Excursions

[lasvacation2016]

Hi All!

 

 

I will be on Harmony this summer and have been looking at some excursions. Has anyone booked excursions through Royal before? Are they worth buying through Royal?

 

We are looking at an excursion for the Drach Caves and are debating booking through Royal or a different tour company.

 

Thanks

[JLN321]

I always book through Royal to keep it safe. I know if the excursions you book through Royal are running late, the ship will wait for you (they are in communications with the companies they contract through). If you are with a private company, they won't wait for you. When I was in Rome, we ran 1/2 hr late!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I always book through Royal to keep it safe. I know if the excursions you book through Royal are running late, the ship will wait for you (they are in communications with the companies they contract through). If you are with a private company, they won't wait for you. When I was in Rome, we ran 1/2 hr late!

 

Just as a point of clarification, they will wait as long as they can. If they are unable to wait, they will make arrangements for getting you to the next port. If they can't wait and you're on your own or a private excursion, you are on your own.

 

And yes, that CAN happen. A couple of summers ago, I was on HAL in Alaska. A crew member was on a whale watching excursion with us, and she said that a couple of weeks before, the excursion to the sled dog musher's camp got fogged in - the planes/helicopters were unable to get to them. The guests on the excursion were stuck until the weather system cleared and allowed their transportation to get there, and the ships (there were two affected HAL ships in port that day) could not wait as there was no way to know how long it would be. There were also a few guests who had booked the excursion with a private company. Also stuck. All of the guests were accommodated at the musher's camp with lodging and food (the people who were working at the camp had to double up and go to less desireable sleeping arrangements to accommodate the guests - THAT was verified by a girl who was working at the camp on either Radio Lab or This American Life (pretty sure it was TAL)) until the transportation could get there. Once off the mountain, those on HAL-based excursions were put on a train or a boat to catch up with their respective ships. ALL of that was covered by HAL for those on their excursions. Those on the private excursion(s) had to deal with the provider about arrangements, and the provider did NOT cover all the expenses as HAL had.

 

Just food for thought - especially if you are going to be far from the port (more likely than getting fogged in on a mountain when you're in Europe) and/or in a situation where weather situations could affect your ability to get back.

[Merion_Mom]

Hi All!

 

 

I will be on Harmony this summer and have been looking at some excursions. Has anyone booked excursions through Royal before? Are they worth buying through Royal?

 

We are looking at an excursion for the Drach Caves and are debating booking through Royal or a different tour company.

 

Thanks

 

How much is RC charging?

[iahawkfan21]

If my memory serves me right, we've booked maybe 2 or 3 excursions through the cruise line, and none in the past few years. I spend lots of time on the boards here and on Tripadvisor doing my research before I book. I also book excursions that get me back to the port well before the ship is due to depart allowing for possible delays.

 

We've always found it much cheaper and usually less crowded and less hassle to do our own bookings.

[lasvacation2016]

How much is RC charging?

 

 

RC is charging 62.75 and the other companies I have looked at are in the 50 range so not that big of a price difference.

 

I am thinking that 10$ is for peace of mind making it back to the boat.

[cb at sea]

A guidebook is very helpful with ports you've never been too!

[Merion_Mom]

RC is charging 62.75 and the other companies I have looked at are in the 50 range so not that big of a price difference.

 

I am thinking that 10$ is for peace of mind making it back to the boat.

 

That's the reason that I asked. When the difference is that small, I would take the ship's excursion. Although Majorca is not a large place, so you would think that traveling around would be easy, I would not want to be left behind there!

[impatientlywaiting]

My general rule is if the port is not close to the city where the excursions take place (i.e., Paris, Florence, Pisa), I take RCI's excursions. For instance, it's over a 2 1/2 hour bus ride into Paris from the port and the traffic is horrible and I definitely don't want to rely on a private excursion for that. However, on a small island in the Caribbean, the private excursions rely on cruise ship tourism and know that if they don't get you back to the ship on time, word will spread quickly and their business will go down hill fast. Just my opinion and so far we've never missed the boat yet! But we also allow for getting back to the ship in plenty of time, too!

[aviator1945]

I always book through Royal to keep it safe. I know if the excursions you book through Royal are running late, the ship will wait for you (they are in communications with the companies they contract through). If you are with a private company, they won't wait for you. When I was in Rome, we ran 1/2 hr late!

 

We had a similar experience, with a transport strike in Rome, due to which we were an hour late returning to the ship. But thanks to this being a Royal excursion, Serenade was faithfully waiting for us. We almost always take the Royal excursions, particularly in Europe. Only exception is if the ship is overnighting in port, then the first day tour is often with a local operator.