Shore excursions

[drgrinch]

For our 2012 cruise I did considerable research on flight-seeing tours out of Ketchikan (Misty Fjords) and Anchorage (Mt. McKinley). To my surprise the HAL excursions proved to be cheaper to the independent online rates advertised. I pays to check for your specific excursion...

[sammiedawg]

It is rare that a ship tour would be my first choice. There would have to be a combination of a) a lot of risk of missing the ship or b) something I simply could not find a private tour option for and could not do on my own.

 

 

 

Really? Most of the people I've seen missing the ship are those that have lost track of time either drinking or shopping locally, not the ones on tours....

 

I agree though that it would not be good to take a private tour that lasts almost until the all-aboard time. Most private tour operators will try to have you back at the ship a couple of hours before sailaway. In doing this, they build in some time to deal with most potential issues that might cause a delay.

 

People strolling back to the ship late usually have spent time at a local watering hole, alcohol is often involved.

Private tour operators get their customers back in time, we've done scores of private excursions and never ever missed a ship. Their reputations are made in line and with word of mouth, they take no chances.

Of course the cruise lines, particularly HAL, fear monger and blame everything on private tour operators.

[serendipity1499]

True, but there can often be a huge difference in group size and overall experience. For example, a bus/train combo trip to the Yukon out of Skagway booked through an independent vendor such as Chilkoot Charters uses mini-buses with only about 15 people, instead of a huge tour bus. This means they can stop for photos in places where the big buses cannot stop, and it takes a lot less time to unload/load passengers when they do stop. Whale watching is another excursion where booking independently will allow for smaller group sizes.

 

Also, in Alaska it is very rare to miss the ship when using independent vendors.

 

Personally, I only book tours through the ship if I can't book the same/better tour independently.

 

Wow, sounds like an adventure! Do the independent tour operators offer any kind of guarantee that they will get you back to your ship?

 

We've done both ships tours & independents.. When we book directly with a tour operator, we always try to book in the morning & be back to the ship for a late lunch.. If we're doing an all day tour then we probably will book through the ship.. We booked an Alaska land tour with a well know tour operator, our of Anchorage first then we picked up the ship in Seward for the 7 day cruise to Vancouver..

 

We booked most of our own tours on our cruise..We did not go out on the glacier & regret not booking the glacier tour with HAL..

 

In Skagway we booked directly with the tour operator, for the Yukon Bus Rail excursion (7 hours) as it was much less expensive. than HAL's rate..

 

The operator met us at the ship at 7:30 a.m. & took us up in a private bus to the train depot at Fraser to continue our tour.. We were able to stop to take pictures when we saw something interesting..We had lunch in Carabou & were able to play with the husky puppies (a highlight for me).. We took the train back down to Skagway & got there around 2:30..So we had time to roam the shops in town for a little while before going back to the ship..

 

Most independent tour operators do guarantee that they will get you back in time, or if not ,they will get you back to the ship at their expense.. As another poster mentioned they have their reputations which could be ruined very easily by not getting Psgrs. back in time....

Edited April 27, 2015 by serendipity1499

[Sdidskd]

Are the sold out excursions excluded from the list shown online for booking excursions? I want to know there are enough spaces left for everyone that I need to book before I start booking people. When excursions start to get full will the listing say "4 spaces left" or something like that? If I book 4 people and it is full is it easy to delete the booking for those 4 people if we want to book everyone on another option? I haven't had luck searching this topic, perhaps due to incorrect choice of search terms? I posted on the New to Holland thread but have received no replies. Thank you!

[Harry1954]

If you wait till the last minute, you will get the leftovers. Further, as CrewNews mentioned, booking thru HAL's extra cost is indeed insurance that a) you will get back on ship b) those involved in handling the excursion are of high quality and generally sifted from prior experiences by HAL excursions c) you get priority getting off ship in tender ports d) of my 30+ cruises, most have been with HAL excursions and over 90%S of them were excellent.

 

Why create work/stress if you can afford not to? That last phrase is the key - if you are on limited budget and need to go independent, then you should research now and not wait till near cruise date if you expect to get anything that has quality.

 

harry

[cruisemom42]

Why create work/stress if you can afford not to? That last phrase is the key - if you are on limited budget and need to go independent, then you should research now and not wait till near cruise date if you expect to get anything that has quality.

 

harry

 

Speaking for myself, the answer to your "why" is this: I can afford to spend the money, but I want to be sure that I am getting the BEST POSSIBLE experience given my own preferences (which aren't always those of other people). Here are a few of the reasons why I mostly prefer to go on a private tour or exploring on my own:

 

--The ship tours do not always include the places I want to see, or they spend very little time there.

 

--The ship tours include forced shopping opportunities or meals that I have no interest in and regard as wasted time.

 

--There is no way of knowing in advance whether your guide will be great or terrible on a ship tour. On a private tour it is often possible to choose your own guide after reading reviews and talking to them personally via email or phone.

 

--Unlike you, my experience with ship tours has not been 90% positive (nowhere near :mad:), and I prefer not to take a chance on the quality of my day.

 

--I don't regard it as either work or stress: I enjoy the pre-trip research and the sense of achievement of traveling/touring on my own.

 

I am not cheap, I have spent $500 for a private tour for one person (and it was excellent), and I have spent more than that on a ship tour that was rushed and unsatisfactory due to the large number of people in the group. But I would always caution anyone to do some research re: what they want out of a tour -- the more time you put in, the better the experience is likely to be.

[RMLincoln]

Beware the cancelation fees/rules when booking either through the ship or privately.

 

On my first cruise I waited until I was on pier in Skagway to book a helicopter to a glacier. The ship would not have refunded me if I decided not to go because of iffy weather.

 

Maybe it was beginner's luck but I had no problems booking and their tour was fabulous, not much cheaper than the ship tour, at least back in those days, but good for a last minute decision. Of course if the ship tour were cancelled I would have had a refund, but not if I had changed my mind.

 

I will say that the helicopter tour to land on a glacier and "walk" around (more like slide around) was an unforgettable experience. They provided us with proper boots and jackets at the airport, and a van pick-up at the pier, also return. They took great care of us and I'm so glad I did it - I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

 

The pier-side school bus to Mendenhall Glacier National Park Visitor Center was a great money saver for us and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that too - bring your Parks pass if you have one! Enjoy, m--

m--

[olson99]

In Juneau we walked off the ship to the first booth and negotiated a great price and an amazing tour for Mendenhall Glacier, Whale Watching and Mt. Roberts Tramway. In Skagway, we took the ships White Pass Railway tour and it was better than any outside excursion You loaded right at the dock. It was beautiful. So as others have said, do your research for what you want and decide what matters most to you in each port - convenience, smaller size, price etc.

 

Good luck

[B Russo]

I like to do ship shore excursions. The peace of mind is worth the extra money for me.

I'm the same way. I never seen a lot of difference in price. You have spent a lot to go on the cruise what is a few dollars more.

[rjrpar]

We usually booked privately, although we have not been to Alaska yet, and the biggest advantage is always the size of the tour group. For example in Rome, we were in small minivans with 8 people and the driver was able to get us close to the major sites. The cruise line tours used big busses and the people had to walk blocks to see certain sites and then wait for everyone to return before the bus left.