Hawaii - Shore excursion options question

[VTX-AL]

We are booked on Grand Princess for March 22/15 Vancouver/Hawaii/Vancouver cruise and have reserved (but not pre-paid yet) shore excursions through Princess on all four islands for a total cost of about $1000.00 for two persons. After some research, have discovered that an island tour operator (Roberts) offers what appear to be essentially the same excursions for about 1/2 the cost. This looks like a "no-brainer" but perhaps I am missing something! Comments, suggestions, etc, etc, regarding comparisons between Princess offerings and private tour company offerings would be most appreciated. Which is the better deal in "value for money" and satisfaction? :confused:

 

...VTX-Al

[paul929207]

We have not been on your specific cruise, but on all 32 of our Princess cruises, we have found private tours at a substantial discount.

 

In addition, they are usually a smaller group.

 

Have you checked the Roll Call for your cruise? That is where you can meet people who will be sailing with you. Often, someone will be planning a private tour and have room for more people.

[klfrodo]

You may find that under a contractual agreement with the cruise line, you may not be able to book excursions directly with Roberts.

[zookiebird]

Suggest you check out "Hawaii" in the cc "ports of call section". In researching our upcoming Hawaii cruise I'm finding there are many independent companies who offer smaller, more personalized and less expensive tours than those offered by the cruise lines. My hard part is deciding which one (or ones) to choose.

[cruiserking]

We are booked on Grand Princess for March 22/15 Vancouver/Hawaii/Vancouver cruise and have reserved (but not pre-paid yet) shore excursions through Princess on all four islands for a total cost of about $1000.00 for two persons. After some research, have discovered that an island tour operator (Roberts) offers what appear to be essentially the same excursions for about 1/2 the cost. This looks like a "no-brainer" but perhaps I am missing something! Comments, suggestions, etc, etc, regarding comparisons between Princess offerings and private tour company offerings would be most appreciated. Which is the better deal in "value for money" and satisfaction? :confused:

 

...VTX-Al

 

If you're a first time cruiser the benefit to booking with the cruise line is that if the excursion is late returning to the pier, the ship will wait for you. If you book a private tour and you're late the ship will not wait.

 

Many people book with private vendors to save money. We are frequent cruisers and I always book with the cruise line just for the simple peace of mind that the tour vendor is a reliable company and if there are delays the ship will wait.

 

We were on a late excursion with Holland America Line several years ago and a special tender was sent into the port in St. Thomas to bring us back to the ship. For me this kind of service is worth the extra money.

 

Jonathan

[VTX-AL]

If you're a first time cruiser the benefit to booking with the cruise line is that if the excursion is late returning to the pier, the ship will wait for you. If you book a private tour and you're late the ship will not wait.

 

Many people book with private vendors to save money. We are frequent cruisers and I always book with the cruise line just for the simple peace of mind that the tour vendor is a reliable company and if there are delays the ship will wait.

 

We were on a late excursion with Holland America Line several years ago and a special tender was sent into the port in St. Thomas to bring us back to the ship. For me this kind of service is worth the extra money.

 

Jonathan

 

 

 

 

Thanks Jonathan - that, of course, was one of our major concerns. According to Roberts website, they "guarantee" to get their customers back to the ship "in plenty of time". However, in case of some unexpected circumstance, they also guarantee to fly you to the next port of call at their expense. I guess the question is - how good is that guarantee :confused: :)

 

...VTX-Al

[paul929207]

Thanks Jonathan - that, of course, was one of our major concerns. According to Roberts website, they "guarantee" to get their customers back to the ship "in plenty of time". However, in case of some unexpected circumstance, they also guarantee to fly you to the next port of call at their expense. I guess the question is - how good is that guarantee :confused: :)

 

...VTX-Al

Excursion companies have to keep a good reputation for reliability or their business will disappear. Last your we took about 30 private tours all over the world and never had a problem.

[griffy116]

We've been cruising for many years now and in the beginning, only used the ship-sponsored excursions for fear of missing the ship. We now only book private excursions. Not only is it less expensive, but we get to see so much more and have the flexibility to spend more time at the places we are most interested in and skip some of the things we don't want to see. In addition, we aren't wasting time waiting on the stragglers who don't show up at the designated spot at the designated time. We only use an excursion company/guide that is highly recommended by CC or TripAdviser. If you go to the ports area here at CC, you'll see people talking about the companies they have used. We even booked private excursions for our first cruise/first trip to Europe. Each tour was better than the last. We were able to build in plenty of time to get back to ship and our drivers were experts in getting us where we wanted and when.

[zoncom]

Just back from HA. Did no tours since been there previously. Your ship sponsored tours sound high. Do some research. Look up Rollcalls and Hawaii under ports, both on this site. Get out books;Frommers, Fodors, etc. TripAdvisor.co also excellent.

[cb at sea]

Whether you're a 1st timer or not, research can save you a bundle! If you know something about where you're going, you don't have to resort to the ship's excursions! Most things are easy to do with a rental car...Hawaii is very easy driving! Get a guidebook, study it, decide what you want to do, THEN plan how to do it!

 

If you have your watch set to SHIPS TIME, you will not miss the ship! You plan your time ashore to be back to the ship when they tell you to be back...it ain't rocket science!

Edited October 26, 2014 by cb at sea

[Cruisin' Chick]

We are booked on Grand Princess for March 22/15 Vancouver/Hawaii/Vancouver cruise and have reserved (but not pre-paid yet) shore excursions through Princess on all four islands for a total cost of about $1000.00 for two persons. After some research, have discovered that an island tour operator (Roberts) offers what appear to be essentially the same excursions for about 1/2 the cost. This looks like a "no-brainer" but perhaps I am missing something! Comments, suggestions, etc, etc, regarding comparisons between Princess offerings and private tour company offerings would be most appreciated. Which is the better deal in "value for money" and satisfaction? :confused:

 

...VTX-Al

 

We have never pre-paid for shore excursions we've booked through Princess.