Question on Excursions

[dhawthorne15]

I was having a conversation with someone who just came from a cruise and they gave me info on booking excursions that I wanted to second and third opinion on :). Instead of booking excursions through Carnival, you can just go with the group to whatever excursion you want to go on and pay half the price. Does this sound right? I just hate to try this and get there and they say I can't pay on the spot or they are full. Anyone else tried this?

[mishka422]

Never heard of such a thing. Are they saying to go to the meeting place for the carnival excursion you want and they would do that? If so, they are feeding you a line. The shore excursion companies are contracted to carnival and must follow all rules of their contract. That includes price and number in group.

 

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[dhawthorne15]

Never heard of such a thing. Are they saying to go to the meeting place for the carnival excursion you want and they would do that? If so, they are feeding you a line. The shore excursion companies are contracted to carnival and must follow all rules of their contract. That includes price and number in group.

 

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It's my first cruise and I was thinking the same thing. I figured it would be next to impossible to just "hitch a ride" with a group that you aren't booked with.

[springs741]

You can do excursions outside of Carnival usually with some savings. When asked about this I always suggest booking prior to arrival to allow yourself some time to review and compare what is offered. Trip advisor is a good start. Often here on Cruise Critic you will find reviews about various tours offered.

[cruzelover55]

I'm not really sure if I understand what you are asking. You can get off the ship and go through local excursion deals for less than Carnival's. Or google them and pay ahead online. Some places only want a $5. deposit. But, if a Carnival excursion is late, they will hold the ship for you. Otherwise, not.

 

We just returned from a cruise 9/16, and hadn't any plans for Cozumel. Been there, done that, way too often. We had noticed the day before that they had made an announcement, for a last minute excursion, that was not full for that port, Grand Cayman's. We had plans for that day, so paid little attention. But, we decided to listen to see if there would be anything like that at Cozumel. There was. I can't handily find our final bill, but, know it was amazingly cheap. I think, less than $30. per person. Bus, with super friendly host, dropped us off in town, vouchers for free drinks and discounted food, then we got back on the bus and went to a beach, again, discounted food and beverages. Simple, but, was just what we wanted, as have been almost everywhere there, and this was relaxing and fun and inexpensive! Sorry, if thiss was not the info you wanted.:)

[Micahs Grandad]

I would go to the port of call page for port you are going to and see what others have done.

 

If you do so make sure the excursion is due back well before sail time say 90 minutes.

 

We find private excursions to be better, cheaper and less crowded

[coevan]

I'm not really sure if I understand what you are asking. You can get off the ship and go through local excursion deals for less than Carnival's. Or google them and pay ahead online. Some places only want a $5. deposit. But, if a Carnival excursion is late, they will hold the ship for you. Otherwise, not.

 

We just returned from a cruise 9/16, and hadn't any plans for Cozumel. Been there, done that, way too often. We had noticed the day before that they had made an announcement, for a last minute excursion, that was not full for that port, Grand Cayman's. We had plans for that day, so paid little attention. But, we decided to listen to see if there would be anything like that at Cozumel. There was. I can't handily find our final bill, but, know it was amazingly cheap. I think, less than $30. per person. Bus, with super friendly host, dropped us off in town, vouchers for free drinks and discounted food, then we got back on the bus and went to a beach, again, discounted food and beverages. Simple, but, was just what we wanted, as have been almost everywhere there, and this was relaxing and fun and inexpensive! Sorry, if thiss was not the info you wanted.:)

 

 

This is not really true. My son is a Capt. in St Thomas. His shore excursions are booked through NCL and Royal. the cost of the snorkel trip is $75 through the cruise ship line and $55 privately. The Captains now the phone numbers to all the cruise lines, you have hotel guests and other cruise passengers booked not booked through Carnival. You WILL get back to the ship on time, their business depends on it.

[xeroxme]

If you were doing an excursion on Norwegian, RCCL princess or some other line then maybe I would tell you as a first time cruiser get off the ship and pick an excursion there. However, Carnival price is very close to port pricing and typically there isn't a exact match on many excursions therefore you can't beat their price. Lol. Carnival is reasonable on price and like others mentioned they guarantee you get back to the ship. After you get a cruise under your belt maybe try it.

 

 

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[rjl1977]

There are occasions where people will get an excursion and need a group to go and get a cheaper rate. You would pay less in that scenario than if you went through Carnival if that was the case.

[Badfinger]

I was having a conversation with someone who just came from a cruise and they gave me info on booking excursions that I wanted to second and third opinion on :). Instead of booking excursions through Carnival, you can just go with the group to whatever excursion you want to go on and pay half the price. Does this sound right? I just hate to try this and get there and they say I can't pay on the spot or they are full. Anyone else tried this?

 

I figure paying a bit extra for booking through Carnival is very cheap insurance to not miss the ship.

 

ON our last cruise, we booked adventure excursions with limited capacity...and that was correct as there were only 10-12 Wave Runners, ATVs and Segways available. No chance to tag along at a reduced price.

[cruzelover55]

If you were doing an excursion on Norwegian, RCCL princess or some other line then maybe I would tell you as a first time cruiser get off the ship and pick an excursion there. However, Carnival price is very close to port pricing and typically there isn't a exact match on many excursions therefore you can't beat their price. Lol. Carnival is reasonable on price and like others mentioned they guarantee you get back to the ship. After you get a cruise under your belt maybe try it.

 

That is a sensible suggestion. Having 1st done a cruise, then a person can see other options. Our 9/16 cruise, we finally felt comfortable enough that we took the local city bus in the Cayman's. The bus stop was mere blocks from the port. For about $2.50 each, one way, we traveled all over and saw many things we wouldn't have, in another venue. We had already done the stingray excursion, hell, beach things, on other cruises, so this was great. Bus was not crowded. An excursion to see all that we saw would have been over $100. each.

 

And to the poster that chimed in with the comment, that what I said was not correct??? I am only trying to offer advice. If I am not 100% correct, jeez, sue me. It says right on your Carnival info, that if you take a non Carnival excursion, and don't get back in time, you will be left. So far, we have always made it back in time.:rolleyes:

[b74]

If you go to the roll call thread on this board for your sailing, you can sometimes find other people who are looking for additional people to join their own excursions, or you can even advertise one yourself and see if there are any takers. That is probably the only easy way to do it.

 

I highly recommend using trip advisor to look up the excursions as there are many comprehensive reviews, more options, and there is a link to the excursion company where you can contact them for booking or questions. The best excursion we did was one not offered by Carnival.

 

As far as prices, the ones Carnival offers are priced about the same from what I found. Some of them showed no availability through the company three weeks out, yet Carnival had availability the day prior. Another advantage of booking the excursion through Carnival is that you will have priority disembarking and it will already be paid for.

[Micahs Grandad]

This is not really true. My son is a Capt. in St Thomas. His shore excursions are booked through NCL and Royal. the cost of the snorkel trip is $75 through the cruise ship line and $55 privately. The Captains now the phone numbers to all the cruise lines, you have hotel guests and other cruise passengers booked not booked through Carnival. You WILL get back to the ship on time, their business depends on it.

 

Cruise lines sell their excursions by preying on the fear of being left behind.

 

Operators who are late will quickly find themselves out of business so they are not going to let it happen.

 

in addition take precautions by making sure the excursion is scheduled back to the ship well before sailaway.

 

Besides much better to do one in say a 10 seater van than 50 seater bus