Expensive shore excursions

[clivep]

Now I know that excursions purchased on board are always expensive compared to making your own arrangements but I felt that the NCL ones were very expensive compared to RCL/Celebrity.

 

On our recent Baltic cruise we went on the Holmegaard Glassworks & Gavno Castle Tour in Copenhagen. NCL charge $125 pp for a 5 hour tour. RCL tour CP26 is the same itinerary but 1 hour longer and has a beverage served at the Glassworks and costs £47.94. Perhaps someone in the states will be good enough to post the dollar cost of this tour from the RCL website (it will only give £ in the UK) but I imagine this is about $95 i.e about 25% less than NCL.

 

The difference in St Petersburg was even more apparent. The St. Petersburg Through The Eyes Of The Russian People tour was $76 pp. The similar Local Life Experience: Metro Ride, Kuznechny Market - PZ02 from RCL is £22.44... approx $45 i.e. some 40% less.

 

Have others noticed this disparity or was it just the excursions that we chose?

[Bigdog49]

Holmegaard Glassworks & Gavno Castle - CP26

 

$94 US

[CeleBrat]

Agreed! The prices on the NCL Mediterranean shore excursions seem very high. We are booking quite a few excursions via a private tour operator.

 

CeleBrat

[clivep]

Holmegaard Glassworks & Gavno Castle - CP26

 

$94 US

 

Thanks for that. That would probably make the RCL St Petersburg one $44, please could you confirm this as I just want to get the facts straight before posting a full cruise review.

[Addictedtwo]

We did Hawaii in Jan of this year on the Pride of Hawaii for 2 weeks and saved exactly 40% over NCL excursion prices.

We used reputable companies from recommended on this site and had zero glitches.

And we will continue to do so until NCL brings them down to be more competative.

[Bigdog49]

Local Life Experience: Metro Ride, Kuznechny Market - PZ02

 

$44

 

Begin your experience of today’s Russia with a short drive to one of the underground stations. The St. Petersburg Subway or Metro is acclaimed as one of the best in the world for its efficiency, cleanliness and its architecture. Each station has its own unique design. Older stations are richly decorated and new ones are simple and modern but not less impressive. Leave the Metro at one of the Central Stations and follow your guide to the Kuznechny Food Market. Enjoy exploring the large variety of fare as well as the lively atmosphere. Next, board your coach and visit one of the best restaurants in the center of St. Petersburg where you will be welcomed with a friendly cup of tea.

 

There is a difference in the tours - tea vs Vodka and snacks

 

St. Petersburg Through The Eyes Of The Russian People

 

 

Feel like a Russian yourself this afternoon and try to see St. Petersburg through the eyes of its inhabitants. While touring majestic St. Petersburg, one is dazzled by the beauty of its palaces, cathedrals and parks, but the city offers much more than this. You will visit the Metro's stunning stations, intended by Stalin to be the palaces for the people. The best Soviet architects were employed to design St. Petersburg's Metro stations. Thousands of tons of marble, granite and limestone were used to face the walls, and sculptures, mosaics and chandeliers were commissioned from leading artists. You will be shown two stations of this line and take a short ride on the train. A peek at St. Petersburg's markets and food stores provide an intriguing insight into local life. Many locals shop for food in the Kuznechny market which sells fruit, vegetables, fresh meat & fish, delicious homemade cottage cheese, and wonderful natural honey. Sellers in the market come from all over the former Soviet Union, and one can witness quite a variety of nationalities there and enjoy friendly attitudes. One of the most reputable delicatessen stores in the city is called Elyseev's and it's the best place for locals to buy caviar and vodka. The store as well as the area around it, has been recently renovated. One of the side streets has become an attractive walking area, and at the end of it, you can see one of the best apartment houses recently built in the city. The tour will terminate at The Restaurant, a trendy and stylish restaurant decorated in classical minimalist style. It specializes in Russian food and hospitality and is known for its home-made vodkas. You will be treated to samples of a variety of vodkas and traditional Russian condiments served to compliment this famous Russian drink. Note: This tour is not recommended for persons in a wheelchair or with walking difficulties. There are long and steep escalators to reach

[CruisnGram]

Thanks for that. That would probably make the RCL St Petersburg one $44, please could you confirm this as I just want to get the facts straight before posting a full cruise review.

 

What does the cost of RCI shore excursions have to do with your review of an NCL ship? You are reviewing an NCL ship correct?

[Flick]

There is no question that ship excursions are far more expensive than independant tours off the ship. We chose ship's tours on our next cruise for a variety of reasons. One the ship isn't in port late into the evening and we wanted only half day tours so we could rest and spend time on the ship. Two, the comfort level of knowing the ship WILL wait for its own tours. Recently in Panama we were caught in virtually a country-wide gridlock in traffic and were over an hour getting back to the ship after we were supposed to be there. The ship waited. I also want to be assured that the guide on the tour knows what he/she is talking about because I probably won't be back.

Using the cheapest ships tours on our next cruise will cost $1500.00 and they are strictly tours to the interior of the country and not city tours. The price of the tours was NOT a factor in which ones we were going on...it just so happened they were the cheapest.

[mscasey95]

Addictedtwo

Totally agree with the Hawaiian excursions. We did 11 nights last fall on POAloha, we booked most of our excursions through Robert's tours. It was actually pretty funny, their buses lined up right next to the NCL buses. We got off at the same spots and we paid $29-$39 for tours costing $69-$99 through NCL. If any of you EVER do cruise Hawaii check out "gorabbit.com" to book your excursions. It saved us a bundle and we were able to do a kayaking trip to some beautiful waterfalls through NCL (on Kauai) that wasn't available any other way with some of the money we saved!

I bet you're as happy as we are that we did the cruise before they took the 2 NCL ships out and shortened the cruises to only a week!

[Addictedtwo]

Addictedtwo

Totally agree with the Hawaiian excursions. We did 11 nights last fall on POAloha, we booked most of our excursions through Robert's tours. It was actually pretty funny, their buses lined up right next to the NCL buses. We got off at the same spots and we paid $29-$39 for tours costing $69-$99 through NCL. If any of you EVER do cruise Hawaii check out "gorabbit.com" to book your excursions. It saved us a bundle and we were able to do a kayaking trip to some beautiful waterfalls through NCL (on Kauai) that wasn't available any other way with some of the money we saved!

I bet you're as happy as we are that we did the cruise before they took the 2 NCL ships out and shortened the cruises to only a week!

 

DITTO! 100% gorabbitgo. And yes I was glad we did the cruise ON POH before they pulled it and we did the last 2 weeks of it's Hawaii voyage. I also see that the prices are up by at least $250 for the same timing on POA.

[clivep]

What does the cost of RCI shore excursions have to do with your review of an NCL ship? You are reviewing an NCL ship correct?

 

Correct. If in my review I make a statement saying that the shore excursions were excessively expensive then I need to back this up with facts. In Europe I consider RCI to be the closest line to NCL so a comparison of excursion prices seems appropriate.

 

There is a difference in the tours - tea vs Vodka and snacks

 

The home made vodka could have been skipped as far as I was concerned and the snacks were hard (stale?) bread with a topping covered by a slab of animal fat. The man next to me had to go to the toilet to retch after he had put it in his mouth but the tour was " St. Petersburg Through The Eyes Of The Russian People" and I am sure this may have been a delicacy to the locals.