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what to expect on tour buses from Princess excursions

Kitty Ellas Mom

By Kitty Ellas Mom,
in Princess Cruises

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Kitty Ellas Mom

Kitty Ellas Mom

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My first cruise is a Canada / New England on Caribbean Princess in 3 weeks.  I have a few excursions that require an hour or longer on a bus each way (and one, to Hopewell Rocks, that is 2 hrs each way).  Can I expect these buses to have bathrooms?  I need to use a seat cushion for a medical condition--can I expect to be allowed to leave it on the bus?  I'm not sure how to contact the tour operators for the tours.  Thanks for any info.  I am prepared to take my cushion with me if necessary, but the 2 hr Hopewell Rocks drive each way is daunting---and I don't want to take the cushion with me if I might fall into mud.  I am thinking about canceling that one.  When I booked this I thought I'd be allowed to stop using the cushion, but the dr is now saying it's with me forever.  Sigh.  I don't want this to stop me from doing what I want but my goal for the cruise was complete relaxation and thinking about this 4 hrs on a bus that day is not sounding relaxing.

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beg3yrs

beg3yrs

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My experience with restrooms on the bus is that even if there is one, it's not always available (locked). However in that case it seems the bus always makes a restroom stop on longer rides.

 

As far as school buses being used, the tour description is usually pretty specific as to what kind of transportation is being offered. If it's just a basic school bus, it will tell you.

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dlh015 Great Review Rare

dlh015

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I have never been on a Princess excursion where the bus had a restroom. However, the buses have stopped at rest facilities when it was a long ride. But I can't speak for every place in the world...😁

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skynight

skynight

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I am assuming that you are speaking about a Princess tour. My experience is that the busses will not have a restroom. Even if the bus did have a usable restroom, they are very small and difficult to use. My experience also is that your bus and driver will remain with you, and that you can leave items on the bus. If you look at the "Excursion Detains" of your shore excursion there will be specifics regarding all the stops, how long they are, time at each stop, how often you get off and back on the bus, and if there will be a rest room available. 

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NavyVeteran

NavyVeteran

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The only reliable answer you could get here would be from someone who took the same tour. You can get a better answer from the Shore Excursions desk on the ship than you can get from Princess in advance. If the excursion is not in the first couple of days of the cruise, ask the specific questions at the Shore Excursions desk before the cancellation deadline.

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Rick&Jeannie "Live from...." Rare

Rick&Jeannie

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The only time we have ever been on a school bus was once in Alaska where we were doing a fairly short run. Many of the nicer busses in Europe have restrooms, have never seen them locked. If you find the door locked I would simply ask the driver...he's going to have a key.  Very often a run as long as 2 hours will have a rest stop. 

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Paula_MacFan "Live from...." Rare

Paula_MacFan

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First let me say we have been on this excursion through Princess and it is excellent!  I highly recommend you go.  Yes, it's a long day, but you will see so much it is totally worth it.  We were on a very nice modern tour bus, in no way was it a school bus situation.  We had a professional driver and guide, and if I remember correctly there was a restroom on the bus.  Of course this was pre-pandemic so things may have changed, but I would be highly surprised if they took you on this long of a tour on something primitive.  

 

You will get to see the tides go in and out which is phenomenal, then stop at the visitor center where they have a park ranger give an informative talk.  We had plenty of time to explore the beach/rocks area, the overlooks, the visitor center, and use restroom facilities.  They provided a boxed lunch which was very good as well.  We've been on countless tours in our 20+ years of cruising and this is one we still talk about!

 

Secondly, let me ask if you've looked at the excursion details on the Princess website?  It does break down the day with travel times and if restrooms are available.  I've attached the first part of the detail in a scree shot, but you can look at the rest on the website.  It does appear that restrooms are available according to this. 

 

You shouldn't have any problem leaving your cushion on the bus.  We were able to leave jackets, bags, etc with no problems as the driver stayed with the bus while we were away.

 

https://www.princess.com/ports-excursions/saint-john-for-the-bay-of-fundy-canada-excursions/discovery-recommended-hopewell-rocks-and-tidal-discovery/?preserveScrollPosition=true

 

 

Screenshot 2023-08-25 12.49.56 PM.png

Edited by Paula_MacFan
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Kitty Ellas Mom

Kitty Ellas Mom

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Thanks so much all this is very useful.  I did see the restrooms info on the website;  when I look at an excursion I usually look first at the "excursion details" before the descriptions.  But, I was unsure if restrooms being available meant that they'd stop somewhere, or if it was available on the bus itself.

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Paula_MacFan "Live from...." Rare

Paula_MacFan

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3 minutes ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Thanks so much all this is very useful.  I did see the restrooms info on the website;  when I look at an excursion I usually look first at the "excursion details" before the descriptions.  But, I was unsure if restrooms being available meant that they'd stop somewhere, or if it was available on the bus itself.

Good points and I only included the screen shot because some people miss that tab and don't realize it's there with the specifics 🙂  

 

I just looked at my trip pictures to see if I had any of the bus and I don't.  I do know it was definitely a modern tour bus and not a school bus.  It had high-backed comfortable seats and many (most?) of the people on the bus fell asleep on the way back because we had to leave so early in the morning to align with the tides.  Here is what I wrote in my tour diary for that day:

 

 

10/10/18 Wednesday/Saint John – We had to be at the theater by 7am to meet our tour, and were on the bus in the dark at 7:10. Last night we had to set the clocks up ahead by an hour. Got on the bus with our guide Rose and driver Orlean. Rose was very knowledgeable and kept us informed all day. Two hour bus ride to Hopewell Rocks in Fundy Provincial Park. Very pretty drive past many trees turning fall colors and some covered bridges. Arrived at Hopewell Rocks just in time for low tide and got to walk on the ocean floor and see the huge rock formations. Our Provincial Park guide John got on the bus with us and drove down to the staircase to the bottom by accessing a gate with a key -- nice to have special direct access.  We took extra shoes and they had a shoe washing station, but it wasn’t too muddy if you walked on the rocks or gravel spots. Spent an hour here on the beach exploring. Then back to visitor center where we watched videos showing a huge rock slide and also how high the tide rises – 25 minutes to cover a person’s head. The tide changes 46 feet every 6 hours and 13 minutes, day in and day out. We looked around the visitor center on our own for awhile, then the tour provided boxed lunches. We had turkey sandwiches, chips, carrots, and pecan pie. Back to Saint John by 2:30 for all aboard at 2:45. We have to leave port on high tide or be stranded here. We saw ships on our tour that were in dry docks on the way to the park, then floating in water on our way home a few hours later.  Very interesting sights unique to this area. 

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