Booking excursions questions-With cruiseline or other???

[jordansmom]

Hi

We are about to book our excursions for the Explorer cruise to Belieze, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Georgetown. I notices that there are alternat ways of booking excursions with independent operators(grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com,beliezecruiselineexcursions.com)

Does anyone know if it ios more advantageous to book through them ?They seem to be less crowded and more flexible than the ship. We are going to book the dlophin adventure and mayan explorer through RCCL since I can't find those anywhere else, but just need a little advice before I venture off into the internet to book.

Thanks,

Mali

[alb38]

Hi

We are about to book our excursions for the Explorer cruise to Belieze, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Georgetown. I notices that there are alternat ways of booking excursions with independent operators(grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com,beliezecruiselineexcursions.com)

Does anyone know if it ios more advantageous to book through them ?They seem to be less crowded and more flexible than the ship. We are going to book the dlophin adventure and mayan explorer through RCCL since I can't find those anywhere else, but just need a little advice before I venture off into the internet to book.

Thanks,

Mali

 

When we cruised in February we booked everything through RCCL ~ however I just cruised with just my mom in November and we booked everything with independent operators. I did alot of research under the Port sections on CC. Make sure that your excursion allows you enough time to get back to the ship. We didn't have any problems and I would book again with private tours. The only downside is if you are late getting back the ship won't wait unless you are booked with one of their excursions!

[Sun and Fun]

We ALWAYS book our own. The cruiselines WAY over charge. Most tour companies are very aware of the necessity to get back to the ship on time.

 

We are doing the same itinerary as you are in Jan. and we booked a cave tubing tour with Tom ***** in Belize and chartered a private boat with nativewaywatersports.com in Grand Cayman to take our group of 12 adults and 14 children to Stingray sandbar, the reef, and Rum Point (a 5 hour tour). Just to give you an idea of the differences in price - if we would have booked a similar excusion through RCCL with the same inclusions (food, drinks, etc.) it would have cost over $90 for each adult and $66 for children. We are paying $50 for each adult and children 4+, $25 for 3 year olds, and under 3 is free.

[Sheffie]

We did a Mayan ruins tour on our own in Costa Maya with David and Ivan. It was wonderful! http://www.chacchobenruins.com/ We came back in time to spend hours at the beach in Majahual. Here is a link to our photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/527685047YCNWgf

 

In Belize we did a snorkel with the stingrays. It was fine, but Grand Cayman's Stingray City is MUCH better, (IMHO). We used the Buccaneer for that excursion: http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/Stingray_City_Buccaneer_Excursion.htm

 

In Cozumel we went on a SNUBA/snorkel excursion through cozumelinsider.com. I don't know how great the snorkeling is right now. We also spent time at Paradise Beach, which is VERY easy to do on your own.

 

As a previous poster suggested, check out the Ports of Call board for each of you ports, then use common sense. If you want to do an all day excursion up the river in Belize, I suggest that you use the cruise ship's excursion. Otherwise, check out the times of the excursions and give yourself leeway and you should be fine. Remember that the private companies do NOT want to get you back to the ship late; their reputation would be ruined!

 

Have fun!

[imatarb]

We've always booked our excursions through private operators. We have received excellent service, more flexibility and much more intimate numbers of people. Example: Stingray City in GC...we had NINE people on our boat, and the RCCL boat had about 50. Makes for a much more enjoyable time and more time in the water actually doing the excursion.

[dougp26364]

We've done both. The only problem with booking independant vs the cruiseline is that the ship won't wait on you if something happens and you booked independantly. I've seen people miss the ship more than once or twice.

 

As for price of the independantly booked shore excursion vs the RCI price, I guess it just depends on you port of call. I've never really found that much price difference. To me, it's worth an extra $5 to $20 per person to guarentee that the ship won't leave without me if something happens. You never know when they'll be a flat tire, a wreck that ties up traffic, a medical emergancy et.....

[wrp96]

Just did an amazing excursion last week in Cozumel - through the ship - and it was well worth the price. The excursion was the Mexican Cuisine Workshop. But I only chose it after looking around at independents and on the ship. Research both and see what suits you best.