Third Party Excursion Companies

[hudois]

How does one go about locating, choosing and booking external suppliers for port excursions? I've always used ship excursions in the past, but they appear to be just going up & up in price!! And also in the past, I've found them to be very hit and miss...i.e. you take your chances. At current prices, quality should be guaranteed!:cool:

Edited June 25, 2015 by hudois

[LHT28]

check the ports of call forum for recommended tour guides in the specific ports

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

 

They usually book up early though

 

Check the roll call for your cruise

people may have spots to share the tours

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34

look for the ship then the sailing date

[hudois]

Thanks, LHT28 for that info. And the links you provided look particularly useful. Will be looking at those. I don't think I'm in too much hurry, though; our cruise is nearly 18 months away!

Edited June 25, 2015 by hudois

[FTLcruisers]

you can also check on Trip Advisor which is a good source for all things travel-related.

 

Marianne

[hudois]

Thanks for that info, Marianne, but tripadvisor is a bit of a monster of a website, perhaps if you could post a link to the particular page for me. That would be a big help and greatly appreciated! Thanks again.:cool:

[ontheweb]

How does one go about locating, choosing and booking external suppliers for port excursions? I've always used ship excursions in the past, but they appear to be just going up & up in price!! And also in the past, I've found them to be very hit and miss...i.e. you take your chances. At current prices, quality should be guaranteed!:cool:

 

Also, once a roll call is established for your cruise in the cruisecritic roll call section, see if there are any passengers on your cruise who have set up tours with private companies and are looking for others to join.

[iancal]

We check on this board and on tripadvisor.

 

We have had many excellent third party excursions. We like them because they are not busloads of people. We are typically in smaller groups, see more, and often they are less expensive. We never pay in advance though.

[hudois]

Also, once a roll call is established for your cruise in the cruisecritic roll call section, see if there are any passengers on your cruise who have set up tours with private companies and are looking for others to join.

 

Apologies for appearing so green on this subject; but exactly how do you go about establishing a roll call for your cruise. Apologies again to all, for my being such a technophobe. I'm 63, if that counts as an excuse!!

 

p.s. I still haven't got a mobile phone...smart or otherwise!!

[LHT28]

Apologies for appearing so green on this subject; but exactly how do you go about establishing a roll call for your cruise. Apologies again to all, for my being such a technophobe. I'm 63, if that counts as an excuse!!

 

p.s. I still haven't got a mobile phone...smart or otherwise!!

 

What ship what date ??

 

Look at the link I posted for the roll call

scroll down to your cruise line then find the ship

then look at the sailing date you are on that is the roll call just post a reply in that thread (same idea as here)

[chipmaster]

How does one go about locating, choosing and booking external suppliers for port excursions? I've always used ship excursions in the past, but they appear to be just going up & up in price!! And also in the past, I've found them to be very hit and miss...i.e. you take your chances. At current prices, quality should be guaranteed!:cool:

 

The first time can always be scary as the shiplines really do sell you hard about the quality and safety of their vendors. The reality, they make some good money on the excursions.

 

Outside vendors, research the ports of call here for recommendations. Nothing like fellow cruisers recommendation that keep an independent vendor's business going strong. There are the standard web sites and don't forget almost any real/legitimate vendor will also have their own website to look at. Between recommendations here, tripadvisor and the website have yet to be dissapointed!

[olemissreb]

I discovered independent excursions on my 3rd cruise. We only booked one and then the rest were through the cruise line. Out of the 4 we booked through the cruise line, 2 were cancelled. The other 2 were simply ok. Our independent excursion was PHENOMENAL! So much information from our guide who lived in Grenada all his life. We went to all the same places as the cruise line group, but we got there ahead of them so there were no crowds and we left about the time they all arrived! Since then, it's nothing but independent excursions!

 

I start off on the Ports of Call boards to get ideas. Ask questions. The people over there are really helpful.

 

Then I go to Trip Advisor. I type in the search box (at the top where it says "Where are you going?") the name of the port and then in the next box a menu of items appears - click on "Things to Do". This will bring up a list of things to do ranked based on reviews from fellow travelers. I've been able to confirm the cruise critic reviews for excursions as well as find some excursions that cruisers haven't taken yet but that are still highly rated.

 

A third place that I don't often check is the Chamber of Commerce (or something similar) site for the places we travel to. Again, I'll get ideas and then double check for reviews both on cruise critic and trip advisor.

 

Lastly, there are some excursions that you just won't be able to take independently - dolphin excursions are the first that pop in my head. There are times that the cruise lines just book up every available slot thereby forcing you to book through them. Kind of sucks, but that's just the way it is.

 

Don't worry about booking independently - the vendors will get you back to the ship on time. They rely on tourists to make a living. If they don't get you back on time, that information spreads like wildfire and they could be ostracized quicker than the blink of an eye.

 

Enjoy those independent excursions!

[SadieN]

Thanks for that info, Marianne, but tripadvisor is a bit of a monster of a website, perhaps if you could post a link to the particular page for me. That would be a big help and greatly appreciated! Thanks again.:cool:

 

 

Age isn't an excuse, just need to familiarize yourself with the website. You cannot mess it up. If you end up somewhere just start over.

 

In the search trip advisor search bar type in the name of the port you want. Then look for Things to Do.

[cruzeluver]

If a tour operator gets really good reviews on Trip advisor and CC then I feel good about using them . Have done so many times now and so far, so good!

[hudois]

Oops!! I've noticed and been reminded that I have neglected to enter my cruise dates and details.

It's not until 23rd November 2016! It's with NCL on the Norwegian Spirit, and the title of the cruise is "Grand Mediterranean Cruise" It's a fly cruise, boarding at Barcelona, and ending up at Venice. Along the way in no particular order, it calls at Toulon, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Piraeus, ending up in Venice. Some big choices from our bucket list are included in that lot, as well!

So if we can get some quality trips at these ports, at reasonable prices, instead of being ripped off and the outcome of the enjoyment of the trip STILL being uncertain, well...guess which one of those choices I'd rather go for!!

[olemissreb]

Oops!! I've noticed and been reminded that I have neglected to enter my cruise dates and details.

It's not until 23rd November 2016! It's with NCL on the Norwegian Spirit, and the title of the cruise is "Grand Mediterranean Cruise" It's a fly cruise, boarding at Barcelona, and ending up at Venice. Along the way in no particular order, it calls at Toulon, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Piraeus, ending up in Venice. Some big choices from our bucket list are included in that lot, as well!

So if we can get some quality trips at these ports, at reasonable prices, instead of being ripped off and the outcome of the enjoyment of the trip STILL being uncertain, well...guess which one of those choices I'd rather go for!!

 

All the tips we've given you so far should still work. Maybe even get some guidebooks for more suggestions. Not just cruise guidebooks necessarily, but guidebooks for a land based vacation also. They will have plenty of ideas on what to see and do and places to eat. I got one by Rick Steves.

[LHT28]

Oops!! I've noticed and been reminded that I have neglected to enter my cruise dates and details.

It's not until 23rd November 2016! It's with NCL on the Norwegian Spirit, and the title of the cruise is "Grand Mediterranean Cruise" It's a fly cruise, boarding at Barcelona, and ending up at Venice. !

 

Are you sure you have the correct dates & ship

The Spirit sails on the Nov 17th 2016 from Barcelona to Port Canaveral

[hudois]

Oops!! Yet another clanger. We have an Atlantic Islands Cruise with P & O on the Oceana booked for this year commencing on the 23rd of November. Next years cruise which is the subject of this thread actually embarks on 24th October [2016] Sorry again, hope that clears that up!:cool: