Ship Excursions or Private Excursions?

[Captain Crunch]

Do you have priority tenders if you book ship based excursions?

 

Aside from cost, what is the difference between making yur own arrangements or booking through the ship?

 

Can you book your excursions on the RCI web site?

[tinsel57]

Yes you have priority booking in tenders for excursions that are placed through RCCL.

 

If you are doing a Western Caribbean Itinerary, where there is now heavy tendering due to the damaged raged by the storms of the fall, this can indeed reak havoc on booking excursions, especially if you're booking your own.

 

You can book excursions on line as soon as you get get your confirmation number for your cruise. You can book on ship, on a space available basis.

 

Pro's and Con's:

 

Rccl Pro's: Priority booking, tendering and the statement that they will hold the boat if the group is held up returning. Real pro's are when you're in a foreign country where you do not speak the language or cannot easily navigate your own way. No language barrier, no worrying if you're getting taken, no need to transfer currency since you've already paid on the ship, dealing with a reputable insured tour group.

 

I personally don't have any problems booking my own excursions in the US, Mexico, & Caribbean though I do so carefully and not without a great deal of research. I don't mind doing my own thing in England, Scottland, Ireland.

 

But when it goes beyond that, when we start talking about Europe, South America, etc... I am not that brave and would rather go with the flow!'

 

I also leave lots of wiggle room, don't book times too tight to take chances. We had a snorkel trip in the caymans that got caught in a traffic jam. The bus was cutting through fields to go around traffic to get us back in time.. it was quite interesting...

 

RCCL Con's: Higher price, larger groups.

 

Booking your own pros: price, greater flexibility, smaller groups, more varied choices

 

Con's: You snooze you loose, no boat holding for you! Unreliable tours, being taken on pricing, language barrier, finding your own way while trying to read a language you don't speak, not knowing the 'safe' areas of the port, spending your time concentrating on all the above and not merely enjoying the journey.

[Jeepers385]

The majority of the time we book our own excursions due mostly because of price and group size. Now I have to agree with Tinsel57 if I were in Europe or Asia I'd go through the cruise line.

I have gotten off the first tender at times when I've booked my own excursion basically telling them I booked my own trip and I shouldn't be penalized because of it and I've never had a problem.

Debbie

[tinsel57]

The majority of the time we book our own excursions due mostly because of price and group size. Now I have to agree with Tinsel57 if I were in Europe or Asia I'd go through the cruise line.

I have gotten off the first tender at times when I've booked my own excursion basically telling them I booked my own trip and I shouldn't be penalized because of it and I've never had a problem.

Debbie

 

It's now a problem on the western caribbean because of the shear numbers of tenders from various boats trying to dock at the same time.

 

I can tell you we had a very ugly outburst just last month when someone who did not book a RCCL excursion but had the first tender ticket was told by staff to wait.

 

He about blew a valve over it.

 

The ship excursion people have a different ticket. So it's very obvious. People that just have tender tickets were told to line up in back of the others and when there was room they'd be allowed on the tender.

 

Then you sit and wait in the sea for the tender to find a spot to dock the boat. That's what's really holding things up.

 

Until they get the piers rebuilt this is going to be a problem. So be very careful before you decide to book your own, do your homework first on tending times.