Guided Tours through Princess-is it worth it?

[subwife81]

For those who have cruised on Princess before and have taken their guided tours-were they worth the cost?

On the roll call forum for my cruise I am seeing a lot of people doing private tours instead of the guided tours Princess offers, which is interesting considering the number of tours available.

For me, going through Princess for the tours just seems easier-less of a headache than booking privately, but I was wondering what everyone's take on it was.

To go through Princess....or not? ;)

[Colo Cruiser]

For those who have cruised on Princess before and have taken their guided tours-were they worth the cost?

On the roll call forum for my cruise I am seeing a lot of people doing private tours instead of the guided tours Princess offers, which is interesting considering the number of tours available.

For me, going through Princess for the tours just seems easier-less of a headache than booking privately, but I was wondering what everyone's take on it was.

To go through Princess....or not? ;)

 

If you do any private tour you should also do a lot of research for reliability etc.

Princess tours will protect you from missing the ship if they are delayed for any reason. Thats a big plus.

We do a little of both.

[jhannah]

There are advantages both ways. We've done both. Finding reputable tour operators is fairly easy thanks to Cruise Critic and the ability to read about others' experiences. If you can find other people whom you feel you could enjoy being with on the tour, then you will not only save some money but will see everything the ship's bus tour offers ... plus more.

 

OTOH, the convenience of booking through the cruise line is a big plus. If you decide to not take the tour, it's no harm-no foul. You don't have to be concerned with making it back to the ship in time.

 

As I said, both ways have advantages. Good luck in choosing.

[Pam in CA]

If you're not familiar with or comfortable with the country and the language, you're probably better off taking a ship's tour. If you are an experienced traveler and know enough about how to judge the quality and reliability of an independent tour, they can be a great way to tour, often at less cost.

 

I consider myself a very experienced traveler and most of the time I take a ship's tour, sometimes I take independent tours. It's really a matter of your comfort level and what you want to see and do.

[Toto2Kansas]

For those who have cruised on Princess before and have taken their guided tours-were they worth the cost?

On the roll call forum for my cruise I am seeing a lot of people doing private tours instead of the guided tours Princess offers, which is interesting considering the number of tours available.

For me, going through Princess for the tours just seems easier-less of a headache than booking privately, but I was wondering what everyone's take on it was.

To go through Princess....or not? ;)

 

For us it all depends on many factors.

Length of port time, what we want to see, which country we are visiting, what reputable private tours are available.

 

The one main thing we have often found about ships tours (depending on the tour of coarse) is that sometimes they are more like cattle calls, way too many people on each tour. And the more people on a ships tour, the more waiting around you do for everyone else to come back to the group. So, taking in all these factors, there are many ports we book private tours, or join others on our roll call for a private tour, instead of booking with the ship.

But we also book our fair share of ships tours too, it all just depends on a lot of things.

[paul929207]

If you are gin to take private tours, you need to do a lot more plannng. Figure out what you want to see and then find a reputable guide to use.

[chamima]

For those who have cruised on Princess before and have taken their guided tours-were they worth the cost?

On the roll call forum for my cruise I am seeing a lot of people doing private tours instead of the guided tours Princess offers, which is interesting considering the number of tours available.

For me, going through Princess for the tours just seems easier-less of a headache than booking privately, but I was wondering what everyone's take on it was.

To go through Princess....or not? ;)

 

Are you aware of the Ports of Call boards here on Cruise Critic where people discuss the good and bad of the private tours?

Also ask the people on your Roll Call why they chose to do what they're doing?

We've found GREAT advice on the Ports of Call board and have never been steered wrong! It takes a lot more planning in advance to do a private tour but as Toto said, there end up being less people than on a ship's tour AND it is usually less expensive and you get more!

[cruisemom42]

Having been on CC for a while, I've come to the opinion that there are two types of cruisers when it comes to ports. Some just prefer to have all the details and worry taken care of by the cruise line. In most cases you will get at least an "okay" experience and it is often better than okay.

 

Others prefer to do all the planning themselves, have particular things they want to see or do, and feel like they get more out of touring with a small group or on their own. It is definitely more work. Sometimes it is a lot better than a cruise tour (smaller group, less expensive, better experiences, get to see more things), and sometimes not so much (you spend all day getting lost and miss your train then have to figure out an alternative).

 

If you and your friends aren't on the same page, I agree you should just consider doing some ports separately. There's no real right or wrong. My parents have cruised for 30 years and still mostly take ship excursions. I prefer to research and do things on my own. IME, the tours in the Caribbean are not all that great and I think you can do better on your own. Some of the ship tours I've taken in Europe were really very good, the only annoying factor being the number of people and the forced "shopping opportunities."

[Mimi39]

Having been on CC for a while, I've come to the opinion that there are two types of cruisers when it comes to ports. Some just prefer to have all the details and worry taken care of by the cruise line. In most cases you will get at least an "okay" experience and it is often better than okay.

 

Others prefer to do all the planning themselves, have particular things they want to see or do, and feel like they get more out of touring with a small group or on their own. It is definitely more work. Sometimes it is a lot better than a cruise tour (smaller group, less expensive, better experiences, get to see more things), and sometimes not so much (you spend all day getting lost and miss your train then have to figure out an alternative).

 

If you and your friends aren't on the same page, I agree you should just consider doing some ports separately. There's no real right or wrong. My parents have cruised for 30 years and still mostly take ship excursions. I prefer to research and do things on my own. IME, the tours in the Caribbean are not all that great and I think you can do better on your own. Some of the ship tours I've taken in Europe were really very good, the only annoying factor being the number of people and the forced "shopping opportunities."

 

"Shopping opportunities" are the most annoying thing about tours be it ship or using an independent company. Having said that we usually take the ship tour because as said before here there is no worry about getting back to the ship on time and not having to pay in advance to book the tour, and the ease of cancelling if necessary.

[cruiseryyc]

It really depends on what ports you are in. We have taken ship's excursions in the Caribbean in the past but probably wouldn't anymore as we are now familiar with the ports of call. In Europe last year we took all ship's tours and thoroughly enjoyed them; you don't have to just shop at their stops as there is usually some free time to do your own shopping. Do what you are most comfortable with.

[seattlec5]

If you do any private tour you should also do a lot of research for reliability etc.

Princess tours will protect you from missing the ship if they are delayed for any reason. Thats a big plus.

We do a little of both.

 

 

I agree. My take is that when I am on vacation, I want to be a stress free as possible. For that reason I utililze the tours through Princess. Over the course of a week long cruise I may end up spending $100-$300 more for us, but will not need to worry about the reliability of the tour operator or missing the ship. That works for me, others have their own level of tolerance for risk and stress.:o

[alabama ghost]

Something else that hasn't been mentioned here is not taking a tour at all, but "doing" a port on your own. In many ports this is possible by using public transportation or a cab. But, of course, this requires a lot of research on your part. We do this often as long as we're not going far from the port. In those locations where we want to go outside the city we're docked in we would most likely take a Princess tour. Most cruises we do a combination of types of tours.

 

Whichever you decide to do I hope you have a fantastic time!

[ssbeagle]

We have done a combination of cruise tours and private tours. It really depends on how long we are in port and if it's the last port before several sea days. Also, certain ship tours are exceptionally good. We had wonderful ones in Madeira and Norway as well as other places we have been but we've also had some not-so-good ones. With private tours we usually book with people who are also on the cruise and share the cost. We really had some good tours that way too. We just make sure we are back at the ship in plenty of time. The ship won't wait for people on private tours that are late but they will wait for the ship's tours to come back. That's happened a few times too and I was glad I was on a ship's tour then.

[jhannah]

... "doing" a port on your own. In many ports this is possible by using public transportation or a cab. But, of course, this requires a lot of research on your part.

Absolutely. Lots of folks aren't up to this, or are not comfortable doing it. We have, and have had good luck with it. We ride both HOHO and public transit busses, trains and subways to get where we need to be. Pre- or post-cruise is easiest, since you don't have to worry about getting back to the ship.

 

One rule of thumb I use is that the farther away from the ship I want to go, the more inclined I am to use the ship's tour. There are exceptions, of course, but that's generally the way I do it.

[jagcsm]

The balance is (1) the security of the ship arranged tours, versus (2) the semi-customized use of similar providers of services or self-directed touring.

 

Ship gives security of the ship not leaving without you. We have seen ships held for late returning ship arranged tours. Ship tours tend to be more expensive, usually by 50% at least, and often multiple busses to the same place reduce the time for touring. There are also instances of lengthy stops at isolated vendor stores.

 

Some CruiseCritic pax do an outstanding service of arranging group tours. We have done those with great satisfaction, spending far less, and having the ability to work with the local vendor and guide (and in many countries, one must be a certified guide to lead a group), and have seen that we saw more than the ship tours.

 

In Rome, for instance, on a recent cruise hundreds of us used the trains from Civi-- . Interestingly, the ship held lines for about a half hour to wait for late returning train pax (the trains had been barring boarding at some stops due to extreme crowding), so they are not absolute about pulling away with dozens of pax onshore. For the unitiated, they run the computer to match returning pax to returning pax out (from the scan of ID cards out and in). You will hear a call for "missing" pax about 15-20 minutes before schedule departure. We realized what was happening when there was no such call that evening.

 

At one Caribbean stop, I had a much better tubing tour with an indy (and again, cheaper).

 

have fun

[flamomo]

In 7 Princess cruises, and 35+ ship's tours, I have only had one that was disappointing. Nothing bad happened on it, other than being rather boring due to an apparently under-experienced and unknowledgeable (re: locale and history) guide.

 

I prefer to use ship's excursions because the cruiseline thoroughly investigates the operators, assures that they meet cruisline and safety standards, and has an ongoing monitoring system of having ship's staff go on tours incognito. In chatting with fellow tourers, I discovered that they do this, by finding out that the person I was chatting with was actually a ship's staff member sent to evaluate the tour.

 

There is also the factor of the ship waiting for late returning tours, as happened to me on my very first cruise. We were well over an hour late getting back due to a traffic tie-up driving across Panama. That sold me right then on sticking with ship's tours.

 

Some people have no problem with taking tours with independent operators, and that's fine if one's comfort level allows them to do so. Mine doesn't.