Can you save money by not doing excursions?

[stitch78]

Is it cheaper to go off on your own...

[danyelle]

Definitely.

If you're going to book excursions, hunt around. I'd suggest not buying the cruise line's excursions. They're overpriced and often way crowded.

Check the Port of Call boards for your stops and see what independant stuff you can do on your own at each port or maybe which cheaper excursions you can buy from a company based there.

[LuvMyVette]

It's much cheaper going on your own. I usually do research on these message boards as well as destination websites. I also go to the book store and will purchase a book to find out what I can do. DH/I prefer to go on our own so we're not with a large crowd of people.

 

Danyelle had a good idea in regard to searching for excursions. If you plan on booking an excursion outside of the cruise line, please make sure you check their return policy. Just in case the ship doesn't stop at the port (weather related issue) please make sure you can obtain a refund.

Good luck and happy cruising.

[caribbean dreams]

We always go off on our own and it saves a alot of money, just make sure the taxi or tour guide is state licensed.

[LUCY55]

Actually, it doesn't always save you alot of money. I found the local provider for the biking tour we took in Freeport Bahamas. Their web price was only $10 less than what Carnival was charging. Beings that we had to be back by 2:30 we took it through Carnival. In Belize the Xunantunich mayan ruins tour involved a 2.5 hour bus ride both ways. In my opinion when the destination is that far away you should go with the cruiseline. Other ports with lots of port times allowing a comfortable window we book private operators based on cruisecritic recommendations.

[lacycatherine]

We have always gone on our own and found that we saved a LOT of money and didn't have the hassel of being on someone elses' schedule. Most of the things that we did we ended up getting private tours for more than 1/2 the price. Plus when it was private we could stop and start as we liked. We also learned to not take the 1st price they offer you. That is another way to save money. They are always going to start on the higher end.

[RoofingPrincess]

one thing I've picked up elsewhere on these boards is...

if you're on an excursion arranged by the cruise line and it's running late... the ship's ready to leave... the ship waits for you

if you're on an independent excursion and it's running late... the ship can leave without you... :eek: at which point you're going to spend a lot more money catching up with your cruise than you saved on your excursion

[palmtre2]

The truth is it depends on the ports. We will be in Panama and Costa Rica and the piers are not in the best part of the cities. It is NOT recommended that you wander around on your own. But like the other posters said you can always save money using a local guide or tour vendor - just do your research - no one wants to get taken for a hayride in a foreign country.

[Doug&Suzy-Q]

I agree, it depends on the port. In Belize, we took Carnival's advise & booked with them. Glad we did. In Cozumel, we rented a car for $50. total. for the 2 of us. Had a wonderful time.

 

In Sept we are going to St. Maarten & St. Thomas and will rent a car in both places. I have found some pretty good rates for both locations...both under $50. Budget & Avis are there if you don't want to use locals. We prefer locals.

This way we can stay at the beach as long as we want. We are not shoppers so excursions that include this feature, are not for us. :p

Like another poster said..I will do my homework on each location so we will have a vague idea of what we want to do.

 

For the two of us, renting saves us money plus we have so much fun.:D

[cruisinqt]

Everyone says to beware of booking an excursion on your own because the ship won't wait for you, but we've been on a number of cruises over the years and have never had that happen to us. We have always booked privately and we've always gotten back in plenty of time. We are also very careful to have a little extra time allotted just in case there is a flat tire, the tour bus breaks down, etc.;)

 

A couple of years ago when we booked a highly recommended tour on our own over the internet based on recommendations here at Cruise Critic, it was one of the best excursions we've ever had (it was in Grand Cayman). The funny thing was that a bunch of people booked this same tour through Holland America and paid $50 pp more than we did since we booked it on our own through the tour companies website. When the people from HAL found out that we booked it on our own and paid substantially less, they were pretty pissed! But boy were we happy!:D

[lovemylab]

I don't find all the cruise excursions to be overpriced. When we were in St. Martin we booked an excursion through the ship that was $56 each (Canadian). It included an island tour, a boat tour and unlimited rum punch. We also had some time to shop in Marigot. The tour guide was great and the (air conditioned) bus was not overcrowded. For us, this was definitely worth the money.

 

The excursions that seem overpriced to me are the ones that are a day at the beach. I think you would be better off taking a cab and just doing it on your own. As long as you give yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship you shouldn't encounter any problems.

[hooked-on cruising]

When you are on vacation, you want to have a good time and sometimes it means that you end up spending perhaps a little more than you expected. My opinion is simply this: it is your vacation, you worked hard to save for it, so why not let yourself have a good time, and my motto is: you deserve a great vacation so why not embark on a fun, adventurous and memorable excursion!!!! Don't let the mere cost (within budget and reason of course) of an excursion rob you of a great time, but do choose wisely, ie. a walking tour? These are usually the cheapest kind, but hey, you can walk everywhere yourself!, but what about dog-sledding in the snow in Alaska or swimming with the dolphins in the Caribbean - You will probably pay big bucks for these excursions, but I am sure something like these may well be worth the $$$$$ - you get the drift!!!!!

When comparing "ship-planned" excursions to "personally-planned" excursions, I feel "ship-planned" excursions are much safer all round (at least the ship will wait for you if the excursion is late in returning to the ship) but if "personally-planned" excursions are your choice, I would say - do your homework well before signing up.

Enjoy your cruise and excursions and take lots of pics!!!!!!

 

regards from

hooked-on cruising

[lulu47]

I think you can save $$ by going on your own but I found that on the Med cruise it was not only cheaper in the long run by booking with a tour operator but also safer. We were robbed in Rome by two different cab drivers because we missed our tour, also there was a mud slide on the train we took and had to be re routed. The last cruise two weeks ago we were in the Eastern Carribean and only booked one tour which turned out awful as my camera equipment were stolen off of the bus. I enjoyed researching and taking a cab on my own this time.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We usually do independent tours using these boards to find reputable guides and companies, or sometimes just finding a guide at the dock. We do occaisionaly take ship tours depending on price, what's offered and timing--with tight timing you are safer with a ship's tour.

 

We have had some unpleasantly crowded ship's tours, however. On Grand Cayman my poor husband spent the whole time on the tour bus crammed into a jump seat set up in the aisle of our narrow tour bus, along with others. It was hot, hard to get in and out and impossible to see any of the sights. That one experience has made us wary of ship's tours.

[mac66]

On my first cruise in 1979, my wife and I booked a tour at Ochos Rios through the ship to Dunns river falls. We were given a voucher and told to get on one of the taxi vans. We presented our voucher and waited when a woman and her son approached the driver and asked how much? He gave her a price half of what we paid. We were on the same van for the whole tour and returned to the ship together but not before I asked her some questions.

 

Since then, I've done and continue to do mostly private tours but will still a ship excursion on occasion. It all depends on the location and situation. Overall, I think you can save money by booking privately but you have to do the research first.