Looking for comments about X cruisetours

[FunForUs]

We're looking at a Celebrity cruisetour to Machu Picchu for next year. They are expensive so I am looking for some pros and cons from anyone who has taken one. Interested in experiences on any cruisetour not just this particular as it will give me some idea regarding the hotels, transportation & guides. Many thanks, Shirley

[ghstudio]

Generally speaking (and that is always dangerous), celebrity land tours/arrangements are expensive. That applies to both excursions from the ship and to days before/after your cruise as well as to the land portion of cruisetours.

 

There are some good sites to find local tour operators with good reputations.....tripadvisor is one that's widely used and you can check the ports section here on cruisecritic.....and you can google something like three day trip quito machu pichu or similar to see what local companies offer.

 

The reason to go with celebrity is comfort level....reduced risk, etc. The truth, of course, is that Celebrity just hires one of the local companies and tacks on a profit. Many are happy to pay that price....for a ship excursion, you know that if there is a problem the ship will wait for you.

 

We would not do a celebrity tour/excursion unless we were concerned about making it back to the ship on time. We have found that even private guides are less expensive and give you a better tour if there are two or more people. For singles, it's different...Celebrity offers a good value.

[Mulege]

We looked at ship tours and then started looking at a land package with, hotel and air included from the West Coast of CA. It was just a little more expensive and it was a one week tour. Meals were extra. We skipped the ship tour and chose the land tour at another date as it had more value for us. Definitely shop for a private tour versus the expensive ship tour.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We did Celebrity's tour in Alaska because it included 3 days of travel by train and we did not want to rent a car and drive. The hotels were good except for Denali and we liked the areas visited.

 

We booked a Celebrity land tour on our upcoming Australia trip then found our that we could do much more and spend 8 days vs 4 in Australia by doing it on our own at a price that will probably be equal to or less than X's. This is due to the deal Qantas has for US citizens visiting AU.

 

Agree with others, look into both options and decide which suits you best.

 

Mary Lou

[flames9]

I'm a cruise rookie, so I dont know alot,lol We did Alaska in 2009 (on RCL) and we booked all our own excursions. One can find soooo much info on the internet and especially the cruise critics forums,that you don't really need to use the ship! They charge you a premium--They try to use the scare tactic that if you book with them your covered, but your not if you book elsewhere--and I guess there is some truth to that. BUT those private companies are very well aware on what time you have to be back and they know how damaging it would be to their reputation if they brought you back late. Plus booking it yourself, you are better prepared and you save considerable amount of $$$$.

 

Another plus for checking out your ships ROLL CALL on CC--many people have already signed up for a tour and are looking to add others to it. For our May 22 sailing on the Silhouette, 1 gentlemen has started up a FAcebook page and a dedicated website for the sailing! SOOO much info at ones finger tips.

 

Best of luck

[ghstudio]

I'm a cruise rookie, so I dont know alot,lol We did Alaska in 2009 (on RCL) and we booked all our own excursions. One can find soooo much info on the internet and especially the cruise critics forums,that you don't really need to use the ship! They charge you a premium--They try to use the scare tactic that if you book with them your covered, but your not if you book elsewhere--and I guess there is some truth to that. BUT those private companies are very well aware on what time you have to be back and they know how damaging it would be to their reputation if they brought you back late. Plus booking it yourself, you are better prepared and you save considerable amount of $$$$.

 

Best of luck

 

If something happens on the land portion of the trip, don't look for Celebrity to help or even get involved.....they make it very (legally) clear in the contract that they have no part in the tour...the tour is with a third party and if you have any problems, it's between you and the third party.

 

As I said in my previous post, the only place where a Celebrity ship excursion might be preferable (to us) is if you are in port for a short stop and you have a long tour .... eg. going to see the ruins in Belize. If you are on a ship tour and there is a delay, the ship will wait for you. For a pre or post cruise arrangement, there is almost no value that I see in booking through Celebrity....unless you are a nervous or brand new traveller.

[MonDreamr1]

I don't know if you've seen the Galapagos Monster thread part 2 - there are a few people who have done the extended trip after the Galapagos and a few that have done it on their own - with info about who/what they booked.

 

We skipped it, and are planning a separate trip. It was expensive and limited. However, if it is the only time you are going to SA and don't want to the hassle of planning it yourself. They are very good about taking care of everything from the minute you step off the plane in Quito for the Galapagos portion of the trip. There were a few people on our trip that went they had a good time.

 

For us, after we priced it out on our own and compared it to the Celebrity trip, even with airfare and time back to Peru - on our own ticked off more of the check boxes for what we wanted to see/do.

 

Link to the Monster Thread part 2 -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=36248278

 

The Monster Thread part 1 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=158948 - has info, but it will be older don't pay attention to the flight info - they've changed it within the last 18 months. The individual roll calls maybe helpful if they are active - the one for our first attempt was active, the one for our second attempt was not.

[FunForUs]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I will definitely check out the private options.

 

MonDreamr1: I'm very grateful for the link to the Monster Thread.

 

Shirley

[MonDreamr1]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I will definitely check out the private options.

 

MonDreamr1: I'm very grateful for the link to the Monster Thread.

 

Shirley

 

You're welcome

Good luck & happy planning