About booking excursions -- with Carnival or no?

[ewynn9]

My son and I did the Stingray Catamaran in Grand Cayman and had 12 people on the trip, and sure enough the Carnival excursion pulls up with 40 people.

 

My wife and I also did a Stingray Catamaran and it was amazing. Maybe 15 people on our boat and we got there as the big groups were leaving so we got swarmed by sting rays

[Loritd]

For us we do both. If what we want to see is far from the port and/or we don't speak the language we do a cruise line tour. If you miss the boat you are responsible for getting yourself to the next port. With a California coastal cruise that would be simple. If it is the last port before a transatlantic crossing it would not be so simple.

[Joecruiser62]

Like many people have already said, research on CC and TripAdvisor. We booked an independent excursion for much less than Carnival. The tour operator guaranteed us to be back to the ship on time, and would refund our deposit if the ship didn't make port (it was August, hurricane season). We had a great experience with it. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

[Just-A-Guy]

This makes no sense at all. Why would they call a name on the intercom if they are ashore. They know who is aboard and who is not.

 

I've wondered this myself, but they do it. Probably because occasionally, someone will slip past the "security" without scanning their card and be listed as not on board when they are. Either that, or it's the cruise lines' way of embarrassing people who didn't book their excursion through the cruise ship (or the slackers who got too drunk and forgot when the ship is leaving port). ;p

[theboatahoy]

I haven't done a ship's excursion since my first cruise over 14 years ago. I've cruised the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Baltics. Hasn't mattered if I spoke the language (I'm not bilingual), near or far, a ship's excursion is never worth it to me.

 

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[NebraskaSatellite]

For our first-ever cruise (Carnival Breeze in June in the western Caribbean), we booked non-Carnival excursions after some extensive reading on TripAdvisor and CC boards. Our Roatan tour operator did not require advance payment, and our Cozumel operator required about half but was refundable if we cancelled far enough in advance or if the ship did not make it to Cozumel. Both had high marks from TripAdvisor and we read enough to request specific drivers in advance which worked out great for us. Both were "driver for a day" deals that were much more flexible than any of the Carnival offerings and were simple, low-delay-risk tours.

 

If we were opting for something with more complexity (esp. longer bus-ride distances like the cave tubing/city tour in Belize), we might have chosen a Carnival tour for the guarantee aspect.

[Stmar]

We have 3 "linked" bookings, I have dining covered but did not quite understand how to get us on the same excursions. Anybody know what procedure to use to accomplish that?

[Micahs Grandad]

The cruise line telling the truth is hardly a scare tactic. The ship will do its best to wait or Carnival is on the hook to get you to the next port. If you don't book with Carnival, it isn't their problem. The operators they use have been vetted and do have insurance.

 

To me it is a scare tactic because they have people convinced that the tour will come back late and the ship will leave without them.

 

Very rare for that to happen

[BlerkOne]

To me it is a scare tactic because they have people convinced that the tour will come back late and the ship will leave without them.

 

Very rare for that to happen

 

The fact is that is happens, Carnival has no idea where you are, and it isn't their job to try to find you. It is your responsibility. Does it happen often? No.

 

Also a fact is that even ship tours are sometimes late, but Carnival knows where you are, and is on the hook to take care of you and get you back to the ship, even if the ship has to leave (much rarer than above).

[dmdiver]

We have 3 "linked" bookings, I have dining covered but did not quite understand how to get us on the same excursions. Anybody know what procedure to use to accomplish that?

 

You log in & go to each booking to book the excursions. We've done that with some friends that we travel with every year. We use our Carnival credit card to get 10% off the excursion. Our friends just pay us back. You can still do it, though, even if each of you logs in to their own booking. If the excursion has multiple times, just be sure to pick the same time for all 3 bookings. Once you are actually in port for the excursion, just stay together in case they have multiple vans/buses so you can be sure to ride together.

[Stmar]

Thanks, thought I was missing something. Both ideas should be sufficient.