Quality of Ship's Excursions

[uktog]

And sometimes it is preferable to be with a larger group where you can choose who you can associate with on the day than be trapped with a group of 6 or 8 from a roll call when you find one of them behaves in a way that winds you up. You are going with strangers either way (I am still not convinced chatting on roll calls reveals the real person and their preferences) and you have to work our what is best.

 

I prefer to be in a group of 12-15 small enough for agility big enough for personal space. Many ships tours have given me this so I do my homework, check out if in that country coaches or minibuses are the norm etc and this factors into my decision.

 

On my most recent cruise I did a mix of private, ships and in port DIY. On my next cruise I will be doing all ships tours.

[shipshape sam]

I know it doesn't seem this way now, but sometimes in retrospect, the "bad" tours are the ones we really remember and laugh about for years into the future.

 

We signed up for a ship's tour to Los Todos Santos in Mexico. The brochure and website claimed that the local "Hotel California" was the location where the Eagles' song was inspired. Once the bus left the parking lot of the port, they said, "Oh, not really...the Eagles have never been there." We were pretty pissed. To this day we ALWAYS stop, look at each other and laugh about it when we hear the song.

 

We took a looooong ship-sponsored boat ride through the Panama Canal with a boring monotone tour guide. We actually got to the ship about an hour after the scheduled sailaway. Nowadays we are happy to have had the experience of "what happens when your ship's excursion comes in late." Oh, and we bring a book or deck of cards on every excursion, thanks to learning that tours CAN be boring.

 

Last year we took a private tour of St. Petersburg for 2 days with a crabby guide who longed for the return of the USSR and made it known every chance she got. Today we laugh and wonder out loud whenever we hear news about Russia: What would our guide have to say about that?

 

Otherwise, we've had mostly GREAT tours sponsored by the ship or taken privately. It's always a gamble that you get a guide who's having a good day, that you have fellow travelers who are unburdened by personal issues, that the weather is great, that vehicles are in running order. But one thing that doesn't change is that you are ON A CRUISE and seeing things that most of the world's population will never see. If you don't like your experience, it's very likely that you can return under different circumstances and try it again.

 

Good point about remembering and laughing about them later.

 

We have had mostly good excursions, but did have one, got a refund when back on ship and as you mention still after 10 years talk and laugh about it.

 

:)

[Suzy Smith]

We have never taken a private tour and the ship's excursions suit us just fine. We don't do a great deal of forward planning or research - it's too much like hard work and we cruise to relax and have fun. We just rock up at the ship with no particular plans and decide from day to day whether to do our own thing or take a ship's excursion.

 

We have only had one tour that was not as advertised, a boat trip where we arrived at the dock to find the boat had left without us, but everyone on the bus was out to have a good time and we all sat down by the empty berth and sang "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay".:) On our return to the ship we went to guest relations and Celebrity immediately refunded our money.

 

Some excursions have been better than others, but I am sure that is also true of private tours and we never let small irritations bother us - we are so lucky to be able to cruise and want to enjoy every minute. I think the OP should just forget about this particular excursion and hold on to all the good memories of the cruise.

[Jade13]

Before I tell you which tour it was - caution!!! - truly, it was the driver/guide who was HORRIBLE, the tour itself was fantastic, 9, yes NINE, full hours of New Zealand exploration. And though the bus' sound system was hideous, other driver/guides, from the exact same company (we did B2B so we spent 30 days in New Zealand/Australia, so I know of what I speak, LOL!!) used a different speaker system, not the bus' system - this guy was out to lunch!!, and truly, the Celebrity escort reamed him in his review (I know that for a fact, trust me on that). So, the tour was in Tauranga, TR09 "Rotorua Wonderland & Maori Experience". When you look at the description, this is THE TOUR to take, we went everywhere, and the lunch at Tamaki Pa was excellent! OTHER PEOPLE ON OUR CRUISE TOOK THE EXACT SAME EXCURSION BUT HAD A DIFFERENT DRIVER/GUIDE AND HAD A STELLAR EXPERIENCE. We were the unlucky ones. The multiple destinations of the excursion were super, and like I said, we had separate local guides at each of those, but the driving on the bus, when you are normally regaled with all sorts of fascinating info about the area - political info, their health care system, minimum wage of the workers, standard of living, local agriculture, local economy facts - all of what you normally get from a standard Celebrity shore excursion contracted guide - that was missing as this guy was a loser - but, this was an anomaly, you win some, you lose some, and usually with Celebrity shore excursions, we win - and the excursion was great, but this driver/guide, yikes!

 

Ok, thanks. That is one of the ports where we have made private arrangements. Some of the others involve trains where our only option is to take the ships tour if we want that experience.

[Jade13]

And sometimes it is preferable to be with a larger group where you can choose who you can associate with on the day than be trapped with a group of 6 or 8 from a roll call when you find one of them behaves in a way that winds you up.

 

On my most recent cruise I did a mix of private, ships and in port DIY. On my next cruise I will be doing all ships tours.

 

Good point regarding private tours. I have only had a problem once, the guy was a nut and so was the wife who was on the roll call. But I had an idea there could be a problem, but didn't see a way to uninvite these people. But that was only one problem in probably over a 100 days of private touring.

 

So, are you still on the November Journey, and did you decide to take the ships tour to Agra? That roll call is dead.

[twoforone]

Has anyone use www.cruisingexcursions.com to book their excursions?

 

Would love some feedback since we are considering them for our fall Mediterranean cruises (btb).

[Gonzo70]

Has anyone use www.cruisingexcursions.com to book their excursions?

 

Would love some feedback since we are considering them for our fall Mediterranean cruises (btb).

 

I would rather book directly with the vendor providing the tour than with a large conglomerate serving as agent. Much better chance of securing a high quality experience. Use Trip Advisor, the Port of Call boards on Cruise Critic and your Roll Call board on Cruise Critic to research vendors.

[phoenix_dream]

Specific to action by Celebrity, we have taken a number of ship's tours, although as we gained experience we tended to book our own. That said, a few years ago we went on a Celebrity excursion that was just awful. We went back and talked to the Shore Excursion manager and he refunded a portion of our payment (my memory is fading, I believe it was at least 50% but perhaps more). I think one does have a reasonable expectation for a decent quality excursion for the price.

 

If you encounter an excursion where it ended up being of poor quality in ways that the tour operator should be accountable for (meaning, for example, a tour guide who could not speak English as opposed to rude fellow passengers, or crowded buses which are to be expected) then you should immediately, and politely, bring it to the Shore Excursion management and request compensation. Unfortunately crowded buses, rude fellow passengers, and the like are the price one pays for taking a large group tour, private or otherwise.

[BKFlowerMound]

I know it doesn't seem this way now, but sometimes in retrospect, the "bad" tours are the ones we really remember and laugh about for years into the future.

 

 

So true!!!

 

A couple of years ago on another cruise line, we took a winery tour in Sicily. We took a nice scenic drive to the winery with a local guide who was a history professor. So far so good.

 

When we arrived at the winery, the place was shuttered up and closed. When they finally found someone who worked at the winery, one of the Italian speaking guests overheard a winery employee state, "You are here today, we thought it was tomorrow." They cobbled together a tour with a lab-coated employee who spoke no English. It was her first tour ever. She would ramble on in Italian for minutes on end and the history professor tour guide would translate what she had supposedly said in seconds. It was an unintentionally hilarious performance. All of us were trying to stifle laughs because it wasn't the fault of the poor winery employee.

 

After some discussion, the cruise line refunded half our money (which I thought was overly generous). Like others suggested, the determining factor for the partial refund was that there was an employee of the holding company that owned the cruise line on the excursion. She reported what happened acurately. The winery, when contacted, lied to the cruise line and said that everything was fine.

[pumpkin 11]

So true!!!

 

A couple of years ago on another cruise line, we took a winery tour in Sicily. We took a nice scenic drive to the winery with a local guide who was a history professor. So far so good.

 

When we arrived at the winery, the place was shuttered up and closed. When they finally found someone who worked at the winery, one of the Italian speaking guests overheard a winery employee state, "You are here today, we thought it was tomorrow." They cobbled together a tour with a lab-coated employee who spoke no English. It was her first tour ever. She would ramble on in Italian for minutes on end and the history professor tour guide would translate what she had supposedly said in seconds. It was an unintentionally hilarious performance. All of us were trying to stifle laughs because it wasn't the fault of the poor winery employee.

 

After some discussion, the cruise line refunded half our money (which I thought was overly generous). Like others suggested, the determining factor for the partial refund was that there was an employee of the holding company that owned the cruise line on the excursion. She reported what happened acurately. The winery, when contacted, lied to the cruise line and said that everything was fine.

That must have been absolutely hilarious!!! Thanks for sharing!

[tip]

We have been on twenty-three cruises and have found over the years that most ship sponsored excursions have been nothing more than over priced cattle herds. As a result, we run and not walk by the excursion desk. The only time that I peruse the shore excursion forms in our cabin is to compare the itineraries to private tours and add up the dollars that we have saved, not to mention the time saved by not having to make the built-in shopping stops.

 

We use a combination of the ports of call threads on these boards along with Trip Advisor and have taken many outstanding private tours, not only saving many dollars, but having experienced the opportunity to see many locations in a smaller group with an itinerary that was much more to our liking. You do need to look for reputable operators. As someone stated earlier, you just have to do a little research.

[keesar]

On one of our first cruises, we had booked all of our tours with the ship. However, our itinerary was changed due to a hurricane and our Western Caribbean trip became an Eastern Caribbean one. Many people who had booked and paid for private excursions were worried they would not get their money back as they had already paid for their excursions. Some even had the nerve to ask Celebrity for a refund because the itinerary was changed!!! With the cruise ship, our accounts were credited with the amount of the excursions and we were able to use those funds to book new excursions.

 

There have been a couple of 'duds' but for the most part, we have enjoyed our tours with Celebrity. Last winter, one of the private companies that I have dealt with could not take a reservation for us as they had entered a contract for that week with Celebrity. Worked out well for us.

[Hlitner]

We have avoided all ship excursions for many years...unless they do something we cannot possibly do on our own (this is very rare). I recently had "my wings clipped" so cannot post what I really think about ship excursions...other then to say that the OPs comments are mild compared to mine :)

 

For those willing and wanting to do things on their own...there is a lot of terrific information on the CC Ports of Call Boards (I contribute a lot to the Europe boards). The Roll Call boards are also a great place to hook-up with other cruisers who want to put together smaller private excursions.

 

For the record, last year we took a cruise that stopped at 31 ports in 13 countries. Out of those 31 ports we took 1 cruise line tour, 2 private tours, and everything else we did on our own with great joy (and success). In the end we probably saved over $6000 (minimum) by not taking cruise line excursions....did a lot more then the excursions, and managed to do what we wanted, when we wanted, with whom we wanted. Life is good!

 

Hank

[dread_pirate]

We did a private excursion in Skagway, Alaska, going up the railroad. Our group had a train car to itself. Of course, the car was full, and there was a group of kids on it who were out of control. Parents did nothing. Excursion company did nothing. We couldn't move because the car was full. (Oh, and our tour was more expensive than the cruise line's.)

 

We did a Princess excursion in Aruba, and had a great time. Nice people, bus was full but not uncomfortable, boat was great.

 

I did an NCL excursion in Bermuda for the afternoon of departure. I didn't want to risk a private excursion that close to sail away. It was the best excursion of the trip!

 

Private excursions can be disappointing and cruise line excursions can be terrific. And vice versa. No way to tell in advance.

[JLSPOOL]

A lesson learned is to request a partial refund as soon as the shore excursion desk reopens. Too many times, we just let it go.

 

Going forward, we expect inconveniences, lack of air conditioning, a crowd on the big bus. Still if the tour is a total disappointment, we're going to ask for a partial refund.

 

Partial because we get out and experience more than port the area around the ship.

 

jls

[celebrity]

Wow, you learn something new every day. I wasn't aware that there is always a ship employee on the excursions. I do recall once there was a female from Guest Relations on our St Lucia kayaking excursion. That was on RCCL. I just assumed she had some free time .

Perhaps they are told not to mention they work on the ship?

[Lois R]

Wow, you learn something new every day. I wasn't aware that there is always a ship employee on the excursions. I do recall once there was a female from Guest Relations on our St Lucia kayaking excursion. That was on RCCL. I just assumed she had some free time .

Perhaps they are told not to mention they work on the ship?

 

I don't think there is a ship employee on "every excursion"...maybe

sometimes, but 100% of the time? No, I don't believe so and have

never heard that before. "Always"? That would mean every single

time? Nope, I don't think so.

[celebrity]

I don't think there is a ship employee on "every excursion"...maybe

sometimes, but 100% of the time? No, I don't believe so and have

never heard that before. "Always"? That would mean every single

time? Nope, I don't think so.

 

Hi Lois,

I didn't think so either. A previous poster mentioned it. Perhaps they join the group if it's a new excursion to see how things are run.

[CruisinCadie]

Okay, go ahead and call me "lazy," but I'm on vacation and am willing to pay extra for peace of mind, in most cases. We do mainly ship excursions and our tour guides have always been satisfactory and have spoken Enlish well. (Maybe because we usually cruise the Caribbean and Mexico.)

 

On our last cruise, on a ship excursion, my husband got knocked over and cut his head. (Abxolutely an accident) Our tour guide couldn't have been more helpful, especially translating and helping fill out various incident reports. I realize this must have been frustrating for those waiting on the bus, but we were extrenekt grateful. She also notified the ship that we were being transported back by ambulance, and medical center staff and someone from the shore excursion desk were waiting for us at the dock.

 

In most cases, I've learned, you get out of something what you're willing to put into it. It's all about attitude.

 

Kathy

[Lois R]

Hi Lois,

I didn't think so either. A previous poster mentioned it. Perhaps they join the group if it's a new excursion to see how things are run.

 

Now that I have heard about and actually years ago I was on an excursion

and of the folks from the "Excursion staff" went with us. I wish I could

remember where we were:eek:....and they were there and it was not kept

a secret....I believe it might have been a new tour.

 

And I have met folks on my excursions who worked on the ship. They

had a day off and wanted to see something specific...that was when

I was in Santorini. It was one tour I took through the ship and sat next

to a very nice gal:)~I can't remember what dept she worked in though.

If you check my Med photos you will see we are in a couple of pictures

together......oh now I remember! She worked in Guest Relations

and was concerned about making it back to the ship on time for her

shift. I told her if they said anything I would vouch for her and we

were in the line for the cablecar back to the ship:)

[lexmiller]

On Celebrity, the ship's staff sign up on wait lists for the excursions that they would like to take - I am told that many of the popular excursions have very long wait lists, like the elephant ride excursion in Bali. When I say "ship's staff", I mean from any department - from housekeeping to the dancers - they get to go on an excursion at no cost, but they are representing the company and have to report to ShoreEx regarding the quality of all aspects of the excursion. The staff love this because they get to see and do some amazing things - they sign up for the excursions for the same reasons that we the paying guests do. As a paying guest, you will usually not even be aware that a Celebrity employee is on your excursion as they wear no identifying name tag or uniform, as their job is not to inject themselves, rather, to observe - and help if needed, of course. We in fact have often had this 'secret passenger' help us because my adult daughter and I spent a full month on Solstice in Australia/New Zealand alone, and she is mobility challenged, needing a walker or wheelchair. The Celebrity employee would often reveal his or her self because they saw we could use an extra hand, and they would very thoughtfully help us. On other excursions, I was able to identify the 'secret' employee simply because when you are on the same ship for a month, you start to recognize a lot of people!

[CruisinCadie]

I forgot to mention re: DH's accident, the Medical Center was excellent. The doctor stitched up the cut, and they provided antibiotics and painkillers, all at NO charge. We never could figure that one out, and it was a non-issue since we had trip insurance and would have been covered. When DH went to his PCP at home to have the stitches removed, his MD was very impressed with the quality of the owrk.

 

Kathy

[Jetswdo]

We took both private and ship excursions depending on the port. These were the ones that I took through Celebrity:

 

1. Ephesis that included Terrace Houses for Turkey- Excellent- Yes the bus was full, but so what-- We had an excellent guide and heard everything.

 

2. Santorini-- am Oia and winery tour. Tour covered town nicely. Good tour--

 

3. Amalfi coast by boat and Pompeii--I would have prefered to do this privately, but Celebrity had the "monopoly" for this. Boat trip was wonderful--Pompeii really needed an extra half an hour-- too much time was wasted on included lunch-- So I rate this excursion fair-good.

 

My advice is to research everything before you go. Sometimes the cruise line tour is the way to go. It really depends on the port and what you want to do.

[wishlist5]

We have been on ship excursions on numerous lines.

I can definitely remember staff members (in identifying clothing) on our Celebrity and Azamara excursions.

I would think this would be to have a Company Rep be able to report/witness/corroborate/dispute any incidents on the excursion.

Seems like a good idea....

[Momplanner]

our cruise is Aug 2014.....I have one problem thou....we dock in St Thomas from 1pm-9pm....most excursions are daytime ones, unless we do a private tour which can be expensive.....any thoughts???