Does Princess care about offering Shore Excursions or not?

[Faircliff]

We have been waiting eagerly for shore excursions to open for our Sept 22nd California Coastal RT from Vancouver. Finally today we got some. The choice is just plain skimpy!! In Catalina there are only 3 options and they are all "strenuous". Nothing at all showing for Los Angeles.

 

Can anyone tell me if Princess will continue to add exursions closer to the date or will this pitiful list be it? I encouraged friends to cruise based partially on what one can do in port, and now it looks like we may have to expend energy setting up private excursions and I'm not comfortable with that for a host of reasons. :confused:

[Colo Cruiser]

We have been waiting eagerly for shore excursions to open for our Sept 22nd California Coastal RT from Vancouver. Finally today we got some. The choice is just plain skimpy!! In Catalina there are only 3 options and they are all "strenuous". Nothing at all showing for Los Angeles.

 

Can anyone tell me if Princess will continue to add exursions closer to the date or will this pitiful list be it? I encouraged friends to cruise based partially on what one can do in port, and now it looks like we may have to expend energy setting up private excursions and I'm not comfortable with that for a host of reasons. :confused:

 

 

We have never seen excursions added online.

You may want to ask at the shore excursion desk once onboard.

We like to rent the golf cart in Catalina and drive around the island.

I doubt very much that any will be added.

Have you joined the roll call for the cruise?

Edited July 2, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[waltd]

There is not a lot to do in Catalina. It's mostly about the town and walking around and shopping or sitting on the beach or walking over to the casino or touring the Wrigley Mansion. If I remember correctly there are tour operators on the dock that will give you tours of the island. Just find a restaurant with an outdoor eating area and have a drink and enjoy the beautiful view.

[RickEk]

There are a lot more excursions for Catalina and LA listed on Princess' general excursion page on the website. It may be possible that they are still finalizing contracts and will add more as they become available. The Vancouver round trip coastal cruise is a new itinerary for Princess, so that may be why the excursions are slow in showing up.

 

You could always call Princess and they should be able to call their shore excursion department and find out what's what...

[Kamloops50]

We have been waiting eagerly for shore excursions to open for our Sept 22nd California Coastal RT from Vancouver. Finally today we got some. The choice is just plain skimpy!! In Catalina there are only 3 options and they are all "strenuous". Nothing at all showing for Los Angeles.

 

Can anyone tell me if Princess will continue to add exursions closer to the date or will this pitiful list be it? I encouraged friends to cruise based partially on what one can do in port, and now it looks like we may have to expend energy setting up private excursions and I'm not comfortable with that for a host of reasons. :confused:

 

Are disembarking in LA ? If so excursions for disembarkation are only sold on board.

[cherylandtk]

Yes, Princess adds excursions, have seen it happen on both of my last two cruises. Since your sailing is a stand alone itinerary, it would not be surprising to see excursions added all the way up to sailing.

[Pam in CA]

Keep in mind that while there are a lot of things to do in Catalina for a couple or a few people, Princess tours have to be offered to all passengers. Not all vendors are capable of offering tours for hundreds/thousands of people at a time. They just don't have the resources.

 

Most things to do on Catalina are strenuous, even a walking tour. It's a big, mountainous rock. The roads are narrow and winding.

 

Here's an excellent site with things to do on Catalina, from strenuous to relatively easy. You can book directly and pay less than a Princess tour. http://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/activities-adventures/land

[Cruisin' Chick]

There is not a lot to do in Catalina. It's mostly about the town and walking around and shopping or sitting on the beach or walking over to the casino or touring the Wrigley Mansion. If I remember correctly there are tour operators on the dock that will give you tours of the island. Just find a restaurant with an outdoor eating area and have a drink and enjoy the beautiful view.

 

I was thinking this myself. Some passengers rent a golf cart, some just walk around (we did this our last time there in 2002, but the painted buffaloes were on display at that time so that gave us something interesting to look at). If you go on the Catalina website, there should be many ideas there of things to do. Have some ideas for plans in mind and then if Princess doesn't offer any shore excursions that you like, you'll still have things to do. It's a pretty small area unless you're into hiking, I guess. I'm sure you'll find more to do in Santa Barbara.

[Colo Cruiser]

I was thinking this myself. Some passengers rent a golf cart' date=' some just walk around (we did this our last time there in 2002, but the painted buffaloes were on display at that time so that gave us something interesting to look at). If you go on the Catalina website, there should be many ideas there of things to do. Have some ideas for plans in mind and then if Princess doesn't offer any shore excursions that you like, you'll still have things to do. It's a pretty small area unless you're into hiking, I guess. I'm sure you'll find more to do in Santa Barbara.[/quote']

 

 

When we took my mom we rented the golf cart and it was a nice relaxing couple of hours. :)

[azgrandmax3]

Just a short walk from pier is a trolley. We have taken it twice. Reasonable rate and it goes to several areas. You to not get off. If you take it sit side of trolley where the driver is. Better viewing then on the other side. You will return where you began.

[Faircliff]

Los Angeles is just a stop....then we return to Vancouver.

 

In Santa Barbara they only list three possible excursions and all of them are out of town (wine, etc). I certainly hope they will add more but I won't hold my breath.

 

 

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[sassyredhat]

We are on the Sept. 20 Crown cruise and our shore excursions just opened up this week.

I can't do many of them because I can't walk far.

 

Last time we rented the golf cart and drove around. Prior to that, we booked an island bus tour that took us around the island.

I thought it was offered as a ships tour this year, but I don't see it offered on our sailing.

We took that ships trolley tour last time. This time the guys are playing golf, so the ladies may shop at Stearns Wharf, or get a taxi to visit just the mission without the town tour.

As the others have said, I doubt they will add any more, especially in SB.

Pat

[skynight]

Regarding the stop in L.A., I believe you will actually stop in Long Beach, at least that is what it states on the little itinerary map. Right near the port is the Queen Mary which you can tour. There is a free public shuttle bus that can bring you around to the sites. Shoreline Village is one of the nice places with shops and restaurants. I would say that there is no need to book a Princess tour at this port, unless you wish to see sites in downtown L.A.

[Faircliff]

Actually, according to the port schedules the Grand Princess docks in San Pedro. Nothing near the ports really interests me and part of the reason for going on this cruise is to actually see the destinations we are going to. Princess is making this rather difficult at the moment. If it is their assumption that people taking this cruise have actually seen each of the destinations before hand, they are grossly mistaken.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

Actually, according to the port schedules the Grand Princess docks in San Pedro. Nothing near the ports really interests me and part of the reason for going on this cruise is to actually see the destinations we are going to. Princess is making this rather difficult at the moment. If it is their assumption that people taking this cruise have actually seen each of the destinations before hand, they are grossly mistaken.

 

 

There are many private options.

[RickEk]

Actually, according to the port schedules the Grand Princess docks in San Pedro. Nothing near the ports really interests me and part of the reason for going on this cruise is to actually see the destinations we are going to. Princess is making this rather difficult at the moment. If it is their assumption that people taking this cruise have actually seen each of the destinations before hand, they are grossly mistaken.

 

 

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Your assertion that Princess doesn't care about shore excursions is most likely incorrect. Shore excursions are a revenue generator for them... As said before, this is a new itinerary. Sometimes these things take time...

[shredie]

Actually, according to the port schedules the Grand Princess docks in San Pedro. Nothing near the ports really interests me and part of the reason for going on this cruise is to actually see the destinations we are going to. Princess is making this rather difficult at the moment. If it is their assumption that people taking this cruise have actually seen each of the destinations before hand, they are grossly mistaken.

 

 

 

This is common practice for Princess. They list the name of the big city as the port but if it's a city not on a coast, then the ship docks somewhere else, probably somewhere you have never heard of. San Pedro is Los Angeles, a neighborhood of it, so to speak. The touristy parts of Los Angeles are elsewhere, and spread out all over the place. It would be impossible to see all of Los Angeles in one port stop. I can't speak to the excursions problem you are having, but you will need to call Princess to ask them what is going on. Have you checked in with your Roll Call? Often others on the same cruise will have ideas about tours.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1950404&highlight=sept+22

Edited July 5, 2014 by shredie

[skynight]

Actually, according to the port schedules the Grand Princess docks in San Pedro.

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You are correct. Directly next to the San Pedro dock is the USS Iowa. We found this very interesting. It is a self tour. You must be able to climb up and go down steep stairs to walk around this ship. A little ways down is the Ports of Call shopping area. There is also a maritime museum a short walk from the pier. This port area is being re-done by the city of L.A. to make it a destination attraction. Not sure how far along they have progressed since I was there 15 months ago. There are certain to be a few other Princess tours available to see the some downtown sites like the Chinese Theater, Olvera St., Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills. Princess makes too much revenue on tours not to offer them. Keep watching the tours will come up on your cruise personalizer as soon as they finalize the operator contracts.

[Thrak]

You are correct. Directly next to the San Pedro dock is the USS Iowa. We found this very interesting. It is a self tour. You must be able to climb up and go down steep stairs to walk around this ship. A little ways down is the Ports of Call shopping area. There is also a maritime museum a short walk from the pier. This port area is being re-done by the city of L.A. to make it a destination attraction. Not sure how far along they have progressed since I was there 15 months ago. There are certain to be a few other Princess tours available to see the some downtown sites like the Chinese Theater, Olvera St., Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills. Princess makes too much revenue on tours not to offer them. Keep watching the tours will come up on your cruise personalizer as soon as they finalize the operator contracts.

 

Even though our cruise that stops for a day in LA isn't until September of next year I was wondering about things to do there. (We may well end up meeting some of my wife's family for lunch but LA is such a crazy big place that I really don't know about the logistics of that. I'm sure my wife will be looking into it though.)

 

Since I'm not really sure what we will do for those 8 hours I was wondering about the USS Iowa. You say it is very interesting and it sounds to me like something I would enjoy. Is it basically just wandering all over the ship on your own? Are there any guides or informational folks onboard or is it all done via informational signage or ???

 

Is this something booked via Princess or is it something you just do on your own?

[Cruisin' Chick]

You are correct. Directly next to the San Pedro dock is the USS Iowa. We found this very interesting. It is a self tour. You must be able to climb up and go down steep stairs to walk around this ship. A little ways down is the Ports of Call shopping area. There is also a maritime museum a short walk from the pier. This port area is being re-done by the city of L.A. to make it a destination attraction. Not sure how far along they have progressed since I was there 15 months ago. There are certain to be a few other Princess tours available to see the some downtown sites like the Chinese Theater, Olvera St., Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills. Princess makes too much revenue on tours not to offer them. Keep watching the tours will come up on your cruise personalizer as soon as they finalize the operator contracts.

 

Just to clarify (as a native Angeleno), the Chinese Theater is in Hollywood and not downtown LA.

 

As others have stated, Los Angeles (the city itself and the county) is very widespread. The City of LA from one end to another to another covers many miles and often there aren't direct routes from one attraction to another.

 

If Princess doesn't end up having a tour you want, you can check out the various sightseeing companies (maybe people on your roll call are already doing that) and see if there's one that includes the places you want to see and if they're willing to pick up from the port (and if they say yes to that last thing, make sure it's the port you're docking at as there's the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro and the Port of Long Beach, which is in, guess what, Long Beach)

 

Personally if you can't go to all the places you want, I would cross off downtown LA (often traffic around there may eat up your time) which basically just has Olvera Street, Disney Concert Hal (which would basically be a drive by), and Chinatown/Japanese Town. I find the Farmers Market (which is in the Fairfax district just south of Hollywood proper) more interesting. In fact, that's one of the top tourist stops in LA (when you eliminate the amusement parks like Disneyland/Knotts Berry Farm/Magic Mountain). That's a quick drive to Hollywood itself with the famous Walk of Fame stars, the stars' prints in cement at Manns/Graumann's Chinese Theater, Wax Museum, and others. You can probably do a bit of googling, read a guide book, get the auto club guide book for Southern California (for free if a member)

[shredie]

 

In fact' date=' that's one of the top tourist stops in LA (when you eliminate the amusement parks like Disneyland/Knotts Berry Farm/Magic Mountain). [/quote']

 

None of which is in Los Angleles... Knott's and Disneyland are in Orange County, several miles to the south and a few miles apart from one another, in different cities. Magic Mountain is farther north of LA in Valencia. I agree that you would enjoy Farmer's Market area (near some TV studios) and the touristy Hollywood stuff.

[skynight]

 

Since I'm not really sure what we will do for those 8 hours I was wondering about the USS Iowa. You say it is very interesting and it sounds to me like something I would enjoy. Is it basically just wandering all over the ship on your own? Are there any guides or informational folks onboard or is it all done via informational signage or ???

 

Is this something booked via Princess or is it something you just do on your own?

I would not book a Princess tour, if they have one, to see the USS Iowa. Princess uses the World Cruise Center as their dock in San Pedro. If you Google the San Pedro Map you will see the Iowa just a few hundred yards away, and the Maritime Museum a short walk from there. Entrance tickets are under $20pp (I think they are free or reduced rate if you are a resident of Iowa). It is a self guided tour and at each "stop" along the way there are guides that offer information and answer questions.The self guided tour takes about two hours, but depending on the number of people wishing to get on board, there could be a wait. There are also some special guided tours available. You can get all the information on line. The ship is a Navy battleship, and was not designed for easy access to various decks. You have to be able to go up and down a few very steep staircases. I would recommend it as an attraction. There are several other sights along the waterfront harbor, after you visit the Iowa.