Private vs Celebrity Group Tours

[zlato]

Although we have experienced over 30 cruises, it has been a few years since we have sailed on larger ships (700 or more passengers). We have booked the Infinity for B2B cruises this Fall and have been debating as to whether we should arrange more private shore tours or choose the options offered by Celebrity. Obviously, the costs for private tours are considerably higher, and we do enjoy meeting new people from all over the globe. However, I still have some bad memories about the "herd" mentality of some of the shore tours; i.e, being assigned a time slot to meet in a large gathering pen, being trampled by those who must get to the assigned bus ahead of others in order to choose their bus seats, someone in front of me who is determined to recline their seat so that their head is in my lap, someone complaining that they cannot hear or that the volume is too loud or the temperature is too hot or cold and so-on and so-on. Have any of the procedures changed? Has civility replaced the "herd" mentality on the larger ships? We are not snobs and enjoy the company of others so long as we are not distracted by the tour procedures. Please update us so that we can maximize the tours without the distractions (if they still exist) of

group tours.

[Lsimon]

You've pointed out some of the negatives about cruise ship sponsored tours which occur on some types of tours. Personally, I feel that in some cases cruise line tours are the best option and we've been on some fantastic ones. There is no blanket across the board answer as to whether a ship's tour or private tour will be better in all cases. You can't even make a blanket statement about cost as sometimes the ship's tours are better deals and sometimes not.

 

We always investigate the options at a port by reading the list of available ships' tours along with alternative ideas from reading the Cruise Critic ports of call forums and a little internet research using Google. You can sometimes even find reviews of ship's tours here on Cruise Critic and remember the names and tours offered are identical between RCL and Celebrity and even some other cruise lines. Only after doing a little very basic research do we decide if a ship's tour, private tour, or just exploring on our own on foot or via taxi is the right option for us.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Lsimon

[lucinjo]

We have had great ships tours, mediocre ship tour and terrible ship tours. We always book through the ship when we want to do a long excursion that leaves little room for unforeseen detours or delays. (For example, the Cloud forest trip in Costa Rica - a ten hour excursion in an eleven hour port stop which involved some driving on unpaved and often muddy roads). The ship will wait if you are a ship sponsored excursion.

 

However in ports where we have more time we often like to do private excursions which can be tailored to our specific interests. We find that getting involved in our cruise Roll Call can help with meeting others to share tours with, thus bringing costs down at or below ships excursions. Only you are out with 6 or 8 people instead of 40-50. Really speeds up the bathroom breaks!

[2theship]

As Larry says, reseach is important to decide what is best for you. We often work with a combination of excursions - a ship tour here, a small group tour there and a simple self-guided walking tour in another port.

 

Roll calls are a great source for information about each port - very often someone has been there before or already done some in-depth research. We often participate in small group tours arranged by other roll call members, preferably the ones of no more than a dozen people. Any bigger than that and you might as well be on a ship's bus.

[Jenna109]

We have had great ships tours, mediocre ship tour and terrible ship tours. We always book through the ship when we want to do a long excursion that leaves little room for unforeseen detours or delays. (For example, the Cloud forest trip in Costa Rica - a ten hour excursion in an eleven hour port stop which involved some driving on unpaved and often muddy roads). The ship will wait if you are a ship sponsored excursion.

 

However in ports where we have more time we often like to do private excursions which can be tailored to our specific interests. We find that getting involved in our cruise Roll Call can help with meeting others to share tours with, thus bringing costs down at or below ships excursions. Only you are out with 6 or 8 people instead of 40-50. Really speeds up the bathroom breaks!

 

Totally agree with you and we too choose carefully - bearing in mind getting back to the ship on time.

On a princess cruise to Alaska a group left the ship by smaller boats on a ships tour. Whilst they were away the weather changed and they could not get back. The ship had to move and they were left on an island. However, they had a tour guide and a member of staff from the ship - they arranged accommodation for them and the following day Princess organised transport to return them to the ship. I now always think what if it had been a private tour?

I do prefer private tours and have organised many myself but there has to be extra time for the unexpected.

[GaryT-UK]

I travel alone, so always choose the ship's tours, if it's not an obviously DIY port, as I want the security that the ship won't go without me, and more often than not the tours are informative, well thought out and a good way to see a lot in a few hours. However I would say the herd mentality still exists (not exclusive to Celebrity) though I'd hope not to get all of the problems the OP mentions on the same trip! The ones who tend to irritate me are those who book a walking tour in a Med port & then complain it's too hot and they didn't realise there'd be a lot of walking!!! I think that's the price you pay for a larger group, but I can cope with a bit of minor irritation and I tend to end up making friends with others on these trips, so for me they are well worth it.

[Turtles06]

Like others above, we do a mix of ship tours, private tours, and DIY days. It depends on the port and also what is available.

 

We've taken two recent cruises on Celebrity, and did a ship-sponsored tour on each. I have to say that I was impressed by the organization on board. In each instance, we were instructed to meet at a specific time in the theatre, one member of the party was instructed to go up on the stage to get tickets for everyone in the party for a specific tour group number, then groups were called in order and led off the ship to the waiting buses. I thought that this was handled about as efficiently as it could be, given the numbers of people involved.

 

On one of the ship's tours, we did have a very selfish couple who, at a short photo stop, totally ignored the instructions to meet back at the bus at a specific time, and kept everyone waiting for *twenty minutes* while they did some shopping. Since the tour itself was only four hours long, their selfishness cost everyone else dearly. There are definitely downsides to touring with a large group, and they have to be factored in.

[Lsimon]

...On one of the ship's tours, we did have a very selfish couple who, at a short photo stop, totally ignored the instructions to meet back at the bus at a specific time, and kept everyone waiting for *twenty minutes* while they did some shopping. Since the tour itself was only four hours long, their selfishness cost everyone else dearly. There are definitely downsides to touring with a large group, and they have to be factored in.

 

This can also happen on private tours when you're sharing with strangers or people you've only met on roll calls. How would you have liked it if it was just you, a second couple, and that selfish couple sharing a private tour. At least with the larger group you don't have to interact much with them once you're already upset with them. We've not been in such a situation ourselves but have talked to others that had some awful excursions due solely to their excursion-mates.

[HappyTvlr]

I've always enjoyed tours booked with Celebrity. They were often booked with the same local tour operators that one could book privately, but I enjoy them having the responsibility for getting us back on time. I feel this is worth the extra cost that may be included for Celebrity.

[Kartgv]

As others have said, we do both depending on circumstances. If it's a port we've been in before and/or feel very comfortable with the time available and the personal safety likelihood, then we do something on our own. If there's any question about the time required to get where we want to go vs. the departure time for the ship, then we do ship's tours. (At least 3 times, we've been on ship's tours that arrived back at the pier AFTER the declared departure time; in each case, the ship was waiting for us.) We're more likely to do ship's tours if it's a tender port and time is short - passengers on ship's tours get to disembark first. If our Roll Call is doing something that really appeals to us and the people seem compatible, then we go with it.

 

We've had good and bad experiences on all types of tours. A few 'bad apples' who ignore all instructions and are just generally annoying can be on any tour (as well as on any other activity on the ship) and make it frustrating for everyone else. By the way, we've never been on a tour bus that had reclining seats, so that particular complaint is new to us! We've met nice, interesting people on ship's tours that we might not have met otherwise and ended up doing other things with them. Just look at the circumstances in each port rather than make a hard and fast "either/or" decision for all tours.

[donaldsc]

In general, and this is obviously an over simplification, almost any shp tour will be inferior to a private tour. The ship tour will be mre expensive, over people, and you will see less. I do occasionally take ship tours but only when there is no alternative. I have never ever had a problem w a private tour.

 

DON

[jelayne]

Small private tours are our preference, cost less, see more. Ideally a group of 8 or less works best in our experience. We do ships tours about 5-10% of the time, never had a "horrible experience" but have had a number where the walking requirements were ignored by some who booked so the entire group was slowed down by a few.

[zlato]

Thanks for all your responses. Another question: if the private tour is arranged by Celebrity, will the ship "wait" if said private tour is delayed in returning to the ship as it would with tour buses?

[jelayne]

Private tours are not arranged by Celebrity. Generally someone on the roll call for the cruise researches and arranges a tour with an independent tour operator.

 

Will the ship wait if the tour is delayed? They don't have to wait however a reputable tour operator will make sure you are back to the ship in time. Also if there is a significant problem, eg mud slide, major accident closing a road to the port that would delay the ships tours as well as the independent tours.

 

If you haven't already joined your roll call you should join and see what your fellow cruisers have planned both for port days as well as sea days.

[ghstudio]

Thanks for all your responses. Another question: if the private tour is arranged by Celebrity, will the ship "wait" if said private tour is delayed in returning to the ship as it would with tour buses?

 

That's probably going to be a hard question to answer because, yes, the celebrity excursion concierge will arrange private tours but since they are very expensive, few actually set up private tours through the ship. You might ask celebrity directly....

[Lsimon]

In general, and this is obviously an over simplification, almost any shp tour will be inferior to a private tour. The ship tour will be mre expensive, over people, and you will see less. I do occasionally take ship tours but only when there is no alternative. I have never ever had a problem w a private tour.

 

DON

 

Sorry but I disagree completely with your statement.

 

It really depends on the nature of the tour.

 

A good example of a ship's tour which is more expensive, and for which your statements are correct, is going to the beach or a basic island tour in the Caribbean. Most ship's tours are much more expensive then putting several people in a taxi to the beach, or arranging a tour with a local taxi driver or tour guide, have less flexibility as to timing and food/drink provided and do go to fewer places due to the issues of organizing a large group as well as have the difficulties relating to a large group - presuming the group is large (not all ship's tours are).

 

A good example of a tour which may cost less and for which most of your statements are not correct is touring major sites in a place like Rome Italy. Most private tours are basically transportation with a knowledgeable driver who will take your small group from place to place and explain what you should see after get out of the car. Because it is a small group traveling a long distance the prices are generally much higher per person than a cruise line tour. When you get to a specific tourist spot you are on your own until you are done in that location and meet your driver again unless you spend additional money for a licensed tour guide. Ship's tours always include a licensed tour guide in such places and the guide accompanies the group explaining what you're seeing, answering questions and making sure you see some specific areas that you might not even know about if you didn't have a guide. As to which tour you'll be able to see more on: A private tour might be able to take you to a greater number of different sites in Rome than a ship's tour because of the small vehicle and small group but with a licensed guide you may see more while you are at a specific site since the guide knows what there is to see there.

 

Like most things in life there is no general answer that applies to all locations, all types of tours and all people. It really depends on both the location and the individual. Some people are much more comfortable with ship's tours and some people feel the opposite way. Some like to research what there is to see and what tour operators are available and some just like Celebrity to handle everything beyond looking through a short list of available ship's tours. Some have no worries about missing the ship and could manage the small risk that they might and some just can't handle accepting that risk.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Lsimon

[Lsimon]

Thanks for all your responses. Another question: if the private tour is arranged by Celebrity, will the ship "wait" if said private tour is delayed in returning to the ship as it would with tour buses?

 

We've been on small, almost private, tours which were one of the excursions on the general excursion list. We were with others, so not completely private, but in a smaller van rather than a large bus. In this situation I'm sure the ship would wait as it would with tour buses.

 

I'm also aware that the ship's concierge might arrange private driver/tours on an individual basis which are not part of the excursion department's offerings - although I don't know anyone who has actually done this. I have no idea if the ship tracks these and would wait as they might for an excursion department arraigned tour. But this would be an excellent question to ask the concierge when and if you are asking about them arranging such a tour.

[melsuli]

OOps

Edited June 11, 2014 by melsuli
mis quote

[Turtles06]

This can also happen on private tours when you're sharing with strangers or people you've only met on roll calls. How would you have liked it if it was just you, a second couple, and that selfish couple sharing a private tour. At least with the larger group you don't have to interact much with them once you're already upset with them. We've not been in such a situation ourselves but have talked to others that had some awful excursions due solely to their excursion-mates.

 

Larry, I thought about pointing out that possibility in my initial post, and you are of course correct that it can happen on any type of excursion. But I hope that the smaller size of a private excursion, which makes everyone less "anonymous" if you will and more accountable to a very small group of people, would tend to cut down on that sort of behavior. I guess we have been lucky so far on our private tours, and I will keep my fingers crossed for the future! :)

[melsuli]

Sorry but I disagree completely with your statement.

 

It really depends on the nature of the tour.

 

A good example of a ship's tour which is more expensive, and for which your statements are correct, is going to the beach or a basic island tour in the Caribbean. Most ship's tours are much more expensive then putting several people in a taxi to the beach, or arranging a tour with a local taxi driver or tour guide, have less flexibility as to timing and food/drink provided and do go to fewer places due to the issues of organizing a large group as well as have the difficulties relating to a large group - presuming the group is large (not all ship's tours are).

 

A good example of a tour which may cost less and for which most of your statements are not correct is touring major sites in a place like Rome Italy. Most private tours are basically transportation with a knowledgeable driver who will take your small group from place to place and explain what you should see after get out of the car. Because it is a small group traveling a long distance the prices are generally much higher per person than a cruise line tour. When you get to a specific tourist spot you are on your own until you are done in that location and meet your driver again unless you spend additional money for a licensed tour guide. Ship's tours always include a licensed tour guide in such places and the guide accompanies the group explaining what you're seeing, answering questions and making sure you see some specific areas that you might not even know about if you didn't have a guide. As to which tour you'll be able to see more on: A private tour might be able to take you to a greater number of different sites in Rome than a ship's tour because of the small vehicle and small group but with a licensed guide you may see more while you are at a specific site since the guide knows what there is to see there.

 

Like most things in life there is no general answer that applies to all locations, all types of tours and all people. It really depends on both the location and the individual. Some people are much more comfortable with ship's tours and some people feel the opposite way. Some like to research what there is to see and what tour operators are available and some just like Celebrity to handle everything beyond looking through a short list of available ship's tours. Some have no worries about missing the ship and could manage the small risk that they might and some just can't handle accepting that risk.

 

Spot on, I usually visit the roll call forum of my intended cruise and compare the prices/itineraries between the private and ship's tours.

 

In my experience the private ones are more experience but easily more tailored to the smaller groups.

 

It is a common misconception about the ship's tours being over priced and over crowded.

 

Long may it continue though, plenty more room for the rest of us.

;)

[Banjo]

I do both. I had some excellent Celebrity tours and private tours. Likewise, 'so-so' tours with both. When Celebrity tour takes you to shopping location in a isolated area or a private tour tell you on the dock, "no tour today, not enough signed up". Price-wise, I found not much difference between the two.

 

My suggestion, just do your research.

[Redtravel]

I have taken ship tours. I have also gone on privately organized tours. Check your roll call. There maybe people on there that are looking to share a small group tour. I prefer small groups. The ship tours are usually very large. Often the tour guide can only be heard by those lucky few close to them. Check out the reviews for comments about tours. Tours are usually good. Some tours are bad. Celebrity tours do provide some reliability of getting you back to the ship before it sails. If they get delayed, the ship waits for the tour to return. On your own, you risk missing the ship. Always, take your passport, a credit card, and ship agent phone number with you when you get off the ship. If you miss the ship, call the agent.

[BKFlowerMound]

Sorry but I disagree completely with your statement.

 

It really depends on the nature of the tour.

 

A good example of a ship's tour which is more expensive, and for which your statements are correct, is going to the beach or a basic island tour in the Caribbean. Most ship's tours are much more expensive then putting several people in a taxi to the beach, or arranging a tour with a local taxi driver or tour guide, have less flexibility as to timing and food/drink provided and do go to fewer places due to the issues of organizing a large group as well as have the difficulties relating to a large group - presuming the group is large (not all ship's tours are).

 

A good example of a tour which may cost less and for which most of your statements are not correct is touring major sites in a place like Rome Italy. Most private tours are basically transportation with a knowledgeable driver who will take your small group from place to place and explain what you should see after get out of the car. Because it is a small group traveling a long distance the prices are generally much higher per person than a cruise line tour. When you get to a specific tourist spot you are on your own until you are done in that location and meet your driver again unless you spend additional money for a licensed tour guide. Ship's tours always include a licensed tour guide in such places and the guide accompanies the group explaining what you're seeing, answering questions and making sure you see some specific areas that you might not even know about if you didn't have a guide. As to which tour you'll be able to see more on: A private tour might be able to take you to a greater number of different sites in Rome than a ship's tour because of the small vehicle and small group but with a licensed guide you may see more while you are at a specific site since the guide knows what there is to see there.

 

Like most things in life there is no general answer that applies to all locations, all types of tours and all people. It really depends on both the location and the individual. Some people are much more comfortable with ship's tours and some people feel the opposite way. Some like to research what there is to see and what tour operators are available and some just like Celebrity to handle everything beyond looking through a short list of available ship's tours. Some have no worries about missing the ship and could manage the small risk that they might and some just can't handle accepting that risk.

 

There's more to the story on cost. Even with the example that Larry chose here, the private tour of Rome, it can be cheaper to do it privately than the Celebrity excursion. If you are doing a tour with just 2 people, it would be cheaper to do the ship's tour. If you go to 4, it's about a break even proposition. If you move to 8 as we did, it's cheaper (and a way better experience IMHO) to do it privately than the Celebrity tour.

 

We did a private tour of Rome with Rome in Limo for much less than the equivalent Celebrity tour. We had to hire our guide for the Vatican (which they arranged) separately, pre-buy site tickets (like the Vatican and Coliseum) and pay for our lunch, but even with those costs and a hefty tip to the driver, it was still less expensive and offered way more. We saw double the number of sights, we had a nice Mercedes van with just 8 people, we ate lunch in a very nice Trattoria (not a Hotel banquet facility), we stopped for Gelato, we had private guides for just the 8 of us, and we set our own pace. (Larry is right that there is a difference between the driver and the guide - the guide is extra).

 

One disadvantage of the private tour is that we had to arrange it ourselves (e.g., reserve with Rome in Limo, pre-purchase sight tickets, arrange the guides, do the research, etc.). Most of that research was done right here on Cruise Critic. We consider a lot of that stuff to be fun too but if someone doesn't like doing it or doesn't have the time, they can go with the herd.

 

Another disadvantage is where do you get a group to make the costs worthwhile. We are a family of four that found another family of four from our town who were going on the same cruise. We met them before the cruise and we are still good friends today. Even without that, you can look on the roll calls for your particular cruise to see if there are others who might want to tour with you. Of course, that's a risk but you have somewhat the same risk on the larger tours too.

[rubydoobydoo]

We usually do both, but if a tour involves any great distance from the ship then I prefer to book the ship tour just for peace of mind.

 

If I know I can easily make my way back to the ship on my own in plenty of time should something go wrong then I will go private.

 

It really does pay to do some research beforehand as I have booked ships tours that I could easily have done myself for a lot less, 2 examples were the Flam Railway and a Gondola ride in Venice, hubby booked that one as a surprise for my birthday, it was a fortune and he thought there would be just the two of us on the gondola, wrong, we shared it with 4 others, we could have paid for it ourselves for a fraction of the cost

 

You live and learn :D

[wineoclock]

We have done a mix of both. Last year we did private excursions but booked with celebrity. The cost was easily triple what we would have paid if we had (for example) gone with Rome in limo but we had security of knowing the ship would wait for us if anything happened or arrange accommodation if necessary. I'm limited mobility & was in a wheelchair last year so I didn't need the extra stress of worrying about any unforeseen circumstances. Was it expensive, yes. Was it worth peace of mind, yes. But if I wasn't limited mobility & didn't have young children I would have gone DIY!