Carnival excursions vs going it alone.

[NightOne]

john heald reported yesterday that the vista left 2 women in one of the ports because they missed a train somewhere. the women had to catch up the next day and wanted their money back for hotel and train to catch up with the ship!

 

so I guess it does happen!:)

 

On their own or on a tour? I am betting NOT on a tour. :)

[Smart Arsenal Fan]

 

So cavetubing.bz which is frequently well reviewed here got them back to the port and they did NOT miss the ship.

 

Bottom line is that this is not an example of a private tour operator that ran a tour where the people missed the ship.

 

Talk about in denial... :rolleyes:

 

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

[Micahs Grandad]

I agree. That doesn't sound like a private company dropping the ball, it sounds like two people going out and exploring on their own and not keeping track of time. Probably exploring on their own way too far from port. The example from the blog is closer to the tour company dropping the ball, but they still didn't miss sail away. I still think the point is it's extremely rare a tour company won't get you back in time, but always be wary of booking a private tour that takes up almost all of your time in port, because that increases the likelihood that you might be cutting it too close to get back in time.

 

Agreed and JH plays it up to scare people into taking the cruiselines overcrowded tours.

 

We have had much better tours privately but make sure to plan it and watch the time to make sure we are back well before sailing itme.

[NightOne]

 

 

 

Talk about in denial... :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

 

 

???

 

I asked for examples. None were provided but *I* am in denial???

 

Um ... whatever :)

[Smart Arsenal Fan]

 

 

???

 

I asked for examples. None were provided but *I* am in denial???

 

Um ... whatever :)

 

 

I did say not quite missed,

but as I read it, only due to the perseverance of the family scrambling to get back did they make it.

 

 

 

Maybe I'm wrong. I believe the author ( redstapler7 ) is on here regularly... let's ask her:

 

If left completely in the Operator's hands, 100% trusting & complacent, do you feel you would have missed the ship?

[glrounds]

I've never taken a Carnival sponsored excursion . . . prefer to go alone to wherever and hang with the locals and take local excursions. Never missed the ship once (knocking on wood :rolleyes:), always have a great time.

[jdemps]

I've never taken a Carnival sponsored excursion . . . prefer to go alone to wherever and hang with the locals and take local excursions. Never missed the ship once (knocking on wood :rolleyes:), always have a great time.

 

We have done a few carnival excursions and found them to be a huge time suck. I remember we looked at going to the alaskan brewery in Juneau and it was like a 4 hour excursion because of the herding of people onto busses and they dumped you into some botanic garden to shop at the end. lol - we just want the beer so we hired a cab and the whole thing was maybe 2 hours total.

 

we prefer to go it alone now too and love to eat and drink with the locals!

[Chief1369]

 

Talk about in denial... :rolleyes:

 

Doesn't appear to me that HE is the one in denial.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Chief1369

[Micahs Grandad]

We have done a few carnival excursions and found them to be a huge time suck. I remember we looked at going to the alaskan brewery in Juneau and it was like a 4 hour excursion because of the herding of people onto busses and they dumped you into some botanic garden to shop at the end. lol - we just want the beer so we hired a cab and the whole thing was maybe 2 hours total.

 

we prefer to go it alone now too and love to eat and drink with the locals!

 

Rather annoying when they drop you at gift shop for an hour whether you want to go or not. Not the way we want to do our port excursions at all.

[glrounds]

 

we prefer to go it alone now too and love to eat and drink with the locals!

 

Several years ago, the ship berthed away from town in Cozumel (7 ships there had to take the pier away from downtown). Got off the ship late, didn't want to pay for a cab all by myself so decided to walk to town (further than I thought). As I walked up this boulevard there was a bar right on the sidewalk about the size of an American kids kool-aid stand. I got a beer and I could see people eating below behind the bartender so I asked what that was. He said it's a bar and restaurant. I couldn't believe it. I took these stairs right down to the beach where about 20 American cruisers, that were also scuba divers, were taking their break filling their air tanks, drinking beer and eating fish tacos. The sea came right up to within 20 feet of the bar. I couldn't see where the kitchen was so I asked. These youngsters (25ish) said the restaurant was across the street and their waiter brought everything to them.:eek: I couldn't believe this - across 4 lanes of traffic this is how they got the food to us ! They recommended the fish tacos, so I had two fish tacos ($1) and a Sol beer ($1). They said they do this every time they go on a cruise that goes to Cozumel. Great bunch of "kids" and absolutely the best fish tacos I've ever had ! I then went on to town and found the two girls I was cruising with. I have a zillion stories about experiences with the local population and discoveries that you just cannot make running with the "herd".:)

 

Did I mention, those tacos were THE BEST FISH TACOS I EVER HAD ! :D