Are all RCCL excursions this bad???

[George C]

We booked tour GCC7 Catamaran Sail and Stingray city . this was one of the worst tours we have taken in my 58 cruises, 1st we were stuffed into a very uncomfortable bus with no leg room ( I am 6' 4") then Catamaran was way over crowded for the amount of people ( approx. 40) and staff on boat was just 3, and one of those was the photographer , when we got to stingray city there was no one supervising getting on and off the boat, I cut/scraped my head getting back on and was bleeding quite a bit, crew had me fill out a report for RCCL about the injury. I was very surprised that no one from RCCL inquired on what happened or how my health was after getting back on board.

 

This was my 1st excursion in many years with RCCL ( did not do any last couple of cruises) , if this is typical might need to rethink my 12 day Europe cruise that we just booked, send e-mail to RCCL and waiting for a reply

[Ocean Boy]

It is hard to say if most of them are bad or not. We rarely do ship excursions but the occasional time that we have they have gone off quite well.

[Slopoke15]

that is unfortunate, and I hope RCI at least reply to your e-mail. You may have to wait a month or two for that though. Don't be surprised if they simply acknowledge your e-mail, mention that their excursions are contracted out to 3rd parties and that they will bring the issues up with the contractor ...

[TomAceEsq]

These seem like very petty complaints. You never mention that the excursion itself was actually poor, you're just upset with leg room on a bus and that there wasn't anyone telling you to mind your surroundings getting back on a boat. I hate to sound like a jerk, but do you really need someone to tell you to watch your head? How exactly would someone supervising getting back on the catamaran make you avoid being clumsy?

[OCruisers]

Some shore excursions both thru the ship and private are better than others. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

[dacsmom]

I like to use the ships excursions when I can because I frequently sail solo. I have enjoyed all of mine so far.

[bluegirlum]

It's unfortunate that you didn't enjoy your excursion. Most buses aren't made for tall people, so unfortunately even if you would've taken a private excursion, you probably would've had the same problem (my 6'2 dad and brother had the same problem in GC on a bus for a private excursion). A lot of the excursions booked through the ships are run through a 3rd party and are used not only by RC, but by other ships and by people who use them as a "private" excursion. I always do my research for private excursions to make sure it's not the vendor used by the cruise ships precisely to avoid a big crowd.

 

It's too bad you didn't enjoy your time in GC. I found seeing the stingrays to be a very cool experience, but I can see how you might now feel the same way. It's possible that RC didn't get the report about your injury. I would follow up with them if you feel that they are using a bad vendor.

[cincicruisers]

These seem like very petty complaints. You never mention that the excursion itself was actually poor, you're just upset with leg room on a bus and that there wasn't anyone telling you to mind your surroundings getting back on a boat. I hate to sound like a jerk, but do you really need someone to tell you to watch your head? How exactly would someone supervising getting back on the catamaran make you avoid being clumsy?

 

The op had some valid problems with this excusion. Overcrowded and under staffed for this trip. Put down your RCCL Pom Poms, they are not perfect.

 

OK lt the flaming begin..

[lawgirl]

These seem like very petty complaints. You never mention that the excursion itself was actually poor, you're just upset with leg room on a bus and that there wasn't anyone telling you to mind your surroundings getting back on a boat. I hate to sound like a jerk, but do you really need someone to tell you to watch your head? How exactly would someone supervising getting back on the catamaran make you avoid being clumsy?

 

Not very nice.... (And I am a lawyer) As to OP, the only cruise ship excursion we ever enjoyed was one where it said the number of pax were limited. It is much better to do private tours. In any event, sorry you were hurt and it was overcrowded!

[leahsdad]

I have to agree that we have found most (not all) of the ships excursions we have taken to be either not as advertised (times at attractions) or very overcrowded. We do still book some for singles going snorkeling but fewer and fewer as we cruise more. Private tours a smaller, run on a better time schedule, and are generally less expensive.

 

jmho

Paul

[Lynnees]

These seem like very petty complaints. You never mention that the excursion itself was actually poor, you're just upset with leg room on a bus and that there wasn't anyone telling you to mind your surroundings getting back on a boat. I hate to sound like a jerk, but do you really need someone to tell you to watch your head? How exactly would someone supervising getting back on the catamaran make you avoid being clumsy?

 

You do.

[sanger727]

We did the same excursion with a private company when we were in Grand Cayman; and that's the impression we got from the ship tours. We ended up on a medium sized boat with a guide and 1 other family so our guide was able to help us catch a few sting rays, get photo ops, and feed them before the people on the giganti cruise ship excursion boats even got unloaded. A few of them ended up coming over to our guide to see if he could help them get one for a photo since their guide had way too many people for the excursion size. Don't think they are all that bad, but that one is definately good for a private company tour.

[George C]

I have to agree that we have found most (not all) of the ships excursions we have taken to be either not as advertised (times at attractions) or very overcrowded. We do still book some for singles going snorkeling but fewer and fewer as we cruise more. Private tours a smaller, run on a better time schedule, and are generally less expensive.

 

jmho

Paul

 

I agree, I understand that I will be paying more, but I have done dozens of similar cruise sponsored excursions before and they never been this bad, did Sting ray city a couple of times in the past. My main concern is when I do ports that I am not familiar with like I will doing next year in Europe, I feel safer on a ships tour. All other similar boat tours had crew of about 5 not 2. Also I thought that since I did injury myself and report was filled out that someone from RCCL would do some kind of follow up? that really surprised me that it was not done.

[bluegirlum]

I agree, I understand that I will be paying more, but I have done dozens of similar cruise sponsored excursions before and they never been this bad, did Sting ray city a couple of times in the past. My main concern is when I do ports that I am not familiar with like I will doing next year in Europe, I feel safer on a ships tour. All other similar boat tours had crew of about 5 not 2. Also I thought that since I did injury myself and report was filled out that someone from RCCL would do some kind of follow up? that really surprised me that it was not done.

 

It probably takes a while for RCCL to get the report. Also, think of all the excursions that they have every day. Not that it's ideal or what you want, but I think you should probably follow up in this case. That way you'll know that they got the report and you can express your concerns.

[SAS21]

I agree, I understand that I will be paying more, but I have done dozens of similar cruise sponsored excursions before and they never been this bad, did Sting ray city a couple of times in the past. My main concern is when I do ports that I am not familiar with like I will doing next year in Europe, I feel safer on a ships tour. All other similar boat tours had crew of about 5 not 2. Also I thought that since I did injury myself and report was filled out that someone from RCCL would do some kind of follow up? that really surprised me that it was not done.

 

What ports are you doing on your Europe cruise? There may be some folks here that can help with decisions on whether to do ships or private tours.

[American Bear]

We booked tour GCC7 Catamaran Sail and Stingray city . this was one of the worst tours we have taken in my 58 cruises, 1st we were stuffed into a very uncomfortable bus with no leg room ( I am 6' 4") then Catamaran was way over crowded for the amount of people ( approx. 40) and staff on boat was just 3, and one of those was the photographer , when we got to stingray city there was no one supervising getting on and off the boat, I cut/scraped my head getting back on and was bleeding quite a bit, crew had me fill out a report for RCCL about the injury. I was very surprised that no one from RCCL inquired on what happened or how my health was after getting back on board.

 

This was my 1st excursion in many years with RCCL ( did not do any last couple of cruises) , if this is typical might need to rethink my 12 day Europe cruise that we just booked, send e-mail to RCCL and waiting for a reply

 

 

We took a Sting Ray City tour with another cruise line last year, it was a good excursion, big boat, not too many people, but the bus trip was also overcrowded, and I fell exiting the boating on return to the dock becuse they had no stairs, you had to jump 3 feet down to the dock, and my bad back let go when I landed, and down I went(down goes Frazier:D), scraped my knees pretty good.

Our crew was 3.

So point is it happens with all cruise lines.:)

Happy cruising.:)

Edited May 8, 2015 by American Bear

[George C]

What ports are you doing on your Europe cruise? There may be some folks here that can help with decisions on whether to do ships or private tours.

 

I will be asking for help with the ports when it gets closer, trip is in Sept 2016, will also keep a eye out for other cruises to same area and possibly try another line.

[bouhunter]

Not very nice.... (And I am a lawyer) As to OP, the only cruise ship excursion we ever enjoyed was one where it said the number of pax were limited. It is much better to do private tours. In any event, sorry you were hurt and it was overcrowded!

 

So??????:rolleyes:

[setsail]

Pretty sure your filled out form was faxed to Miami, not the ship. Miami probably gets hundreds a week, maybe they have reviewed yours by now and made a call to the ships medical staff to find out how bad the injury was. OH, you did report to the ships doctor right after boarding didn't you, since you have posted on several threads about this it really must have been a bad cut and required a doctors attention

 

A 60 foot sailing yacht holds a lot of people. Tenders hold up to 300 at tender ports and lifeboats hold around 150 up to 370 per boat

Edited May 8, 2015 by setsail

[lawgirl]

So??????:rolleyes:

 

It was to the person who posted the not so nice reply.... His CC name is TomAceEsq but his signature says "not a lawyer." Just being cheeky with him.

[MichaelCMTX]

I certainly wouldn't say all are that bad, but we did Stingray City a few years ago and agree that the boat was pretty well packed and understaffed, and it seemed getting back to the ship was almost an "Everyone for themselves" prospect, with little rhyme or reason.

 

My experience has been you know almost the second you board your mode of transit how things are going to go. Little comfort if you booked months in advance or are in completely unfamiliar territory.

[SPacificbound]

Check your Roll Call for the Europe cruise, there may be some private tours being organized.

[tip]

The op had some valid problems with this excusion. Overcrowded and under staffed for this trip. Put down your RCCL Pom Poms, they are not perfect...

 

Thank you. Very well-said.

[bluegirlum]

I will be asking for help with the ports when it gets closer, trip is in Sept 2016, will also keep a eye out for other cruises to same area and possibly try another line.

 

Many of the cruise lines use the same vendors. So people on your excursion in GC could've been on a Carnival ship that day. Changing lines won't necessarily make for a better excursion.

 

And seriously, if you had such a bad time, you should let RC know. If they get enough complaints, maybe they'll revisit their vendor.

 

As someone else said, check your roll call. Don't be afraid to try independent tours. Looks like you have plenty of time to plan. Use the port forums here and on trip advisor. These vendors in these ports have a monetary incentive to give you a safe, enjoyable excursion.

[George C]

Many of the cruise lines use the same vendors. So people on your excursion in GC could've been on a Carnival ship that day. Changing lines won't necessarily make for a better excursion.

 

And seriously, if you had such a bad time, you should let RC know. If they get enough complaints, maybe they'll revisit their vendor.

 

As someone else said, check your roll call. Don't be afraid to try independent tours. Looks like you have plenty of time to plan. Use the port forums here and on trip advisor. These vendors in these ports have a monetary incentive to give you a safe, enjoyable excursion.

 

I am still waiting for response from RCCL. I am very active in roll call and even started the one for last cruise, but I have been lazy and just always did ships tours in the past .