Cunard Shore Excursions

[Alohaaa]

Aloha,

 

I am planning a 2012 World Cruise and looking into Cunard shore excursions vs. private shore excursions. My primary source of data is the Cunard site/brochure and trip adviser. I would love to hear from Cunard patrons who have used Cunard's excursions. I have looked at the threads for each region and do not get a clear perspective of the quality of Cunard's excursions. Do they contract with tour guides that have comfortable vehicles, knowledgeable staff; are they competitively priced? Are the excursions over booked and crowded? Or comfortable?

 

All comments are welcome.

 

Kit

[cruiser1955]

Hi Kit

 

I've been on excursions booked through various cruise lines. All have used the "best available" transport. Generally, guides have been good and fluent in English. Cunard full day excursions have in my opinion provided better quality food at lunch stops, but bear in mind that these stops will often cater for several hundred guests, so food will be more along the lines of the self-service restaurant rather than the main dining room.

If there is a particular place you want to go, then I would recommend that you go with the Cunard excursion. I base this on the availability of tickets to various locations. I was on a Mediterranean cruise with a visit to the Alhambra in Grenada. There are only 9000 tickets issued each day and the day I went they had sold out. Some extra passengers were taken on this excursion without entrance tickets and the only way they were able to get in was by taking the tickets from the tour escorts. Some excursions I’ve been on have sold out before departure and only wait-list has been available.

Many of the Cunard excursions I've been on the guides have made use of a radio mike so that you can hear what is being described. Guides are normally knowledgeable but some do lack “people skills” if there is a large group. Group size will depend on location, popularity of tour and size of vehicle. This can be anywhere between 6 and 40 or more. Have to say that the European excursions with Cunard seem to be limited to 40 whereas some other cruise lines have gone to the full capacity of the coach.

I’ve done many stops on my own, but normally only if I’ve been there before. A lot will depend on where the ship docks. Some places are very easy to do, others quite hard – especially in South America.

As a single traveller, I find the tours offer good value for money. Not sure if this would be the case if travelling as part of a group. Entrance fees can be quite high in some parts of Europe, so make sure these are included in any private excursions you do.

 

Sometimes group excursions are able to use a group entrance - this can speed up entrance to some busy sites.

[Betsy's Mom]

My husband and I used the Cunard excursions three years ago on our Med trip. I had been to many of the ports before, but he had not. We found them very good value for the money. We did not feel crowded or hurried and felt we had seen as much as possible in a one day stop. I did reserve most of them before we sailed.

B.

[capnpugwash]

I would advise that you go on the roll call for your trip and liaise with others and if possible and you feel comfortable arrange a private trip, much cheaper and better and you go at your pace.

[bazzaw]

There are good points and bad points for both sides of the question -"Ship's tours or private tours?"

 

Fairly obvious really - but in cruising forums, you often read people pushing their own wagons with great positivity, refusing to admit that both sides have positives AND negatives.

 

It is too complex to say which means is the "best" - there really is no overall "best" . Some ports are more suitable for private tours or on-your-own exploration - while at others, the ship's tour is the way to go.

 

As an example - on an upcoming cruise on QE, we will have a port stop in Sardinia. I know nothing about Sardinia - and reading tourism info about the place, I can't get a "feel" for what is there at all. So - for me - the answer to this is to take a daylong ship's tour - sit back on the bus and watch the scenery go by. :o After that, we can decide if it should go on our "Must go back sometime to ...." list :D

 

Barry