Missing Ship w/Private Tour?

[melgray13]

I know that one of the major arguements for taking a ship tour vs private tour is that the ship will wait if you are delayed. We've used a lot of private tours while in the caribbean without any problems - but are back to the same discussion ship vs private for our trip to the med this fall.

 

So, my question is - has anyone ever missed the ship on a private tour? What tour? And what happened? Did the tour help you get to the next port? Did you have to do it on your own?

 

Thanks

[Sue L]

Our rule of thumb is if we are going farther then 1 hour from the port we take a ship's tour. We are doing a TA in Sept and for Paris it is 2 hours each way and no way would I risk a private tour being that far away.

[Cruise Junky]

We've taken lots of private tours, especially in the Med. Actually felt sorry for the people on ships tours...they looked like sheep. I've only read one review where someone missed the ship in Naples. All the private tours we did, the driver was very conscious of the time and usually had us back before the ships tours. They really can't afford the reputation of missing ships. Not to say it doesn't happen, but it's rare.

[Dr_DNA]

When we've booked private tours, we planned to be back at the ship earlier than we were supposed to be. That way, if we were delayed, we had some time built in and wouldn't miss our ship.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I absolutely love private tours too. Before I tried them, someone once put it to me this way:

 

"Have you ever heard anyone say, 'Boy, I wish I had taken that ship's tour instead of the private one!' "

 

Just realize your risk & minimize it by saying you want to get to the ship earlier than you would normally.

[negc]

Last year we took a private tour to the Beaches of Normandy when our ship docked in LeHavre. The ship was there from early morning until 11pm, and our tour began around 9 am and we were able to get to Normandy (about two hours away), see everything that we wanted to see, and still be back to LeHavre by around 5pm. Had there been less time in port, however, we would have stuck to a ship's tour. Our private tour, however, did allow us to get to places that a tour bus would not have been able to visit.:)

[zapman]

Most private tours are also the same tours the ships use so they know when you have to be back at the ship

[Conanc]

I'm a big fan of private tours but agree with Sue. If it's too far away, we'll do excursions with the ship. When our own, we always try to plan to be back to the ship in more than enough time to relax on the balcony before sailaway.

[Amlee]

For me it depends on the Itn. I would be less likely to do a independant in Caribbean a ways from the ship. Just because some of the ports are aways away from each other.

 

Europe the ports seem closer togather and easier to get to if you need to. This past Sept I did an independant tour out of Dublin. I had to be the first person off the ship to make it to my pick up spot downtown. Also according to the time frame I would make it back to the ship with 15 minutes left before all aboard. But I wasn't concerned, because our next port of call was Belfast. I checked my options out just in case I didn't make it back. I knew the cost of the train ride and the pricing of hotels, while waiting for the ship. I contacted the cruise lines to my plans and let them know if I wasn't back not to wait for me. Celebrity had no problem with me doing this. I packed over night clothes, and the basics for 1 nigh in a backpack. I did end up being the first person off the ship and was the last pax to board the ship. Five crew members were behind me. It was funny as the security and the guest relations people all yelled when I came back on board as they knew my plans.

 

I would do this again in a heart beat in Europe.