need advice - ship tours vs. going on your own

[shipmade]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise on the Marinator of the Seas next month. Does anyone have any advice about what to do in the ports of call? We travel quite often and aren't sure if it's better to go off on our own or through a local tour operator at each port, or to try the tours they sell on board. Has anyone tried both the ship tours and going on your own??? Thanks for any advice!!

[Donna_In_India]

I always recommend going independantly. Less expensive, private and more flexible. Check the Ports of Calls boards for your particular ports and you'll find a lot of tour company recommendations. I think many of the people who take the cruiseline's tours may be concerned with missing the ship.

[KimS.]

I agree with the previous post. We enjoy doing independant tours. By going to the Ports of Call Section on the boards you can read and learn which "local tour guides" are the best. We've always had great experiences.:D

[pmfan]

You could also check on the meet & mingle roll call for your sailing to see what plans the others are making.

[mckinna]

This past cruise, for the first time we took independent tours on 2 ports of call. Worked out beautifully, and we were able to get great tours with our own tour guides, and had a great time. As others have posted, to go the ports of call- that's how I found out who to book with. Didn't have any trouble getting back to the ship on time, in fact both of them made sure what the ship's time was, and got us back over an hour before all aboard.

[My2Kitties]

we do both depending on the length of the excursion and the time in port...and the ports...remember if you want to do something really long and afraid of missing the ship, do RCCL excursions they do wait for you...if you have all day and no restrictions on time go out on your own....

[cb at sea]

If you're talking about booking with an independant tour guide PRIOR to sailing, as opposed to getting off the ship and letting one of the guys standing around take you someplace.....Then do your research and have a great trip! If time is an issue, then going through the ship is pretty safe--no worries about missing the ship!

There's nothing wrong with just going on your own--excursions are not a MUST!

[Tex_Jen]

I've done both. In some of the ports, what used to be independent operators are now doing excursions for RCCL. I found reading up on operators and ship's excursions in the Ports of Call area give me lots of information to make a decision.

 

Jen

[shawn&angie]

Agree with all that is said. Angie and I have done both. We have saved money and found some of the best and most memorable Tours/Excursion doing it on our own.

 

We are also big on culture and are not afraid in some places to take the local bus. We often tell the story about going to the Fort in Puerto Rico. We took the bus for a quarter to the fort and purchased our ticket there to get in. The tour was I think $45 per person with the cruise line. I think we got it done for a combined $7. I am sure the Tour may have included a few extras (but not many) but we were very pleased with our experience and savings.

[kicker]

First of all, interesting typo on the name of the ship you're cruising on...

 

Okay, done both ship and private excursions. Advantages of the ship ones: if something happens and you're late getting back, the ship waits for you if its a ship-based excursion. If you're late and on your on, wave goodbye. And, as mentioned, booking through the ship gives you more of a guarantee. Some excursions (I'm doing one in St Maarten) will only book through the cruise line.

 

Advantages of booking yourself: its usually cheaper; you have more flexibility. What you should do is take some time and research these boards. Check out the ports you'll be visiting - see what others have said. My personal opinion is that beach visits are cheaper and easier to do on your own, but other excursions are often safer through the cruise line. Good luck.

[Sue L]

Our general rule of thumb is that if we are going to be more then an hour from port for a tour we use the ship's tours. Closer then that we use independent. Over the years we would have been left a couple of times on all day far tours IF we hadn't been on a ship's tour.

[ubdkjrb]

....missing the ship's departure with an independant operator. While that's a possibility, these operators make their living with these tours and the last thing they will let happen is for you to miss your departure. The bad press from that would literally ruin their lives. We were on a jeep safari awhile back with an independant and the jeep broke down on the way back to the ship. The guy was on his cell phone yelling instructions to his base people to get another jeep out asap. They were there in ten minutes. He was almost beside himself.

 

Peter

[toonjie]

We used the ship's excursions when we first started out, but never would again. You can almost always do it better and cheaper on your own and see a lot more as well. We can usually do the equivalent of 3 of the ships tours for the price of 1 on our own. We always plan to end up back near the ship with plenty of time to spare. For instance, the shopping is usually where the ship is docked, so we just plan to wind up the day shopping or touring around near where the ship is docked. Then there are no worries about missing the ship. Let us know what islands and everyone can chime in with advice.

[terri23]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise on the Marinator of the Seas next month. Does anyone have any advice about what to do in the ports of call? We travel quite often and aren't sure if it's better to go off on our own or through a local tour operator at each port, or to try the tours they sell on board. Has anyone tried both the ship tours and going on your own??? Thanks for any advice!!

 

LOL must be some good cooking lessons on board ;)

 

On private vs. ship excursions, we find the pros and cons to be:

 

private excursions: more flexibility (if you want to deviate from the original itinerary), subjected to fewer sales pitches e.g., "we're stopping at this authentic Mayan village for a brief shopping break" (when it was not listed on the RC excursion description), lower cost (especially if you get together with others for a group of 8 or more), a more personal experience (private groups are never as large as the RC ones!), faster pace (if you want it) - you can see / do more with your time.

 

RC excursions: some have been very good, some with over-the-top sales pitches, you have to assume the tour companies have been reviewed and approved (with the private service you do run some risk of getting a "bad" one), you have to wait for rude pax who don't return to the bus on time, large group with a "cattle call" feel, better reassurance that if you're late the ship with wait for you (this is not a guarantee as believed by some! however, they are obligated to help you catch up with the ship if it does leave without you), more "structured" for those who like to have a plan and stick with it.

 

we definitely peruse the CC ports of call boards for recommendations for private companies. We usually try to have a "plan B" in mind as well just in case things don't work out.

[alwayshappytocruise]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise on the Marinator of the Seas next month. Does anyone have any advice about what to do in the ports of call?

 

Too funny...what kind of meat are you marinating?? Do you mean the Mariner or the Navigator?? Thanks for the smile.....

[rubrrick]

We used the ship's excursions when we first started out, but never would again. You can almost always do it better and cheaper on your own and see a lot more as well. We can usually do the equivalent of 3 of the ships tours for the price of 1 on our own. We always plan to end up back near the ship with plenty of time to spare. For instance, the shopping is usually where the ship is docked, so we just plan to wind up the day shopping or touring around near where the ship is docked. Then there are no worries about missing the ship. Let us know what islands and everyone can chime in with advice.

 

Thank you for bring up what we have said about shore excursions for many years. 3 for the price of 1!!

 

If the ship has something that we think is well worth while, we will book it in a heartbeat. That being said, in the past 50 cruises, we have probably booked 5 ships excurisions.........and the rest have been on our own.

 

We have a cruise coming up out of Harwich in June. All of our shore excursions have already been planned and booked. Some are with independent operators and other areas we rent a car and already have outlined what we want to do and see.

 

The closest we have come to thinking that we were going to miss the ship....and this is a biggie, because it happened in Santa Cruz, in the Canary Islands, and the next stop for the ship was Ft. Lauderdale. On a previous trip we had discovered the lower part of La Palma, and so this time we wanted to explore the volcano and go around the upper part of the island. Being that it was a Sunday, we were late in getting a rental car. We were enjoying the sights, but by the time that we got to the far northern part of the island, we realized that we only had 3 hours to get back..........giving ourselves our usual half hour for emergencies. We realized that if we kept on the road we were on..........we could be in trouble. So we started off looking for a short cut. We found a sign showing that the observatories were 12 Km on this road, but then we wondered if it was just up and back..........and then for sure we would miss the ship. Being a Sunday, no one seemed to be traveling. Rounding a curve, I found a local, took the map with me and pointed to where we wanted to go (back to Santa Cruz). Much to my relief, in his language and pointing.....I knew that we were on the right road. We actually made it back in time to park the car and catch a jitney down the pier with 45 minutes before the ship was to sail.

 

In well over 150 shore excursions in different parts of the world, to have that experience only reminds us to be cautious......but to continue to explore on our own.

 

Rick

[Aubiecruiser]

Too funny...what kind of meat are you marinating?? Do you mean the Mariner or the Navigator?? Thanks for the smile.....

 

 

You folks need to cut out the "ribbing", maybe they are doing a baby back to back. :D

Aubie

[Gon2hwe]

We're about to go on our second cruise and I'm still not comfortable enough to go out on our own yet. If you've been on lots of cruises and already know your ports it's probably easy to go out on your own. I just did alot of research on each port and tours (ship and independent) and the price differences weren't enough for the security of a ships tour. But if we cruise to the same ports in the future we may do those on our own. Oh yea, love your picture. I'm an Auburn fan until they play Alabama, then ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!

[Aubiecruiser]

We're about to go on our second cruise and I'm still not comfortable enough to go out on our own yet. If you've been on lots of cruises and already know your ports it's probably easy to go out on your own. I just did alot of research on each port and tours (ship and independent) and the price differences weren't enough for the security of a ships tour. But if we cruise to the same ports in the future we may do those on our own. Oh yea, love your picture. I'm an Auburn fan until they play Alabama, then ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!

 

 

As a former resident of the great state of Alabama, I know that there is no way you can pull for Auburn most of the time and Bama some of the time. That's against all forms of common sense. Now for me, I pull for two teams every week. Auburn and whoever is playing against Alabama. War Eagle!!!

Aubie

[walkman74]

We were in Cozumel last week on Mariner (Marinator?) and a woman was right down to the wire on returning from a dive trip. As she was walking up the pier the captain came on over the P.A. system and told her to run; he wasn't kidding and she did. The moment her feet were on board, the gangway was up and the lines cast and we sailed in about a minute. So take heed. When asked if he would have left her, the Captain said he never leaves anyone. They leave him.

[mojitodiva]

After 10 cruises I have never taken an excursion yet. I like to do my own thing when I'm ready to do it and get back to the ship when I want.

Plus the excursion are not cheap. :)

[MrsPete]

I always recommend going independantly. Less expensive, private and more flexible. Check the Ports of Calls boards for your particular ports and you'll find a lot of tour company recommendations. I think many of the people who take the cruiseline's tours may be concerned with missing the ship.

Ditto for me. EVERY private tour I've been on has been better than EVERY ship tour I've been on!

 

Benefits of private tours:

Smaller crowds.

More personalized service -- you stop for the restroom when you want to stop, you're not forced to hang around a store that doesn't interest you.

More variety in activity choice.

Less expensive.

 

Negatives of private tours:

You have to investigate to see that it's a legitimate, good choice; fortunately, that can mostly be done right here on this website!

 

I don't list getting back to the ship as either a positive or a negative because I'm not going to cut it close enough to get myself into trouble! It's just something that you have to watch.

 

I'm surprised at how many people seem to be rather afraid to venture away from the ship's tours! Don't they do things at home? Why are they literally frightened of going somewhere on their own? Yet these same people seem jealous when they hear about the great things we've done on our own!

[Gon2hwe]

Ok Aubie, I admit that I do pull for Alabama every single time they play. But I also pull for Auburn every time they play except when they play each other, then it's ALABAMA ALL THE WAY!! I know I'm weird , but I'm proud to have two great universitys in our state.

[nccruiser24]

My husband and I are going on our first cruise on the Marinator of the Seas next month. Does anyone have any advice about what to do in the ports of call? We travel quite often and aren't sure if it's better to go off on our own or through a local tour operator at each port, or to try the tours they sell on board. Has anyone tried both the ship tours and going on your own??? Thanks for any advice!!

 

 

I started dying laughing when I saw "Marinator of the Seas"

Thanks for the laugh!:p

[GayleR]

....missing the ship's departure with an independant operator. While that's a possibility, these operators make their living with these tours and the last thing they will let happen is for you to miss your departure. The bad press from that would literally ruin their lives. We were on a jeep safari awhile back with an independant and the jeep broke down on the way back to the ship. The guy was on his cell phone yelling instructions to his base people to get another jeep out asap. They were there in ten minutes. He was almost beside himself.

 

Peter

 

I totally agree with Peter. The independent operators are probably more conscious to get you back to the ship than the ones the ship books. On our first cruise, we booked through the ship. After that, we felt more comfortable and we have been booking on our own ever since. As others have said, we get the names of operators from the Ports of call board.