Thread: Shiip vs. local shore excursions

Being a first-time cruiser and first-time visitor to Oregon and BC, I wondered if it makes sense to take any of the ship tours, since I obviously will not have a car. I don't care if it is a trolley, bus, van, duck, or foot tour. If the topic is interesting, I want to take it.

Of course, I don't want to pay $70 for a tour that would cost $30 if I book it with a local tour company. Can I book tours with another company and know they will not make me miss my ship?

The short answer is "no". BUT the independent shore excursions do everything possible to insure that you will make the ship including calling the ship if there is a possibility of a delay on their arrival. For most short excursions in the vicinity of the ship, I would say that your chances of missing the ship are almost zero. Longer excursions I would be more inclined to follow Murphy's Law. It was for that reason we took the ship sponsored tour from LaHavre France to Paris. It was a three hour bus trip and we did not want to risk any chance of missing the ship.

I agree with Neal, you sould be ok on a short trip, but if it's going to be a long trip, I would go on one organised by the ship.

The ship tour is not always the most expensive either so check before departure.
On ST Kitts the Ship excursion of a scenic railway was $ 99 but when I had checked online beforehand it was $ 149.

Ditto for our HOHO bus tour in Halifax (Hop On Hop Off bus). Celebrity had negotiated a deal with the bus company making the tour $10 cheaper. (We also found out that HAL had made a similar deal but they only got a $5 discount.......)

Meanwhile in Key West the Conch train was the same price but by buying it on our own we got HOHO privileges that the ship excursion did not have.

Personality comes into play as I am a worrier and always take the ships excursions. The few extra bucks give me a sense of relaxation. If you are in a tender port and take the ships excursions they assemble on the ship and take you off without waiting on line for the tenders, another thing to consider.

I love those HOHO buses - wonderful way to see the sites. We've done them in many cities here and in Europe.

As for independent versus ship excursions, we never take ship excursions - too expensive, too regimented, too crowded, and usually not that good. We normally just do our own thing, but if we're going to book an excursion, we do our research and sometimes will book with a company we have a contract with; Shore Trips. There are several very good independent companies out there, but they have provided our clients with good service. Cruise Planners has over 800 agents and among the thousands of excursions our clients have booked, no one has ever missed the boat. This is a fallacy that's especially perpetrated by the cruise lines and those who really don't know how all this works.

I've had lengthy conversations with 3 captains from different cruise lines about this very issue. All of them have told me the same thing; it's all about communication. You could be walking around, break an ankle, end up in the hospital, and you'll miss the ship - has nothing to do with any excursions whatsoever. BUT, if you were to contact the ship, let them know you had an accident and will be a little late getting back to the ship, they will do their best to wait for you. Every captain told me that they really don't want to leave anyone in port, but in the absence of communication, they don't have much of a choice. On one cruise, we were actually on the bridge with the captain while waiting to depart port. We were delayed because of a group coming back from an excursion. It was an independent group and he said they called to let captain know they were running 45 minutes late. As I said, it's all about communication.

The daily newsletter left in your cabin has the local port authority information. ALWAYS take this with you when going into port. Should you have to contact the ship, this information can be invaluable.

I also had a long conversation with the president of Shore Trips, Julie Karp, and she took great pleasure in saying that in the thousands and thousands of excursions people have taken with them, never once has anyone missed the ship. She also went on to say that in the unlikely event one of their customers did miss the ship, they have procedures in place to get them to the next port of call and will cover all transportation, lodging, and food expenses.

Bottom line is, with an independent company, you will sometimes pay a lower price, get a much better excursion, and be a whole lot less crowded.

We did an excursion in Skagway, Alaska and we were the only two on it. We were suppose to go on a 2-1/2 hour tour, but the owner took us out for 4 hours. It was awesome! Or, we could have done one through the cruise line, been on a bus with 45 people, paid more money, and gotten to see a whole lot less. Gee, that's a no brainer.

Same thing in St. Petersburg, Russia. We paid less money and had 10 of us in a brand new Mercedes Benz van. We could have paid more through the cruise line, had 45 people on a bus, and been as miserable as they were. Instead, we had much more fun, paid less, and got to see more places.

In Aruba, we decided to do a 4-1/2 tour on Harley Davidson motorcycles. The cruise line wanted $355 per couple. We booked it through the local Harley dealer and were on the same excursion as those who booked it through the cruise line. The difference was we only paid $155!!

Our daughter did the cave tubing adventure through Shore Trips. They had a group of about 12, got nice tubes with backs, and were connected together by ropes. Those on the Carnival excursion had regular inner tubes, had to put their ankles under the armpits of the person in front of them, had behind them put their ankles under their armpits, and then link arms with the people beside them in order to stay connected. Needless to say, our daughter said they were all laughing at the Carnival group, but those in the Carnival group were not very happy.

I could give you dozens of stories like that, but you get the picture.

In 41 cruises, we've only taken 3 excursions through the cruise lines and that's because it was something we wanted to do and twice it was the only way to get it done. But we said 'never again' after that.

So, if you fell more comfortable booking with the cruise line, that's fine. As for me, I'd rather spend less money, have more fun, see more, do more, be alot less crowded, and enjoy the excursion more. All the while, I'll fell very comfortable knowing there's hardly any chance of missing the ship.

As you can tell, this is one of my pet peeves because of all the false information being spread by those who really don't know what they're talking about.

Pete

Originally Posted by kirkz

Personality comes into play as I am a worrier and always take the ships excursions. The few extra bucks give me a sense of relaxation..

We feel pretty much the same on longer tours and catamaran/boat tours or anyplace we don't know for sure we can easily arrange other transportation back to the ship!

On excursions offered by the ship ... They pick you up from the ship, take you to have fun, bring you back to the ship, and if you're late returning the ship will wait for tours booked through them. All of this with no advanced planning on our part is so worth any cost difference to us!

I spent a long time getting information about attractions in all five ports (not counting Vancouver). The only reason I would take any ship tours instead of independent tours is I can't find another way to do something. For example, one Princess tour is to Mount. St. Helens. If it was to Crater Lake instead (which would make more sense to me), I would definitely want to book it.

I learned about the Future of Flight Aviation Center Boeing Tours on the Princess website so I thought I have to take it with my ship mates. But when I did a web search, I found anybody can do it at the Boeing factory, not just Princess Cruises passengers.

Now if only I could find a way to reach Crater Lake . . .

Originally Posted by Smart Traveler

I spent a long time getting information about attractions in all five ports (not counting Vancouver). The only reason I would take any ship tours instead of independent tours is I can't find another way to do something. For example, one Princess tour is to Mount. St. Helens. If it was to Crater Lake instead (which would make more sense to me), I would definitely want to book it.

I learned about the Future of Flight Aviation Center Boeing Tours on the Princess website so I thought I have to take it with my ship mates. But when I did a web search, I found anybody can do it at the Boeing factory, not just Princess Cruises passengers.

Now if only I could find a way to reach Crater Lake . . .

Which port were you wanting to travel to Crater Lake from? The Lake is about 100 miles or so from the coast.