Horse/Carriage rides

[denisegold]

To book a one hour horse/carriage ride through NCL is $174 (for 3 adults, 2 kids) but it seems that you could find it yourself in St George for about $30 (that's a half hour, so double it to $60, because NCL's is advertised as an hour)

 

Has anyone done this on their own, and been just as happy (if not happier) with the outcome? TIA!

[B4andAFT]

When we were in St. George last September the carriage rides had to be booked through the cruiselines. None were available otherwise-we tried! :(

 

I believe they are available in Hamilton, however.

[cdpteach]

Last August, we went on a horse and carriage ride in Hamilton...we didn't see any available while we were in St George. This year, I am hoping to find one at Kings Wharf!!!

Enjoy the cruise....Bermuda is BEAUTIFUL!!! ;)

[ddoll]

Horsedrawn carriage on Front St in Hamilton:

 

[cdpteach]

This looks like the one we took last year!!! The carriage was beautiful, and the driver explained things that we passed on the way!!! She took a beautiful picture of us....and we used it as our Christmas card last year!!!

Cynthia

 

 

Horsedrawn carriage on Front St in Hamilton:

 

[Sugar13]

We saw no carriages in St. George but were able to get one right on Front Street in Hamilton. I would highly recommend it. We went at night and it was lovely clip-clopping along and hearing the tree frogs. Our driver also pointed out various buildings.

 

:)

[A.S.]

Are the horse and carriages available all day in Hamilton, or only at night?

 

Also, is the tip automatically in the price they quote you, or do they expect you to add more?

 

Does anyone know exactly how far they go for the 1 hour ride?

 

Thanks for any info.

[WatchHill]

After meandering through the crowds of the street fair, eight of us found a line-up of carriages just beyond the Bird Cage in Hamilton. The price was much less than what was offered through the cruise line. Although a bit humid at night, it was a delightful ride, listening to our driver talk about her life on the island.

A few years ago I did an afternoon ride in St. George. OK, but the Hamilton ride was much nicer. I don't recall seeing any at King's Warf, but you could easily take the ferry/water taxi across the Sound to Hamilton.

 

Darcy

[bdaguy]

To book a one hour horse/carriage ride through NCL is $174 (for 3 adults, 2 kids) but it seems that you could find it yourself in St George for about $30 (that's a half hour, so double it to $60, because NCL's is advertised as an hour)

 

Has anyone done this on their own, and been just as happy (if not happier) with the outcome? TIA!

 

denise the horse n buggies that you book through the ship's shorex are the same ones you go on if you book on your own, but as you see, for a lot less money. this is true of ALL the tours you can book on the ship. on some tours they jack the price by just $5, others they jack it up much more. a few years ago, i used to run snorkelling excursions. you could call up and book it yourself and we'd charge you $40. if you booked the same trip through your ship's shore excursion desk, they would charge you $60 and us, the operator, would get $30. pretty rotten, huh? it gets worse. if you tell them you're gonna book it on your own, they'll say something about they can't vouch for the quality or safety of the tour and even say something about insurance. anyone carrying passengers for reward (ie money) has to be licensed by the bermuda government and insured for passenger liability, this covers horse n buggies, taxis, boat tours, buses, ferries etc. if you ask about a tour that they don't sell, they'll tell you it is not available on the island.

when i was running glassbottom boats, we used to take cruise ship passengers and hotel visitors on the same trip. then the cruisers would find they paid nearly double for the same trip! this resulted in the cruise ships booking the boat exclusively for cruisers. this meant that they had to guarantee a minimum to the operator, resulting on pressure on the shorex staff to give you the hard sell on tours they have on their roster. this is why if you ask about something they don't sell, they tell you it doesn't exist - they have to meet their minimums on their tours. use the message boards, google and www.bermudayp.com and you'll save a ton of money. the ONLY time it makes sense to book a tour through a shorex is if the return time of the tour is close to the departure time of the ship. they don't leave untill all the excursions have returned.

[A.S.]

Hi bdaguy,

 

You seem to know everything about Bermuda. Can you answer any of my questions above?

 

Would appreciate it greatly. Thanks

[bdaguy]

Hi bdaguy,

 

You seem to know everything about Bermuda. Can you answer any of my questions above?

 

Would appreciate it greatly. Thanks

 

carriage rides are available at all three ports. maybe you didn't see them 'cos they were always out on a tour when you were looking for them! in st georges i've seen them waiting for fares outside the majesty on ordnance island, in dockyard there only seems to be one, but i think it holds up to ten people and leaves from the cruise ship terminal. seems we all know where they leave from in hamilton, where they start after rush hour, around 9:30am. these guys are usually out working until 10pm, though this may vary due to weather. the price quoted is the price you have to pay, it's up to you to tip. i don't know what a "normal" tip is for the drivers, but i would guess 15% would be acceptable.

[Writeratsea]

denise the horse n buggies that you book through the ship's shorex are the same ones you go on if you book on your own, but as you see, for a lot less money. this is true of ALL the tours you can book on the ship. on some tours they jack the price by just $5, others they jack it up much more. a few years ago, i used to run snorkelling excursions. you could call up and book it yourself and we'd charge you $40. if you booked the same trip through your ship's shore excursion desk, they would charge you $60 and us, the operator, would get $30. pretty rotten, huh? it gets worse. if you tell them you're gonna book it on your own, they'll say something about they can't vouch for the quality or safety of the tour and even say something about insurance. anyone carrying passengers for reward (ie money) has to be licensed by the bermuda government and insured for passenger liability, this covers horse n buggies, taxis, boat tours, buses, ferries etc. if you ask about a tour that they don't sell, they'll tell you it is not available on the island.

when i was running glassbottom boats, we used to take cruise ship passengers and hotel visitors on the same trip. then the cruisers would find they paid nearly double for the same trip! this resulted in the cruise ships booking the boat exclusively for cruisers. this meant that they had to guarantee a minimum to the operator, resulting on pressure on the shorex staff to give you the hard sell on tours they have on their roster. this is why if you ask about something they don't sell, they tell you it doesn't exist - they have to meet their minimums on their tours. use the message boards, google and www.bermudayp.com and you'll save a ton of money. the ONLY time it makes sense to book a tour through a shorex is if the return time of the tour is close to the departure time of the ship. they don't leave untill all the excursions have returned.

The first time we cruised, we used the shore ex desk because we didn't know any better. We also were not aware of the existance of cruise critics, which has a wealth of informed people such as yourself. Now that we know, we just book anything we might be interested in ourselves. Even if the price is the same, I know that all the money will go to the operators. Even the first year we did the excursions, the operators would tell me how the cruise line doubles the price and yet they got less. Especially with your experiences, you have a good insight how this market works for the cruiselines. There are a few excursions that require you to book through the ship as they have a contract with the cruise line, which as you say guarantees the excursion. Overall, you can do much better on your own. The message boards here have a lot of information both good and bad about various excursions. You can do a search for a particular excursion or google for information. I also like the website, Bermuda shorts. For myself, I would only book an excursion for Friday morning where I am concerned about missing the ship, if it runs late. If you book through the ship, they will wait for you as you say. Otherwise, I am reluctant to go too far from the ship other than where it is docked.

[Sugar13]

We saw them in Hamilton all day and late into the evening outside the ship, up to midnight. I could watch them come and go from our balcony. We were quoted $10/person for 30 minutes, though the ride was nearly an hour. We enjoyed talking to our driver, asking him questions and hearing about life in Bermuda. I don't exactly know how far he went but we saw lots of businesses, a school, narrow streets, houses big and small and many places where he would slow the horses and all we could hear were the tree frogs. Quite a difference from the noisy chaos of Front Street. There were 6 of us on the ride and we didn't think twice about tipping, he deserved it! And so did the beautiful horses.

:D

 

About booking through the cruise line or on your own, we booked two tours through the cruise. One we couldn't have done otherwise because of time constraints, since the cruise line had booked it exclusively at that time. Though our time ended up being changed because another cruise canceled their earlier tour for lack of sales. This sounds like a real pain for the tour operators. The other boat tour we hadn't planned, but others in our group talked us into it. It was a lot of fun but it was interesting that the captain of the ship gave quite a speech urging people to book tours independently.

 

These people work hard and do a great job entertaining us and sharing their love for Bermuda. It doesn't sound like they get paid enough if they are working through shore excursions. I think if they gave a good service, they should be given a good tip, no matter how you booked them.

 

Gee, does this sound like I've worked with customers before? :o

[Sugar13]

We saw them in Hamilton all day and late into the evening outside the ship, up to midnight. I could watch them come and go from our balcony. We were quoted $10/person for 30 minutes, though the ride was nearly an hour. We enjoyed talking to our driver, asking him questions and hearing about life in Bermuda. I don't exactly know how far he went but we saw lots of businesses, a school, narrow streets, houses big and small and many places where he would slow the horses and all we could hear were the tree frogs. Quite a difference from the noisy chaos of Front Street. There were 6 of us on the ride and we didn't think twice about tipping, he deserved it! And so did the beautiful horses.

:D

 

About booking through the cruise line or on your own, we booked two tours through the cruise. One we couldn't have done otherwise because of time constraints, since the cruise line had booked it exclusively at that time. Though our time ended up being changed because another cruise canceled their earlier tour for lack of sales. This sounds like a real pain for the tour operators. The other boat tour we hadn't planned, but others in our group talked us into it. It was a lot of fun but it was interesting that the captain of the ship gave quite a speech urging people to book tours independently.

 

These people work hard and do a great job entertaining us and sharing their love for Bermuda. It doesn't sound like they get paid enough if they are working through shore excursions. I think if they gave a good service, they should be given a good tip, no matter how you booked them.

 

Gee, does this sound like I've worked with customers before? :o

[Sugar13]

Got a "fatal error" message (don't you love those?) so I went back and hit submit again. Sorry!

:)

[A.S.]

Thank you so much for your input on the horse and carriage rides.

 

Do any of you know anything about taking a tour with a cab driver on your own?

 

I believe I read something about the cabs with the flags on them are the ones with the drivers that will give you a tour.

 

Any info on that?

[Charles4515]

Thank you so much for your input on the horse and carriage rides.

 

Do any of you know anything about taking a tour with a cab driver on your own?

 

I believe I read something about the cabs with the flags on them are the ones with the drivers that will give you a tour.

 

Any info on that?

 

There are drivers who have special training for guided tours. They have a blue flag but some cabs could be shared so make sure you ask the driver if he is the one. The ones who give the tours will usually be there when you get off the ship offering tours, so are easy to find. I did one and it was great.

[A.S.]

Thank You Charles,

 

I keep on thinking of more questions, so I hope all you people do not mind.

 

Here goes one more: Is it possible to do the trolley tour in Hamilton on your own? If so how much is it and for how long?

 

I know the ship offers it, but am wondering if like everything else, if would be more economical to do it on your own.

 

Appreciate any answers.

[MSUcruisers]

Does anyone have any updates including prices on horse and buggy tours?