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Talk me out of Carnival's excursions.


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We have always booked excursions through the cruise line for two main reasons: 1) Speed and ease of getting off the ship, especially in tender ports, and 2) the guarantee that the ship will not leave if you're late getting back.

 

We currently have three excursions booked for our western Magic cruise in July, but I feel a little nauseated every time I look at our booking and see the amount I've paid for excursions - almost $1,100! :eek:

 

I've been doing a lot of reading here on CC and tripadvisor about private excursions. Many of the positive reviews are making me seriously reconsider our long-standing habit of only booking through the cruise lines. However, I do have some concerns and would love to hear from my fellow cruisers.

 

First, when getting off the ship, how do you make sure you get off in time to meet the excursion guide, especially if you have to tender and/or don't have FTTF, since you're not gathering on ship to be escorted off by your cruise guide? In ports where we haven't had excursions, we've used FTTF to get off quickly, so getting off for a private excursion is a complete mystery to me.

 

Second, I have a (probably irrational) fear of missing the ship and getting left in port. The guarantee for cruise-sponsored excursions has always been a huge anxiety reliever for me. Is getting left behind truly not a problem? Am I just letting my anxiety get the better of me?

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We have always booked excursions through the cruise line for two main reasons: 1) Speed and ease of getting off the ship, especially in tender ports, and 2) the guarantee that the ship will not leave if you're late getting back.

 

We currently have three excursions booked for our western Magic cruise in July, but I feel a little nauseated every time I look at our booking and see the amount I've paid for excursions - almost $1,100! :eek:

 

I've been doing a lot of reading here on CC and tripadvisor about private excursions. Many of the positive reviews are making me seriously reconsider our long-standing habit of only booking through the cruise lines. However, I do have some concerns and would love to hear from my fellow cruisers.

 

First, when getting off the ship, how do you make sure you get off in time to meet the excursion guide, especially if you have to tender and/or don't have FTTF, since you're not gathering on ship to be escorted off by your cruise guide? In ports where we haven't had excursions, we've used FTTF to get off quickly, so getting off for a private excursion is a complete mystery to me.

 

The venue and times for getting numbered tender stickers will be posted in the Fun Times the night before the tender port. Before we were Platinum, there was no such thing as FTTF. As soon as we saw land on the horizon, we went to the specific venue. More often than not crew members gave stickers to passengers before the posted time. On the occasions that they waited, we were at the beginning of the line so we always received very low numbered stickers.

 

Second, I have a (probably irrational) fear of missing the ship and getting left in port. The guarantee for cruise-sponsored excursions has always been a huge anxiety reliever for me. Is getting left behind truly not a problem? Am I just letting my anxiety get the better of me?

We have sailed 24 Carnival cruises to over 60 ports. We have only booked six cruise ship excursions; all the rest were through private companies or we took taxis to where we wanted to go.

We have NEVER feared missing the ship. I research and research and read and research some more and only book excursions with companies that have hundreds of excellent reviews.

 

We booked a Wilderness Safari in Skagway, Alaska. When we walked to the area with people holding signs, ours was nowhere to be seen. My husband walked up to a woman holding a Carnival Wilderness Safari sign and asked if she knew anything about the private excursion with the same name. She flipped the page on the clipboard, asked our names, and checked us in. We were on the exact same excursion that other people booked through the ship yet they paid significantly more money.

 

You did not mention which ports nor what excursions. That info would be very helpful.

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You did not mention which ports nor what excursions. That info would be very helpful.

 

Our excursions are for Cozumel (Elite Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel), Belize (Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkel & Island Escape), and Roatan (Dolphin Swim & Snorkel).

 

Thanks for the advice!

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We will be turning Platinum on our next cruise and almost every single tour we’ve done has been through local tour guides. We are not beach bums, we prefer fun excursions like ATV’s, segways, horseback riding, island tours, etc. So we almost always do tours at every port. And we have NEVER missed the ship or even came close to it. Here are my thoughts.

 

These excursion companies do this for a living every day. They know about how long it takes for the cruisers to get off the ship and meet them, so their meet up times are pretty reasonable. If you have FTTF you just end up waiting on other cruisers to join the group so it’s not really needed in this instance.

 

They do this literally every day. They see these same ships over and over again. On our last cruise when we told our guide what ship we were on they said “Oh yeah you’re last tender is at 5.” They know the traffic, how long it takes to get to the various places, and exactly when each ship leaves. They do the exact same tours every day so I’m sure they have it memorized. And their reputation (which is everything in this business) and their jobs are on the line when it comes to getting you back to the ship on time. So they take it very seriously and get you back with plenty of time to spare. If someone misses the ship due to the tour guide they used, everyone talks about it and that tour guides business is toast. So they always make sure to watch the clock, check for traffic issues, and keep you on time. I’ve had tour guides reroute us on the way back in because they were forewarned of traffic issues on their normal route. And only one time did we have a vehicle break down. The replacement vehicle was brought in less than 15 minutes and we had no time issues whatsoever. These companies are well prepared for stuff like that.

 

 

That being said, we never book through some random person at the pier. We want someone that’s got a good reputation to keep up and that seeems professional. We always use well known tour companies or guides that come highly recommended. And we never book a 6 or 7 hour tour in a port that we are only at for 8 hours. In Mexico the Mayan ruins are usually 2-3 hours away, so your tour is going to be long and you will be cutting it close on getting back to the ship on time. We would never do a tour like this with an independent operator. And that’s where most of the horror stories of missing the ship comes from.

 

 

I book independent tours for two reasons. It saves money AND I have a smaller more personalized tour. The smaller groups move more quickly, it’s less crowded, and you get better interactions with the tour guide which improves the experience. I hope this helps.

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Exactly what cruisinqt said.

 

Why spend more money and have less time at your destination? With the ship excursions so much time is spent loading and off loading the bus throughout the day. If you go private that leaves more time to actually see and do things.

 

Your snorkel time in Belize will double if you go private. And you can fly out to the better shark ray alley if you want to spend the money.

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Our excursions are for Cozumel (Elite Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel), Belize (Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkel & Island Escape), and Roatan (Dolphin Swim & Snorkel).

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

I just tried to book for the Roatan Dolphin Swim & Snorkle excursion (the one that lets you interact with them freely), but unfortunately they're full. Do you or anyone else have a similar dolphin experience that could be recommended in either Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay or Costa Maya? Preferably one that is extended and more casual? Thanks!

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We have always booked excursions through the cruise line for two main reasons: 1) Speed and ease of getting off the ship, especially in tender ports, and 2) the guarantee that the ship will not leave if you're late getting back.

 

We currently have three excursions booked for our western Magic cruise in July, but I feel a little nauseated every time I look at our booking and see the amount I've paid for excursions - almost $1,100! :eek:

 

I've been doing a lot of reading here on CC and tripadvisor about private excursions. Many of the positive reviews are making me seriously reconsider our long-standing habit of only booking through the cruise lines. However, I do have some concerns and would love to hear from my fellow cruisers.

Yes a well researched independent private or 3rd party tour operator can save you a good deal of money so it is worthy of considering for any port. Also it would be a good practice to research for yourselves any public or on call transportation that could get you from the proposed tour route back to the dock in case of any unforeseen delays.

Do keep in mind some of the best independent tour operators can not enter the secured dock area, and require you to meet them at another location near by, and some people are uncomfortable with that. The best thing to do if unsure how you feel on this is to contact by email the operator with any concerns you have. Some for an additional fee might send someone to meet you at the port's gate to escort you (kind of like a car service driver at the airport pick-up area holding a sign w/ your party's name on it).

 

First, when getting off the ship, how do you make sure you get off in time to meet the excursion guide, especially if you have to tender and/or don't have FTTF, since you're not gathering on ship to be escorted off by your cruise guide? In ports where we haven't had excursions, we've used FTTF to get off quickly, so getting off for a private excursion is a complete mystery to me.

Without FttF this can be problematic at tender ports, but a reputable tour company will work with you to help select a tour & time that allows for even the last set of tender ticket holders to be transported over. The better question is if the tour you want most has only has an early departure from the port or other rally spot, will your family/group want to get up early enough to grab a low # tender tickets then possibly sit in the theater waiting for the tenders to board.

The only word of caution I would give you for tender ports is make sure the tour will leave you the ability to be back at the port 90 minutes to 2 hours prior to the sail away time.

Second, I have a (probably irrational) fear of missing the ship and getting left in port. The guarantee for cruise-sponsored excursions has always been a huge anxiety reliever for me. Is getting left behind truly not a problem? Am I just letting my anxiety get the better of me?

If all members of your party have passports the better tour operators generally have their own guarantee to get you back to the ship on time, to the next port of call or home if too late, even if they need to provide private transport. Though not as ideal as the ship waiting for you, there are instances when the ship must leave dock even though one of their tours is delayed (by order of the harbor master usually). In that case the cruise line takes the same approach as non-cruise line tour operator.

The best way to soothe the anxiety is to NOT take a tour that wouldn't have you back at least an hour before the scheduled sail away. Additionally if a tour is taking you to a location that will be more than 2 hours away from the dock, nothing might calm your nerves which in that case you might be better with a ship's sponsored excursion.

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I just tried to book for the Roatan Dolphin Swim & Snorkle excursion (the one that lets you interact with them freely), but unfortunately they're full. Do you or anyone else have a similar dolphin experience that could be recommended in either Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay or Costa Maya? Preferably one that is extended and more casual? Thanks!

 

Of the three excursions we have booked through Carnival, that's the one we are most likely to keep. I haven't seen anywhere else or any other tour operators that offer the option of snorkeling freely with a pod of dolphin. Everything else I have found is the very structured interactions.

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" The guarantee for cruise-sponsored excursions has always been a huge anxiety reliever for me. Is getting left behind truly not a problem? Am I just letting my anxiety get the better of me?"

Yes, you are letting your anxiety get the best of you. i would like one example of a person missing a trip because of a tour. Drunk at Fat Tuesdays, maybe.

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Roatan ....... check out this company. You don't pay until you arrive in Roatan. http://www.boddentours.com/index.htm

Do you usually have to prepay for excursions booked privately vs through Carnival? Because my gear is that I'll pay and then the ship makes a change to the itinerary or skips that port for weather reasons or something .

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Our excursions are for Cozumel (Elite Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel), Belize (Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkel & Island Escape), and Roatan (Dolphin Swim & Snorkel).

 

We do both Carnival and non-Carnival.

 

We decide if we should do non-Carnival based on a variety of factors including length of time in port, length of the excursion, our familiarity/experience with the port, and reviews on TripAdvisor. Some of the websites guarantee you won't miss the ship or they'll transport you to the next port free of charge. Balance that guarantee with the volume of positive TripAdvisor reviews specifically from cruisers.

 

Our 3 best excursions have been non-Carnival, but we've had some really great Carnival excursions too. One that stands out was the St. Kitt's tourguide who reminds people of Morgan Freeman, I think it was "Grey's" or "Gray's." Generally the non-Carnival tours offer better value for the few times we've done similar itineraries both on a Carnival excursion and non-Carnival excursion at the same port.

 

We almost missed the last tender back to the ship in Belize once when we booked a non-Carnival cave-tubing experience. I've heard others have missed the ship on that same tour when the van back to port broke down.

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Our excursions are for Cozumel (Elite Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel), Belize (Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkel & Island Escape), and Roatan (Dolphin Swim & Snorkel).

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

We did an excursion in Belize that I think is similar to yours, snorkeling then visiting Caye Caulker. Went thru a company I probably found on Trip Advisor. This was back in 2010. Lovely time. The only place I’d visit in Belize thru the cruise ship in the ruins that are 7 hours total travel time. Not a lot of wiggle room there. Have fun and enjoy whatever you decide.

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Wow....don't be so afraid! Get a guidebook and read up on your ports...that way, you can see what interests YOU, and it will give you a great idea if you even NEED a "guide" at all! Most ports, especially Caribbean ports, are very, very easy to DIY! There are only a few "tender" ports...and even if you aren't on the 1st tender, you will be able to be off the ship fairly quickly.

 

The ONLY time we will do a ship's excursion is if multiple modes of transportation or long, long distances are involved. Otherwise, we do everything on our own. We make sure our watch is set to "SHIP'S TIME" so that we don't risk being late...and we have a great port day! You can, too!

 

Even a private excursion will do everything they can to get you back on time...they would be out of business if they did otherwise! Even ship's excursions aren't "fool-proof"....the ship can only wait for so long, you know. If you miss the ship on a ship's excursion, they will either get you to the next port, or home, whichever is easiest for them. The ship waiting is NOT guaranteed.

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I'll just echo what others have said. We have done only two (I think) ship excursions total, and 25+ on our own. You just cannot beat the price, and in many cases you can even personalize the tour to your liking. You can't do that on a ship tour.

 

Just do your research. If you don't like to take the time to research tour companies, then it may be better to go with a ship tour. For some people, it is worth the convenience. And that is perfectly fine if you just aren't a big planner and don't care to take the time. If you are going to do it on your own, you do need to spend that time checking reviews to make sure you are going with a reputable company.

 

But with that said, I agree with the others who have pointed out that these companies do this every day, they know the ship schedule, and they would be out of business in a hurry if they are in the habit of missing the boat. I am very paranoid about that, but it has never been a problem.

 

Have fun!

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Thanks for all the great advice! After talking it over with DH, we are definitely going to cancel the Cozumel excursion and try something through a private company. We have been to Cozumel several times, so we are more comfortable trying something there. We've never been to the other ports before, so we might keep the ship excursions for those.

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I think if the major lines wish to keep their market share of shore excursions, they either need to compete on pricing (especially when selling the exact same tour) or offer additional loyalty points.

 

I for one am now finding it impossible to justify the extra cost.

 

Cheers

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I agree with all stated here. We have also booked both thru cruise line and also have done private tours. I also base it on how far from port we will be. For example going to Dunn’s river falls was over an hour away and the whole tour was about six hours. I was very happy to see we were on a big bus, i felt more comfortable than in some of the smaller cars or vans that are sometimes not reliable. If we are on a smaller island, I don’t have a problem with a private, non ship tour. If it were Cozumel or grand cayman, these islands are more familiar to us and I would not have a problem even running back to the ship on foot if need be. Lol. Another thing we do is insist on having a manual watch and set it to ships time before leaving. Cell phones time zones fluctuate and could put you in a bad situation if the timing is off. Like everyone else said, the people on the island are very familiar with the ships times. If we are at a beach or on an excursion, we usually meet other people on our ship and keep an eye out. If we see too many people leaving, we will double and triple check our times to ensure we are not getting close. Unless we are somewhere like Cozumel, I always make sure we are back in the port area and/or on the ship with an hour or two to spare. That’s a lot of money, but enjoyment and being able to relax and enjoy the excursion is sometimes priceless. Maybe choose one or two excursions through carnival and the rest outside. We are going to these ports later this year for the first time so I can’t wait to see what they have.

 

 

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Just a sidenote, but on our last cruise we did the underwater helmet thing. I can't remember the name of it (lots of fun though). Anyway, the owner explained to us that on days when ships are not in port all of the excursions are @ 50% less. He encouraged us to consider flying in next time if we were wanting to do several excursions as we'd save quite a bit overall. He said that they have to sign a contract with the cruise lines not to give discounts or they'll lose the agreement.

 

It appears to have been true advice because we flew into Cancun last year and did parasailing and other excursions for about 35% - 40% of the advertised price, much less whatever the cruise price would have been. That being said, we really wanted to cruise again this year.

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Roatan ....... check out this company. You don't pay until you arrive in Roatan. http://www.boddentours.com/index.htm

 

 

 

I cannot recommend Victor Bodden Tours enough! f I told you it was the best excursion ever, I’d still be understating it! Our private tour guide drove us around the island showing us all sorts of cool things. We got to see parts of the island that 99% of the ships never sees. (The single outdoor jail cell in front of the soccer stadium is a cool sight!) He took us to the local grocery store and we bought some local treats that were delicious (coffee, sodas, snacks...stuff you can’t buy anywhere else).

Then he took us to their office where we got to walk through their animal exhibits. They have many, many monkeys, toucans, parrots, deer, sloths, and other indigenous species. We even got to go into the cage with the capuchin monkeys and play with them as the jumper on and off our bodies.

After that we ziplined on their property. I believe their zip line course consists of 12 runs. It was awesome to fly above the jungle.

Then we went to Tabyana Beach where the water was so calm and clear it was like swimming in a pool. The spot he took us to was in front of a hotel so we had food/beverage service the whole time. Our driver also found us some almond fruit that was growing nearby and brought us some to try!

On our way back to the shop we saw many more sights and did a little shopping.

 

It’s been a few years since we did this excursion, but I believe we only paid around $350 for everything! (There were 4 of us.)

 

 

 

 

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We do both, based on time limitations. If it's non-ship, it has to be scheduled to get back a few hours before departure (dh gets nervous).

 

 

But, I have to say, we've had some very good "ship" excursions, and some not so good private ones.

 

 

The worst I ever did was becoming part of a group in St Kitts....where the driver gave 8 "strangers" options. DH and I spent about over an hour with a security guard while the rest of the group went to see a fort. I'd never do that again.

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Do you usually have to prepay for excursions booked privately vs through Carnival? Because my gear is that I'll pay and then the ship makes a change to the itinerary or skips that port for weather reasons or something .

 

This is our first non-Carnival excursion. All I can advise is DO YOUR RESEARCH. You just go with what you are comfortable with. After all, it's your money, your anxiety, your stress level.

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I think if the major lines wish to keep their market share of shore excursions, they either need to compete on pricing (especially when selling the exact same tour) or offer additional loyalty points.

 

I for one am now finding it impossible to justify the extra cost.

 

Cheers

If you find the EXACT same excursion, Carnival will price match

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