Am I the only idiot????

[whatsnext]

Normally when traveling, I'm a very adventuresome sort. However, since it will just be me and a 10 year old, I have opted to take all of my sightseeing trips from those offered by the Golden Princess (6/11/05) - playing it safe. I've waited 35 years to get to the UK and there are some places that I just HAVE to visit. Now I'm beginning to feel like an idiot! I know they are costing me a fortune, but so is the trip. Please, someone tell me that I'm not the only one to arrange all my tours through the ship......

[cberge]

Normally when traveling, I'm a very adventuresome sort. However, since it will just be me and a 10 year old, I have opted to take all of my sightseeing trips from those offered by the Golden Princess (6/11/05) - playing it safe. I've waited 35 years to get to the UK and there are some places that I just HAVE to visit. Now I'm beginning to feel like an idiot! I know they are costing me a fortune, but so is the trip. Please, someone tell me that I'm not the only one to arrange all my tours through the ship......

 

No, I don't think you are an idiot in the least. If you feel comfortable,and especially traveling with a 10 yr old then you should do it.I don't think most ship's tours are that far out of line even though there are those who I am sure will disagree with me,but it is the person's comfort level that I think counts too. Go and enjoy.:D You can always go back for another visit later on.

[pmccunn]

We will do our second cruise this August, the RCL Transatlantic on the Jewel. On the last cruise and this cruise we set up tours thru the ship. We played it safe though some days by allowing some time before boarding to do some adventures on our own because the ship will be next to many sights which won't require transportation.

 

Enjoy. The comfort level you enjoy is worth it.

[whatsnext]

Thanks, you two. That makes me feel a little better. While I have booked a tour through the cruise line in each port, I have also left us some free time. Were it not for traveling with a child, I'd be like everyone else and be making my own arrangements. BUT, having a child along does make a difference. I intend to enjoy the trip - to the fullest, regardless of the cost.

[Bruin Steve]

Sometimes, reading these boards, one would think that privately arranged tours must ALWAYS be superior to the ship's shore excursions and that only a fool would take the latter...

 

This notion is ABSOLUTELY WRONG...

 

There are good points and bad points to both methods of touring a port...and there is nothing completely wrong with either...

 

Each method works differently for each person...

It all depends on your personal priorities, your methods of planning, your aversion to or acceptance of risk and your notions of pace as well as many other factors...

 

I have taken many cruises where I have booked the ship's shore excursions exclusively...On my upcoming Northern Europe cruise, I intend to use them predominantly...

 

Among the points in favor:

1) No need to pre-locate tour partners to hel[p keep costs down.

2) Camraderie of touring with fellow passengers.

3) Little pre-planning needed.

4) Security of having tour operators pre-checked and qualified and havingthe cruise line stand behind them.

5) Greater ease in booking and, if necessary, cancelling.

6) Minimal stress.

7) Security of knowing ship will most likely wait for you if late.

8) Tours typically inclusive of dmittance fees and other charges.

 

For us, often we're traveling to ports we've visited before and will likely visit again. There's no need to try and cram everything into the port stop. Whatever the excursion gets us to usually nicely fills the time allotted and we find it enjoyable enough. And trying to save a few dollars is not our paramount concern...Ease of use and lack of stress is.

 

We typically go outside the shore excursion realm only when none of the offered excursions appeal to us or there is something specific, otherwise not offered, that we particularly want to see...or where there is an available alternative tour, distingctly different from those offered by the ship that really appeals to us.

 

So, no, you are not the only ones...

[Nickwolf]

You're certainly not an idiot!!

 

You must do what you are most comfortable with and what will give you and your child the most enjoyment.

 

I personally don't like organised trips but wouldn't the world be a boring place if we were all the same.

 

I hope you have a great time on your cruise and visiting us here in Britain. :)

 

Nick.

[whatsnext]

Thanks, folks. Usually what my husband and I did was to take the ship's tours first and then on subsequent trips we headed out on our own. To see all I want to see in the UK, I'll need to go over and spend weeks rather than days. I chose the tours that provided me with the sights I felt were priorities to me. I'm just not going to worry about the cost or what could have been. My next trip will be a flight over and using the rail/bus system. I'm looking forward to it all and my 10 year is thrilled to see a real castle. We met Sarah Ferguson in Hawaii a couple of years ago and I'm having a hard time explaining that we can't go to her house and see her...... Unless some of you have some influence! :-)

[Lane40]

Hey

 

There are five of us on the same cruise as you. We read about all the different private excursions people on our cruise booked and also the cruise departing on May 22 I think it was. In the end, we just ended up booking Princess excursions for all 6 ports.

[portsleft]

We are on b2b sailings of the Golden in July and are spending 3 days in London pre-cruise. If you are nuts then we will join your club. This is our first trip over the pond and with the exception of the air we are putting everything in the hands of Princess. We took the Mayfair Millenium through Princess and the transfers also. We did this because of the "comfort zone" we have when we sail Princess. We are also in our 60"s and not as adventuresome as we once were. Sure it will cost a few dollars more but at our age the comfort outweighs the dollars.

[SugarFreeSheila]

No way are you an idiot! It may cost a bit more, but like booking flights through the cruiseline, booking excursions can buy you an easy time and major security and peace of mind. That's a beautiful thing, so enjoy your time!

[Wennfred]

When we sail to new ports we always book excursions with the ship, if we return to those ports we book them ourselves or via the internet. This past Feb, we booked our excursions online with the ship, since we were leaving out of San Diego where we live, we figured we are saving 1000.00 on airfare if we would of flew into Miami, so paying for the excusions on this ship was no problem and peace of mind.

[elptn]

You are definitely not an idiot. We are also on the June 11 British Isles cruise. We normally book all of our tours through the cruise. I've been thinking maybe I shouldn't after reading what some of the other cruisers are doing, but I'm glad I did. After reading that 2 of the tender ports on the May 22 cruise were cancelled - who needs the headache of worrying how to contact the tour operator and also probably having to pay anyway. When you book with Princess - if the tour is cancelled you will get your money back.

 

See you on board!!

[worldromer]

Hey all the fish are swimming upstream so I'll dive in since you asked....

YES you are an idiot!

 

Of course, I'm jesting on the IDIOT theme YOU raised. With that said here goes....

 

This thread is hell bent on bashing private tours. Consider Bruin Steve's "fair" assessment that each has good and bad points. He then lists eight good bullet points for cruise tours and ZERO for private tours. So much for fair and balanced.

 

My wife and I are the authors of a cruise guide and have cruised from the Nile to Cape Horn to Lake Baikal in Irkutsk, Siberia. So we at least have a bit of experience. At least as much as other posting.

 

It is a no brainer that if you are worried about getting back to the ship then private tours are out.

 

Better to address the scewed comments about COMFORT. How in the world is greater comfort being associated with cruise tours when the opposite is true. On our 32 DAYS CRUISE from Rio to San Diego I arranged for FIVE PRIVATE A/C van tours. Here are my bullet points:

1) We raced to the 300,000 penguins at Punta Tombo 30 minutes ahead of all cruise buses with 8 of us in a new A/C van. No crowded bus beats that.

2) Private tour and guide for eight of us

3) Similar private 8-10 person vans at four other ports of call.

4) Buenes Aires driver was accompanied by Ricardo, President of the tour

company who gave us an extra 45 minute nite tour of the city.

5) Prices were 50% or more off cruise prices saving us HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS FOR BETTER PRIVATE TOUR WITH SUPERIOR COMFORT AT ALL LEVELS

6) When the cruise cancelled the Argentine excursion to a Gaucho ranch, with super BBQ, gauchos exhibition, horse riding for tour members, and music during lunch, because ship docked too late, Ricardo knew about the docking problem and instantly switched the City tour to day one so eight of us out of 1800 were the only ones to do the gaucho ranch BBQ tour on day two.

7) In Barbados we enjoyed a Mercedes tour of the Island, just four of us at

LIESURE for the day at half the cost of a crowded bus.

8) On private tours you never find yourself cursing and gathering rope for a lynch mob for the wonderful 'comradery' fellow passengers who could not care less and go off on their own and hold the bus hostage for 15-30 minutes until they return at their liesure.

9) In Alaska we enjoyed Flight seeing the summit of McKinly for $175 versus the ships $450 per person price tag.

10) Our group of eight enjoyed one FREE dinner show ($50 each) for each paid ticket by using the Alaska Tour Saver book at Denali's Cabin dinner show.

11) Overall in Alaska each couple saved $400 on Kayaking, Eagle sanctuary rafting, whale watching etc. over the ship prices.

12) In October we docked at Charleston. It took two taxi rides to get to the mansions and then back downtown to the horse drawn carriages. All checked out on the web and without a single pre-reservation required.

13) Yes, one often SEES MORE or DOES MORE on private tours.

 

That is pretty much, as Paul Harvey says, some of the rest of the story.

Again, each has its place and different people have different needs but do not call crowded narrow aisle noisy buses more comfortable than a Mercedes or new one third EMPTY A/C Van!

 

Those willing to do the work, as I often do, reap untold rewards and awesome memories. Like the EXTRA stop at an award winning country tea room in Argentina because our van was running almost an hour ahead of the slower buses.

[Bruin Steve]

Sheesh, worldromer...

I guess YOU wrote a book, so YOUR view has more validity... :)

 

Look, I've written over 1,000 posts on these boards...and I've detailed both the good and bad of every method of seeing a port many a time...

 

I didn't do it all here because the OP was merely looking for validation...

AND there is NOTHING wrong with what they're doing...

 

Yes, if you know what you're doing, you can arrange some wonderful private tours...

AND, if you can fiind that Mercedes van and the 6 to 10 other cruisers to sign on with you, you can save money averaging out the cost...

BUT, it is nopt always that easy...and there are a number of risks as well...

 

Things do not always come out great...

Unless you are travelling with a large group of people you know, you are dividing up that tour with strangers...Some may flake out on you...some may have a different idea of what they want to see...Some may be flat out obnoxious...I have heard as many BAD stories as you can recount good ones...

 

For the record, from MY experience (of course, I haven't written a book), generally, you come out around even on private tour versus ships' tour in most places--PROVIDED you can find another couple to share what is usually a car that seats four +driver...Find a van and several others, you may come out ahead...

Remeber, the ship's tour typically includes lunch and admission charges, the private tour does not...

 

To some people, whether or not the van or car is more comfortable than the bus is not the major criteria...I have never had a problem with the buses being "uncomfortable"...

 

The main advantages to the private guide are, generally, that you control the itinerary and that the logistics make it possible to fit a little more into the day...

 

It can be a great way to see a port...

 

BUT the point here is not whether one way is better than another...it's whether someone is "Crazy" for doing it a different way...

 

And, I'll stand by my statement: ONE IS NOT AN IDIOT FOR USING THE SHIP'S SHORE EXCURSIONS...They are a plenty fine way to visit a port, see some of the sights, have an enjoyable time and they require little work or risk on the part of the cruiser...

 

I am happy for you that you have had awesome times and have reaped untold rewards...So have many people on shore excursions...

 

And they are NOT idiots...

 

...or condescending snobs...

[whatsnext]

Geez, folks. I'm sorry, didn't mean to create a war of words. To my world traveler friend: When my husband was alive, we saw things "on our own" and never booked more than 1 ship's tour per trip. (14 cruises and equally as many fly/drive out of the country vacations) We chose to eat with the locals, go to places other "tourist" wouldn't be, etc., etc., etc. However, my circumstances have changed. Now I am a single woman, traveling with a 10 year old child. It's a bit of an adjustment. Secondly, I've waited for this trip for 35 years and really didn't want to risk not being able to see some of the places I've been wanting to see. I chose the ship's tours for convenience. I realize now that I could have saved a bundle of money had I done what I have always done - which is make my own arrangements. That being said, I spent enough money on this cruise, flights, etc. that the cost of the tours are not THAT important. The important thing is that I see what I want to see, enjoy myself, and have no regrets. I DO feel like an idiot for not doing a little more research prior to all the bookings, but - I would probably do it the same way. To my other "friend" - you are correct. Validation is all I needed.

[Toto2Kansas]

Let me tell you that you are NOT an idiot. I can't remember the last time we booked totally ships tours, but for our upcoming August cruise we have booked every single tour through the ship. We may end up regreting it but we decided that the private tours we could have joined just seemed way too busy and rushed for us this time. Since it is the first time we will be visiting the British Isles we thought it was just best to go with the flow of the 'cattle calls' and keep things simple. Are we paying a bit more for them, yes we are. But we will get to meet a wide variety of people on them and we will be assured of two things. #1 if the ship misses a port, we won't have to pay for something we didn't take and #2 We know we will be back in plenty of time before the ship sails.

[calikak]

Having just gotten back from a British Isles cruise, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. We had two ports cancelled because of weather (Holyhead and Kirkwall) and we had independent tours planned in both of those ports. One tour had a no refund policy and the other only had a partial refund. Had we gone with a ship-organized tour, we would have had a full refund. However, we also had an independent tour in Belfast and the money we saved on that tour vs. the ship's tour more than made up for the money we spent on the two cancelled port's tours.

 

I would say that in Greenock, you might be better off doing an independent tour, because they can be booked dockside the day you get there. See the Live from the Golden thread on the Princess board for more info. In the other ports, with a 10-year-old, I'd probably go with convenience and go through the ship for tours, or see if your roll call has any set up that you can join.

[uktog]

Coming from the UK I'll add my tuppence - especially re Greenock.I would say go with the ships tours unless you can ensure that the independent operator builds in LOTS of margin for error.

 

Warning No 1 for those who like to hire cars

We have seen it so many times, the road distances look like to you it will be a half hour drive - no it could be three times that. We have lovely twisty roads that we drive on the correct(!) left side complete with roundabouts. We do not alwasy beleive in signnposts and - best of all the M8 into Glasgow is notorious for delays and coming out of Edinburgh in the evening is a jam

 

Warning NO 2 - Independent tours

Likewise - I have seen cars screeming down the road to Greencock and South Queensferry as people had not allowed for the delays.

 

All in all, for peace of mind, go with the Cruise ship especially with kids in tow. Even as an adults only trip we will only be going independent on two trips in Alaska - call me scary if you want but after all I have spent on the trip and few more dollars or pounds wont matter

 

A

PS Having dined beside a guest who on a previous trip missed his ship and lost two days of his cruise and spent an extra $600 each to catch up (they had to come back via the US), I rest my case