private tours

[ceba]

I was talking to a TA the other day at a luncheon and he said its safer to take the ships tours so that you get back to the ship in time to sail. For obvious reasons I understand his comment. Any thoughts on whether its "dumb" to take a private tour? Any bad experiences?

[uktog]

It's not dumb to take a private tour at all. Your TA only gave you one side of the story. Reputable private tour operators know the last thing that they can allow to happen is returning back late as it will ruin their reputation.

Private trips mean you go where you want and you are not limited by mass group inertia or shopping trips at stores that may not be the best.

Join your roll call for your cruise and do research all the options with your fellow cruisers. There will be times when you decide a ships trip is best for you - sometimes with Azamara s pricing it is the way to go or if a journey looks particularly tricky and you want the absolute safety of being back on time. Other times I am sure you will opt for private tours or indeed no tour as many of the places Azamara calls at can be explored on foot at your own pace with a good guidebook or walk downloaded from the Internet.

 

Good luck and enjoy!

[ellbon]

In many cities and islands i take private tours..also some in S amarica. they are smaller and will stop for that extra drink, toilet etc.They last longer in most cases. you see more and they give you what you ask for not what they are told..

your TA sounds like he wants the money to stay on hte ****. . there is no middle man you are paying wih private tours.

[3418ahl]

In all our cruising, I have taken perhaps 3 ship tours, as opposed to over 30 private tours, most arranged on this board through roll calls with other CC members. Never have we been late for a sailing. It also has cost about 1/2 of the ship tour, which has enabled us to see far more. In some cases, these tours were overnight (Beijing, Bangkok, etc.) and the "per tour" saving amounted to over $500 pp from the ship tour.

 

As previously stated, these tours can be custom planned also so that you don't end up at factories and stores trying to sell you something that the cruise line gets a kick-back from.

 

The only time we choose a ship tour is if the time in port is really short, and/or we cannot find a trustworthy tour guide in the port.

 

Given our choice, we would never choose a ship tour!

[mare s.]

We've done some good ship tours and some awful ship tours but we've never done an awful private tour. In fact, all our private tours have been exceptional. The trick, as others have pointed out, is to get recommendations (here and on Trip Advisor.) If you do have a limited time in port and there are distances to travel to see what you want to see, then you may feel more comfortable taking a ship excursion. There is always the possibility of an unforeseen traffic jam, car breakdown, etc. but most reputable tour operators will have a back up plan and will allow themselves plenty of time to get back to port.

[tgg]

Taking private tours means never being stuck for an hour in the tour guide's brother-in-law's carpet store.;)

 

For me, private guides are the only way to go. We've met fantastic people on our roll calls and have been able to plan our own itineraries. And we've never missed a ship sailing in more than 20 cruises. Traveling with 6 or 8 people beats a full bus every time. Sure it takes more work to plan private tours, but it is time well spent. You get to see the things that YOU want to see, NOT what someone else has decided for you.

 

The best way to plan private excursions is through your roll call and by reading the ports section of the message boards. You'll find out quickly which guides are highly recommended and which have proved less than ideal.

 

There's nothing for you to be afraid of. As I'm sure you're aware, your TA makes nothing if you take private tours.

[ceba]

Thank you everyone. You all confirmed my personal thoughts. We have either taken ships tours or were on our own. I think I have bought in to the fear of being late. I appreciate all your words of wisdom!!