Do you do excursions or tour "on your own"?

[cruisenanny]

We try to do our own thing as much as possible but sometimes we have taken excursions offered by the ship. Interested in what others do as far as touring in ports, tips, ideas, etc.. Lets talk about all ports but I am especially curious as to what you do in Freeport & Nassau? (I know, stay on the ship, haha!:p)

[arush5268d]

Normally I will do my own thing - but I think next cruise I will take one of the ones that the ship offers.

[JLMS]

interested in the responses. Going on my first cruise in two weeks to the Bahamas- on the Pride

 

we are just winging it - the excursions seemed so expensive. We are going to go to Atlantis and try and try to get a day pass - if we cant then we will just head to Junkaroo.

[finoky]

It has been years since we booked a ship sponsored excursion. We always book on our own with independent tour operators or simply take a taxi to where we want to go.

[Frank12]

We've done both, but usually do things on our own.

 

In Naussau, we usually take the #10 jitney to the area known as "fish fry" for lunch. Awesome fresh conch salad made right in front of you at a place called Goldies. Good cracked conch and conch fritters also.

[dja31705]

I have done excursions offered by the ship but purchased them on the island for much cheaper. I also do tours on my own.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

13 cruises, 1 ship excursion and I hated it.

[bplazo]

I do not like ship excursions because they are usually over priced and crowded. I prefer to. Book my own

[Justsyd]

It depends on the port. If we want to do an all-day tour, and there's a chance that the tour guide might not get us back on time, or the bus might break down, which happened in Belize, we go with the tour lines because we know that they'll wait for us. If it's a short excursion, with plenty of time to get back on the ship, we may book independently.

[AQW]

We never do ship excursions. Depending on the port and what we want to do, we either book with independent local operators or go off on our own.

[Cruisingzs]

Our first few cruises, we booked through the ship. But they were always so crowded. Plus the cruise ship charges a convenience charge for arranging it for you. You can always look on their excursion sites and see what peaks your interest. Then find a private tour to do the same thing. Then come here for referrences.

The Atlantis is awesome. And Freeport has some pretty beaches but not much else except casinos

[RollerCoasterLover]

In Nassau, we rented a taxi and the driver gave us his own private tour. He showed us some historical sites (like Fort Fincastle and the Queen's Staircase) then he took us to the Atlantis and gave us his short personal tour there (he said it was expensive to try and book a tour through the hotel itself). Then he dropped us off at the ferry that took us to Blue Lagoon Island (we booked Blue Lagoon independently).

 

In Freeport, we always take a taxi to Port Lucaya to do shopping and visit the beach. While at the beach, we usually go parasailing. That is also done independently.

[cruisenanny]

In Nassau, we rented a taxi and the driver gave us his own private tour. He showed us some historical sites (like Fort Fincastle and the Queen's Staircase) then he took us to the Atlantis and gave us his short personal tour there (he said it was expensive to try and book a tour through the hotel itself). Then he dropped us off at the ferry that took us to Blue Lagoon Island (we booked Blue Lagoon independently).

 

In Freeport, we always take a taxi to Port Lucaya to do shopping and visit the beach. While at the beach, we usually go parasailing. That is also done independently.

 

Very interesting, thank you! We did Atlantis through NCL back in 04 or 05, we thought it was "eh" at best, no beach access, was just a tour of the resort & very pricey as I remember. A ferry to Blue Lagoon Island sounds very interesting, gonna check it out. I saw a BLI excursion through CCL but it was something like $90 or $100 per person.. Thanks for your tips!

[RollerCoasterLover]

I believe we booked through dolphinencounters dot com. Here is an example from their site:

 

Blue Lagoon Beach Day Package Only

 

Just want to enjoy the seclusion and natural beauty of Blue Lagoon Island for the day? No problem. Get away from busy Nassau and spend the day on serene Blue Lagoon Island. Participation in an interactive animal program is not a requirement to book this package.

 

Blue Lagoon All inclusive Beach Day

 

Adult $54

 

Kids $42.

 

This is definitely more reasonable than $90. However, it does cost more to encounter with the dolphins and sealions.

[med2cruise]

We did a medeteranian cruise 2 years ago wih 10 ports and did only 1 tour through the ship, the rest were on our own. Last year we had 3 ports and did everything on our own as well. the tours on our own are so much better and you usually get to have more one on one contact with someone who lives where you are visiting. We've had awesome tours in Santorini, bike tour in Tuscany, private boat tour in Capri, did our own bus tour in Monaco, Naples, Jamacia, Grand Turk. They are well worth the money. the one cruise ship tour we did was in Athens and it was ok, not great.

 

Karen

[Hurricane Girl]

We have done some of both. On our last cruise we did a "booze cruise" in Nassau that we booked independently. DH usually does scuba diving through the ship because there are so many things that can go wrong and possibly cause them to be late getting back.

[Snorkel2Much]

Nearly always book independently, with a few exceptions.

 

Did a ships excursion in Panama for a dugout canoe trip to a Native "village". The trip was a long way from the dock and there were very few reviews for alternative private tour operators available. The one tour operator with stellar reviews charged as much as the Carnival rate.

 

On our first visit to Belize we did a ships excursion to Goffs Caye because they picked up/returned us right at the ship. Mrs S2M can get seasick and we wanted to minimize time spent tendering.

[bunchesofun]

Were on the Pride in May. On Nassau, since we had the whole day we booked a sea lion encounter independently. Everything ran very smoothly. In Freeport we took a ship's excursion because we had so little time there we didn't want to get stuck somewhere and miss the ship.

[abitaturbodog]

Before we discovered Cruisecritic, we booked thru the cruise line. Now we always find an independent tour operator that's been highly recommended on the Ports of Call board, or just take a cab and do it on our own.

 

We've easily saved over a thousand dollars by NOT booking thru the cruise line.

[gone_cruisin]

We've shyed away from ship tours. The only place I will book through Carnival will be in Belize when we do Goff's Caye, for reasons as posted earlier. The tender boat picks up straight from the ship.

[themnms]

We try to do our own thing as much as possible but sometimes we have taken excursions offered by the ship. Interested in what others do as far as touring in ports, tips, ideas, etc.. Lets talk about all ports but I am especially curious as to what you do in Freeport & Nassau? (I know, stay on the ship, haha!:p)

 

Bahamas, we love to take the little bus to the Sheraton and spend the day!!

[Nanaimobound]

it depends on where we are, and how far away from the ship the excursion is for us. I research it thoroughly, and if it is relatively close by the port I will use independent companies. But for an all day thing that requires going on a tour bus and is more than 20 minutes away I will book through the ship. I like not having to worry about the ship leaving without us! peace of mind tends to make me enjoy myself a lot more.

[thompsongunner06]

We dont do any more with the ship. We have ALWAYS had real good luck on our own or there is room on the same trips the ship offers at a lower price(to fill the group up),,just ask when you get off the ship. Now Freeport,,,Sand Dollar cruise is by far the best we have ever done,,,we had a huge powerd cat sail boat for just us 2,,free rum punch,,Capt Tonys crew was great. We only paid for us 2 but I did give a nice tip on top. Freeport we bought Atlantis tickets at a high end looking clothing store on the marina just before Atlantis. We saved a good amount and spent the day using the park! Very much worth it. We then walked back to the ship,,was about a 30-45 min walk but we felt very safe. We did see police very often.

[maxxedout2]

If you are somewhere that has excellent taxi or jitney service and

you are not going far...sure DIY.

 

IMHO, if your excursion is say 70 miles away by bus

and time schedule is tight it is safer to take ships's tour.

 

Examples would be:

 

Cayman, we simply take a taxi or pick up a mini van tour

at the dock.

 

Belize, distant Mayan ruins at Xunantunich, take the ship tour.

I like to swim but missing the ship, due to a bus flat tire

or something, means a long swim or expensive flight

home.

 

:cool:

[Philly Steve]

After our first few cruises, we've mostly set out on our own. Share a cab with a couple you get along with and find your own adventure! :)