Shore Excursions

[sonvoltken6]

We are almost ready to book a summer 2014 Med Cruise on Oceania. I appreciate that many of you have helped us out with answers. However, one last question (I say one last but who am I kidding). I noticed on the Oceania web site that many of the shore excursions are significantly higher than other cruise lines, at least the mass market lines. Even 2-3 hour trips run $125 or more.

 

Those of you who who cruise Oceania, do you find that you get your money's worth for those excursions? Do you book through the line, or do you book on your own? As I am putting my budget together, I need to make sure I have my bases covered!

 

Thanks as always,

 

Ken and Rita

[LHT28]

The few ships tours we have taken have been just fine

 

We usually DIY or join private tours with people on the ROLL CALL for our cruise

 

Suggest once you decide on your cruise join the ROLL CALL

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=420

 

Budget more $$ than you think you will need ;)

 

Enjoy

 

Lyn

[marilynfaye]

I would say that most of the people who are active on Cruise Critic book their own excursions. Many get a small group together through their Cruise Critic roll call. Less expensive. More flexible. Frankly, much nicer to be with a small group rather than a large one. And, often, there are places large buses just can't get to. Just make sure you and your guide plan it out so you get back to the ship on time. :D

 

You can research guides by doing a search in the Ports section. Also, take a look at the Roll Calls for similar itineraries departing in 2013. Also, Trip Advisor.

 

However, if you can't get a group, it could turn out a ship's tour could be your best bet. . . especially if you have shipboard credit to burn.

 

Welcome to Oceania. I know you'll love your cruise.

 

Marilyn

[Mura]

I've traveled with both Lyn and Marilyn, and done tours with them as well.

 

We all prefer doing it ourselves but there are places where a ship's tour is safest. If you are contemplating a Med cruise, that shouldn't be the case.

 

But it is always something to consider.

 

Mura

[hypercafe]

We took some ship tours in Mexico. There was a NCL ship at the pier with us in Cosa Mayer. Both ships had tours going to the same place, same bus company and same guide company, both half day. NCL price 69$, Oceana price 125$. The tour was good but just cost more. I guess it is the same for most tours.

[PaulMCO]

Yes they are over priced for what you get.

Most cruise lines use the same or similar tour operators.

 

Comparing our last HAL cruise. 1/2 Day tours ran $69 versus "O"s $125 . full day tours $140 versus $200. We tend to do private or small group tour linked to people in our cruise roll call.

 

You might check the roll call for the particular cruise to see what small group tours are being organized and the cost.

 

We use Oceania tours where we have no choice or where port safety may be concern.

[eddmel]

We have been quite pleased with O excursions. They are easy to book and can be easily canceled in advance if necessary. But, there are cheaper alternatives in a number of ports. No scientific answer here ... make your choice weighing a number of factors.

[Dinotoll]

On our last Cruise with the Riviera , we booked one excursion with Oceania, I wanted to know how they organize everything, so I can compare with other companies.

For Santo Tomas, the port is a container port, we booked the Eco Hike at Hacienda Tijax , 2 persons for 376 € thats about 488 US Dollar, and I have to say for this price everything was near a FRAUD.

 

After 1,5 hours driving in a bus, we were taken in a small and uncomfortable boat for a 10 minute ride, after that we stepped just through the "jungle", but there was nothing to see, no flowers, no animals , nothing interesting, nothing what was worth nearly 500 bucks.

So it was very hot about 104 °F, two older people had circulation problems and they where taken back by car. After all this "Eco Tour" we got some food and also where driven back to ship 1,5 hours.

This was the worst "excursion" I have ever taken by any shipping company. This was absolutly consumer fraud for 500 $ . Shame to Oceania !!:mad::mad:

[hypercafe]

I was looking on the Regent board and read that for some the problem is since some of the shore trips are included they are overcrowrd and not good. Some would like them to be pay as you go. On Oceania the problem is they are priced so high if you take them you feel silly and ripped off. Sounds like the management in Maimi needs to get a handle on this shore trip problem! Sad if after a great trip a silly shore trip stands out because of how bad the experience was.

[surfyachtie]

It seems also that Oceania is consistently given less than favourable scores on the CC member reviews for the excursions and entertainment which drags down their overall score. If they had these right they would be untouchable when it comes to awarding the various awards every year at CC.

[roothy123]

In my mind, Oceania is at a slight disadvantage right off the bat when compared with other cruise lines (most, anyway) because of the smaller number of passengers onboard, and the relative inclusiveness of their product (i.e., not being able to make a lot of money on bottles of water, sodas, port photos, etc.) It's a lot easier to fill up a bus or two when you have 3 or 4K passengers than it is when you have 700 or 1250.

 

Having said that, I usually do my own exploring, and save a LOT of money that way. I also have the freedom to do what I want to do. I sometimes book my own tour (on a bus with others, or small group if I can afford it), sometimes use an Oceania tour, and more often than not, go my own way via independent travel/exploration. Of course, advance planning (which I love anyway) helps make this possible. If I still need help, I wait to talk to the tourism rep that Oceania almost always brings on board once the ship docks.

 

Of the ship's excursions I've taken, I've only had one bad experience, and that was in Belize City - probably on the same itinerary that the person above posted about (Santo Tomas - not the most wonderful port, I must say.....and you're definitely not in Europe when you're in that part of the world!!) The local folks in the terminal at Belize City were not working with the Oceania destination staff people and kept telling us "it didn't matter where you were in line after you got off the tender" - which turned out to be NOT correct! Anyway, yes, the tours from O probably cost more than on other cruise lines, but I've noticed it can be variable. For example, I have been researching tours in the British Isles and Norway, and found that Princess only charges a little less than Oceania for their comparable tours. As to quality, yes, I think Oceania does a good job in terms of organization, keeping to time limits, etc. - but a tour is only as good as the local provider, and this can be variable. I think it's important that, if you experience a less than optimal excursion, you mention it on the Comment card (mid-cruise or final) so Oceania can look for ways to improve (different vendors, etc.) I recently took a cruise on Celebrity in the Caribbean and heard a woman complain about the vulgar language and off color jokes used by a tour operator on one of the ship's excursions. Hopefully Celebrity listened and will think twice about using that particular provider or guide.

 

Of course, one reason to use a ship's excursion is that they WILL hold the ship if you're late getting back, as probably everyone knows by now. Also, if the port assignment changes (or docking times), and the ship will dock in another location than originally scheduled, they will take care of notifying the vendor and having buses/vans sent to the correct location.

 

Overall, I would look to see what's available in each port for DIYing (IF that's your thing) or small (or large) group tours, and then decide from there about the ship's excursions.

[pacheco18]

Personally, I would rather stay on the ship than take an Oceania shore excursion. I mean that sincerely.

 

Go to your roll call and make new friends. If you have never organized a private shore excursion there will be plenty of fellow cruisers experienced at doing so.

 

For my upcoming Dubai to Rome 21 day cruise, with some unusual ports, one other CC member and I researched and organized all the shore excursions for the ports. We have saved a FORTUNE and will be in small groups with some coveted guides.

[PVPatti]

I seem to have an entirely different take on the excursion trips offered by Oceania. This year my husband and I will take our fourth cruise with them; and, as we have always done in the past will book all excursions with them. Our tours have always been excellent and led by competant and well informed tour guides. We have always enjoyed them enormously. We like the convenience, variety and reliability they offer. We also take advantage of the price break provided by Oceania when booking multiple excursions. We remain ardent fans of the Oceania shore excursions.

[pacheco18]

I seem to have an entirely different take on the excursion trips offered by Oceania. This year my husband and I will take our fourth cruise with them; and, as we have always done in the past will book all excursions with them. Our tours have always been excellent and led by competant and well informed tour guides. We have always enjoyed them enormously. We like the convenience, variety and reliability they offer. We also take advantage of the price break provided by Oceania when booking multiple excursions. We remain ardent fans of the Oceania shore excursions.

 

That's fine. To each his own. There is something for everyone out there.

 

But have you even taken any private excursions so you have something to compare?

 

There is a huge difference in

price -- O excursions cost a high multiple of the cost private excursions

itinerary -- you get to choose where to go, when to stop, where or whether to shop

guide -- you can choose your own (there are some very famous and sought after guides out there)

companions -- you get to choose who and how many (I prefer 10 or less, but for my upcoming cruise in one port we are just 4 and in one we are only 6 by choice)

 

Also - in many places large buses cannot go to areas where small vehicles can easily have access

If a meal is included, you need to go to a place that can accommodate a huge crowd as opposed to a place that is smaller and perhaps less touristy.

 

I do not criticize anyone for taking advantage of the convenience and reliability of an Oceania shore excursion -- but I do urge everyone to experience a private excursion at least once so they know what they are missing,.

[capecodder2]

First, I would just like to say that you cannot compare 3rd world Central American ports with the Med, neither is the Caribbean a comparison worth making to the Med ports. That said, there is room for independent tours, those with small cc groups, and Oceania excursions - all of them. I don't agree that O's excursions are all that much more than anyone else's in the same category of cruise line - we have taken many and enjoyed them, so much depends on the port and what is available. On the other hand, we have had some very bad small group tours with cc people - something seldom mentioned by those big proponents of such tours. All in all we prefer to either do our own or an O excursion. You are spending thousands of $$ on this cruise, do your research on each port and decide what and how you want to get the most from the time and money you have budgeted for sightseeing.

[Mura]

It has seemed to me that it can kind of potluck as to the quality of guides you find on your own. We've been very lucky both with ship's excursions and doing our own, but no matter how well you research or how many people love a guide or agency on Trip Advisor, we still don't really know until we get there.

 

We've had a couple of mediocre guides on ship's excursions. I don't think we've had any bad apples on private tours but I know we've been lucky.

 

When we were in Sardinia two years ago we tried to find a local guide but O had snapped all of them up for ship's tours. That tour resulted in one of the mediocre guides we've had. Actually, it wasn't that she was so bad ... it was her heavily accented English that made her hard to understand. Also, the tour we'd wanted was cancelled -- I suppose not enough people had signed up for it. So we settled for this one. While it wasn't terrible, it also wasn't great.

 

Mura

[capecodder2]

I agree, Mura, it is the luck of the draw for guides and transportation for any excursion, be it the cruise line or an independent trip. There are only so many guides out there and the best ones get scooped up first. One of our last excursions with a small private group went like this: We docked in Mangalore, India, and headed out to find our guide and van (about 12 people). We were greeted by our "tour guide" who, after we were on our way, told us that his friend, the "real tour guide" was busy that day so he was taking us on our tour. His accent made him very difficult to understand to most of the people but he didn't really have much to say either. I was sitting in the 2nd row behind the driver, and I asked him to speak slowly - and I repeated what I could understand of what he said to the rest of the van. Frustration rose as you can imagine and some got really angry. I had brought with me a fair amount of printed material about the stops we were to make (I was a USA tour guide for years and this is something I just do for myself). I ended up reading to everyone the information I had on our various stops - I felt like the tour guide. What was missing, of course, were the tidbits and stories about life in Mangalore that is part of a good tour. I should add that our driver drove very recklessly and fast making people nervous. When he rounded a curve at a relatively high rate of speed causing the 2nd row of seats to come loose and fall back against those sitting behind us, that was it for the day! He was told to slow down and take us back to the ship. No one was a happy tripper that day. I can laugh about it now - my day as a tour guide in India - but it wasn't particularly funny at the time. Thanks for letting me share it.

[robbie21]

Capecodder2 -

 

You made a key point in your comment, "There are only so many guides out there and the best ones get scooped up first."

 

Laraine (pacheco18) books early, does her research and does, in fact, scoop up the best guides. We have had the pleasure of joining her groups on a couple of occasions and had excellent experiences. When I have taken the lead I have tried to emulate her strategy. When I have joined other group leaders on our roll call I still check out the guide or the company's record here on CC, Tripadvisor and elsewhere. Google makes it easy.

 

If you are unable or unwilling to do the work of setting up your own tours consider joining Laraine or one of her soul mates (there is nearly always one on every roll call) and benefiting from his or her efforts.

 

On those occasions where I could not find a guide I had confidence in I would fall back to the Ship's tours. Note that we are also quite comfortable going out on our own in ports where we deem it safe and convenient.

 

As always, it is a personal choice. However, I do believe the effort to secure a private tour is well worth it both economically and as a travel experience.

 

Robbie

[pacheco18]

Thanks for the kind words

 

Robbie actually emailed me to change cruises so I could book the excursions for him LOLOL

 

He is right. Some of us do A LOT more research than others. I have booked specific guides as far out as 18 months. I have never had anything but great experiences with the private excursions I have booked -- the hard work pays off.

[capecodder2]

Thanks, Robbie21 & Pacheco 18, I do a lot of research myself for my own benefit, so I know what you are saying. It takes hours and hours of time, but it is worth it in the end. We have "done the world" and our "A list" and now find ourselves returning to places we love or want to see again. We like both cruises and doing our own independent land tours. At this point, we mostly do our own thing, especially in Europe. I have made a note to myself to watch my roll calls for your names as shipmates and see what you are doing. Happy traveling.

[canuck.qc]

As mentioned on the previous posts, starting early to research + plan + book tours is important. I rarely book a ship tour. The few times I did was because plans fell through & it was the very last resort. They are very expensive and less personal. For those people who do not research their trips or don't care about the cost, ship tours can be the easiest choice. I prefer a smaller size tour, tailored to what we want to see and do. I have been very fortunate with our tours and even an occasional mediocre private tour is better than a ship tour any day!