Shore Excursions: book through ship or not?

[sweetpea916]

I'm having trouble deciding whether to book our shore excursions through the ship (more $$ for what you get) or independently through a tour company (more risk that you won't make it back in time).

 

What does everyone think? :confused:

[springtxbill]

You need another category for a mixture. It depends on if the tour gets a long way off from the ship and if it is a new port before you kind of get the lay of the land, I would go with the ship tour. Otherwise I go independent.:)

[Linda-B]

Check the port boards to get recomendations on private operators. The local tour operators need to get the pasangers back on time to stay in business. Just watch out for the time and probably don't go on a private tour that is very long or far. We have gone on many private tours and have never had a problem. They were always wonderful--giving us more for our money without being on a cattle car.

[icanflossu]

We've only been on two cruises and I've only done independent, so I don't know what you'll think my opinion is worth....that being said....we have had a blast at every single stop because we went it alone. We did what we wanted to, and for at least half the price. One big reason is we travel with our family and take everyone with us everywhere. The ship has huge age limits on everything. My four year old KNOWS how to snorkle, he wears floaties and is great at it. I'm more of a wreck and have more trouble than he does. Last spring, he was three and the ship wouldn't even consider letting him come let alone snorkle. We went private in Belize for about 1/4 the cost it would have been through the ship and he saw amazing things. All three of my kids love the water and the ships rules are just too strict for us.

[Aliann]

I guess it would depend on the excursion. There are some that can't be booked independently with others off the ship, and others you can save a good amount of money on by booking with independent operators. The ships should like this, it gives you more money for pina' colada's onboard.

 

The tour operators on the islands make their entire living doing this, and they are very, very aware of when your ship gets in and leaves and how important it is for you to get back to it. Even if you're just getting a taxi when you get off the ship that driver is very aware you have to get back and won't take you someplace he knows you won't get back from.

[dougp26364]

I prefer to book through the ship. I don't want them leaving without me. Each cruise we've taken, there have been people who didn't get back to the pier on time and have either had to take a pilot boat out to the ship, then climb up the welded ladder on the outside of the ship to get back onboard or rejoin the cruise in the next port (or fly home I suppose).

 

Most of the time, prices have been comparable but more expensive booking through RCI. I consider it the price of "hold the ship, I'm on my way" insurance. In the Med., two of our excursions didn't make it back to the pier ontime. The ship was waiting for us when we arrived.

 

There are all sorts of things that could prevent a self booked tour from getting back. Weather, accidents or mechanical breakdown. I'm afraid the way my luck runs, something would go wrong eventually.

[yarlenna]

I prefer to book through the ship if it is a tender port. If there is lots of time, I prefer to do my own thing

[bulldogmom]

We have been on several cruises and we have done it both ways, I would recommend booking thru the ship because if you do it that way and something happens and you are late into port or have to skip a port completely then you will be refunded the money, I'm not sure how this would work with an independent company. I have done both though and never really had a problem either way, my experiences have always been positive both ways. Whenever I do book something independently though I double and triple check (as much as I can) on the company because I'm just that way, I don't want to end up getting screwed if I can help it. LOL

 

Good luck.

[cruiseman_tx]

You need another category for a mixture. It depends on if the tour gets a long way off from the ship and if it is a new port before you kind of get the lay of the land, I would go with the ship tour. Otherwise I go independent.:)

 

I agree with Bill that there needs to be another option on the poll. We've used both ship excursions and independent tour operators depending on the port, what interests us and advice on the CC Ports Board.

[sscruising]

I have done it both ways & like some other posters have said, it is cheaper to book independently. However, I do not book independently until I have done thorough research on these & other boards. There are just some tours that you can only get thru the cruise line.

 

Sandi

[NboroGirl]

I, too, have done it both ways. On my first cruise we booked a couple of RCCL excursions on islands we'd never been on before, and did our own thing in San Juan, where we HAD been before.

 

On our 2nd cruise we made our way to St. John from St. Thomas on our own for snorkeling, but only after thorough research and help through message boards such as this one. I did it on my own because I found out I could save a lot of money (plus we had been to St. Thomas before).

 

On our upcoming cruise, we booked a tour in Ocho Rios with Peat Taylor after reading a lot of good reviews about him. I did this because RCCL did not offer a tour doing what we wanted. We either had to include things we weren't intrested in, and/or do two excursions. This way, we get to do what we want and we will end up saving a bit of money, as well. But it takes time to research what you want to do and how much it will cost.

[bambam2972]

I think with what happened to Natalee Halloway in Aruba it would be safer to book through the ship; that way you have a sort of paper trail, just in case...

[cruiseman_tx]

I think with what happened to Natalee Halloway in Aruba it would be safer to book through the ship; that way you have a sort of paper trail, just in case...

 

Well, if you happen to be 18, and are prone to running around bar hopping and avoiding adult supervision, then you should definately stick with a ship's excursion.

[wrp96]

I didn't vote because I would say it depends. It depends on the ports, what activities you are looking at, your comfort level, whether it is a tender port or not, the length of time in port. Cozumel, I would be comfortable going with a private excursion, I have private excursions booked for both St. Lucia and Barbados which I'm completely comfortable with, same with St. Thomas. But when I went to Grand Cayman I was on a very delayed ship excursion (one of many) where they held the ship for us and several people still missed the ship, so I would not be comfortable going off on my own there unless I just planned on staying in downtown Grand Cayman. Other people are completely comfortable booking private excursions in Grand Cayman.

[kenandlaura06]

We are booking through the ship to make it a little less stressful--if it is cancelled the reimbursement process should be easier and we like the security of knowing that the ship won't leave without our excursion.

[TravelQN]

As with the others I've done both and never a problem. I think a cruisers biggest fear is getting back to port on time, I imagine it's a nightmare to walk up and see your ship far out to sea. I'd freak.

[Sheffie]

I guess it would depend on the excursion. There are some that can't be booked independently with others off the ship, and others you can save a good amount of money on by booking with independent operators. The ships should like this, it gives you more money for pina' colada's onboard.

 

The tour operators on the islands make their entire living doing this, and they are very, very aware of when your ship gets in and leaves and how important it is for you to get back to it. Even if you're just getting a taxi when you get off the ship that driver is very aware you have to get back and won't take you someplace he knows you won't get back from.

 

I agree with you completely.

 

Of course there are some excursions you can only book through the ship, for example the America's Cup Regatta in St. Maarten. Also, if I were to go up the river in Belize, I would also take the ship's excursion.

 

I research my excursions and their times, and do what I am comfortable with.

[Mets Rule]

I prefer to book through the ship. I don't want them leaving without me. Each cruise we've taken, there have been people who didn't get back to the pier on time and have either had to take a pilot boat out to the ship, then climb up the welded ladder on the outside of the ship to get back onboard or rejoin the cruise in the next port (or fly home I suppose).

 

Most of the time, prices have been comparable but more expensive booking through RCI. I consider it the price of "hold the ship, I'm on my way" insurance. In the Med., two of our excursions didn't make it back to the pier ontime. The ship was waiting for us when we arrived.

 

There are all sorts of things that could prevent a self booked tour from getting back. Weather, accidents or mechanical breakdown. I'm afraid the way my luck runs, something would go wrong eventually.

 

I have to agree....if you can afford the difference, I think it is worth the piece of mind to book thru the cruise ship.

[huskerdude]

You need another category for a mixture. It depends on if the tour gets a long way off from the ship and if it is a new port before you kind of get the lay of the land, I would go with the ship tour. Otherwise I go independent.:)

I was thinking the same thing. It depends on how much total time that makes the difference for us.

[Hflors]

For our upcoming cruise (5 sisters) We will definately stick with the ship's tours. But in Jan of next year when DH and I go by ourselves we most likely will go on the island by ourselves. (That is of course if the islands don't suddenly have any trouble. If that happens we stay on board or go with a ship organized tour.

[crookedhalo]

<sigh> some of us are just to ummm... anal retentive? I get freaky if I don't know exactly what is happening and when, so I know myself well enough to know that I have to book thru ship. That way, if itinerary gets reversed or revised, it's all handled by the ship. More likely to get your money back or be able to schedule something else. It happened on our one and only cruise - were scheduled for a 1pm excursion, but operator had transportation issues, so CCL just moved us to another excursion time and it was handled!! New tickets showed up in our cabin with a letter of explanation. No problem. Cost me exactly zero time! No dealing with stress, just having fun:D

[bambam2972]

Well, if you happen to be 18, and are prone to running around bar hopping and avoiding adult supervision, then you should definately stick with a ship's excursion.

 

 

:eek: Wow.. no need to be rude! I was just saying that IN CASE something were to happen, people would know where to start looking. Not only 18 year olds are kidnapped, you know! Everyone lets down their guard a little while on vacation. Sheesh!

Also, you're gauranteed to be back to the ship in time.

[katiel53]

I voted for independent, but really we do both. On islands like St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Dominica, we have booked independently based on info we have gotten on the port of call boards. We did make sure we had plenty of time to return to the ship.

 

We are going on a Panama Canal cruise and I haven't ever been to Panama or Costa Rica. I am over the hill, so ziplining is out of the question for me, so if we book anything, it will be through the cruiseline. In Aruba, we will book independently if we decide to book a cruise.

 

When we went to Alaska last year, a place we hadn't been before, we booked a ship excursion on the railroad. It was absolutely the best tour we have ever had.

 

I guess most of it depends on the island or port visited. For islands with lots of info on the boards, we would book independently, but for others, ships tours do it for us.

 

Good luck with your choices. We learned a great deal from the ports boards and hopefully that will help you too.

[hstrybuf]

I also voted independent but we have booked tours both ways. When we are new to a port we may book with the ship. If we can find a well recommended local, then we're more likely to go with them. As someone said above, the independents wouldn't stay in business long if they didn't provide a good experience and couldn't get people back to the ship in time. I've been on two tours that had breakdowns. Both times it was the same port, same tour and we got back to port in plenty of time.

[steve20832]

There needs to be a "both ways" and a "depends on the excursion" catagory. I did a lot of research trying to decide what excursions and whether or not to book on my own or through RCCL. Due to the times of the excursions and the number of hours the ship is in port, we went with booking on our own.