Why do people organise their own tours?

[Mercruiser]

We took the private tour option too last year!

Just be aware that the ship's train tour passengers board their train at the wharf whereas the private tour people have to take the free shuttle bus into Dunedin to the station where you give your name, they find your ticket then you pay.

We then had to wait for the ship's train to pass us before our second train could leave the station. They apparantly received a free lunch which was no more than sandwiches and a plastic cup of wine if I remember correctly.

We just bought something on the train or you could wait until you reached the top of the gorge (where the train stopped for about 45 minutes) and purchase lunch at the local pub.

The scenery and landscape was just magnificent so I'm sure you'll really enjoy your trip.

There wasn't enough time to do any sight-seeing in Dunedin because by the time we arrived back at the station it was time to find our shuttle bus back to the Port.

You'll love the architecture of the station and other buildings in Dunedin.

 

Thanks for your help. I am looking forward to the trip. Our ship departs at 5:00 p.m. So like your experience, we will probably have to head back to the ship soon after the train returns.

[Mercruiser]

Just keep in mind as the OP referred to Celebrity that with Celebrity, there aint no such thing as a free shuttle. ;)

 

You are correct about the shuttle. One of our roll-call members made arrangements for our group for a shuttle to the train station at NZ$15 round trip.

[MicCanberra]

In actual fact: _will_ not wait. :D

I have seen them wait for a bus load on a private tour, we waited 1/2 an hour. Even on the last crusie in QLD, the ship waited for more than an hour for the last tender which was waiting for the last two guests to arrive.:D

Edited July 28, 2013 by MicCanberra

[MicCanberra]

I know where he's coming from, but I've had good experiences as well.

 

Given the dominance of American tourists though, tour guides are used to a fair amount of tipping so that's just the way expectations are.

Sadly it is the way of the world in some areas, and with ships tours they are more blatent. With private tours not so much as they build what they need into the price.:D

[MicCanberra]

You are correct about the shuttle. One of our roll-call members made arrangements for our group for a shuttle to the train station at NZ$15 round trip.

Yes, the shuttles that X put on, have always got a fee.:D

[The_Big_M]

I have seen them wait for a bus load on a private tour, we waited 1/2 an hour. Even on the last crusie in QLD, the ship waited for more than an hour for the last tender which was waiting for the last two guests to arrive.:D

 

You had some generous captains lately... or maybe I had some tough ones! :D

[MicCanberra]

You had some generous captains lately... or maybe I had some tough ones! :D

Or perhaps it was who the last two guests were?:rolleyes:

[bazzaw]

thanks for your replies... its funny we thought we got a good deal for the celebrity suite at $3000 each for 12 nights but you can easily add another $1000 to that for the tours especially the trans alpine train and overnight tour to Queenstown. Oh well better to do them than wonder why we didn't

 

 

Or do what we do -- cruise in an inside cabin and spend the considerable savings on shore tours!! :)

 

Barry

[NancyIL]

Or do what we do -- cruise in an inside cabin and spend the considerable savings on shore tours!! :)

 

Barry

 

That's similar to my travel pholosophy: book cheap accommodations, and take longer and/or more frequent trips.

[MicCanberra]

That's similar to my travel pholosophy: book cheap accommodations, and take longer and/or more frequent trips.

My wife gets claustophobic so we get a balcony most times. Friends of ours get an inside and get 3 cruises for the price of our two.:D

[The_Big_M]

Or perhaps it was who the last two guests were?:rolleyes:

 

Yes, I guess you could have been waiting for some VIPs. It was like that on that Oasis tv special as I recall.

[The_Big_M]

Or do what we do -- cruise in an inside cabin and spend the considerable savings on shore tours!! :)

 

Barry

 

I just look for value either side.

[MicCanberra]

Yes, I guess you could have been waiting for some VIPs. It was like that on that Oasis tv special as I recall.

I really enjoyed watching that mega ships doco. Those VIPs were very lucky but then he was a prince or a sheik or someone that was really wealthy.:D

[KarateMan]

Hi, I have not been on a lot of cruises but it seems from the "roll call" forum I was looking at for the NZ cruise we are going on in December a lot are banding together to organise their own cruise.

 

I quite enjoyed the RCI tours on my cruising on the Liberty in Europe even though a little pricey.

 

What have others experiences been doing self organised tours rather than the ship tours?

 

Maybe they have been there done that and still wish to explore and are looking for other options apart from the usual popular places.

 

You can go back to a port many times and always find something new to do. Another reason is the congestion of coach tours and the time delays waiting for passsengers. Some people do not want to sit down for hours at lunch stops when they can eat on the run. There are many reasons people look to do their own things.

[MicCanberra]

Maybe they have been there done that and still wish to explore and are looking for other options apart from the usual popular places.

 

You can go back to a port many times and always find something new to do. Another reason is the congestion of coach tours and the time delays waiting for passsengers. Some people do not want to sit down for hours at lunch stops when they can eat on the run. There are many reasons people look to do their own things.

 

Yes, that is true, we have been to some ports where we have just met up with friends and family.:D

[cassamanda]

We took the private tour option too last year!

Just be aware that the ship's train tour passengers board their train at the wharf whereas the private tour people have to take the free shuttle bus into Dunedin to the station where you give your name, they find your ticket then you pay.

We then had to wait for the ship's train to pass us before our second train could leave the station. They apparantly received a free lunch which was no more than sandwiches and a plastic cup of wine if I remember correctly.

We just bought something on the train or you could wait until you reached the top of the gorge (where the train stopped for about 45 minutes) and purchase lunch at the local pub.

The scenery and landscape was just magnificent so I'm sure you'll really enjoy your trip.

There wasn't enough time to do any sight-seeing in Dunedin because by the time we arrived back at the station it was time to find our shuttle bus back to the Port.

You'll love the architecture of the station and other buildings in Dunedin.

We also did this trip privately at a much cheaper price. We took the shuttle booked through the train company and then did a 1 hour town tour at the end that brought us right back to the gangway. So the only advantage of the ship tour was that it departed from the ship and provided a plastic lunch at twice the price.

The ship's train has priority on the line and the railway has to maintain a 20 minute separation. Unless there is a major, major problem there is no way this private tour will bring you back late - it is a scheduled service.

The extra time in Dunedin can easily be spent if the train does not go all the way to Middlemarch as you get back at about 1pm.

Hugh

[The_Big_M]

You can go back to a port many times and always find something new to do. Another reason is the congestion of coach tours and the time delays waiting for passsengers. Some people do not want to sit down for hours at lunch stops when they can eat on the run. There are many reasons people look to do their own things.

 

Are there many tours that "sit down for hours for lunch"? All the cruise ones I've seen, as well as private ones, have been pretty tight with lunch schedules so as to see everything necessary, (and not waste the guide's time ;-) ).

[KarateMan]

Are there many tours that "sit down for hours for lunch"? All the cruise ones I've seen, as well as private ones, have been pretty tight with lunch schedules so as to see everything necessary, (and not waste the guide's time ;-) ).

 

Probably not in New Zealand but I have been on a lengthy meal in Hong Kong before a laser light show where the guide had to almost physically drag passengers out as we were running late on the schedule. It is random but many excursions do have meal breaks if they are long.

[The_Big_M]

The inclination for tourists to relax during the meal is understandable, after rushing around to go different places and look at lots of different things. :-)

 

I still haven't seen multi-hour lunch stops though. 2 hours just eats too much time into the program and isn't a good use of time.

[MicCanberra]

What I have found is when lunch is included, it is normally a one to two hour stop at somewhere interesting and the lunch part is over and done with in half an hour.:D

[Pushka]

 

I quite enjoyed the RCI tours on my cruising on the Liberty in Europe even though a little pricey.

 

What have others experiences been doing self organised tours rather than the ship tours?

 

I was on the RCL Liberty last year too and booked private tours. Our group thought it amusing in the Port of Naples. We were sitting in a cafe eating beautiful hand made ravioli and pizza and a glass of wine. A group of RCL tours walked passed with that paddle thing. The restaurant owner called to them to have some lunch. One of the group said they only had 20 minutes to stay and in that time they had to had a rest room stop. We had another 30 minutes of eating and strolling before heading back to our limo for the drive along the Amalfi coast, stopping for photos whenever we wished. Our cost? Less than the ships tour.

 

THIS is why we organise private tours whenever we can.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Pushka

[MicCanberra]

I was on the RCL Liberty last year too and booked private tours. Our group thought it amusing in the Port of Naples. We were sitting in a cafe eating beautiful hand made ravioli and pizza and a glass of wine. A group of RCL tours walked passed with that paddle thing. The restaurant owner called to them to have some lunch. One of the group said they only had 20 minutes to stay and in that time they had to had a rest room stop. We had another 30 minutes of eating and strolling before heading back to our limo for the drive along the Amalfi coast, stopping for photos whenever we wished. Our cost? Less than the ships tour.

 

THIS is why we organise private tours whenever we can.

Yes, being in that big tour bus group gets tired quickly.:D

[alwayswantingmore]

Generally price does not figure in whether we choose a private or ship's tour (and yes, i know that are generally more expensive). Mostly it is because we want to be in a small group (2 - 4) rather than on a large bus with 50 others with the attendent waiting, waiting, waiting. Also we can book a tour to places that ship's tours do not go to (in Ushuaia we went to visit the penguins where only 80 people are allowed each day and only 20 at a time). Sometimes if we do not have time to research and organise a tour we book a ship excursion for convenience. Also in a port that is very different culturally to Australia or Europe we will book a ship's tour. We did this in Tunis as we were unsure of how to get around.

 

Just looking at your cruises to do and I see that you have the Eastern Mediterranean down - I did this in September on Rhapsody of the seas and it was one of the best itineraries ever!

[Gaznjo]

On our recent 90 day Europe cruise from sydney we did a total of 1 princess tour.... Where was this tour ...... Darwin ... To see jumping crocs..... We didn't arrive until 10 am and we're leaving at 5pm ..... Having done the walk around Darwin thing last time and not worth hiring a car and trying to make the tour times... We just decided to do and endure it.... It was a good trip..... Would of been better if we didn't have the grumpy passenger rage....

 

Every other port we did privately....

[Steviewonder1]

On our recent Eastern Med Cruise we did 6 Private and 3 Ship's tours. One of the ship's tours was a trip to a Potty Break and Coffee, a pass by at a Seminary, and finally a viewing of some of the Rich Folks homes on the way back to the ship. It was also raining and the tour guide spoke the worst broken english I have ever heard, less than 20% of what she said I understood. We wished this had been a third sea day. The 6 Private tours (8 people each) were outstanding and again at about 50% of the cost of the ships tour and included all entrance fees with tickets pre-purchsed by the Tour Operator. We had some really good local lunches while watching the heard of cats go by with the paddle/umbrella leading them. The private tour operators watch the clock like a hawk and their reputation is on the line if they get a group back late to the ship. Trip advisor and Cruise Critic will light up if there is an issue. They also have cell phones and vehicles that can come rescue you if something breaks down. We will do more Private tours on all future cruises. Oh, on our next cruise we are already signed up for 4 private tours and are looking at more! And yes, I am doing the Meet and Greet along with the Tracker for the Private Tours. My wife also said cost was not an issue, but we wanted a smaller group to tour with.