Shore excursions?

[neversink4]

Is there any advantage in booking shore excursions with NCL? I was told that when you book thru the ship if for some reason something happens and the tour is late getting back to the ship, the ship will not sail without you. Is this true?

I'm tempted to book my excursions via the internet at much lower prices but I need to know the ups and downs of booking excursions myself.

 

Thanks.

[CruiseGuy12345]

Is there any advantage in booking shore excursions with NCL? I was told that when you book thru the ship if for some reason something happens and the tour is late getting back to the ship, the ship will not sail without you. Is this true?

I'm tempted to book my excursions via the internet at much lower prices but I need to know the ups and downs of booking excursions myself.

 

Thanks.

 

It's true, if you are booked with NCL they will not leave without you and I guess they can if you are with someone else and don't make it back. I just went cave tubing with cave-tubing.com and they promise to get you back at least 1 hour before the last tender.

 

I would suggest going with a reputable tour that you find on cruisecritic or similar. 1/2 the people on the cruise use NCL so the other 1/2 are on their own.

 

Also, go with a bunch of other people from the ship. I don't know if they would leave if like 10-15 people were still in the port. Maybe they would, but it's just a thought.

[Toyz711]

i would say that it would depend on where?

in alaska i would have no problem booking with local vendors, in fact i did.

on the port of calls boards for the ports you needed, you can get a lot of answers about certain vendors and which to trust to get you back on time.

[cruizinwithkids]

Just make sure you know the cancellation policy. If for some reason the ship doesn't make a port of call when expected, make sure you don't have to pay.

[robhawk]

For the tender ports it is easier to book with NCL. If you don't book with NCL you have to wait until all their excusions are off the boat. You can be first in line to get tender tickets but it is a pain.

I was lucky in Belize because I had VIP tenders but still must wait until all NCL early excursions tender.

 

Rob

 

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