Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 13 #1 Share Posted July 13 Did anyone on last winter's Caribbean cruises keep a PDF of the excursions offered? I like to plan what I will do at different ports and I have never booked a cruise line that waits until 90 days or less to post ship excursions. I am going in December but I have been watching the transatlantic cruises that start near end of October and they still don't have any excursions listed for the Caribbean ports. I would love to get at least an idea of what they plan and what kind of prices they charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike@sea Posted July 13 #2 Share Posted July 13 Explora has learned its lesson and I think it is very wise, not to release any excursions > 3 months before the actual cruise. Or even less like Hapag Lloyd, who only release them mostly 2, sometimes 3 months prior. That way you do not face changes and it spares EX from problems with the subcontractors, like Explora faced partly during last Caribbean season. I had 3 excursions cancelled before I even stepped on the ship. And they were not cancelled because they would not have attracted fellow passengers. The contractors bailed out. One or two excursions also got completely changed in content, after I booked them about 2 months prior. Again, not because Explora wanted that, but for other reasons. So I have been told. I had 2 excursions cancelled while on board, for different reasons, one was due to lack of participants ( although their minimum participation is often quite low ). Was I disappointed? The first time it happened yes, second time I just thought, „oh well“ and asked what else was available. In both cases I did end up with great alternative excursions and was happy with what I received. In those cases I always say to myself, for whatever reason it was supposed to end up like this, so accept it. What I am trying to say is, it is not a bad thing, to not try to have every moment of your vacation planned out in advance, have all restaurants booked, every excursion planned. There is no need for that on Explora based on my experience. They will do their best to fulfill your requests even at the very last minute. Most of us are so well travelled, it should not be a problem, if you are required to go for Plan B instead every now and then. One can never see it all or have it all anyway. But I feel you, I also love nothing more than to plan ahead, dream myself away towards the vacation and plan out the days to come. With Explora I learned to be a bit more patient though. It wasn’t to my disadvantage in the end and played out nicely . 😉 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike@sea Posted July 13 #3 Share Posted July 13 Forgot to mention the prices from last Caribbean season. Talking group ( not private) excursions, where you can find price ranges from roundabout 129 - 289 €. Excursions with lunch were often around 220 €. But again, it all varies depending on length, method of transportation and inclusions. I felt my excursions were worth the money and I will happily book with EX again and definitely not book with other vendors. I felt very well taken care off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registrar Posted July 13 #4 Share Posted July 13 Can you tell us about the excursions you took in the Caribbean thru Explora please 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 13 Author #5 Share Posted July 13 Thanks Mike. I'm not obsessive😛but there are a couple of ports that I really want to see more than just wander around what passes for a town. In particular Anguilla, Bequia and Virgin Gorda. Did you stop at any of those ports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill6x6 Posted July 14 #6 Share Posted July 14 10 hours ago, cruisingxpert said: Did anyone on last winter's Caribbean cruises keep a PDF of the excursions offered? I like to plan what I will do at different ports and I have never booked a cruise line that waits until 90 days or less to post ship excursions. I am going in December but I have been watching the transatlantic cruises that start near end of October and they still don't have any excursions listed for the Caribbean ports. I would love to get at least an idea of what they plan and what kind of prices they charge. I completely understand as I'm exactly like you! I'm not retired(yet!) and my vacation(cruise) time is very finite! So I want to maximize my time wherever I happen to be. My cruise is an 8-day western Caribbean on Explora I coming up in March 2025. No dining OR shore excursion options as of yet. I just happened to be in contact with my TA yesterday and she told me she would send up a flare as soon as she heard anything concerning shore excursions/dining options. BUT....she is actually on the two cruises before mine(MIA to SJU and SJU to MIA) and the shore excursion are available for those dates! So that's the last week in Feb thru first week March 2025. She also stated some Mediterranean itineraries in September just had shore excursions become available. So...I'm thinking(hoping) shore excursions will be available for my March 2025 itinerary within a month or so. I really want to book a Lamanai Ruins excursion thru the ship AND I have no idea of anything to do at Cayman Brac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 14 Author #7 Share Posted July 14 37 minutes ago, chill6x6 said: ....she is actually on the two cruises before mine(MIA to SJU and SJU to MIA) and the shore excursion are available for those I just checked those dates and Explora has no excursions listed - just a note that they are working on it. People getting on the transatlantic end of October still don't have any excursions listed for the Caribbean ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chill6x6 Posted July 14 #8 Share Posted July 14 13 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said: I just checked those dates and Explora has no excursions listed - just a note that they are working on it. People getting on the transatlantic end of October still don't have any excursions listed for the Caribbean ports. All I can tell you is what she told me and to date she has been 100%... 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 14 Author #9 Share Posted July 14 13 minutes ago, chill6x6 said: All I can tell you is what she told me and to date she has been 100%... 😉 Maybe she will send you a pdf copy of the excursions for you to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Dr. Cocktail Posted July 14 #10 Share Posted July 14 3 hours ago, cruisingxpert said: Thanks Mike. I'm not obsessive😛but there are a couple of ports that I really want to see more than just wander around what passes for a town. In particular Anguilla, Bequia and Virgin Gorda. Did you stop at any of those ports? Hi Catherine: Greetings from midtown Toronto! We stopped in St. Vincent and did the snorkelling excursion that went to Bequia. The waters were RIDICULOUSLY choppy and Gravol/Dramamine was everyone's best friend (you're talking to someone who did the Drake Passage in a 4000 grt ship!) and the stop literally gave you enough time to change your mind. I would say that if you have obc to burn - Explora excursions are fine as they're very expensive. Otherwise, find your own tours on CC's parent company, TripAdvisor. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 14 Author #11 Share Posted July 14 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said: Otherwise, find your own tours on CC's parent company, TripAdvisor. Thanks for answering. I do have a boat tour in Anguilla that is available now but I would need some more people to share the cost. That's why I was hoping Explora would post excursions sooner to see if they had something similar. I did a ship catamaran excursion from St Vincent to Bequia before. The water was smooth enough but they had way too many people. We were crammed in like sardines. Our itinerary shows us as anchoring in Bequia. Hope that's true. P.s. I did get an email that you had posted about beds in ph but when I went to post it was deleted. Email did tell me what you had posted lol Edited July 14 by cruisingxpert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Dr. Cocktail Posted July 14 #12 Share Posted July 14 6 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said: Thanks for answering. I do have a boat tour in Anguilla that is available now but I would need some more people to share the cost. That's why I was hoping Explora would post excursions sooner to see if they had something similar. I did a ship catamaran excursion from St Vincent to Bequia before. The water was smooth enough but they had way too many people. We were crammed in like sardines. Our itinerary shows us as anchoring in Bequia. Hope that's true. P.s. I did get an email that you had posted about beds in ph but when I went to post it was deleted. Email did tell me what you had posted lol I made a sarcastic comment about my gut! I think that it was misinterpreted ..... The E shorex's are extremely strict in numbers carried .... ie similar itineraries but with far fewer people. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breadandbutter Posted July 14 #13 Share Posted July 14 14 hours ago, cruisingxpert said: Thanks Mike. I'm not obsessive😛but there are a couple of ports that I really want to see more than just wander around what passes for a town. In particular Anguilla, Bequia and Virgin Gorda. Did you stop at any of those ports? I've been to Bequia, it's beautiful and no need for an excursion imo. There's a path that goes up and down the side of a mountain and takes you to a secluded beach, St. Elizabeth beach i think....within walking distance from port. Path was a for me was a challenge as I'm not keen on heights, but I'd still do it again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 14 Author #14 Share Posted July 14 38 minutes ago, breadandbutter said: There's a path that goes up and down the side of a mountain and takes you to a secluded beach, St. Elizabeth beach i think.. I agree that the beach is beautiful - the town not so much. I think you mean Princess Margaret Beach named after Queen Elizabeth's sister. Princess Margaret was famous for wild parties on the neighbouring island of Mustique in the 70's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelhouse Posted July 14 #15 Share Posted July 14 I took three or four Explora excursions last winter and signed up for all of them while onboard. We had not planned to take a ship's tour at Virgin Gorda as it is easy to catch a low priced taxi to the Baths which are nearby the port. My wife decided she would did not want to crawl around the boulders and would stay behind for a hair day. The tour I signed up for was 99 euros and it was well worth it. We took a colorful minibus called the Copper Mine completely around the island hosted by two locals who were both knowledgeable and entertaining. We saw the best resorts and stopped at numerous viewpoints to get good looks at places like Branson's Nector Island. It was a good overview of Virgin Gorda. We then went to the Baths and were led through a preferred route that I never would have followed on my own. For me it was a very enjoyable day. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 14 Author #16 Share Posted July 14 (edited) 1 hour ago, Wheelhouse said: I took three or four Explora excursions last winter and signed up for all of them while onboard That's good to hear. I am hopeful they will have some good tours. I took 3 excursions on Explora Vancouver to Los Angeles ( booked onboard) and was very impressed. Have taken numerous excursions on Oceania cruises which ranged from totally forgettable to awful. Edited July 14 by cruisingxpert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJB416 Posted July 14 #17 Share Posted July 14 Have you emailed EJ guest services and asked for a PDF of the excursions? My cruise is in October and I just got one a few weeks ago per my email request. They are listed as well under my booking, but initially not all ports had something listed. If they do not have them secured yet for your cruise, perhaps they have a list from previous cruises in those ports and can provide that as an idea of what could be expected? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 14 Author #18 Share Posted July 14 I have contacted Guest Services. They were the ones that told me they wouldn't have anything until 90 days out. Oct 13 is 90 days after July 13 so that seems about right for your cruise. You aren't by any chance on the Oct 25 transatlantic? They don't have any excursions yet for the Caribbean ports 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PaulMCO Posted July 14 #19 Share Posted July 14 On 7/13/2024 at 10:05 AM, cruisingxpert said: Did anyone on last winter's Caribbean cruises keep a PDF of the excursions offered? I like to plan what I will do at different ports and I have never booked a cruise line that waits until 90 days or less to post ship excursions. I am going in December but I have been watching the transatlantic cruises that start near end of October and they still don't have any excursions listed for the Caribbean ports. I would love to get at least an idea of what they plan and what kind of prices they charge. depends on which ports.... Caribbean is quite large.... We were on the Southern side including South America.. Experiences EX20240105MIACTG.pdf 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registrar Posted July 14 #20 Share Posted July 14 Paulmco Thanks so much !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisingxpert Posted July 14 Author #21 Share Posted July 14 Thanks Paul. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping someone had saved. Unfortunately, only Fort De France and Barbados are ones that we stop at but it gives a great idea of cost. Cost seems fairly reasonable in comparison to Oceania. It's unfortunate that they charge in Euro. For us poor Canadians that's 1 EUR, 1.48 CAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boooomer Posted July 15 #22 Share Posted July 15 On 7/14/2024 at 8:09 AM, breadandbutter said: I've been to Bequia, it's beautiful and no need for an excursion imo. There's a path that goes up and down the side of a mountain and takes you to a secluded beach, St. Elizabeth beach i think....within walking distance from port. Path was a for me was a challenge as I'm not keen on heights, but I'd still do it again. I’ve seen videos of the walk I think you’re referring to. From the video parts of walkway were under shallow water. Single file. It looked a bit challenging if you’re carrying beach gear. The walk is also used to get to a couple of restaurants. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breadandbutter Posted July 28 #23 Share Posted July 28 On 7/14/2024 at 9:12 AM, cruisingxpert said: I agree that the beach is beautiful - the town not so much. I think you mean Princess Margaret Beach named after Queen Elizabeth's sister. Princess Margaret was famous for wild parties on the neighbouring island of Mustique in the 70's You are correct, Princess Margaret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris816 Posted August 15 #24 Share Posted August 15 (edited) I recently found this on the website. Looks like a lot of excursions have been added and you can download a PDF with all of them: https://explorajourneys.com/us/en/Destinations-Experiences/all-experiences?region=car Edited August 15 by kris816 Wrong link 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Waltershipman Posted August 16 #25 Share Posted August 16 On 8/15/2024 at 9:36 AM, kris816 said: I recently found this on the website. Looks like a lot of excursions have been added and you can download a PDF with all of them: https://explorajourneys.com/us/en/Destinations-Experiences/all-experiences?region=car I am wondering when excursions will be available to actually book fir Carribean 2025 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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