New cruisers: Travel "beyond the gate" !!!

[bilbo baggins]

Hello fellow cruisers!

 

After just returning last night from a week on the NCL Getaway (nice ship but overall had pluses and minuses- read my other critique for more on that), I wanted to relay to all of you new, or fairly new cruisers out there to "TRAVEL BEYOND THE GATE!". My meaning behind this is: few brand new cruisers, and even some more experienced ones (sadly) know that the REAL experiences, great vistas, great local culture, cheap prices, etc. are (many/most of the time) beyond the cruise ship port entrance. This was our 8th cruise, and besides the 1st one, we have never taken another "excursion" from the ship. Typically these are very over-priced, jam-packed with people, shortened excursions that give you a very limited experience for your dollar spent. After overhearing a number of 1st timers on this last cruise comment on their experiences, I decided to write this thread. Cases in point:

 

Snorkeling: most snorkeling on ships is somewhere between $39 and $89 for a few hours (I've seen $39 "tours" in Cozumel where you literally walk about 1/2 mile from the ship, wade into the water with 100 other people, while another 200 are waiting in line to get in- not a great snorkel "experience"). Total water time? Maybe 1/2 hr. Total fish seen? Very few.

 

In Juneau, AK, we skipped the $29-39 "Mendenhall glacier tour" (basically a bus that dropped you off for an hour or two, and then took you back), got off of the ship, and got a $6 per person round trip ticket from one of about 10 vendors right outside of the dock. Unlike the ship "lemmings", who weren't "allowed" to walk the 1/2 mile or so to the huge waterfall next to the glacier (because of time constraints), our family took hours there, relaxing and playing.

 

Costa Maya, Mexico (last week): Walk through the cruise ship port "town", and outside the gate, and grab a $2 taxi (per person) to Mahahual (2 miles) for a very relaxing, laid-back experience; free beach chairs under palms (just buy some $1 beers or somewhat pricey food); $20/hr GOOD massages, relaxing stroll down the main street (no cars) for inexpensive t-shirts, hats, cuban cigars and trinkets.

* Tip- do NOT tell the taxi driver what you specifically want to do (snorkel, hang out, etc), as they can bully a little, and you may end up at their buddy's beach hangout instead of something you choose. Rather, just say: "yeah, we're just going to walk the beach in front of town; not sure yet what we want to do." Keep that up, and they'll just leave you alone after a while.

 

Roatan: Skip the $99-199 "island and snorkel tour", and contact "Daniel Johnson's monkey and sloth hangout" instead (facebook). For $45 (+ $5 tip) each, we got an all-day tour that went over 1/2 the island; we played with monkeys, sloths and macaws, went snorkeling for over an hour (good snorkeling) off of their boat, and ended up at a "beach club" (cheap beers, somewhat pricey food, but ok). One of the best experiences we've ever had in 8 cruises! Just make sure you leave at least a hour -1 1/2 prior to your ship's departure, to allow enough time- traffic was bad on the way back...

 

These are just a few examples (we've done many, many like this). If you're out of country, and the tour is an hour or more away, there is a chance that if something happens (mechanical failure, etc.)., that you may miss your boat (few and far between, but I'm sure it has happened), so take your wallet and passport, just in case. About the only good thing that I know of with ship's excursions is that if the excursion is delayed, they will hold the ship. Other than that, most, in my opinion are not worth the 3-4x cost savings that you can get from the locals. Remember that many of the port "towns" are built/owned by the ships, and that you are a captive audience, paying $20 per t-shirt, and $6 per beer (in Mexico? Really? Lol). Yes, really. Do your research, go "outside of the gate", expand your horizons, and take a little risk; your experience will be so much better if you do!

 

Cheers!

 

Bill

[easyboy]

Very good points many new cruisers, as well as frequent ones, can pick and learn. Thanks for sharing.

[notentirelynormal]

Hello fellow cruisers!

 

Remember that many of the port "towns" are built/owned by the ships, and that you are a captive audience, paying $20 per t-shirt, and $6 per beer (in Mexico? Really? Lol). Yes, really.

 

Bill

 

Well this is a huge bit of misinformation. This statement is just silly. The ships do not build the ports except for the few where they actually do and are the "private islands" kind of thing/experience. I can assure you that the ships didn't build St. Thomas, San Juan, Cozuel to name just a few. We are going to Alaska in August. Do you really believe that the cruise lines built Juneau, Ketchican and Skagway? I mean I hired private tours so they must own the cities, right?

 

No one, but no one, is a captive audience to anything. No one holds a gun to your head and says buy this shirt/beer/tour. It is and always has been up to the cruiser to choose what they want to do and how they want to do it.

 

Do they want you to buy the ship's excursions? Of course they do. They get a commission from it. That's why you get the guarantee that they will get you to the next port if you miss the ship. It is regulated and a group mentality tour as opposed to a small tour which stops and goes as you please with no waiting on others in the group to slowly get back on the bus.