Princess Excursions - Packed or Worth it?

[escentialssoycandles]

We are sailing on Princess for the first time for our honeymoon in Dec. on the Crown. Dec 7-16 so not holiday season quite yet. I usually book my own tours off ship - but realize that the demographic may be a little different on Princess and during off peak season.

 

Are the water/adventure excursions like being held captive and claustrophobic like a herd of animals or are they worth it?

[caa]

Depends on the excursion and how many people sign up for it. Sometimes they will split up a larger group into multiple vehicles or boats, but sometimes every seat will be filled. As with any packaged tour, there's an itinerary and a schedule that everybody has to stick to without a lot of room for wandering or individual exploration. Even if you do an adventure tour like kayaking, diving or off-roading, you'll have to stay with a group of 15 to 20 people. If that's not your cup of tea, you should probably book private tours.

 

On the other hand, we did only ship's tours on our April cruise, and they were great. By far the most "packed in" experience we had was on the tenders to and from Princess Cays.

[Thrak]

OK. I had to go and look up your cruise. You are more likely to get answers if you simply tell people where your cruise is going. A time frame was OK but a destination makes a lot of difference when you are asking for assistance. It seems you are booked on a 10 Day Eastern Caribbean Voyager cruise. Please purchase a case of Foursquare Rum and ship it to me. ;p Loved that stuff but can't get it at home.

[DrivesLikeMario]

It depends on a lot of things. What port and what tours are you talking about? If you just generally want to know what they're like, they're "okay". The water-related ones tend to pack a lot of people onto the sailing vessel but we've also had some absolutely fantastic ones like the Fury Catamaran in Cozumel. If they're a city tour, avoid them like the plague IMO. They tend to be unGodly slow, boring and you always end up waiting for someone who just can't quite make it back to the bus on time. I think my DH will jump ship if I ever book one of those again.

[skynight]

We are sailing on Princess for the first time for our honeymoon in Dec. on the Crown. Dec 7-16 so not holiday season quite yet. I usually book my own tours off ship - but realize that the demographic may be a little different on Princess and during off peak season.

 

Are the water/adventure excursions like being held captive and claustrophobic like a herd of animals or are they worth it?

Some Information

If you click on the Princess tour details it shows how many are involved, transportation time vs time at the activity and all the details. Princess Cays is a beach day so no need to take any tour. Just try to get to the tender ticket location early, before 9am so you don't have to wait too long for a tender and you can select the best location for you. Bring water shoes, there is coral when entering the water. There are boating, beach, and general tours at every island both private and Princess. In Barbados take a look at Silvermoon Catamaran cruises. Private and nice. You get a similar tour with Princess with many more on board.

[escentialssoycandles]

10-Dec MON St Thomas 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

11-Dec TUE Antigua 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

12-Dec WED St Lucia 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

13-Dec THU Barbados 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

14-Dec FRI St Kitts 9:00 AM 6:00 PM

[jb008]

If you dislike crowds, see if you can find a good indy guide and use the ship options as a "last resort". Use the port boards and tripadvisor to look up some specific tours in the ports. I have found ship excursions to be a little mixed as to whether they're overcrowded or not. That being said, I don't think ship excursions will ever be so overbooked as to be a problem, otherwise people would just complain to the tour desk all trip long until they get credit back.

 

We did a snorkel tour with Princess in January and it was standing room only on the boat and about 15% too many people IMHO, but we still enjoyed the excursion and the price couldn't be beat. The other 2 excursion we did with P were great.

 

I have started preferring ship excursions for simplicity and the peace of mind. For example, I dealt by email with a guide who had good reviews on tripadvisor, but he flat out lied (in writing no less) about wait listing us when I tried to join an excursion with some of the people from our Roll Call. He had us booked on a later tour and give us the runaround by filling the spots he said he told us we were "wait listed" for, since he had already confirmed us for the later tour. That left me with a bad taste, but I've done a dozen independent tours without a problem so in the scheme of it all I still can't complain.

 

Specific to St. Thomas and St. Kitts, there are a few beaches that are an easy taxi to get too, and if you're looking for beach days it's more economical to just DIY. Here's two old reviews I did that covers a lot of the ports. They're a bit dated now, and we were on X Summit, but at least will give you same names and spots to start with: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2140428 & https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2300033

[paul929207]

I find the Princess tours to be over priced and over crowded.

[SquishTheWhale]

Hey, if you remember me we are on this same cruise! I don't mind booking excursions through the cruise line- we've not done Princess before but have always been satisfied with the ones done on NCL. They do tend to have more people on, but I find them pretty reliable and like the safety blanket of being on a ship tour.

However for this cruise I can't really find the things I want to do via Princess. We are trying to do something different in every port! So far I have planned:

 

Barbados: Calabaza boat trip (very similar to the Silvermoon one already mentioned)

St Lucia: Will probably book the island tour via Spencer Ambrose

St Kitts: have arranged to do the zip lining independently, would have preferred to book via the cruise line but it isn't offered

 

I hope some of that helps!

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Forums mobile app

[jasbo49]

One of the most frustrating things about Princess tours is that so many begin with "Meet in the Princess Theater at 7:30 a.m.," when the tour time is 8. You could get there a few minutes early, as many do, and sit there twiddling your thumbs till 8:15 or later.

 

What a horrible waste of time. It's pretty rare that you don't waste a lot of time waiting for something or somebody on a ship tour. There seems to be less of this on a private tour.

 

Jim

[tip]

I find the Princess tours to be over priced and over crowded.

 

 

I would agree. Ship sponsored excursions are nothing more than overpriced cattle herds. Check out the ports of call threads on these boards. You can get some good recommendations and save time, money, and frustration. In many instances, you are better off taking a cab directly to a venue. Just leave plenty of time before "all aboard." This is especially true in St. Thomas where traffic can sometimes move at a snail's pace. We always plan to return to the ship at least ninety minutes before "all aboard." We then use that time to do a little shopping or partake in liquid refreshment that is just a few minutes walk to the ship.

[piper28]

I've had decent tours and ones that weren't so decent through the cruise ship, although I almost never book through the cruise ship. Of course, I've also been on some less than stellar tours that were arranged by someone on the roll call, up to and including having a window shot out of the bus (which obviously isn't the organizer's fault for that). That said, there are some truly top tier independent tour operators in some of those stops where I've gone back and either done the same thing or different tours that they offered.

[Lucky TGO]

I find the Princess tours to be over priced and over crowded.

 

I totally agree with Paul.

Tony

[Woobstr112G]

I find the Princess tours to be over priced and over crowded.

 

We still do some Princess excursions, but for the most part, I agree with your comment.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Nebr.cruiser]

We haven't done a cruise line excursion in years and will only do one if no other viable or safe tour is available. We had too many crowded, over-priced tours.

 

We research the ports and either book an independent tour ahead of time, pick one up at the dock or do our own thing--like walk, go to a beach or other sites using local transportation, etc.

 

The upside of ship tours are that they are usually easier and simpler to find and book. And of course, the ship will usually wait if the tour is back late. So a lot depends on your comfort level and spirit of adventure.

[Skai]

10-Dec MON St Thomas 8:00 AM 6:00 PM - DIY(Taxi/Safari truck) to Sapphire Beach or ferry over to St. John's beaches

11-Dec TUE Antigua 8:00 AM 5:00 PM - DIY(local bus) to beaches on SW side (Darkwood, Turners, Ffryes, Valley Church) or private/shared tour to Nelson's Dockyard/Shirley Heights and arrange for pick up later from one of the above listed beaches.

12-Dec WED St Lucia 8:00 AM 6:00 PM - Book directly with (local tour guides) Spencer or Herod for Land&Sea tour(or simply Sea)

13-Dec THU Barbados 7:00 AM 4:00 PM - DIY South to Accra/Rockley Beach or North to Paynes or Mullins beaches

14-Dec FRI St Kitts 9:00 AM 6:00 PM - DIY Taxi to South Friars Beach(Carambola) or Ferry to Nevis' beaches and/or private taxi island tour

 

Never have booked a ship sponsored tour, and likely never will.....unless it's compulsory for a place such as St. Petersburg and am not wanting to deal with the process of obtaining visas/organizing with a (Govt)authorized private tour agency.

[Micahs Grandad]

The only ship tour we have done in recent memory was Road to Hana and we only did that as the end of the road is a long way from the ship and traffic here is a concern. Also long swim back to Mexico. Will say though it was a very good tour.

 

Generally we do all private tours and find them cheaper, better and less crowded.

[paul929207]

Never have booked a ship sponsored tour, and likely never will.....unless it's compulsory for a place such as St. Petersburg and am not wanting to deal with the process of obtaining visas/organizing with a (Govt)authorized private tour agency.

In St. Petersburg, the tour companies provide a visa waiver. So there is no need to go thru the visa process.

[flamomo]

In over 40 cruises with Princess. the vast majority of my excursions have been thru Princess. Goodness only knows how many that would add up to, as many of my cruises have been over 2 weeks long, up tp those that are 30+ days long. So that's a lot of ports. There is only one excursion in all that time that I was dissatisfied with.

Some were excellent, the rest were at least enjoyable.

[escentialssoycandles]

Hey, if you remember me we are on this same cruise! I don't mind booking excursions through the cruise line- we've not done Princess before but have always been satisfied with the ones done on NCL. They do tend to have more people on, but I find them pretty reliable and like the safety blanket of being on a ship tour.

However for this cruise I can't really find the things I want to do via Princess. We are trying to do something different in every port! So far I have planned:

 

Barbados: Calabaza boat trip (very similar to the Silvermoon one already mentioned)

St Lucia: Will probably book the island tour via Spencer Ambrose

St Kitts: have arranged to do the zip lining independently, would have preferred to book via the cruise line but it isn't offered

 

I hope some of that helps!

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Forums mobile app

 

Awesome! We are also booked on Calabaza! Antigua we have hired a private driver for a tour at $45 pp and we need 2 more so would love for you to join us. Please email me at shannyrios at gmail.com

[caribill]

My thoughts on private tours:

 

How experienced a cruiser you are and that can make a difference.

 

Traveling with others or alone can make a difference.

 

First of all, do you want your port experiences to be by yourselves or to also include the others? If you want to be with the others, you need to do the planning together.

 

If this is your first cruise, I definitely recommend that you take an escorted tour in each port. Having an experienced tour guide makes all the difference in getting around a city you are not familiar with and learning as much as possible about what you are seeing.

 

So then the choice becomes taking a cruise company's tour or a private tour organized by either fellow roll call members or yourselves. The benefits of a private tour are several:

o A smaller group than a ship's tour which means you will ride in a smaller vehicle.

o A smaller vehicle often means you can be dropped off/picked up closer to sites than the big buses can go.

o A smaller vehicle often means you can go to sites the bigger buses cannot

o A smaller group than a ship's tour which means people get back to the vehicle quicker. Less chance of having to wait for someone who lost track of time. Certainly quicker at a rest room stop to wait for ten people than 30.

o A smaller group means you can often see more sites in the same amount of time that a ship's excursion takes.

o A private tour does not have to spend time at a souvenir stop unless your group wants to. Almost every cruise line's tour involves a shopping experience that could be a waste of time at a shop the tour company gets a kickback from.

o A private tour usually costs significantly less than a cruise company's tour. Sometimes it costs about the same or a little more, but the benefits of the smaller group make it worth it.

 

The main advantage of a cruise company tour is that you do not have to do any planning or research.

 

Having said all that, your roll call will be a good place to find private tours that have likely been researched to be sure they are with reputable providers. If you need to do research on your own, your roll call, the Cruise Critic ports of call threads and Trip Advisor on the Internet are good places to look.

 

One important thing about private tours: If they want part or full payment in advance, be sure to know what the cancellation policy is, especially if the ship cannot make the port. I always avoid tour providers who will not refund any advance payment if the ship cannot get to the port.

 

What I do not recommend is getting of the ship and looking for a tour vendor or what is a random taxi driver to give you a tour. Some people do this and post they had the best tour ever. But some also post it was the worst tour ever. This is because you have no way to know how good a guide you are hiring or even how well he/she speaks English.

 

If you have been to a port before and are familiar with it, then going off on your own may be practical. For example, we have been to Barcelona several times and can use their subway system to get where we want to go. Having seen the major attractions that cruise line tour and private tours go to, we now go to different sights that we want to see at our own pace, for example the chocolate museum in Barcelona.

 

[geoherb]

We occasionally book excursions through the cruise line. One of the downsides to booking cruises late is that frequently the private excursions are booked up. For Bonaire last December, I booked us on the Princess snorkeling excursion on the Seacow. We had a great time. Check out TripAdvisor for reviews of any companies you're considering.

[voljeep]

we may have booked that same or similar excursion in Bonaire...my wife had learned to snorkel in our pool, and that was her first open water snorkel...amazing for her, but she didn't see a sea turtle..:(

 

we then went to St Johns and we snorkeled in Trunk Bay...but it was packed..so not the best experience, but still:D:D:D

[jagsfan]

Never have booked a ship sponsored tour, and likely never will.....unless it's compulsory for a place such as St. Petersburg and am not wanting to deal with the process of obtaining visas/organizing with a (Govt)authorized private tour agency.

 

Fortunately, ships tours are not compulsory in St. Petersburg. There are several very reputable tour companies like DenRus, Alla and more that I can't remember the names of. They arrange a group visa, you don't have to do anything. They take small groups in air conditioned vans or minibuses, and will let you set the itinerary if you want.

That's what we did, and when talking to people who did the ship's tours, we saw much more and were much more comfortable.

St. Petersburg is the prime place for going independent.

[Thrak]

A Princess Excursion Story:

We sailed with our adult disabled son on a 15 day SF/Hawaii round trip. We wanted to visit the USS Arizona. Princess wanted (at that time) $98 per person. The Arizona is actually free to visit but, if you want a set time rather than "buy a ticket and wait" you can purchase tickets online for $1 per person and have a set time. I purchased the three tickets and then rented a car on the island. I paid $98 for the car for the full day. The three of us visited the Arizona (a must do) and then had the car for the rest of the day. It was one third of what it would have cost through Princess and we drove around and visited a bunch of other places as well.

 

We actually have booked a couple of Princess excursions but it was either because we didn't want to drive up to the top of the mountain to visit Haleakala National Park or, in the case of our last cruise, because we had a boatload of OBC. We find it is usually much cheaper and far less crowded to book private tours. If one has a great roll call going there are always folks who are willing to investigate the options and organize groups.