Non Carnival Excursion Companies

[rizkeeper]

All 4 of us are platinum, we've always only used Carnival for Excursions, however for our Nov cruise I finding it impossible to book anything of interest through carnival, everything is already very limited or sold out.  I understand the price guarantees, and time guarantees and safety etc by using Carnival, however I'm interested in seeing what else is out there through no Carnival excursions. Can anyone provide some links to companies they've had good experiences with, recently? 

[Haljo1935]

Shore Excursions group dot com is a great resource. You can enter your ship details and it provides excursions that align with you itinerary.

[ABQrobin]

Totally depends on the ports.  Where are you going?

[staceyglow]

I have had decent luck with Viator. On most of them, you don't have to pay until a couple of days before the excursion, and you can cancel up to 24 hours beforehand. Most other tour sites require you to pay at least half up front. 

 

And if you have Rakuten, you can get a cash rebate of up to 12%.

[groundloop]

49 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I have had decent luck with Viator......

 

When I've looked for excursions or tours on Viator I've been able to find the exact same thing for less money directly from the tour operator.  

[angelsfort]

I understand that completely!  Our last cruise I struggled to find excursions to book through Carnival - we ended up not really booking anything.

 

it seems like since the return to cruising they've had less excursions available - some of my favorites were just not there this time around.  😞

[HangryGrl]

I would recommend looking on the port of call boards here for recommendations for your specific ports.  We do DIY all the time, but it does require more research and leg work than just booking a ships tour.  Sometimes booking with Viator or similar is best but some of the time booking directly with the operator is better. Be sure to look at things like transportation/pick up from the port, time (does your ship stay on local time vs ship time?  We missed a tour once because of this), distance from port (traffic getting back could affect depending on your mode of transport).

[lazydayz]

We may use Carnival for excursions if it is a tender port (to get off the ship faster) or there are other logistical complications (i.e., long distance from the port), but mainly book privately.  We research on the port of call boards and sites like trip advisor.  It has saved us lots of money and is usually a better experience (van vs. bus, smaller groups).  .  

[rizkeeper]

2 hours ago, ABQrobin said:

Totally depends on the ports.  Where are you going?

Nov. 18th on the Mardi Gras, Amber Cove and Grand Turk are the two I'm having trouble booking something of interest.  

[rizkeeper]

1 hour ago, HangryGrl said:

I would recommend looking on the port of call boards here for recommendations for your specific ports.  We do DIY all the time, but it does require more research and leg work than just booking a ships tour.  Sometimes booking with Viator or similar is best but some of the time booking directly with the operator is better. Be sure to look at things like transportation/pick up from the port, time (does your ship stay on local time vs ship time?  We missed a tour once because of this), distance from port (traffic getting back could affect depending on your mode of transport).

I tried this first, they are very thin on the feedback....but i'm guilty of this too, I've used those pages many times but new post my experiences.  Shame on me. 

[ABQrobin]

Amber Cove - look at Iguana Mama.  

Grand Turk... there really isn't much that the cruise lines don't have.  Some people just rent a golf cart and drive around the island.  Maybe someone else can give you help there.

[Haljo1935]

Grand Turk options really are limited just because that's the way the island is. Absolutely beautiful, very little to do other than snorkel, scuba, beach days, etc.

https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/results/?line=1&shipId=430&arrival=2023-11-18&nights=7

After reviewing Amber Cove, I feel compelled to ask if you have room for a stow away, lol 😆🤣.  Those falls are gorgeous!!

[HangryGrl]

43 minutes ago, ABQrobin said:

Amber Cove - look at Iguana Mama.  

Grand Turk... there really isn't much that the cruise lines don't have.  Some people just rent a golf cart and drive around the island.  Maybe someone else can give you help there.

Yes to both! 

Iguana Mama was one of our favorite excursions we have done anywhere!  I have a review over on the Amber Cove board and have answered a few questions also.

Grand Turk we just walked down the beach to one of the small beach clubs and rented chairs.  My husband snorkeled and I read and drank cocktails.  🙂

[LibertyBella]

Grand Turk--I went horse back riding while my husband went scuba diving. My excursion was not worth the cost or the effort.

 

Conditions were a bit on the primitive side (air-conditioned van had broken windows, lots of run down areas), and I almost fell off the horse when it went racing into the ocean (loose saddle, skinny horse). 

 

The island is so small that everybody knows where everyone else lives.  There is no real shopping, like Grand Cayman or Bermuda. The claim to fame is the former salt production and the NASA splashdown (in 1962!!)

 

Next time I will stay close to the port and just use the beach, and swim in the giant pool.

 

 

[Haljo1935]

Grand Turk native.

[1025cruise]

For non-Carnival excursions, you need to visit the ports of call boards.

[ninjacat123]

GT- Jack's Shack. Great jerk chicken and tasty drinks.  Relaxed atmosphere and watching beach volleyball is a treat!

 

AC- We have done the 2 snorkeling catamaran excursion twice.  Very fun, lots of fish but we have been cancelled on twice.  Next AC visit we are going to the falls!

[lazydayz]

Grand Turk - agree with Ninjacat.  Walk off the ship and turn left.  The water is beautiful and the beach is right there.  Stop at Jack’s Shack for some beer and jerk chicken.  
 

Amber Cove - really pretty sail away and pretty good activities at the port.  We did the dolphin swim here and it was incredible.   If you are a pool person, just hang at the port

[John Bull]

Grand Turk is a Carnival-owned beach - it's good for a beach day, there's little else on this small island.

The pier is right by the beach and a clutch of shopping outlets. IIRC you can use your cruise card at many (all?) of them, same as on the ship.

The water is warm and clear - we did a bit of snorkelling but there was nothing to see.

We also spent some time playing chess on the giant chess-board.

 

Folk have mentioned "Jack's shack".

I think that's the place we used - turn left off the pier & walk along the beach, and in 5 minutes or less the  path takes you out of the area controlled by the cruise line and there's Jack's Shack.

Laid-back atmosphere and surprise-surprise 😄 the drinks etc are a lot cheaper than in the cruiseline -controlled outlets.

 

JB 🙂

[thinfool]

A couple of things about non-cruise line excursions....

Many folks think that using the ship excursions offer protection from the ship leaving without them.  I have a bridge in Brooklyn as an investment if that's what they think.  We have been on ships that leave regardless.  Especially if the next  port is a fair distance away.  The Captain has a schedule to keep.

OTOH, non-ship excursions know very well what the cruise line requirements are for everyone, hence, to stay in business they are extremely punctual, sometimes overly so, to make sure their tours return before or by 'all aboard' time.

I cannot remember the last ship excursion that we took as we stopped doing so a long, long time ago.

[sanger727]

You can use viator or other websites;  but that still leads to a middle man. I personally prefer to do research and book directly with local tour companies. I use TripAdvisor for research and reviews. We have had many spectacular tours going this route. And I feel much more secure than using whatever anonymous company the cruise line or shore excursion company has a contract with

[Nebr.cruiser]

We don't take ship excursions unless there is little other choice due to logistics or other factors.  We use the ports of call boards here for ideas, or google or sometimes just pick up a tour right off the ship.  We did that in Amber Cove and had a very nice tour that took in the main sights.   Some ports you can just get off and walk around the area or to nearby beaches.  It takes some research and also experience in different ports.