Carnival vs Private Excursions

[thall1719]

I know the main reason to book with Carnival is they wait and make sure you get back on the ship. I just would like to do something a little more private at some of the ports...

 

As anyone had a bad experience booking privately? I can see booking a private sailing charter and have something go wrong preventing us getting back to the ship in time and having a family of 6 to get to the next port would be very expensive....

 

Maybe it's worth the peace of mind knowing you will get back on board?

 

Thanks!

[crooooze]

We have not had issues booking privately. Many times we just get off the ship and catch a tour from the operators right at the pier. We keep an eye on the time throughout the tour to help make sure we get back in time. We also usually have trip insurance, which mitigates the cost risk, but have never had an issue.

 

Depending on the port, you have a lot more options touring outside the cruise line.

[riffatsea]

We do both and have never had a problem.

It really depends on the particular port and what is available. I think you would be better off asking specific questions about the ports you will visit on the Port of Call board.

[True Texan]

It depends on the ports and what we want to do vs what the ship offers and at what price. For instance on our next cruise we have booked with Carnival in Jamaica, in Grand Cayman and Cozumel we have booked independently.

[crusinpsychRN]

Did a private tour in Aruba and had a 6 hour excursion with no bathroom breaks, dropped off at a beach with no facilities or chairs or umbrellas for an hour. It was dumb.

 

Went with Sonny in St. Thomas and he was unduly loud and got nasty with a guest who asked him to tone it down a bit.

 

Other than those I've always had good private excursions.

[Nic6318]

Hi Thall

 

Absolutely, it depends on the port and what you are thinking of doing.

 

You have to figure if there is any reasonable option available to return to port if something on your excursion went wrong. I am not talking about an accident where someone was injured and needed medical treatment. For that you would need insurance no matter what you choose to do. You have to allow reasonable time in your planning.

 

We have done both over the years. We have never been delayed significantly through 3rd. party tours. We have been delayed with a ship excursion and the ship was held for us (as they promise). We understood there was the possibility of delays due to the nature of the excursion and that is why we chose the ship's excursion.

 

hope this helps

have a great cruise

[Bases5]

For years we did private excursions and never had any real issue,

Do your research, check ports of call board and trip advisor.

Usually they are less crowded and do more things for a better price.

But there is always a little bit of stress about finding the operator, getting there on time

getting back on time as you well know.

 

As we have gotten older we have started doing more ship bought excursion,

It just seems so much more relaxing to me.

I still research and if I find something I must do privately I will not hesitate.

But for me now I just like the stress free peace of mind cruise line excursion.

[Karnyval]

When you book a private excursion. you accept the risk that Carnival normally would have. It is a gamble, although usually not much of one. It is a price that needs to be accounted for in any perceived savings over a ship excursion.

[idil]

I know the main reason to book with Carnival is they wait and make sure you get back on the ship. I just would like to do something a little more private at some of the ports...

 

As anyone had a bad experience booking privately? I can see booking a private sailing charter and have something go wrong preventing us getting back to the ship in time and having a family of 6 to get to the next port would be very expensive....

 

Maybe it's worth the peace of mind knowing you will get back on board?

 

Thanks!

 

Ask the tour operator the length of the tour, and mention the time you need to be on the ship. I'm sure at these ports all the tour operators, cab drivers, etc are familiar with the cruise passengers and their requirements.

 

If you have a cell phone with you, you can put your alarm clock on say 1,5 hours before you need to be back at the port and take it from there.

 

At each port, that's how we did.. our ship required us to be on the ship latest at 4:30pm, which we put several alarms and the latest one was always 3:15pm. And we were back way before that as I wrote in my review.

 

Good luck and have fun :)

[joeyancho]

Ship tours are not flexible. They have a predetermined route. They take you where they want and to the shops they want you to shop at. A self arranged tour will take you where you want to go. Do your homework and figure out where you want to go and what you want to see. Tell your guide what you want and he or she will be happy to oblige. Tell him what time you need to be back and you should have no problem. Also ask him for any ideas or places you may have missed. Don't forget to try the local cuisine. He will know the best places to eat. Self arranged tours will be more fun and cheaper.

[coevan]

A little OCD? Let google or Trip Advisor be your friend. Most tour operaters work independently and contract cruises as well. however, on guy might have RCCL contract and another CCL. My son Captained a shore excursion in STT and laughed at the guests paranoia. They know exactly when the ship is leaving, have direct phone lines to the ship. Their reputation is on line. STT is not an issue with ship's time, but other islands affected by different time zones, the local Captains and tour guides know the ship time better then you, relax, their only job is for you to have fun and get you back to the ship on time.

[maldenmusic]

We have always done private tours in Progreso and Cozumel. Will do the same when we are in Costa Maya and Grand Cayman.

[boxermom73]

A little OCD? Let google or Trip Advisor be your friend. Most tour operaters work independently and contract cruises as well. however, on guy might have RCCL contract and another CCL. My son Captained a shore excursion in STT and laughed at the guests paranoia. They know exactly when the ship is leaving, have direct phone lines to the ship. Their reputation is on line. STT is not an issue with ship's time, but other islands affected by different time zones, the local Captains and tour guides know the ship time better then you, relax, their only job is for you to have fun and get you back to the ship on time.

 

We had several guides tell us that it's thier livelihood on the line and so they make sure to get you back! Plus they are doing it everyday during the tourist season.... in all my cruises I have never did a ship excursion...

[Micahs Grandad]

We started with ship excursions but about 25 cruises ago did almost all privately.

 

They are better, cheaper and less crowded. Why do one on a 50 passenger bus when you can do it for same or usually better price in a much smaller van.

 

Just make sure tour is scheduled back well before sailing time.

 

Dont remember anyone ever complaining on these boards about missing the ship due to excursion getting back late.

[thanna]

We always book privately and never have a problem. I think it is important to support the local economy. When you book with Carnival a large portion (40%) goes into their pocket and not the local economy.

[Micahs Grandad]

We always book privately and never have a problem. I think it is important to support the local economy. When you book with Carnival a large portion (40%) goes into their pocket and not the local economy.

 

Very true. Besides word of mouth critical to these tour companies. Miss a ship and it will come back and haunt them.

[Smart Arsenal Fan]

But back in the day I used to be more open to whoever, but after a close call "cliff vs. van ride" :eek:, I now have a bit more concern banging around in my head about 3rd party's liability insurance, so for my peace of mind, it is more cruise line excursions for me esp. when with the family.

And I've had some good luck with Carnival's price matching so an added plus there. ;)

[FLSteve11]

We have always done private tours in Progreso and Cozumel. Will do the same when we are in Costa Maya and Grand Cayman.

 

Cozumel is fine if you're staying on the island. I would do a ship excursion if going to the mainland. There are too many problems with weather and that 45 minute ferry ride for me to feel the risk on that one. Particularly for a longer tour that does not give much leeway in getting back.

[dltvermont]

WE have always done private tours. This past May we had to choose a CCL tour only because the private one was booked. It was the same company as the private one. The Private was a bit cheaper so I put in for price protection with CCL and got it.

 

As was said above, it is their livelihood and if they got someone back late to the ship, it would get around REAL fast and would end their reputation.

 

That being said, along with timing, you want to think about the TYPE of tour you are planning. I have a friend who decided to do a ship tour instead of private as they would be horseback riding etc and turns out he is lucky he did as his gf ended up spraining her ankle and 1, they would have been late back to the ship and 2, the medical costs were covered by the cruise line. Had this happened on a private tour, it would have been out of their pocket.

[evandbob]

When I was a new cruiser, I stuck with ship excursions for the most part. As I got to know how things worked, I branched out to independents.

 

Only you can decide your level of comfortability. I know I learned a lot through my own experience, comparing excursions with dinner mates while on board, trying different cruise lines, and finally, reading reports here on CC.

[OCruisers]

I know the main reason to book with Carnival is they wait and make sure you get back on the ship. I just would like to do something a little more private at some of the ports...

 

As anyone had a bad experience booking privately? I can see booking a private sailing charter and have something go wrong preventing us getting back to the ship in time and having a family of 6 to get to the next port would be very expensive....

 

Maybe it's worth the peace of mind knowing you will get back on board?

 

Thanks!

 

What are your Ports of Call?

[Foxinspace]

Our first cruise we booked 2 tours all independently of the ship. It was a bit intimidating walking out the gates to find our tour guides. Lots of people approaching and asking if we needed a tour.

 

Several tours later, I am so much more comfortable with it. We don't even blink.

 

Of our 8 excursions we've booked just 1 was through the ship, that one was in Port Canaveral to go to visit Nasa, and it was just easier. Two of our excursions we booked on the ground after we arrived in port, just walked off the ship with a vague idea of what we wanted to do and found a tour. Even those we had no problem getting back on time, we kept on eye on the time and that was it.

 

I would say, if your nervous do a bunch of research and get recommendations from the ports of call boards. Check out trip-advisor also. If you're in a port with a limit stay (one of ours was 7am to 1pm) than don't go to far from the ship.

 

Have a great time!!

[NightOne]

I know the main reason to book with Carnival is they wait and make sure you get back on the ship. I just would like to do something a little more private at some of the ports...

 

As anyone had a bad experience booking privately? I can see booking a private sailing charter and have something go wrong preventing us getting back to the ship in time and having a family of 6 to get to the next port would be very expensive....

 

Maybe it's worth the peace of mind knowing you will get back on board?

 

Thanks!

 

Just want to add:

 

For years and years people have been saying here: "If you take a private excursion the ship will not wait for you if you are late coming back and you can miss the ship"

 

and for all those years and years I don't recall seeing a single legitimate case of someone missing the ship because of a private excursion with a reputable 3rd party provider not getting them back to the ship on time.

 

So if it happens then it is ultra-rare.

 

I have done both private and ship tours in the past and would consider either one in the future depending on the details of the excursion.

[balcony bound]

We do some of both, but have become pretty firm with ourselves not to do private excursions that involve private boat transportation.

 

Our private excursion in St. Lucia experienced mechanical failure with their boat which turned our day into a stressful and unhappy situation. We did make it back to the ship with a moment to spare, but it was our worst day cruising and we have no inclination to repeat it.

 

While I realize it may not be common to have transportation failures, we only have so much time in port and only cruise so often - just not worth the stress or worrying about it on our vacation.

 

We've had a great time on both ship sponsored tours and private ones. Choose what is most comfortable for you; if you are nervous or hesitant, choose something you can relax and enjoy!

[MMastell]

In 46 cruises I've done five or six ship's excursions and three were the worst excursions I've ever had. I have not had a bad, privately booked, excursion and there have been a lot of them.

 

The bad ship's tours were:

 

A Jeep tour of Aruba. The Jeep broke down, driver went on in another Jeep to send back a tow truck and get us back to the ship. We waited two hours and then started walking until we saw another tour, from another cruise line, and got in with them to get back to the port. My wife had a softball size bruise because she had to ride on the center console, on rocky roads, until we got back to the ship.

 

The other ship tour was to Alhambra, in Spain, the guide was the worst ever. It was 1.5 hours each way and all the way to Alhambra all he talked about was how terrible Franco was and the current political elections. He was asked, on the way back, to give us information on the area and no politics. He barely spoke for next 1.5 hours.

 

Did a ship tour, fishing charter, in Puerto Vallarta and the engine went out on the boat. Luckily the local harbor patrol towed us back in but we barely made it back to the ship on time. The ship had no idea that we had trouble.

 

We did receive refunds on the Aruba and Puerto Vallarta tour but no refund, or partial refund, on the Alhambra tour. We did get to see Alhambra and the guide at the site was very good.

 

The rest of our tours we have pre-booked with private tours and guides and some of the best excursions and tours we've ever had were from taxi drivers or locals. The man we met in Shanghai was phenomenal but that's for another thread.

 

If you are a novice traveler or are going to go a long distance from the ship then it's best to go with a ship's tour. Otherwise, do some research, ask questions and do it yourself. You will end up with a better and less expensive tour. Also: The ship's tour doesn't make detours to see something not on the itinerary and it moves at the speed of the slowest person.

 

Take care,

Mike