Advice please on Avoiding Expensive Excursions!!

[swantp]

Hi, We're just about to commence our second cruise in a couple of weeks to the Caribbean on board P&O's Azura, last time, three years ago we were on Ventura. Our itinerary is

Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitts, St Maarten, Tortola, Curacao, Bonaire and Barbados again.

 

When we went last time we did official excursions and I remember talking to quite a few people on board who were regular cruisers who avoided these costly trips, quite successfully, sorting themselves out elsewhere. I've looked at Liverpool Cruise Line's (who we booked with) and theirs are pretty pricey too.

 

Can anyone give any tips on alternative options together with any "do not miss" places in any particular Ports?

 

Thank you

[CruiserBruce]

A little reading on the boards would find the following info:

 

1. Not all ports require excursions. Many can be seen by simply walking around, perhaps taking public transit or a taxi.

 

2. Research is required. Start with the Ports boards, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

3. Private tours (recommendations on the Ports boards) are frequently a far better use of your time and money.

 

4. Guide books can be quite helpful. Again, recommendations found on the Ports boards.

 

5. Lastly, be weary of "do not miss" issues. What interests you after research is more important than "do not miss".

Edited January 21, 2014 by CruiserBruce

[PORT ROYAL]

A little reading on the boards would find the following info:

 

1. Not all ports require excursions. Many can be seen by simply walking around, perhaps taking public transit or a taxi.

 

2. Research is required. Start with the Ports boards, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

3. Private tours (recommendations on the Ports boards) are frequently a far better use of your time and money.

 

4. Guide books can be quite helpful. Again, recommendations found on the Ports boards.

 

5. Lastly, be weary of "do not miss" issues. What interests you after research is more important than "do not miss".

 

Absolutely super advice. Also may one suggest the ROLL CALL thread for your specific cruise and join the meet/mingle.

 

Bye the bye. Welcome to CC you are among friends and have joined possibly the best club in the World

Edited January 21, 2014 by PORT ROYAL

[mom says]

Excellent advice from the previous posters. You will find very good recommendations on non-cruise ship excursions on the individual islands on the ports of call forum. If you want reliable second opinions, either ask on your roll call thread, or check them out on TripAdvisor.

[calliopecruiser]

4. Guide books can be quite helpful. Again, recommendations found on the Ports boards.

 

5. Lastly, be weary of "do not miss" issues. What interests you after research is more important than "do not miss".

 

These are the most important points, IMO.......research the ports yourself and see what catches your eye and your imagination. It may not be what other people like, and may not be what other people think you must (or shouldn't bother) seeing. I find that has been very true for me in the past, and now I'm much more careful about researching myself and going with my gut about what to see and do - and I'm not afraid to say "no thanks, you go on ahead and I'll go to see XYZ instead".

[luddite]

Expensive or over-priced?

There is a difference.

Researching on Cruise Critic is a good idea.

Edited January 21, 2014 by luddite

[Hlitner]

The OPs post made me smile. So, how to avoid expensive excursions? The answer is actually very simple, do not book them! DW and I travel all over the world and rarely take any kind of excursion or tour, preferring to simply do our own thing. When I see the ports mentioned by the OP (places we know quite well) there is not even any thought of doing a single tour on any of those islands with one exception. On Bonaire we cannot imagine stopping at that island and not spending a few hours on the "Woodwind" which is a local boat operated by a couple of lovely ladies (hello Dee) that takes their charges on a wonderful drift snorkel (usually in the slot between Bonaire and Klein Bonaire). But DW and I are beach and water people, which to many is the main reason to go to the Caribbean (sun and sand). On an island like St Maarten (we have previously rented an apartment on the French side) we would choose between a beach, perhaps some time browsing the ships in Phillispburg, and on some trips we would rent a car to enjoy a combination of things or drive to one of our favorite beaches where there will be zero cruise ship passengers. We were recently in Curacao (on a port day) and arranged to rent a car which we used to drive over 20 miles from the port to a part of the island that has some wonderful desserted beaches (like Jeremy) where we can snorkel, relax in the sand, swim, etc. And there are actually a few small villages where we can stop for lunch without seeing any buses (none within 15 miles) or hoards of cruisers. On Dominca we love to snorkel at Champagne Reef (this is unique). But rather then spend the big bucks on an organized tour we sometimes just take one of the island buses to the shore-side entrance, and walk the path down to the water from where we can then easily swim over to the same snorkel area that some folks are paying over $100 to see. Our cost would be no more then $20 (we have our own snorkel gear). And the snorkel shop at Champagne Reef is also a nice place to grab an after snorkel drink or snack before finding a bus, taxi, or a ride back to town.

 

My suggestion to the OP is to carefully browse the appropriate CC Ports of Call boards and see what others suggest for each of your islands.

 

Hank

[John Bull]

Barbados, Hire a moke & head for the wild Atlantic coast? Look around Bridgetown? Friday nite or Saturday nite at Oistins fish-fry? Or any number of taxi / minibus trips or beaches.

 

Grenada. Plenty of minibuses at the port, and fellow-cruisers looking to share. Best is a trip into the rainforest, a spice stop & a waterfall, then viewpoint by the forts overlooking St George, and get dropped on Grand Anse beach for a swim or a laze & a few beers. Then take the water taxi back to your ship. Minibus about $20 pp, water taxi about $6 pp. Take your beach gear.

 

Dominica. Same routine. Up into the rainforest to Emerald pool/waterfall, then Trafalgar Falls & the nearby warm sulphur-heated pools. Again about $20pp.

Again, take beach gear.

 

St Kitts. Same routine. Circular tour of the island, various stops, mebbe end with time at a beach - driver will wait or come back. About $15pp (but check itineraries, some as little as $10 but very poor. Again, take beach gear.

 

St Maarten. Very organised, fleet of minibuses to different places such as Marigot (on the French side), Orient Beach, Maho Beach. As one leaves, the next fills. For something different, try Maho Beach

Always taxi coming back from those places.

Philipsburg is your cheapest port for duty-frees & there's a beach behind the shops.

 

Tortola. Quite limited. Try minibus to Cane Garden Beach. Always minibuses coming back from there. IIRC $9 pp e/w.

Ferry to Virgin Gorda is waaaay cheaper than ship's excursion. But if the return ferry is cancelled or over-subscribed there's no Plan B. Small risk, but major consequences.

 

Curacao. Mebbe walk to town, very Dutch architecture, very attractive shops but not cheap.

 

Bonaire. Very limited, not worth a tour. Mebbe water taxi to Kleine (Little) Bonaire for snorkelling off No Name Beach.

 

In all these places taxi & minibus drivers at the port are honest, trustworthy, friendly. They're known to the authorities & to each-other. They know their islands & they know the importance of back-on-board time. Agree itinerary & price (USD) pp before you board, unless it's a one-way pay when you get back - its the norm.

Be very very much more wary of offers further from the port - they may not even be licensed or insured.

 

Overall about a third the cost of ships' tours but no food/drink/any minor admission fees. And much more flexible and fun.

 

BTW, RollCalls on Brit ships are usually quite disappointing, we Brits don't tend to go in for them.

But you'll meet plenty of folk on the ship (esp if you've booked for a large dinner table) & you'll probably go ashore mob-handed. If not, there'll be plenty of sharers on the quayside.

 

Just MHO as always.

 

JB :)

Edited January 21, 2014 by John Bull

[elstyne]

We most of the time do our own land excursions. It is funny because were ever we go there is always a cruise bus right behind us. In Barbados we took the city bus to the caves. Save around 200 dollars for the two if us. Then went to a cigar rolling plant tour that was free

In curraco we took the city bus to the liquer factory /store and next to that was a coffee factory. The tour buses were again right behind us and the tours were free. All we paid for was the bus ride. We walked to the sea aquarium that took around 20 min which was a nice early morning walk and did the sea aquarium and the ships tour bus was rifts behind us again. We almost always do our own thing. Taking city buses are safe. You are on them in the day time. And everyone is there to help

[PORT ROYAL]

Absolutely super advice. Also may one suggest the ROLL CALL thread for your specific cruise and join the meet/mingle.

 

Bye the bye. Welcome to CC you are among friends and have joined possibly the best club in the World

 

Sorry! Forgot to add that the meet/mingle on the ship is the very best place to obtain details of the USA TA's who take bookings from UK cruisers. This way you get the best deals and benefits that are not obtainable with bookings from the UK. Also, when on the ship purchase an open future cruise voucher or two. They are free money, use one only voucher per stateroom booking for OBC ;)

[Karysa]

Private excursions usually save you some money compared to the ships and perhaps even offer a better experience but it's still an excursion of sorts. For instance a ship excursion with 50 people that goes to A, B, and C costs $75 but it you book with a private tour guide who may take a total of 12 people it will cost $55 and you still see A, B and C. Is this what you are looking for?

 

Sometimes we do that. Other times we rent a car and research the places that we would like to visit or do this via train or bus depending on the port.

 

The more research and independent travel you do often means more savings. At least that's what I have found.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Karysa

[cb at sea]

Learn something about where you're going BEFORE you get there! Get a guidebook! That way, you'll be able to do and see what YOU want....most things don't require excursions at all. If you find you want to do something with a guide, then you can decide whether to book thru the ship, or contact one of the private companies.

[TC1957]

Not all excursions through a cruise line are that overpriced...in my opinion. For example, we will be taking a zip-line adventure in August. On the port of call thread several were mentioning a particular company. After a little research I discovered that they AND the cruise excursion went to the same place. Therefore, you are not going to get a smaller crowd as both groups will be there at the same time. Both groups have a rather long drive and through the cruise line it is only $15 more. So, given that we will be having the same experience, a long drive and (relatively speaking) the same amount of time to spare upon return to the port we opted to book through the cruise line.

 

In our opinion, $30 is worth the piece of mind that the ship will wait if there is a problem with one of THEIR excursions returning in a timely manner. I know the probably of a mechanical problem is small, but we just bought a high end car two months ago and yesterday a computer chip decided to stop working. I will cost us nothing to repair, but things happen. Now, if we were travelling with 2 or 3 kids...the saving might be worth it.

 

Another example...if you go to Cozumel with RCI you can book a Dolphin Encounter at Chankanaab National Park for $79. If you go to the parks web site, the exact same encounter booked through them is $89 (plus cab). You pay MORE to avoid the cruise line excursion.

 

Your mileage may vary.

Edited January 21, 2014 by TC1957

[Cruisin' Chick]

Most of the time, we just go into the port on our own. I'll read some guide books and since getting fast Internet, I'll google and find tourism sites for that port (often the port website will have great suggestions too). I'll also go on the cruiseline's website and read what excursions they offer. Sometimes one of those will peak our interest or at least give ideas of things to see on our own. My hubby's rule of thumb is no renting of cars (he figures he'll get stuck with most of the driving,and he wants to relax on our cruises). So if we're doing our own sightseeing, the places on the list are not too far away (a quick taxi or bus ride or even walking distance).

 

Our last three cruises were the same itinerary, and the first one, we did a tour of the island (none of us were on the Big Island before, but hubby and I honeymooned on Kauai and Oahu the time in Hawaii before). We did another excursion so we wouldn't have to worry about transportation, and we beached and shopped the rest of the time. The next cruise, no excursions. A year ago, we did two excursions both booked through the ship (and one of them was one of our favorites of all times). I've found that there is usually not a big difference in costs between cruise line excursions I've looked at and what we can pay through an independent company (or the timing doesn't work through the latter), but maybe the types of excursions that many look at (and I'm not interested in) do have a cost savings.

[wassup4565]

First, there is no doubt that ship excursions are almost always more expensive than excursions or activities you can research and arrange yourself. True, if it's a ship excursion and the bus blows a tire, they'll hold the ship till you get there. However, if it's a local excursion and the bus blows a tire, guaranteed they will also get you back to the ship on time cuz they know they'll never get any cruisers' business again if they don't.

 

There is not one single thing in any port that appeals to everyone. If you want to zip around on machines in the water or on the land, that's very different from people who would like to look at local wildlife, or people who want to look at local architecture and history. And its also different from people who want to submerge themselves for hours finding Nemo. You can probably do all these things in any port, and as people have said, your M & M group on CC and Trip Advisor are excellent starting places. The Ports thread on CC is also a motherlode of information. The cost to you is only your time. If you're willing to to the research work on CC and Trip Advisor, you'll find everything tou need to know.

 

Or you can just do what I do. I get off the ship and slowly look at the new place I'm in. Usually I can find a grocery store and compare products and prices with those at home. And buy stuff for my friends and me - like some really unusual pasta in Venice, or some soup mix in St Kitts. Coffee for sure in San Juan. This helps me understand the new place I'm in.

 

It costs me nothing for a guide. It's usually a reasonable walk from the ship. Sometimes I vary the program by going to a pharmacy or a fabric store. I might branch out soon and try to look at hardware stores. If you want to know how people live, visit their stores. Cheapest excursion ever.

[wwcruisers]

Hi, We're just about to commence our second cruise in a couple of weeks to the Caribbean on board P&O's Azura, last time, three years ago we were on Ventura. Our itinerary is

Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitts, St Maarten, Tortola, Curacao, Bonaire and Barbados again.

 

When we went last time we did official excursions and I remember talking to quite a few people on board who were regular cruisers who avoided these costly trips, quite successfully, sorting themselves out elsewhere. I've looked at Liverpool Cruise Line's (who we booked with) and theirs are pretty pricey too.

 

Can anyone give any tips on alternative options together with any "do not miss" places in any particular Ports?

 

Thank you

 

Well, if you're into catamaran/snorkeling trips, I have two words for you, re: Barbados -- Silvermoon Catamarans. This tour is a good example of private vs ships' tours. First, neither is cheap -- but, you get what you pay for. Silvermoon Cats strictly limits the number of passengers on each sailing -- so, reservations are a must. But, you will be treated to a day on the water on what feels like your private yacht. And yes, you will see the catamarans from the ship-sponsored tours. They're the ones that are usually packed to the gills with passengers! ;)

[swantp]

Super information from everyone. Thank you all very much

[wassup4565]

Two other tips.

 

1. Some have said, "Buy a guide book." That's fine, but many Caribbean countries have tourism websites that provide excellent info (good as any guide book) about their attractions, and may even give contact info about local people you can hire for tours. Often there are maps of the island with highlights marked, which you can copy and paste.

2. On both CC in the ports section and in your M&M, (and on Trip Advisor), you will sometimes find email addresses for local providers who offer tours and services. Sometimes there are reviews and comments from people who have used these services. It might feel a little risky to book a tour or an activity with someone you've never seen, only by email. Don't be afraid to book by email. In our experience, they always show up on time, they don't try to rip you off, and they KNOW they have to get you back to the ship on time.

 

Enjoy!!!

[swantp]

Two other tips.

 

1. Some have said, "Buy a guide book." That's fine, but many Caribbean countries have tourism websites that provide excellent info (good as any guide book) about their attractions, and may even give contact info about local people you can hire for tours. Often there are maps of the island with highlights marked, which you can copy and paste.

2. On both CC in the ports section and in your M&M, (and on Trip Advisor), you will sometimes find email addresses for local providers who offer tours and services. Sometimes there are reviews and comments from people who have used these services. It might feel a little risky to book a tour or an activity with someone you've never seen, only by email. Don't be afraid to book by email. In our experience, they always show up on time, they don't try to rip you off, and they KNOW they have to get you back to the ship on time.

 

Enjoy!!!

Great, will do this, thanks for the info

[Natalia&Nick]

Great thread.

St Thomas. St Kitts. Barbados. St Martin. Dominica.

If you were to visit one non beach place, excursion or taxi, what would you do?

 

 

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[shipgeeks]

I agree, research is the best starting place. An option to websites is travel guidebooks from your public library.

We especially loved one of your ports, Bonaire. There was a small but beautiful public beach (good for easy snorkeling) about a block from the pier, and the town itself was fun to walk through. There is a tourist info kiosk right at the pier, with maps and other information.

Just make sure you choose to do what you really have an interest in, not just the "must see" attractions that someone else raves about.

[illiniwahoo]

You haven't really said what you like to do, but here's what I recommend from our trip:

Barbados: we walked to the boatyard. I would recommend taking a taxi for $4pp. The walk was about 30 minutes, but sketchy in parts. $12 pp for access to the boatyard including one drink, a chair and umbrella, and a taxi back to the ship. We payed a local $15pp (bargained down from 20) to take a 1 hr snorkel trip with sea turtles and over two shipwrecks. Snorkeling over the shipwrecks was amazing!!!

St. Lucia - Joe Knows tour. One of our best cruise days ever. they have a website for all the info. Not cheap, but worth the splurge. Kind of a party atmosphere on the way back - free flowing rum. We had a blast. This would be a splurge.

St. Maarten- We did the Americas cup yacht race. Nice, but too expensive to do again. Would be an easy cheap, beach day, which is what we did after the yacht race. Can walk to a beach right in front of town from the ship, and the locals were so friendly! Yes, lots of people would offer you beach chairs, but one "no" and rather than hassle you, they would say "have a nice day" or "enjoy our island." Many beach bars, so find the one that has the best drink specials!

 

haven't been to the others.

[wassup4565]

Great thread.

St Thomas. St Kitts. Barbados. St Martin. Dominica.

If you were to visit one non beach place, excursion or taxi, what would you do?

 

 

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Even if you`re not a beach person, hands-down my recommendation is go to Magan`s Bay in St Thomas- fabulous. There will be no problem finding local transport there - just get off the ship, keep walking saying Magan`s Bay, and you`ll get there for under ten bucks a person (probably less, I just can`t remember). Beautiful beach with trees and shade, wildlife-protected so you may see some marine animals in the water and many birds. All services available. You can walk along the beach and there are also walking paths nearby. It`s a US National Park, not just a beach.

 

St Kitt`s, hire a local taxi driver and tell him how long you want to ride around. (Two hours would be my idea, tell him to show you what he can in that time). Ask him to drop you in Basseterre - the capital, minutes walking to your ship. If you have time, buy a postcard, and then ask for directions to the Post Office so you can mail it. Biggest stamp ever!!!

 

St Martin, if you are shoppers, you must shop in Phillipsburgh, on both Front and Back streets. That will take a lot of time. Otherwise, you could go to Orient Beach, even if you don`t like beaches. There is everything to see and do there, including excellent French cuisine, people-watching, bird watching and beach walking. And if that`s not enough, you can walk the other way on Orient Beach and YIKES see the people who think it`s a good idea to take off all their clothes.

 

Barbados and Dominica - never been there

Edited January 27, 2014 by wassup4565

[Natalia&Nick]

Super. Thanks

 

 

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