Shore excursions... On board or on land?

[Gilby1989]

Hi everyone!

 

What would people recommend? To buy shore excursions via celebrity or once you're on land at that place?

 

Celebrity costs seemed a little excessive imo....

[cb at sea]

Do your research with a guidebook...you may find you don't need an excursion at all! So many things are easy on your own, if you know something about where you're going! So...hit the library, get a guidebook, and prepare to save some $$$!

[lucinjo]

There are several different ways to plan shore excursions.

1. Through the ship (either on the web site in advance or onboard). This requires little planning and while often more expensive than DIY does give you the security of knowing that you will not be left behind in port if your excursion returns late. (The ship will wait for you).

2. Private excursions, planned ahead. You do the research, put together your own group, arrange payment etc. Your roll call can be invaluable for this, both for suggestions and helping to find a group of similarly interested people to share excursion costs with.

3. Private excursions not planned ahead. You can get off in port and hopefully find a guide, taxi, bus, etc. for the day. Research enough to make sure this is a viable option for all ports.

Whichever your decision check out your Roll Call. A great place to get ideas for excursions and DIY. Also the port of call section can give you ideas for your specific ports.

[ghstudio]

you can buy from celebrity and you will be with a large group and see all of the sites on the excursion. There is a bit of safety here...if there is a delay getting back to the ship, the ship will wait.

 

You will find that at almost all ports, there are many eager taxi drivers, tour operators and various others offering to take your money for a tour. Many do this trying to find someone with a good vehicle who speaks decent english. Some ports are less safe than others....that's a do your homework on the internet. As an example, I would not hire someone off the dock for a tour in Panama...but I did hire a taxi to take me to the locks, wait and take us back to the ship. It was a licensed taxi.

 

Finally, the best choice, IMHO, is to hire a private guide or join a tour with a small number of folks. These are either found by you using the various internet travel sites, or join the roll call for your cruise and you'll probably find others who have arranged a tour and are looking for others to join, etc.

This is what we do for 90% of our port excursions unless we just walk around town or do the "drop us off" tour offered by Celebrity.

[lovemylab]

I think the best option will depend on the port and what you are hoping to do there.

 

Some excursions are best to be booked through the ship (i.e. ferry through the Panama Canal) where as others can easily be done on your own. While ships tours are usually more expensive, that isn't always the case.

 

If you're cruising the Caribbean and want a beach day you can get a taxi to the beach cheaper than taking a ships excursion to the beach. However, if you're hoping to do a catamaran type excursion it's best to book these in advance. In most cases, it's cheaper to go privately but I have seen a few that are cheaper through the ship.

 

If you're doing a Mediterranean cruise, you'll rarely find tours being offered at the pier.

 

I have done private tours booked in advance and excursions through the ship. We have also just grabbed a tour at the pier when in the Caribbean. It really depends on the port and the type of excursion we'd like to do.

 

Go to the ports of call boards and do your research. Also check the roll call for your sailing. Figure out what you want to do and then start pricing the various options.

Edited January 28, 2015 by lovemylab