excursions in Alaska question

[nanabananna]

Once I am off the ship in port, how do I know where to find the tour and/or the tour guide of a particular excursion?

 

There will be many other shipmates trying to get to their tour also, I am afraid it will be a total mass of confusion! Everyone going in different directions and few in the correct direction!

 

I hope I will be headed in the right direction with a little help beforhand knowledge from this board.

Edited June 1, 2014 by nanabananna

[Jim Avery]

It is very well organized. You will have a voucher delivered to your room and each tour has a number. When you leave the gangway, you will see all the tour guides holding a small sign with the name and number of your tour. No problems.:D

[I_heart_vaca]

I agree with Jim - it was very organized when we went. We disembarked, went down the pier and at the end there was a row of buses with tour operators holding signed with numbers and tour names. Same numbers and tour names that were on the tickets we were given. They check your name off a list and don't leave until they have everyone.

[nanabananna]

I agree with Jim - it was very organized when we went. We disembarked, went down the pier and at the end there was a row of buses with tour operators holding signed with numbers and tour names. Same numbers and tour names that were on the tickets we were given. They check your name off a list and don't leave until they have everyone.

 

 

 

Thank you to both of the posters! Sure makes it better for me to know where to look and what to look for when I disembark the ship.

[DrivesLikeMario]

On your ticket that is delivered to your cabin, it will have instructions that are important to read. Many times, you'll report to the Princess Theatre at a certain time and as you walk into it, the crew will ask you what tour you're on or to see your ticket (if you don't know the exact number). They'll put a colored sticker on you and tell you where to sit with your colored group. They'll call all of you at once and you play follow-the-leader out to your vehicle/bus/boat/tender/whatever. It's very, very organized.

[Jasperdo]

This photo wasn't taken in Alaska, but it gives you an idea what to expect when you get off the ship. The tour leaders will be holding up signs with the tour number. Go up to them and they'll direct you to the proper bus.

(But as DrivesLike Mario said, not all tours meet on the pier. Sometimes you'll meet in a designated place on the ship, and led directly to your tour bus.)

 

Cartagena, Colombia by Jasperdo, on Flickr

[EdmPair]

And if you get part way thru the process and seem lost, ask anybody in a Princess uniform and he or she will get you back to your group. But I want to echo what others have said, the tour number you sign up for is given on the ticket and will be the same as the buses you take. Many times there will be multiple busses to the same site but you are assigned one and it is told to you also in writing.

 

I feel like a grade school student on many of the tours as we all have the same fluorescent coloured sticker with one guide at the front. Have fun.

M

[jean s]

Having the colored stickers on everyone makes it really easy to stay with your group. There are lots of people disembarking but it is so well organized that I have never had a problem locating and staying with my assigned group.

[nanabananna]

On your ticket that is delivered to your cabin, it will have instructions that are important to read. Many times, you'll report to the Princess Theatre at a certain time and as you walk into it, the crew will ask you what tour you're on or to see your ticket (if you don't know the exact number). They'll put a colored sticker on you and tell you where to sit with your colored group. They'll call all of you at once and you play follow-the-leader out to your vehicle/bus/boat/tender/whatever. It's very, very organized.

 

 

LOL... it is going to be fun!

[caribill]

To summarize:

 

Most morning excursions will meet in the Princess Theater (or other venue on the ship) where you will be seated with others on the same excursion. You will be led out of the theater and to the bus (or tender) as a group. The meeting time and place for your excursion will be on your excursion ticket. I suggest being there 15 minutes before the stated time as the stated time is the latest you should be there.

 

Later excursions may meet on shore. The ticket will give a time (again, be there a few minutes earlier), but the place will not be more specific than "on the dock" or something similar. So once off the ship, look for the tour rep holding up a sign with your tour number. There will be a number of Princess personnel to help direct you. If this is a tender port, be sure to allow enough time for taking the tender to shore in time to meet your tour group.

[dorisis]

Thank you to both of the posters! Sure makes it better for me to know where to look and what to look for when I disembark the ship.

 

Your number will be called from a meeting place and you will be led out to where your bus is waiting. Usually that meeting place is in the theatre.

[geoherb]

Having the colored stickers on everyone makes it really easy to stay with your group. There are lots of people disembarking but it is so well organized that I have never had a problem locating and staying with my assigned group.

But inevitably someone will get on the wrong bus in spite of having big signs in the front windows and everyone wearing a sticker of a different color. On our excursion in March to Tulum, a couple came onto the bus and complained that someone had taken their seats. Then they realized that they were on the wrong bus.

[peety3]

Once I am off the ship in port, how do I know where to find the tour and/or the tour guide of a particular excursion?

 

There will be many other shipmates trying to get to their tour also, I am afraid it will be a total mass of confusion! Everyone going in different directions and few in the correct direction!

Take a look at this picture to see what you'll find when you hop off in port: - you'll see big clipboards with the excursion number on them. You basically can't avoid walking past them, but they are by no means trying to sell you whatsoever

[sherryf]

To summarize:

 

Most morning excursions will meet in the Princess Theater (or other venue on the ship) where you will be seated with others on the same excursion. You will be led out of the theater and to the bus (or tender) as a group. The meeting time and place for your excursion will be on your excursion ticket. I suggest being there 15 minutes before the stated time as the stated time is the latest you should be there.

 

I've taken 5 Alaskan cruises on Princess, and I've done about 7 Princess excursions (I try to go independent if I can but some things they will only let you book through the cruise line) and I have NEVER met for an excursion on the ship. It has always been a meeting place on shore, regardless of time of day.

 

Also, despite what Jasperdo's photo shows, I've rarely seen anything that organized and tidy in Alaska. There are dozens of those tour guides standing around, and hundreds of people all trying to get off the ship at once, and depending on the dock, there can be limited space. Sometimes it can be quiet a mob scene. The photo that peety3 shared is more like it. Many of the tour guides are good about holding the signs above their heads so you can see them over the crowd, but sometimes it takes a bit of looking around to find the right one. Do allow plenty of time to get off the ship and find the right guide!

 

Since the OP is inquiring specifically about Alaska, I thought I'd add my Alaska-specific experience. Hope it helps.

[TM]

You might also want to consider booking independent tours in Alaska. They can definitely be done cheaper than Princess tours and you won't have 45 of your closest friends with you, a few of whom will always be late returning to the bus and delaying everyone else. Tours in Alaska are very easy to book. Just go to the Alaska ports of call board and see what others have done and what is recommended. In Juneau you can do independent whale watching tours. You can even take a local bus to Mendenhall Glacier. In Skagway you can use Chilkoot Charters for the train ride on the White Pass Railroad. Each port offers something unique including plane or helicopter tours available at each port. Good luck and enjoy your vacation in Alaska. It is absolutely spectacular.

[RNGALNG]

Everyone has described how it works to a "T." I got excited just reading everyone's description. I want it to be my turn next but, alas, I have to wait a while.

 

Your tickets will be in an envelope on the desk in your room. Be sure to look ahead of time to make sure they are all there and the right ones. You will have time to straighten things out when the excursion desk is open if they aren't.

 

On the tickets, it will have your names, the tour, the number, day, port, and most important, the time and where you are to meet.

 

Enjoy your cruise. I hope you have some fun things picked out!

[weaselgirl]

Could I ask how much time before your excursion you're typically asked to meet in the Princess theater? For example, I have an excursion that begins at 7. I'm a bear to deal with if I don't get breakfast, so I'm trying to plan ahead as far as timing goes. Thanks.

[caribill]

Could I ask how much time before your excursion you're typically asked to meet in the Princess theater? For example, I have an excursion that begins at 7. I'm a bear to deal with if I don't get breakfast, so I'm trying to plan ahead as far as timing goes. Thanks.

 

It will likely say to meet there by 6:45.

[gagenie]

We have booked independent tours at different ports so I'm assuming we just meet where the tour company tells us to meet them? Sorry, first cruise

[caribill]

We have booked independent tours at different ports so I'm assuming we just meet where the tour company tells us to meet them? Sorry, first cruise

 

Correct. And be sure to have a contact phone number for them if you do not see the rep at the appropriate place.