Shore excursions

[Tatka]

18 hours ago, Pierlesscruisers said:

 

Excursions certainly do not "always make it back on time", even the Princess sponsored ones! Last year we ended up waiting for 2 hours  in Astoria for a bus to get back so the ship could leave! (Yes, it was a Princess sponsored one. Things happen, no matter who sponsors the trip!) Had the same thing happen with 2 bus groups earlier this year on another cruise but luckily these were only about 1/2 hour late. There may have been others that weren't Princess sponsored but you'd never know that unless you knew someone who was on the excursion and couldn't find them after sailing I'd suspect or heard someone talking about it.

 

Tom

 

   Private independent tours that have own websites and topics about them here in CC cannot afford to do what companies connected with cruise lines can. Companies with contracts are not heavily discussed over the internet. They know that clients will be delivered and ship will wait.

 

  If famous private company brings passengers late it will be on their Facebook and www, and CC Ports of call section rightaway or almost right away. They will just lose business instantly.

 

 We do not book unknown tours in port. Well, we did once or twice, but it was easily navigable islands and we knew we would be able to return.

Edited October 14, 2019 by Tatka

[Tatka]

51 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Just to add to this---most if not all of the posts where it is said how grateful the poster was to be on a ship's tour because they were late and the ship waited, mention traffic as the main reason for being late. Well, if the ship is waiting it is not going to turn away those who got back late because they were on private or self tours and also got stuck in traffic. Granted they may spend time worrying that the ship's tour folks do not, but still they do get back on the ship also.

 

Interesting view on things. Thank you.

Proven companies we used also know very well schedule of ships. They leave a lot of time to return.

Also because they cater to much smaller groups (even semiprivate) there is no waiting for late passengers,  stopping at places  where clients don't want to stop ("shopping experience") etc.

[El_Snocat]

On 10/7/2019 at 8:32 PM, Daniel A said:

DW & I have used non cruise line excursions and they were fine and had a guarantee to get you to the next port if you missed the ship.  DW is not very adventurous either and on each of the non cruise line excursions, she kept looking at her watch and worrying about the van breaking down or something else so that she never relaxed and enjoyed the excursions.  Now, we only book Princess excursions because the guarantee that the ship will wait for the Princess excursions lets DW relax and enjoy herself on the excursions.

 

The way I see it, the extra money Princess charges is for us to enjoy a comfort level on the excursions.  If you think you would worry, then Princess is the way to go.  If you think you can enjoy yourself on a less costly non Princess excursion then by all means go for that option.  The difference in cost between the two types is what we are paying for DW's peace of mind.

 

I hope this helps.

P.S. Happy Anniversary! 

Great answer, Daniel!

 

[Pierlesscruisers]

15 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

   Private independent tours that have own websites and topics about them here in CC cannot afford to do what companies connected with cruise lines can. Companies with contracts are not heavily discussed over the internet. They know that clients will be delivered and ship will wait.

 

  If famous private company brings passengers late it will be on their Facebook and www, and CC Ports of call section rightaway or almost right away. They will just lose business instantly.

 

 We do not book unknown tours in port. Well, we did once or twice, but it was easily navigable islands and we knew we would be able to return.

 

I would suspect that private tours are just as liable to have unexpected events occur that can cause delays on their returns to a ship (e.g. breakdowns, traffic problems, missing people, etc.) as would Princess tours.  Things happen, regardless of who "sponsors" the tour. I would also suspect that any reputable company who takes passengers from a cruise ship have some way of contacting that ship in the event of an emergency so that they can get in contact with that ship & keep them informed if there is a problem and that the ship will probably try and work with that company to ensure that the people involved get back to the ship & sail if at all possible.  The fact remains that in the worst case, the ship may have to leave some passengers behind for one reason or another.  That being said, if a person is on Princess sponsored trip, the passenger is promised to be returned to the ship by whatever means Princess is able to provide. The person who is on that independent trip probably is on their own to get back to the ship by whatever means they can come up with and at their own expense.  This presupposes that the independent company does not have some independent means of accomplishing that "rejoining" of the passenger & ship.

 

This certainly is all based on the supposition that I have a correct understanding of all the information I've stated.  I'm not trying to convince anybody to go on either a Princess or an independent tour/trip.

 

Tom

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, Pierlesscruisers said:

I would also suspect that any reputable company who takes passengers from a cruise ship have some way of contacting that ship in the event of an emergency so that they can get in contact with that ship & keep them informed if there is a problem and that the ship will probably try and work with that company to ensure that the people involved get back to the ship & sail if at all possible.  

When travelling in a foreign country, I wouldn't be comfortable that I suspect the company will get the ship to wait for their tour or that they can contact the ship.  When PAX disembark in a port, Princess doesn't know who's on private excursions and who stayed at Senior Frogs too long.  When it's time to go, it's time to go - unless a Princess activity hasn't returned yet.  When the ship waits, it costs Princess a lot of money either in additional port fees, paying for the pilot's time waiting or the cost of burning more fuel speeding up to get back on schedule.  I doubt Princess is willing to go out on a financial limb for a private company competing with Princess' sales.

 

That being said, if a person is on Princess sponsored trip, the passenger is promised to be returned to the ship by whatever means Princess is able to provide

.

Specifically, Princess' excursion promise is that the ship will wait for you - period.

Tom-

Good post from you.  Above are some additional considerations for you.

-Dan