Question about Shore Excursions

[MrsLH]

We will be going on our first cruise in a few weeks and sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas.

 

Is it better to book with the cruise ship or at the docks when you get off the boat?

Edited October 1, 2015 by MrsLH

[Clarea]

We will be going on our first cruise in a few weeks and sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas.

 

Is better to book with the cruise ship or at the docks when you get off the boat?

The cruise ship excursions tend to be more expensive, but there is a guarantee that if you get delayed, they will either wait for you, or arrange for you to get to the next stop. The private excursions many times are smaller groups and do things that the cruise ship excursions don't offer.

[Merion_Mom]

We will be going on our first cruise in a few weeks and sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas.

 

Is it better to book with the cruise ship or at the docks when you get off the boat?

 

Where are you going?

[cb at sea]

Depends what you want to do! What is that? Many things are easy to do on your now, without any excursion. Read a guidebook, before you start paying for excursions!

Edited October 2, 2015 by cb at sea

[OCruisers]

If you see one offered with the ship that you feel you would really enjoy taking, just book it. Booking with the ship is the EASY way! :D

[secrui]

Depends partly on the excursion type. If it's a city tour or on a small island, you're probably better off with a private tour company or taxi driver. However if you see a tour description such as, "First we take a 2- hour drive to the far side of the island, followed by a 20-minute boat ride to a secluded island", then you are probably better off with a tour from the ship , because as earlier poster noted, in case a tour is delayed in returning to the port, the ship will wait for ship sponsored excursions, but not private excursions.

[Fouremco]

My order of preference:

 

1. DIY: walk, rent a car, take public transportation. I spend lots of time doing the research, but that's half of the fun. Tends to be the cheapest and most fun.

 

2. Take a local excursion. Generally better and cheaper than ship's excursions. Again, lots of research. I've frequently found identical tours by identical providers that cost up 30% less than what the ship is charging.

 

3. Tour wholesalers. If you don't have the time or inclination to do the research, they can provide good and sometimes identical excursions for a price somewhere between the ship's and the provider's. Some give you the same "if you miss the ship" guarantee as the ship does. Good option for those with research limitations, but they usually don't have the same breadth of offerings.

 

4. Ship's excursions. Generally our last choice, but occasionally you can find a worthwhile buy.

 

Enjoy whatever excursions you pick!

[reney313]

I would also recommend to go to the Port of Call board on Cruise Critic and look up the specific ports you are stopping. If you are going to the Caribbean, there is a ton of information on every tour operator as well as ship excursions.

 

If there is something you really want to do, I would highly recommend booking ahead of time vs. waiting until you get to the dock. While you can easily jump on any number of excursions when you walk off the ship, you won't have time or the ability to research the particular operator. Many of the "best" independent tours (and best ship sponsored tours) are booked ahead of time.

 

If you haven't already, I would also recommend to join your roll call for your specific sailing. Those on the ship with you will be able to assist in your excursion choices and often many on the board will plan their own group excursion which can make it more affordable than going on your own.

[MrsLH]

Thank you for the information Clarea and Bob!

[MrsLH]

Thank you for all the information, everyone!

 

We will be sailing to the Eastern Caribbean in a few weeks with children. We pretty much like to do everything like swim or ride with the animals, scuba, zipline, snorkel, parasailing, hike or anything that they have to offer.

 

I read on the Royal Caribbean main website in the Shore Excursions section it says "Priority Departure" if we book one of their excursions. Does that mean we get to get off the ship early or do we still have to wait to get off? I don't know how the whole routine goes when getting off the ship.

[CntPAcruiser]

Thank you for all the information, everyone!

 

We will be sailing to the Eastern Caribbean in a few weeks with children. We pretty much like to do everything like swim or ride with the animals, scuba, zipline, snorkel, parasailing, hike or anything that they have to offer.

 

I read on the Royal Caribbean main website in the Shore Excursions section it says "Priority Departure" if we book one of their excursions. Does that mean we get to get off the ship early or do we still have to wait to get off? I don't know how the whole routine goes when getting off the ship.

 

What that usually means is you will be instructed to go to a specific location on the ship, like the theatre or a lounge, where you will be given a sticker that corresponds to your tour number. Your group will be led off the ship and, if you're lucky, right to your meeting spot and transportation.

 

In practice, you sometimes get led off the ship and they tell you, "Find the guy holding the sign for your tour," and leave you to wander around trying to figure out where you're supposed to be. We've found a wide range of organization on the pier. Sometimes it's fairly easy, and other times it's a mess and you just have to find someone and start asking questions.