Excursion...book thru Carnival...or not????

[Hughesurdaddy48]

My friends and I are going on our first cruise in November. We are on the Valor and going to Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Any advice we can get on excursions would be great. We have heard pro's and cons of both booking through Carnival and not booking through Carnival. HELP US!!! :)

[Cruising89143]

I will give you my two cents on this subject. I'm sure many will not agree with me but here goes.

 

I think that if a person is going on their first cruise they should book with the cruise line. Everything is going to be new to you. Also you are more than likely visiting these destinations for the first time. Again all new. Once you get the feel of cruising and how it works then I would suggest that one does shore excursions on their own. Yes going on your own is usually cheaper.

 

For me even though I have a few cruises under my belt I will still from time to time go through the ship with an excursion. If it is a port that I have not been to I feel a little more comfortable booking through the ship.

[Live_2_cruise05]

People say that it is better to book excursions through the cruise line because if any part of the excursion runs over the time your ship is supposed to leave then since you booked it through the cruise line the ship will wait for you, but if you don’t then you will be having a great Kodak moment!

[BlueJacketsFan1]

My wife and I booked our with Carnival on our first cruise and will to the same in October. After our first cruise I checked the tours we had done on a couple of websites. The internet prices were a little cheaper, but we don't think that cheaper is always the better. I like the ease of booking with Carnival. Plus, I believe that Carnival keeps track of how these companies take care of their guests. If they are not taking care of Carnival's guests then Carnival would stop dealing with them. Not to mention that Carnival make sure that all the excursions are in before sailing. We felt that the service we received during our excursions was excellent, and I have never care if a pay a little more if I am getting good service. Really I think it is a choice that you have to make for yourself. Some will say save the money and plan your tours yourself. While I believe that the most important thing is to simple get out and enjoy the islands, not whether I could of saved a dollar. We did Cozumel and Grand Cayman on our first cruise. Grand Cayman we did Stingray City, Hell, the Turtle farm and Seven Miles beach, which was a lot of fun. Cozumel, we did the All Terrain Eco Tour. The tour was great and the snorkeling was even better. While in Cozumel, check out Carlos'n Charlies for an excellent time.

[F5Loar]

I agree with above that if new by all means book through the ship. After you have learned the ropes, the time changes, the unexpected that can happen like flat tires, overheated radiators, traffic jams (yes even small ports have rush hours), other problems with guest in your group,etc, etc. then book on your own and save a few bucks. While some excursions like Sting Ray City are easy to do on your own others can be quite difficult since you are responsible for your own transportion to and from.

Take a taxi to a private secluded beach and will that taxi driver be there to pick you up? Maybe or maybe not. Book a bus tour on your own and the old beaten down bus breaks down on your way back. I have found the price difference is like buying insurance your ship won't leave you. It's not that much but it sure buys peace of mind. And who wants that kind of pressure while on vacation when you are suppose to have a good time? Your memories of the great time you had will long be remembered after the price you paid is forgotton.

[gymbrat33]

I've been on 6 cruises and I always book my excursions with Carnival. I feel safer booking them with the cruise line.

[OCruisers]

We've been on 40+ cruises and STILL often book our shore excursions through the cruise line!

 

When you book thru the cruise line (Carnival), they pick you up from the ship, take you to have FUN, return you to the ship ... and you never miss the boat! :D

 

If you want to do something On-Your-Own, I'd suggest either Grand Cayman or Cozumel.

 

For sure (just my opinion) I would book thru the ship in Roatan, Honduras .... however, I would NOT take either of these:

 

"Yacht Sailing " or "Catamaran Sail, Snorkel, & Beach" (click here for reviews)

 

(Most folks told us they loved the beach excursion offered by the ship in Roatan. What we'll do next time!)

 

Have fun planning! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[klfrodo]

Some tours are only offered through the ship.

 

I found a tour ( over the internet) in Cabo that my son and I were interested in. I gave them a call to make reservations.

Found out that they are contractually obligated to give the Pride their full allotment of ATV's anytime the ship is in port.

 

In other words the only way to experience this tour is to book through the ship.

[samscruiser]

We prefer to do our own/book private. Main reason is you usually get more time to do what you want, and more personal attention, as there aren't a bus load of people with you.

If you have purchased travel insurance, you're covered even if you miss the ship. But the private vendors want to make sure you're back in time too.

Sometimes a certain excursion is only available through the cruise line. If it's something we want to do, and the only way to do it, then we will book through the cruise line.

The biggest reason for us to do private is to not be part of the cattle call that happens with most of the ship's tours.

It's all what you feel most comfortable doing.

[F5Loar]

I have found this to be true too. Dolphin tours especially. There are many that are exclusive to the ship lines. We've had some great ones and asked about booking on our own the next time we come and they told us no way.

[Grayce]

On my first cruise I felt safer booking through the ship because I had no experience in these places and was not comfortable enough to arrange transportation etc. on my own. For my upcoming cruise in the tender port I will definatly book through the cruise line. We are going to cozumel again. Since I have been there before I felt comfortable booking on my own. I think it depends on your personality as well. Some people are just more comfortable striking out on their own.

[Skinsfan1311]

We prefer to do our own/book private. Main reason is you usually get more time to do what you want, and more personal attention, as there aren't a bus load of people with you.

If you have purchased travel insurance, you're covered even if you miss the ship. But the private vendors want to make sure you're back in time too.

Sometimes a certain excursion is only available through the cruise line. If it's something we want to do, and the only way to do it, then we will book through the cruise line.

The biggest reason for us to do private is to not be part of the cattle call that happens with most of the ship's tours.

It's all what you feel most comfortable doing.

We do the same thing...we've never booked an excursion through the ship....though I've heard some good things about them. Just do your homework, and use your resources, (like Cruise Critic, for instance;) ), and you'll do fine.....

[Bsan1221]

My friends and I are going on our first cruise in November. We are on the Valor and going to Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Any advice we can get on excursions would be great. We have heard pro's and cons of both booking through Carnival and not booking through Carnival. HELP US!!! :)

 

I personally dont book through the cruiseline. You can do things on your own in places like Grand Cayman and Cozumel. However, I do not suggest it in Honduras and Belize. You are better off going with the cruiseline... I have been to Honduras (my father is from Honduras) and I personally wouldnt do it alone..

[moonvine]

For the most part I book independently of the cruise line. For example, when we were in Cozumel we did Discover SCUBA with Eagle Ray divers and had only 4 people on the boat. I talked to someone who did the same thing through Carnival and they had 3 times the amount of people, and it cost more to boot.

 

In Calica I will generally book Xcaret through the cruise line, because it doesn't cost much more than going on your own - you are just paying a little extra for the bus.

 

I have a group going on the Elation January 29th, and my TA has told me that Carnival will book private tours if you have at least 15 people going on the same tour. So I may try that and see if they are less crowded. But in general I prefer to go on my own.

[Kat1613]

Having booked both thru Carnival & other cruise lines and on our own, my opinion is DEFINATELY ON YOUR OWN - the excursions we booked thru internet (after thoroughly checking them out) were sooooo much better than the cruise lines - Cheaper, less people so more personal & u don't feel like a cramped sardine, & just so much more (more that you do, more that u see etc.). I just went on 2 carnival excursions at the beginning of June & we felt that they were a rip off. Also, many of the excursions we booked on our own don't require u to pay the full amt when u book like Carnival does, in fact, the ones we booked in Grand Caymen we didn't have to pay till we were there on their boat & in Ochos Rios we paid after our tour!! Others require a deposit.

Going to Jamaica we were told that it wasn't very safe & stay with the ship's tour but the tour we booked on our own was absolutely the best time!!

Use these boards for info on outside tours to where your going & check it out it's so much more worth it & I really don't know why people are so afraid of doing this then paying inflated cruiseline prices for lesser tours. Good Luck.

[tpcwags]

I also booked through the cruise line on my first cruise 6 years ago but have booked my own on each of the 6 cruises since.

 

I have been to three of the ports that are on your itinerary and they are the three that I think are the easiest to book on your own ( or in the case of Cozumel not book anything at all).

 

Now, I should say that I always book snorkeling trips so if this is not what you want to do you may want to disregard this advice.

 

In Grand Cayman book Nativeway, I used them for the Stingray City and Snorkel Tour for a group of 20 on a family cruise and they met us right on the pier where the tenders drop you off (which is exactly where you meet the tour guides when you book on the ship). Not only was it less expensive but we had a much smaller group on our boat then I did when I booked the same trip through the ship.

 

In Belize I used Coral Breeze and they also met us at the pier where the tender dropped us off for the Shark Ray Alley and Snorkeling Tour and I was very confident that these people are travel professionals (much more than any tour booked on the trip.) This was the best excursion I have ever been on in all of my travels both on cruise ships and at hotels or all-inclusives. I will book them again in a heartbeat if I am ever fortunate enough to go to Belize again.

 

The best way I can make you feel comfortable about ignoring the cruiselines scare tactic about getting back to the ship ontime is to repeat what I have read on this board many times. These cruise operators are professionals and the last thing their business needs is for someone to post that they missed the boat because then they will get no future business. Just BE CAREFULL TO only book with companies that have a large majority of positive reviews on the "Ports of Call" section of this board. That is how I have always found who to book with and I have never had a bad experience.

 

Now for Cozumel. This is a very friendly island and you dock right at the pier so you don't have to worry about catching a tender back to the ship. I suggest you simply walk to the end of the pier (quite a long walk actually, think small mall). When you get to the street there is a taxi stand. Take a taxi to Channukabb (sp?) park. It is where they have the Dophin Swim and Sea Lion Swim and also fantastic snorkeling right from a beautiful beach with chairs and palapas to give you shade (guess you get the point that my wife and I love to snorkel). It will cost you $10.00 or $12.00 per person to get into the park and I think the cab ride is about $8.00-$10.00 for two people. You can rent the snorkel equiptment very inexpensively right on the beach.

 

When you finish get a cab and ask them to take you to Cozumel Mini-Golf which is just about 3 blocks inland from the main shopping area. Sally (a co-owner of the golf course) is a regular contributor helping people on the "Ports of Call" board. This is min-golf that is very quaint, they give you a walkie talkie and you can order home made sangria delivered on the course. (My wife was beating me by a stroke after 9 holes and I called in another round of drinks and took advantage, beating her by 3 strokes on the final 9 LOL.)

 

When you finish playing golf just turn right at the bottom of the stairs leaving the golf course and walk about three blocks to shopping (again very safe). There will be plenty of cabs to take you back to the ship.

 

Well, sorry to go on but Belize and Coz are my two favorite ports. I will be on that beach at Channakabb in October the good Lord willing.

 

In closing, have a great cruise and please don't worry, it is so much easier than it seems when you are planning your first cruise.

 

Visit the "Ports of Call" board and ask questions, these people are fantastic and give excellent advice.

 

Charlie

[luckydogone]

I am going on the Valor in July and am thinking about booking some shore excursions out side of Carnival, the only thing that has me scared is that Carnival is now holding people till last on ports where you have to tender to get off the ship. I have read some reports on here as well as a friend of mine just came back from being on the Miracle and he told me that if you didn't book through Carnival they kept you till all of their shore excursions had left the ship first. He said it took them 1 1/2 hrs to get off the ship in Belize, luckly for him his guide ( Reggie of Cave Tubbing in Belize ) waited for him at the dock and had him back in plenty of time.

[Wennfred]

You can plan now by looking at their website and reading up on the Excursions they have to offer, then you can post your questions about the ones you really want to go on.

 

Peace of mind, knowing that the ship will not leave you behind incase you are returning back late.

 

If the ship has to skip a port, you are refunded 100%.

 

For the first timer, I say yes, book online, its very organize.

[Buttonlover]

My sister and I booked through Carnival before we left on the cruise--great!! No lines to stand in to book and our tickets magically arrived under our door on the ship. None of the trips were like "cattle calls" as some people say. We're cruising again next May and will book before the cruise again!

[nursejewels]

DEFINITELY book on your own... IF you have the time to research it well! I just got back from Inspiration 6/11-6/16, and though this was only my third cruise, I felt totally at ease planning an excursion on my own after reading the boards and asking lots of questions. The companies that tour on their own cater to lots of cruise passengers, and if they didn't care about making sure you had a quality time, or got people back late, they would be out of business in NO time with today's internet age, for that is how people find out about these companies and how they make a living! And this is how we review these companies also! I'm sure you have had lots of opposing opinions, but as long as you don't try to cut it too close by booking something that is going to take too long, you will be fine. If you email or talk to the person about your time constraints, they will guarantee your arrival back in time or they will tell you you can't take that excursion. I speak for Grand Cayman and Cozumel...I did a LOT of research but don't know anything about the other destinations. We were only in GC from 7am to 2pm ship time....make SURE you know the difference if there is one between ship and island time! We took an 8am catamaran snorkeling tour with Capt. Bryans and it was perfect...and I knew it would be from the messages I read, and how they even took you back to the pier instead of their buisness building 2 blocks away afterwards so you wouldn't feel rushed and actually had time to look around the shops in town. I would use them any day, or Nativeway...they both checked out good. I listened to people who booked through the ship who were on boats with 50 other people, while we had our party of 10 plus about 8 more people, and our experience was great, the boat was top notch, the crew was fun and we paid a good bit less, with no cattle herding feeling at all! You still have to go back to the tender dock and wait in a LONG line to get back to the ship...that was the worst part!

The same goes for Cozumel...our experience was great!! I was so ecstatic when we got out of our cab at Palm Beach and we were the ONLY ones there! It was like paradise waiting just for us...the staff was right out to greet us with comp cocktails and treated us like royalty while we waited for our 1pm excursion on another Trimaran for snorkeling, which ended up we 4 were the ONLY ones on! We had 2 nice guides and lots of drinks and fresh pineapple and snacks and good tunes on the boat! They actually used the sails and let my husband and son try their hands at steering the boat! What a perfect day for us! We booked them through Cozumelcruiseexcursions.com, and their location is on the beach at Palm and Paradise Beach. And the beach was fun for the kids with the water trampolines and inflatable iceburgs, free lounge chairs, tables with palapas, and beachside bar and restaurant service. They also have a bar under the roof with swings hanging from it...very cool! Thay have a dive shop and motorized and non-motorized water sports on site. This is THE PLACE to go if you are cruising there and want a perfect, quiet day on the beach! We also had their fresh chips & guac dip...it was really tasty and the drinks were good. they had the big pineapples and mangos with whatever drink you want in them! How cool is that?

All in all, I think you should forget the cruise ship herds and grab a cab in Coz, walk 2 blocks in GC, and go on your own! I overheard one man at the info desk on the ship trying to book his excursion for his family, and they were telling him they had sold all the childs tickets and he would have to buy adult tickets for them if they wanted to go. To me, that is complete bull...how could they get away with that? They are in the business of making LOTS of money on excursions...and they are usually overcrowded and overpriced with less personal attention and charm! Just my ten cents worth...and I have done both.

[nursejewels]

Oh, and one other thing I liked about both the excursions I booked...neither of them made us wear life vests, and if you have ever been snorkeling, you'll know that is a big deal! And the Cozumel trip had a photographer on it who took all our pictures with the sting rays, and you could buy them if you liked, no pressure though.

[kari333]

BOOK YOUR OWN- I have booked thru both and the cruiselines are not as good as what u will get on your oww. Sorry but the 4 that I went on -on 2 different lines thru the ship were CATTLECALLS - we were sitting like sardines on a snorkeling boat. It's very rare that anyone misses the boat due to excursion being back too late -these people live by this and they know what they're doing and usually get u back in plenty of time so don't be scared of this at all. If you have done off ship excursions and on ship excursions then you know that there is no comparison the off ship is much much better and much cheaper!! And as far as if your boat doesn't get to dock at a certain port, most of the off ship excursions we booked they would refund your deposit and not charge you anything if this happened. Others you don't have to pay till u get there -usually cash. So you're not going to be ripped off if you don't dock at a certain port. ALso Carnival makes u pay at the time of booking in full amt. Go with off shore excursion -the only way to go.

[kari333]

BOOK YOUR OWN- I have booked thru both and the cruiselines are not as good as what u will get on your own. Sorry but the 4 that I went on -on 2 different lines thru the ship were CATTLECALLS - we were sitting like sardines on a snorkeling boat. It's very rare that anyone misses the boat due to excursion being back too late -these people live by this and they know what they're doing and usually get u back in plenty of time so don't be scared of this at all. If you have done off ship excursions and on ship excursions then you know that there is no comparison the off ship is much much better and much cheaper!! And as far as if your boat doesn't get to dock at a certain port, most of the off ship excursions we booked they would refund your deposit and not charge you anything if this happened. Others you don't have to pay till u get there -usually cash. So you're not going to be ripped off if you don't dock at a certain port. ALso Carnival makes u pay at the time of booking in full amt. Go with off shore excursion -the only way to go.

[F5Loar]

I don't think every excursion the cruise offers has the cattle call atmosphere.

We've been on some that do and many that don't. We've done great ones and and some really bad ones with small groups. The cruise line generally sends a rep. on each one to bring back reports on how it went. Anytime their are mulitple compalints they will drop that one. They seem to always be adding new ones. And also the ones that only allow it through the ship can be very good and there is no way to book that on your own. Again telling a first timer to go it alone is not good advice. Get your feet wet first, learn the area and what it can offer and when you return, then book on your own after doing research and reviews from others. Safety issues are important too and I consider the ship leaving me a safety issue because from that point on your life could be in danger being left ashore. No ID, no money, no clothes, no food,etc. Try getting something done in a foreign country under that situation. Your sail and sign card won't get very far on shore.

[Hughesurdaddy48]

Everyone has such different views on what is better as I anticipated when I started this thread. It has been very useful information though and I really appreciate all the advice. Thanks to all and keep it comin'!;)