Ship Tour or remain onboard.

[island lady]

There could be a lot of people that just opt to stay on board, and not get off in the port...just to be on the safe side....or with me:   Just happy to finally be ON the ship.  😉 

[irishgal432]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Actually there are a lot of very popular excursions (even before the Covid mess) that can only be booked through the ship.  One of our favorites:  Taku Glacier Lodge glacier flight and feast out of Juneau.  

One of my top ten excursions ever!

 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, irishgal432 said:

One of my top ten excursions ever!

 

 

We had it booked for the fourth time...but sigh...didn't make it this last year.  😞 

[lenquixote66]

18 hours ago, New Mexico 8 said:

I have been hearing RCI  may require you to book their  shore excursions or stay onboard. I would like to know your opinions. I am considering rebooking after two cancelled cruises but don't really know if I can handle missing walking arounds the beautiful Alaskan ports..  

Do you think this may be temporary?

I would never book a cruise to just stay on board a ship.One hundred percent of our shore excursions have always been booked with the cruise line.

[travelingbums]

Depends on the tour. At this point I am ready to just go, I don't care if I take a tour or not, we are to to sail😊

[TheMastodon]

19 hours ago, New Mexico 8 said:

I have been hearing RCI  may require you to book their  shore excursions or stay onboard. I would like to know your opinions. I am considering rebooking after two cancelled cruises but don't really know if I can handle missing walking arounds the beautiful Alaskan ports..  

Do you think this may be temporary?

 

Yes, it will be temporary.

[grandgeezer]

10 hours ago, davekathy said:

Nothing new. That has always been an option. 

Ship tour or stay on board has also been options, what’s the point? You have three options so to get the point, all three should be considered.

[davekathy]

28 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

Ship tour or stay on board has also been options, what’s the point? You have three options so to get the point, all three should be considered.

 

23 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

There should be a third option, stay at home. Half the fun of cruising is exploring the port on your own. If you want to take a tour there are much better tours given by reputable people for a lot less money than doing a ship sponsored one.

Your words. ^^ You said there should be a third option, stay home. As I said that has always been an option/choice. Nothing new. No biggie. 

Edited January 2, 2021 by davekathy

[denatravels]

23 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Actually there are a lot of very popular excursions (even before the Covid mess) that can only be booked through the ship.  One of our favorites:  Taku Glacier Lodge glacier flight and feast out of Juneau.  

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/wingsairways/items/256875/calendar/2021/04/?full-items=yes
A simple google search found the same tour direct with the supplier. Most tours can be booked without the cruise line

[ace2542]

On 1/1/2021 at 12:40 AM, New Mexico 8 said:

Do you think this may be temporary?

No if they can get away with it because right now they have the monopoly on tours and therefore  on the money. Either way you spend with them either on tours or in staying onboard in which case you will probably drink more. And they are not that big business for the lines not in all locations.  But of course they won't be able to get away with that forever so of course it is only temporary.

[island lady]

59 minutes ago, denatravels said:

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/wingsairways/items/256875/calendar/2021/04/?full-items=yes
A simple google search found the same tour direct with the supplier. Most tours can be booked without the cruise line

 

That is new then.  When I tried to book all the other times, direct with their website...they said the tour had to be booked with their "cruise partners".   But then again...no cruise ships were up there this last year...sooooo...what do you think happened?  😉 

[SpainAlien]

When MSC made it compulsory they reduced the price of some excursions to make them affordable, if RCL do the same I don't have a problem going on a socially distanced tour in a bubble

 

[davekathy]

For us it's not the cost of the ships sponsored shore excursions. When we do shore excursion we have always book them thru the CP with the cruise line we are cruising with. Nothing new there for us. Not all shore excursions appeal to us. We are no longer beach people so that limits our choices in the Caribbean. We always don't do shore excursions. We prefer to get off the ship early, wonder around on our own in the ports of call, do some videoing, shopping, sometimes grab a snack and always a drink or two (local beers for me) and back on the ship NLT 1:00 PM.  Staying on board doesn't really appeal to us as we aren't huge sea day fans to begin with. So for now we'll wait until the cruise line(s) officially advise us for that specific cruise what our options will be.

[island lady]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

For us it's not the cost of the ships sponsored shore excursions. When we do shore excursion we have always book them thru the CP with the cruise line we are cruising with. Nothing new there for us. Not all shore excursions appeal to us. We are no longer beach people so that limits our choices in the Caribbean. We always don't do shore excursions. We prefer to get off the ship early, wonder around on our own in the ports of call, do some videoing, shopping, sometimes grab a snack and always a drink or two (local beers for me) and back on the ship NLT 1:00 PM.  Staying on board doesn't really appeal to us as we aren't huge sea day fans to begin with. So for now we'll wait until the cruise line(s) officially advise us for that specific cruise what our options will be.

 

Yup, great minds think alike!  Exactly what we do lately.  I will research to find a cool "hole in wall" local's joint for lunch, and have a couple of drinks.   If it is walking distance, all the better, or we will just grab a local cab, which sometimes gives us a unique informal "guide" of the area.  

 

Not beach people either (cut on too many times)...we like to immerse in the local flavor.   One thing I do that we love, is to find a local "food/history" tour.  Lunch and some interesting education!  

[davekathy]

44 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Yup, great minds think alike!  Exactly what we do lately.  I will research to find a cool "hole in wall" local's joint for lunch, and have a couple of drinks.   If it is walking distance, all the better, or we will just grab a local cab, which sometimes gives us a unique informal "guide" of the area.  

 

Not beach people either (cut on too many times)...we like to immerse in the local flavor.   One thing I do that we love, is to find a local "food/history" tour.  Lunch and some interesting education!  

 For us that is the other component about cruising we really enjoy and will miss "if" we only have the temporary options of ship sponsored shore excursions or stay onboard. I guess we all will find out this year if any of our cruises are a go.  Our glasses are still full and we are still wearing our rose colored glasses for our 2021 cruise. 🍷😍

Edited January 2, 2021 by davekathy

[DaniDanielle]

6 hours ago, denatravels said:

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/wingsairways/items/256875/calendar/2021/04/?full-items=yes
A simple google search found the same tour direct with the supplier. Most tours can be booked without the cruise line

Dena,nice to see a post from you. I don’t know if you remember, you took me to my first Quest on Liberty.

Hope you are well.

Marietta

[Arzeena]

2 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Dena,nice to see a post from you. I don’t know if you remember, you took me to my first Quest on Liberty.

Hope you are well.

Marietta

I just popped in here to wish you a very happy new year.

[DaniDanielle]

You and RJ also🍾

[TravelerThom]

7 hours ago, denatravels said:

https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/wingsairways/items/256875/calendar/2021/04/?full-items=yes
A simple google search found the same tour direct with the supplier. Most tours can be booked without the cruise line

I have run into a number of tours (such as the St. Kitts Sugar Train) that can be booked directly EXCEPT on days when ships are in port. On in-port days the ship has bought out the tour and the tour has to be booked through the ship. 

[firefly333]

59 minutes ago, TravelerThom said:

I have run into a number of tours (such as the St. Kitts Sugar Train) that can be booked directly EXCEPT on days when ships are in port. On in-port days the ship has bought out the tour and the tour has to be booked through the ship. 

Carnival bought out the rights to some fast thrill ride boat that everyone loved and now its 89 instead of 59 for the thrill ride in cozumel ...but it is still fun and I'll have a bunch of obc for my one and only booked ccl cruise, but carnival has been known to do that so you cant book the same tour direct for less money. I just checked and they now drop you on a beach. I guess $89 for just a fast fun boat ride was too much. People were furious when told they could no longer book direct, so it happens on all lines, I just remember this particular fun boat ride. Does 360 degree turns and idk anyone who didnt love it. I dont think rcl offers a fast thrill boat I've seen like this.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Carnival bought out the rights to some fast thrill ride boat that everyone loved and now its 89 instead of 59 for the thrill ride in cozumel ...but it is still fun and I'll have a bunch of obc for my one and only booked ccl cruise, but carnival has been known to do that so you cant book the same tour direct for less money. I just checked and they now drop you on a beach. I guess $89 for just a fast fun boat ride was too much. People were furious when told they could no longer book direct, so it happens on all lines, I just remember this particular fun boat ride. Does 360 degree turns and idk anyone who didnt love it. I dont think rcl offers a fast thrill boat I've seen like this.

 

The catamaran and twister have both been offered at times by Royal Caribbean to Passion Island but it depends on the contract negotiated at any given time

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=CZ1F&DestinationCode=

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=CZO2&DestinationCode=

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=CZ20&DestinationCode=

Edited January 2, 2021 by c-leg5

[firefly333]

13 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

The catamaran and twister have both been offered at times by Royal Caribbean to Passion Island but it depends on the contract negotiated at any given time

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=CZ1F&DestinationCode=

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=CZO2&DestinationCode=

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=CZ20&DestinationCode=

I'm just interested in twister. Odd that it looks so different on rcl, even painted a different color, but it is named twister. Wonder if it's as fun, cheaper on rcl. 

[c-leg5]

58 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'm just interested in twister. Odd that it looks so different on rcl, even painted a different color, but it is named twister. Wonder if it's as fun, cheaper on rcl. 

It varies, as I said, as to whether it is available, depending on contracts in place at the  time, (and after Covid all bets are off as to what will be available).

 

However the listing you quote certainly seems to be twister only, no beach therefore cheaper, if that is what you are interested in. 
 

I haven’t done either, twister or Passion Island, although both certainly have their fans. Passion Island always seems an expensive, too short, beach break for Cozumel which has so many other cheaper options but I think a lot depends on who is running the excursion at the time.

 

[denatravels]

4 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

Dena,nice to see a post from you. I don’t know if you remember, you took me to my first Quest on Liberty.

Hope you are well.

Marietta

Of course I remember you!! That was such a fun cruise!  Good to hear from you, too— happy new year!

[Sunshine3601]

On 12/31/2020 at 11:13 PM, RFerrington said:

This would also be our first trip to Alaska.  Keeping the faith but if it gets cancelled....we’ll just go another time.  .  

Same here.  We took advantage of the casino offer for an end of june sailing.  All we can do is hope!