Booking a private shared shore excursion as a solo

[wizdiz]

I have booked my 1st European cruise. I have only ever done Caribean cruises where I didn't care about the ports at all. Since this trip I really care about the ports I was thinking of booking my excursions with a tour company I have read a ton of great reviews. I am considering doing this because of the massive cost savings from booking with NCL and good reviews. They say max group size could be 8. I am wondering if this is a good idea or not. I am starting to think this could be a gamble. I am not doing this with people from roll call so I would have no idea about the group I would be sharing with. Anyone ever shared a private shared excursion?

[sanger727]

I have shared a private excursion before. It was fine, certainly better than a cruise ship excursion. But what ports are you going to? You may or may not even need tours.

 

 

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[Linda the Book Lover]

We have only used private excursion companies and shared with groups from three to one large group of twelve. I have researched the ports and companies on CC and always had a good time for less money. We booked all of our European cruises through three different companies all found on CC and highly rated. When is your trip?

[EnterCruise]

I have booked my 1st European cruise. I have only ever done Caribean cruises where I didn't care about the ports at all. Since this trip I really care about the ports I was thinking of booking my excursions with a tour company I have read a ton of great reviews. I am considering doing this because of the massive cost savings from booking with NCL and good reviews. They say max group size could be 8. I am wondering if this is a good idea or not. I am starting to think this could be a gamble. I am not doing this with people from roll call so I would have no idea about the group I would be sharing with. Anyone ever shared a private shared excursion?

 

Only 8? That sounds small to me.

[All-ready2cruise]

Only 8? That sounds small to me.

 

 

Many Private Tours are small, that's some of the allure. They may cost a little more but it's more personalized and still cost effective.

 

We did many private tours on our British Isles cruise in 2015. The size was anywhere from 6 - 26 and we loved them all. We got to see so much.

 

OP, I understand you questioning this but not sure there'd be any problem. I do, however, recommend joining your roll call, if there is one. We made all our arrangements with other cruisers on the same ship which eliminates some of the worry regarding timing, meeting place, etc.

 

Good luck,

Connie

[Dcoy]

I've done several private tours as a solo. It's been great. Most of the time in the vans I'm offered the passenger front seat. Great views and easy to hear the driver give the talk.

 

Only strange thing that I've had happen with one of these tours was when in Tahiti we were pulled over for speeding. :eek: No ticket, just a warning.

 

Don

[wizdiz]

We have only used private excursion companies and shared with groups from three to one large group of twelve. I have researched the ports and companies on CC and always had a good time for less money. We booked all of our European cruises through three different companies all found on CC and highly rated. When is your trip?

My Cruise is on NCL Epic and leaves July 19 and get's back on the 26th.

Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy

Cannes, France

Palma, Majorca, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

Naples, Italy

[garycarla]

I would really suggest checking out the roll call as folks there may already being putting small tours together. You do not have to go to the M&G or anything else on the roll call to do this.

 

By the way, if you do book direct with a tour company you may wind up with a group from the roll call or at least from you ship anyways.

[wizdiz]

I would really suggest checking out the roll call as folks there may already being putting small tours together. You do not have to go to the M&G or anything else on the roll call to do this.

 

By the way, if you do book direct with a tour company you may wind up with a group from the roll call or at least from you ship anyways.

My roll call hasn't had anyone respond in weeks

[EnterCruise]

I have booked my 1st European cruise. I have only ever done Caribean cruises where I didn't care about the ports at all. Since this trip I really care about the ports I was thinking of booking my excursions with a tour company I have read a ton of great reviews. I am considering doing this because of the massive cost savings from booking with NCL and good reviews. They say max group size could be 8. I am wondering if this is a good idea or not. I am starting to think this could be a gamble. I am not doing this with people from roll call so I would have no idea about the group I would be sharing with. Anyone ever shared a private shared excursion?

 

The odds are everybody on your tour will be from your ship since it will probably be the only ship in port that day. Even if they are from another ship, what difference does it make? Who knows, maybe they will be nicer than the people from your ship?

[Huntingdon1701]

I've just done a load of tours solo - every one was brilliant, and so was everyone on them. If worst comes to the worst, you just stick to the tour guide and admire the wonderful surroundings, ignoring everyone else.

 

To some extent, it depends on who is on the tour. If they all know each other then it might be a bit awkward, but with 8 there should be a number who don't know each other and that always makes it easier to break the ice.

 

I'm doing that itinerary in October and starting to think about private tours for it (although my roll call has a few options already) so I'd be interested in hearing your feedback about how they go.

[DiamondGirl83]

I've done quite a few private shared excursions and enjoyed them! I've been looking at tours today and the company "can't be missed" look great, they do tours in Rome, Sorrento/Amalfi coast and pisa! well worth a look ☺

 

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[Linda the Book Lover]

My roll call hasn't had anyone respond in weeks

 

Take a peek at our roll call and you will get plenty of ideas 7-2-17 ;)

[hawkeyetlse]

Sharing part of your travel with strangers is always a gamble, but it's kind of inescapable when you cruise solo. And touring on your own in port also has its drawbacks.

 

Which tour company are you looking at, that offers shared group tours in all of these ports? I'm glad to see that companies are starting to recognize the demand for this kind of tour (where individual guests can sign up directly with the tour operator, without having to do the whole roll call thing and put a group together themselves), but as far as I know, it's still a relatively uncommon type of offering in the Mediterranean.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I typically cruise solo and never do excursions through the ship. I'm on the same itinerary in Sept and our roll call has been pretty active. We have several tours planned. I don't think it really matters if the tour is with people on your roll call or from your ship or from some place else. No matter where they come from, they'll all be strangers to you. For me, private tours are far less about the cost savings and much more about the size of the group and quality of the tour. I've had great experiences with private vendors. OP, what are your concerns? It's a gamble no matter how you book it if you don't know the others on the tour. I've never had one where it was even a fair or average experience--they've all been fantastic! I'm sure it could happen that I have one that's not as enjoyable and it may happen some day, but so far every single one of them has been notable.

 

Enjoy!

[CazV]

I'm travelling solo in June. It's my first cruise. I had hoped to join a few others from my roll call on a couple of small group tours, but with less than 4 weeks to go, those I had hoped to join have now been cancelled due to lack of interest. So tonight I have gone ahead and booked the NCL tours. More expensive, but I feel safer than joining some random group. I've read nothing but great things about the private tours people have been on... I'm just nervous because this is a whole new experience for me.

[wizdiz]

I typically cruise solo and never do excursions through the ship. I'm on the same itinerary in Sept and our roll call has been pretty active. We have several tours planned. I don't think it really matters if the tour is with people on your roll call or from your ship or from some place else. No matter where they come from, they'll all be strangers to you. For me, private tours are far less about the cost savings and much more about the size of the group and quality of the tour. I've had great experiences with private vendors. OP, what are your concerns? It's a gamble no matter how you book it if you don't know the others on the tour. I've never had one where it was even a fair or average experience--they've all been fantastic! I'm sure it could happen that I have one that's not as enjoyable and it may happen some day, but so far every single one of them has been notable.

 

Enjoy!

My biggest concern is if the other people on the tour are a close knit group and I feel like I'm just tagging along. Or just a very unfriendly group. Also worried if I didn't like the 1st-day group perhaps since I'm booking all through 1 tour company they could be on the other tours I take. I pretty much get along with anyone. I just don't like rude or disrespectful people. I also want to book these tours because they are much smaller and I'm sorta an introvert. I don't mind being on my own but don't like being in a group where I'm invisible.

[Linda the Book Lover]

My biggest concern is if the other people on the tour are a close knit group and I feel like I'm just tagging along. Or just a very unfriendly group. Also worried if I didn't like the 1st-day group perhaps since I'm booking all through 1 tour company they could be on the other tours I take. I pretty much get along with anyone. I just don't like rude or disrespectful people. I also want to book these tours because they are much smaller and I'm sorta an introvert. I don't mind being on my own but don't like being in a group where I'm invisible.

 

You have a valid point about maybe not having the group include you or worse the "invisible" feeling which has happened to me but not through cruise tours. Even on my own (the DH and I sometimes had different ideas of what we wished to do) I found most people to be friendly especially when I mentioned I was alone. While they did not hold my hand it was nice to be included in conversation or having someone point out something to me during a tour. I have a friend who traveled alone and she stayed in the singles cabin and met up with someone who ended up doing a few things with her. Reach out to your roll call again sometimes it takes awhile for others to start chiming in about excursions.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

My biggest concern is if the other people on the tour are a close knit group and I feel like I'm just tagging along. Or just a very unfriendly group. Also worried if I didn't like the 1st-day group perhaps since I'm booking all through 1 tour company they could be on the other tours I take. I pretty much get along with anyone. I just don't like rude or disrespectful people. I also want to book these tours because they are much smaller and I'm sorta an introvert. I don't mind being on my own but don't like being in a group where I'm invisible.

 

 

Thank you for explaining more. As a solo traveler, I have joined groups before where I knew no one and I'm happy to say I've never felt invisible or left out. Everyone on the tour is on vacation, and I think that makes it less of a concern because they're all wanting to have fun. What I've found is that typically people recognize that you're solo and strike up a conversation with you or pull you into their conversations. I think the concern would be the same on a ship's excursion--the only difference being that you have the ship in common. If you're booking shared tours, most tour operators are really good about not putting one solo with a group of 10 that all booked together. It's usually me and a few couples and sometimes another solo or two. Anyway, that's been my experience. I'm an extrovert so I don't have that added layer of concern, but just want to encourage you to take the risk. I've had wonderful experiences touring with total strangers! One time on one on my roll call was interested in a tour I wanted to go on, so I checked the roll calls for other ships that would be in port that day. A Princess roll call (I was on an NCL ship) has arranged a tour that was exactly what I wanted to do and they welcomed me to join them. They even changed the start of their tour to an hour later so I could participate and we had a great time! :D

[Bra_BE2014]

My roll call hasn't had anyone respond in weeks

 

 

Keep in mind people will embark in both Rome and Barcelona, so you have 2 roll calls to check [emoji4]

 

 

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[markf]

I wold encourage you to use the roll call--this way you can plan tours with certain interests.

For example how many churches do you want o visit, how important is food etc..this way your expectations will be realized

[riddle]

I share your concerns as I often cruise solo. I have joined groups thru CC and it has worked out great. I am on the Escape in two weeks and have reached out through my roll call but so far not much response. I am ok with that as I will meet others at solo gathering but that won't help with excursions. I am an introvert but try to push myself out of my shell as much as possible.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Keep in mind people will embark in both Rome and Barcelona, so you have 2 roll calls to check [emoji4]

 

 

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Great tip! :D