sailed many, many times with them and usually book our excursions prior to departure. In our upcoming trip to the South Pacific this time, I nearly fell out of the chair in looking at the costs. I keep spread sheets on all of our trips, and we have never paid that much for excursions. I find that really disappointing. Yes, I too, find that Oceania's excursions have seemed to have really gone up. We are doing the 30 day South American cruise (Jan. 23) and am trying to figure out whether buying their Unlimited package is worth it. We are willing to pay a bit more for convenience and assurance with the ship's tours, so will probably stick with Oceania excursions. However, I feel a bit cheated (may be too strong) when I compare Oceania's S. America tours to Regent's. In looking at Regent's free shore excursions (the Mariner RSSC is about two days ahead of us) they are almost all less expensive (real cost). They are the same tours, I believe......even have the same description and wording. So, I do wonder why Oceania has priced them so high. Guess they know that there are "suckers" like us who are too lazy and afraid to book our own tours!! I am still undecided as to what to do re these shore tours. Does anyone know which ports in S. AMerica (Lima to Rio) are safe and easy to simply get off the ship and walk around the town?? Thanks for any input. Holly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted November 21, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Interesting comments. Yes, I have been communicating for some time with those on my same trip, and yes, many of the private tours are already full. We did Tahiti (Marquesas and Cook) some years back, and the cost was not near what it is now. Well, I guess that is true anywhere right now. We also used O's excursions when we did Auckland to Sydney and Sydnet to Bangkok, and the costs were reasonable. Anyway, thanks for your input. Guess I will go back to square one and try and find private tours that might still have some availability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaitape Posted November 22, 2012 #10 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Many of the ports in the area use Currencies like the Australian or New Zealand dollar which have risen from being 20% below the US dollar to above it in many cases . The forcast for the the future is for more dollar decline. Oceania is just hedging their bets However, I agree that private tours are 50% cheaper. One problem, that many see in Hawaii and Tahiti is that the ship uses up all available resources . There simply is no one left after the ship tours contract out their shore trips. It is not like Europe or the Carribe VERY true. I'm assuming you'll be on the Marina with 1198 others....that's a big impact on the tourism infrastructure on those little islands so probably what's offered by the ship is the only game going....the tour operators have been booked up by O. Also, an FYI: if you're thinking about renting a car to do self-tours, you might consider pre-booking as the number of hire cars available are limited on the islands as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digtexas Posted November 22, 2012 #11 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Our cruise booklet arrived and contained tour prices. I booked a tour and the price was more than quoted in the booklet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvenLee Posted November 22, 2012 #12 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Our cruise booklet arrived and contained tour prices. I booked a tour and the price was more than quoted in the booklet. I, too, found the price of Oceania's tours go up within the last two weeks. For some reason their shore tours are very high.......higher than Regent's all inclusive (free tours). We are in a quandry as to what to do......just suck it up and pay more, or do fewer shore tours?!?!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted November 22, 2012 #13 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Again, just a little bit of research will find you private tours that are more convenient and less expensive than Oceania tours, especially if you go on to the roll call board here on CC,find your cruise and see if there are others willing to share the tours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaitape Posted November 22, 2012 #14 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Again, just a little bit of research will find you private tours that are more convenient and less expensive than Oceania tours, especially if you go on to the roll call board here on CC,find your cruise and see if there are others willing to share the tours. Spindrift stated they have been communicating with pax on the cruise but most pvt tours are already booked up. There are not many tour operators on the small islands and most probably many of them have been already booked out by O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted November 22, 2012 #15 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Here in Kona...when a ship comes in for the day... I see lots of peopel miling around on the pier looking for the locals to be offering private tours. There are none... and guess what all the rental cars are booked or gone at all agencies. It is not like other destinations. If you ain't on a ship tour you are walking around town ot in a cab. On Bora Bora the wave runner tours...they only have 7 wave runners for 2. Marqusea, no ship tour... your stuck plan months in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&G Posted November 22, 2012 #16 Share Posted November 22, 2012 It appears Oceania shore excursions are very expensive compared to other cruise lines. In Jan 2013 we sail on HAL's Ryndam and in March 2013 Oceania's Riviera. Both ships stop at Antigua, both offer the same shore excursion; 3-4 hour trip to the same beach. HAL's price is $34.95/person; Oceania's price is $99/person :eek: !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted November 27, 2012 Author #17 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Well fortunately I have been able to book some great tours independently with well-known agencies. First time to do this away from O, but I see a lot of changes with O, and so this is our venture for excursions. Glad I took the step away from the routine. See, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeno Posted December 3, 2012 #18 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Just took a ship tour in Cape Verde for $200 each. They made a full day tour out of nothing. Ninety minute walk on rocks through nothing, just to extend the time. What a joke. Very disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&G Posted December 3, 2012 #19 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Just took a ship tour in Cape Verde for $200 each. They made a full day tour out of nothing. Ninety minute walk on rocks through nothing, just to extend the time. What a joke. Very disappointing. Sorry for your disappointment but imagine the price of the tour if it was good :eek: ! We are sailing on Oceania 03/28/13 for the first time. Got a great deal. It appears Oceania is trying to make up the revenue loss on their 2 for 1 deals on the ship's shore excursions ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallydave Posted December 3, 2012 #20 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Sorry for your disappointment but imagine the price of the tour if it was good :eek: ! We are sailing on Oceania 03/28/13 for the first time. Got a great deal. It appears Oceania is trying to make up the revenue loss on their 2 for 1 deals on the ship's shore excursions ! There are NO 2 for 1 deals. It is pure advertising hype. The 2 for 1 price is the real price. The suggested full price is a complete myth to make the real prices look better. Everyone pays the 2 for 1 prices all the time. And yes, Oceania is trying to make money everywhere it can outside of the cruise pricing. Not a lot different than Carnival with below cost cruise pricing and the real money making on the on board extras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seashore girl Posted December 9, 2012 #21 Share Posted December 9, 2012 The prices of O's shore excursions are off the charts. They are a multiple many times over of the cost of an great private tour. I’ve done a comparison of Oceania’s St. Petersburg’s tours vs. Alla’s tours for an upcoming Baltic cruise on Marina. The conclusions are all in the same direction even though the orders of magnitude may vary according to the assumptions used – in St. Petersburg Oceania’s tours are about 3x the comparable private tours and cover less landscape in a less efficient manner. Alla’s tour is a guaranteed price of $420/pp for one person through 16 people, and will be reduced by 5% for self-assembled groups from Cruise Critic – the price is guaranteed, is paid on the second day of the tour, and can be paid by credit card without surcharge. To make the comparison as much apples to apples as possible I’ve compared to the price for Oceania Exclusive Excursions which are small group excursions, then based the price on the 25% discount for booking 5 or more excursions prior to sailing (Your World Collection). Alternatively, someone using Oceania for their land tours could pay $1,099 for the Unlimited Passport Collection, which on this cruise, would mean that they pay an additional $510 for the Oceania Exclusive and Oceania Choice tours identified on my chart; they then would have free tours or tours priced at the lesser upcharge rate in the remaining ports. A direct, completely apples to apples comparison is impossible because the two offerings take different formats. Alla’s tours begin in the early morning and proceed consecutively on a sequential route that minimizes travel time until return at the end of the day. In determining how the Oceania tours would cover roughly the same sites it was necessary to add many shorter tours that would originate and end at the ship thereby adding substantial travel time of a repetitive, unproductive nature. The tours compared thus were 20 hours for Alla on a comprehensive, highly efficient basis vs. 30 hours for Oceania over three days which is likely more than could practically be put together. Even at 30 hours for Oceania, the Oceania tours do NOT include the Russian Museum or the Parks and Gardens at Peterhof. Of course, anyone being stuck on going on the Oceania tours could minimize costs by downgrading their experience and going on the 50 person bus tours. I’ve not modeled that comparison as I don’t consider that relevant to the objectives of those of us on Cruise Critic people putting together private tours. I would be interested in seeing any similar comparisons that others may have done. Click on the attachment to see my chart! We travel on Oceania because of its strengths – the itineraries, the food, the cabins (with particular emphasis on the bedding), the ships and their layouts, FDR’s art etc. etc. It’s a great experience when you know the weaknesses of Oceania and work around those – such as the included air, and the land tours. There is progress on the Internet issue and maybe progress on the shows (the jury is still out!). Come on FDR – improve the quality and the cost profile on the land tours and as customers/passengers we won’t have to do so much work to make it a great, holistic cruise experience. Alla vs Oceania - St. Pete_QuickenPDF.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&G Posted December 9, 2012 #22 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I’ve done a comparison of Oceania’s St. Petersburg’s tours vs. Alla’s tours for an upcoming Baltic cruise on Marina. The conclusions are all in the same direction even though the orders of magnitude may vary according to the assumptions used – in St. Petersburg Oceania’s tours are about 3x the comparable private tours and cover less landscape in a less efficient manner. It is unbelievable !!!! We are sailing Oceania for the first time in March 2013. The prices of the shore excursions are ridiculous; not just comparing to independent tours but to other cruise lines. We are also sailing on two cruises with Holland America. The Oceania & HAL Lines have three common ports of call; Antigua, Funchal, Portugal & Morocco. Both lines offer the same tours. Here is what I have found: Antiqua: Beach Tour: Oceania $99/person; HAL $34.95/person Funchal: Island Tour: Oceania $95/person; HAL $54.95/person Morocco: Asilah tour: Oceania $125/person, HAL $44.95/person Tetuan: Tour: Oceania $195/person, HAL $89.95/person The length of these tours and description of the tours are almost identical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RPen63 Posted December 12, 2012 #23 Share Posted December 12, 2012 What many love about Oceania are the things that Oceania does not do. They do not charge for illy coffee, they do not charge for the steak in the MDR, they do to charge for a milk shake, they do not charge for the specialty restaurants, they do not have art auctions, they do not have roving photographers ... I could go on and on. So they charge a lot for excursions? Paraphrasing the song, own out of six ain't bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G&G Posted December 12, 2012 #24 Share Posted December 12, 2012 What many love about Oceania are the things that Oceania does not do. They do not charge for illy coffee, they do not charge for the steak in the MDR, they do to charge for a milk shake, they do not charge for the specialty restaurants, they do not have art auctions, they do not have roving photographers ... I could go on and on. So they charge a lot for excursions? Paraphrasing the song, own out of six ain't bad. Good point except I believe we have paid for all that !! Is what called the cruise fare. I do like no roving photographers !! and no art auction !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted December 12, 2012 #25 Share Posted December 12, 2012 What is not provided (included?) in the Cruise Fare, should obviously be available for us to purchase at cost. That business model ALWAYS works out well.... :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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