Small Group shore excursions

[kaceyisme]

For shore excursions listed as “small group” on the Celebrity website, how many people are on these excursions?

 

Thanks!

Edited November 17, 2023 by kaceyisme

[thebutlerdidit]

We went on one in Cozumel that was very enjoyable. Our trolley type vehicle only had 13 passengers plus the driver and guide. We stayed in our small group throughout the stops. There was at least one more group, but we never waited for them or gathered together into a larger group. It was a good experience.

[PurpleTraveller]

I think the number of passengers can vary. In 2022 in Kotor, Montenegro our "Small Group Castelnuovo and Fort Mare Fortress" excursion had 29 passengers which is not what I would consider a small group. When in Messina Sicily two days later our standard "In the Godfather's Footsteps" excursion had 28 passengers.

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[the penguins]

7 minutes ago, kaceyisme said:

For shore excursions listed as “small group” on the Celebrity website, how many people are on these excursions?

 

Thanks!

Sorry this has been asked numerous times and there is no specific definition. In addition small can also result in a smaller vehicle so you might not get the extra space you expected.

The only way to guarantee a "small group" (my definition is 4 maximum 6) is to book a private guide and share the cost.

X will do this at a high cost ( Private Journeys).

Our preference is Toursbylocals.

 

 

[kaceyisme]

Thanks all!

[NutsAboutGolf]

Remember that you can book now and get a refund within 48 hours of the tour.  On board, the tour team is usually fairly knowledgeable and should be utilized and can tell you how many are signed up

[NutsAboutGolf]

I will add any tour that includes vehicles should be discussed before the deadline to cancel.  Two couples plus the guide/driver in a 20+-year-old Rav4 isn't exactly what I'd call a "small tour 4x4 adventure" that we experienced

[the penguins]

8 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I will add any tour that includes vehicles should be discussed before the deadline to cancel.  Two couples plus the guide/driver in a 20+-year-old Rav4 isn't exactly what I'd call a "small tour 4x4 adventure" that we experienced

We booked a guided tour of Mooreia and Bora Bora in air- conditioned vehicles. Great tours and the vehicles were both open backed trucks.

[the penguins]

19 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Remember that you can book now and get a refund within 48 hours of the tour.  On board, the tour team is usually fairly knowledgeable and should be utilized and can tell you how many are signed up

The problem is that in most cases by the time you have any idea of the final numbers it will be too late to make alternative arrangements. Also X reserves the right to cancel a tour for any reason which again can you leave you without a tour.

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

19 minutes ago, the penguins said:

We booked a guided tour of Mooreia and Bora Bora in air- conditioned vehicles. Great tours and the vehicles were both open backed trucks.

 

Looks fun!

 

15 minutes ago, the penguins said:

The problem is that in most cases by the time you have any idea of the final numbers it will be too late to make alternative arrangements. Also X reserves the right to cancel a tour for any reason which again can you leave you without a tour.

 

 

Absolutely.  X can cancel tours at anytime

[the penguins]

Just now, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Looks fun!

 

 

Absolutely.  X can cancel tours at anytime

Which is why we now like to book our own guides with a vehicle that holds 6 to 8 and then share with one other couple on the Roll Call . No stress, no worries, no shopping (or only a short stop at a truly local market) plus stops for coffee/cake.

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, the penguins said:

Which is why we now like to book our own guides with a vehicle that holds 6 to 8 and then share with one other couple on the Roll Call . No stress, no worries, no shopping (or only a short stop at a truly local market) plus stops for coffee/cake.

 

Totally agree.  Often you can go to the forums on Trip Advisor (CC's parent company) and find a local private driver for an affordable rate.  We've had great luck with the drivers and the costs yet despite some claiming "excellent English" that wasn't always the case; good thing for google translator

[D. B.]

It has been my experience that even though I Paid More for a "Small Group" excursion we were at the same places as the less expensive Regular excursion group and the benefit of paying More was negligible. 

 If the " Small Group" and Regular size excursions are on the same route I did not see any reason to have paid more.

 Some excursions billed as Captains Club special were excellent.

[SusieAV8R]

6 hours ago, kaceyisme said:

For shore excursions listed as “small group” on the Celebrity website, how many people are on these excursions?

 

Thanks!

In September, we had booked several "small group" excursions on X.  Once I got onboard, I checked with Guest Services to see how large the "small" group was.  One was 28registerd  guests "with room for a few more" and the other was 18 registered guests "with room for 6 more".  I cancelled both excursions since my idea of "small" is less than 10 folks and preferably 6 or 8.  I now book privately with a large Shoreside company I have used in the past who have a similar definition for small group as me.

[SusieAV8R]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

Sorry this has been asked numerous times and there is no specific definition. In addition small can also result in a smaller vehicle so you might not get the extra space you expected.

The only way to guarantee a "small group" (my definition is 4 maximum 6) is to book a private guide and share the cost.

X will do this at a high cost ( Private Journeys).

Our preference is Toursbylocals.

 

 

Totally agree, the penguins,  based on our experiences.  And, we discovered on our September cruise another "interesting" situation.  We booked the Caribbean Chef Cooking class on Curacao well in advance through X.   Several months before the cruise, we received an email from X stating that the "excursion provider" was no longer "available". I researched and privately booked the cooking class....for half the price X was charging!  When we arrived at the class we met 3 other Celebrity cruisers; 2 of them said X charged them 3 times the price they paid directly for the class after cancelling with X!!  And I have since discovered numerous other examples of this overcharging......yes corp needs to make a profit but not with my wallet,  So now I am booking all excursions independently. 

[wineoclock]

On our recent cruise I complained about one of our ‘small shore excursion’ in Corfu.
 

wherever we went we were constantly waiting for the other ‘small group’ to join us on coffee breaks and wine experience making us a large group.

 

I got a refund of 25%. It just wasn’t good enough experience.