Shore Excursions - Elite vs other

[bkellygr]

Hi,

 

I have a question about the shore excursions offered by princess. Some shore excursions look identical, but one is elite. I'm not sure what the difference is. The elite looks like it has a nicer lunch, but I'm not sure if that is all. I would hope that they are smaller groups.

 

Here are a couple of example:

Best of Athens & Elite Collection: Athens & The National Museum

 

Istanbul is a similar example but the elite skips something and goes to another museum.

 

Any help from everyone's experiences would help. Thanks.

[Toto2Kansas]

Elite Excursions have far less passengers then the regular ones. Also, they can include meals at a nicer establishment. Whether they are worth it or not? Not sure, we usually try to book private excursions when possible. Half the price and better sightseeing.

[bkellygr]

Thanks for the information.

[Dorita]

My husband & I went on the elite excursion in Istanbul , the tour guide was fabulous , the sites so interesting, & the lunch WONDERFUL!!

WE ate at the Ciragan Palace overlooking the Bosporous Straits. WE had a fabulous buffet with wine.:) One of our best excursions!! There were about 20 people on our tour.

 

However we did the elite tour in Athens & we were disappointed!!

 

Our tour guide wasn't that great , & the restaurant we went to was very nice & great views of the Parthenon, but I didn't care for the food. :confused:

 

Those were our only elite excursions.

[ggprincess2004]

We have done several VIP (elite) excursions and the groups are definitely smaller, which we appreciate. Our experience has been that guides are interested in providing top notch service, since they know the tours are rated by the participants, and Princess does pay attention to the feedback. From an access standpoint, a knowledge standpoint, a quality standpoint, and a smaller group standpoint, I have been very pleased.

Also, your fellow tourists on these small group tours tend to have a keen interest in the subject(s) of the tour, and the atmosphere tends to enhance the overall experience. :D