Excursion Cost

[Paint Horse]

We have not sailed on Seabourn to date. There are a couple of cruises in the next few months with interesting itineraries. All of the information I need about these cruises is on the Seabourn website except for the details for the onshore activities offered by the ship at each stop. The cost is the main detail I do not see. Where do I find this important information? Is there anything peculiar about the way Seabourn handles this aspect of a cruise other than lack of detail?

Edited July 2, 2016 by Paint Horse

[jenidallas]

The excursion cost shows up once you have an active booking for that sailing.

 

Keep in mind that many (most) of the excursions that Seabourn offers can also be booked trough private shore operators for less - often half the price. If you are trying to get an idea of cost, I'd recommend looking for similar tours on Viator and then assume the Seabourn cost will be 40-50% higher.

 

Your travel agent will also have access to the shore excursion pricing should you have specific questions prior to booking - and they too will often have access to local guides with lower pricing than Seabourn. I've done more private local tours than I have those with cruise lines and have not once come close to missing the ship and I've almost always had more unique and personalized experiences with a smaller group.

[Paint Horse]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Why does Seabourn hide this information? I have never seen this done before. One of the main costs of a cruise is what is done on shore. I do not want to book a cruise, just to find out the cost.

 

Are there any other odd practices I need to know about?

 

I prefer to use the cruise line's activities as I am looking for the seamless sort of experience where once on board I do not have to deal with anything.

 

The OCD in me does not care for estimating, although I will look at it this way to see what the total cost might look like.

[notjaded]

OP: I just did my first Seabourn cruise and found the excursions to be a good value relative to other cruise lines. The groups were smaller and the costs were reasonable given the markup that is required on a cruise line tour. We went on two that included lunch, with one lunch pretty good and the other fabulous.

[catskier]

I agree with other poster, the cost was high. Years ago on the triplets, I found them to be reasonable. This time on the Quest not so much. Depends on the trip, We did 2 ship tours, one because it sounded like fun (jeep tour around Ibizia to the hidden coves and beaches) And Gibraltar, as we still had Ship credit.

One was about $140pp the other about $80.00. We were in Malaga. Alhambra was a must on my list. I booked a private tour with a well posted company on the Spain blogs. I paid roughly $600 for the both us. Which I thought was high, but It was all day, long drive, etc. When Seabourn announced their excursions & prices I was shocked to find out they wanted almost $320pp. So do your research. Don't be afraid to do things on your own, and if you want the security of a boat tour, do it, They are small groups, I have never had a bad one & have sailed on 3 cruises with them.

[Paint Horse]

Thanks for all of the advice.

[Emperor Norton]

... I paid roughly $600 for the both us. Which I thought was high, but It was all day, long drive, etc. When Seabourn announced their excursions & prices I was shocked to find out they wanted almost $320pp. So do your research. Don't be afraid to do things on your own, and if you want the security of a boat tour, do it, They are small groups, I have never had a bad one & have sailed on 3 cruises with them.

 

What's shocking about a $20 difference pp? For a ships tour with its inherent benefits that seems reasonable.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Emperor Norton

[wripro]

What's shocking about a $20 difference pp? For a ships tour with its inherent benefits that seems reasonable.

 

What are the inherent benefits of a ship's tour? A bus with forty people? Other passengers who will keep you waiting while they shop or linger or decide at there last minute they need to visit the facilities completely oblivious to their fellow passengers? A forced schedule with no opportunity to make changes? The only possible benefit some could claim is that they ship won't leave if something happens. I have taken hundred of private tours over the years never once have I been late.

 

On the other hand the benefits of a private tour are many, especially your own car and driver, the ability to set the agenda, alter the course, usually get to the head of lines and even in this case, still save $40 for two people. In many instances you will save a lot more than that. jmo.

[Emperor Norton]

What are the inherent benefits of a ship's tour? A bus with forty people? Other passengers who will keep you waiting while they shop or linger or decide at there last minute they need to visit the facilities completely oblivious to their fellow passengers? A forced schedule with no opportunity to make changes? The only possible benefit some could claim is that they ship won't leave if something happens. I have taken hundred of private tours over the years never once have I been late.

 

On the other hand the benefits of a private tour are many, especially your own car and driver, the ability to set the agenda, alter the course, usually get to the head of lines and even in this case, still save $40 for two people. In many instances you will save a lot more than that. jmo.

 

Not getting left behind, especially if the next several days are sea days is quite a good thing IMO. While you may have never been late from a private tour I wouldn't use that as a certainty - things can happen. I don't recall being with 40 others on a Seabourn tour, but maybe you have a more recent experience with the ships tour.

[Suite Travels]

We only do private tours when we cruise and sometimes will book them with the Shorex desk on Crystal and I am cerain Seabourn does the same as well. The drivers and guides know when to get you back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

I agree with Wripro. Hire a good driver/guide and you will have a far better experience for a few bucks more. No more bus for us and inconsiderate people.

[wripro]

Not getting left behind, especially if the next several days are sea days is quite a good thing IMO. While you may have never been late from a private tour I wouldn't use that as a certainty - things can happen. I don't recall being with 40 others on a Seabourn tour, but maybe you have a more recent experience with the ships tour.

 

I agree that things can happen. That's what we have to keep in mind when we travel anywhere nowadays. And just like I'd bet that I won't get blown up by a bomb I'd bet that my private guide will get me back to the ship on time.

[sassyw]

I agree that things can happen. That's what we have to keep in mind when we travel anywhere nowadays. And just like I'd bet that I won't get blown up by a bomb I'd bet that my private guide will get me back to the ship on time.

 

Not all the time. We have been on over 200 days of Seabourn and a couple of times the ship waited for some independent travelers who had frantically phoned in of being detained by traffic, accident, etc. Everyone watched as they ran onto the ship and booed!!!

For us 90% of the tours have been great and it's good to have it planned by an experienced agency with tour guides who on the whole speak English very well. We will be in many small towns in Japan next April and May and that will be very important to us.;)

Edited July 8, 2016 by sassyw

[catskier]

What's shocking about a $20 difference pp? For a ships tour with its inherent benefits that seems reasonable.

 

 

I was shocked that you can do a private tour for the same price as a mass market tour on the ship. I thought the price would be less from the ship.

[Chairsin]

It really depends on the tour and the port. Also there is a bit of semantics involved. There is s difference between a true private tour and a non ship tour which some people call private tours. While a true private tour (something you individually organize and tailor to your interest with just your party of usually 2-4 people) usually costs more than non ship group tours (such as say those offered by Spain Day Tours) are often much less on a per person basis. We have not done a ship tour in years as we prefer to arrange a customized private tour in one or two ports on each cruise.That said on our upcoming Antarctica cruise we may consider a ship tour since they will be using the expedition team in some ports.

[stamfordian]

Everyone watched as they ran onto the ship and booed!!!

 

Not a very gracious Seabourn response...

[wripro]

Anyone who really worries that something terrible will happen to delay their return to the ship on time should definitely go with the bus tour the ship provides.

[Emperor Norton]

I was shocked that you can do a private tour for the same price as a mass market tour on the ship. I thought the price would be less from the ship.

 

Ah. Sadly unless you're a solo thats generally not the case.

[catskier]

Sadly you are correct. As a single person, I am so well aware of this.

[Goodnote]

I am interested in taking an Alaskan Cruise with my wife. Seaborne looks like a good option, but I'm appalled that they can't provide some sort of cost estimation for shore excursions until you actually book the cruise.  It seems like thy are trying to hide something and makes me suspicious.  I realize the shore excursion costs can easily change but they should provide some means to at least approximate the costs.  I'm not ruling out Seaborne but I am going to explore other cruise lines

[Mahogany]

On 2/19/2024 at 6:18 PM, Goodnote said:

I am interested in taking an Alaskan Cruise with my wife. Seaborne looks like a good option, but I'm appalled that they can't provide some sort of cost estimation for shore excursions until you actually book the cruise.  It seems like thy are trying to hide something and makes me suspicious.  I realize the shore excursion costs can easily change but they should provide some means to at least approximate the costs.  I'm not ruling out Seaborne but I am going to explore other cruise lines

In your exploring of other cruise lines, have you found they quote excursion costs before booking a specific cruise?

[cruiseej]

@Goodnote  You should figure that excursions in Alaska will run between $50 (lumberjack show) and $100 (basic bus tour) up to $300 and more per person, the majority are probably in the $150-$250 range, but helicopter and seaplane trips cost more. Most of the excursions offered by Seabourn are the same excursions as those offered directly by tour operators. So if you're interested in a seaplane trip to Misty Fjords, you can google that and find the price from one of the seaplane companies; if you're interested in  the White Pass Scenic Railway in Skagway, you can look up what it costs if you book direct. Seabourn's costs will often be somewhat more than if you were booking on your own; in some cases, Seabourn includes some additional benefit, such as a private card on the railroad, a stop for refreshments, etc. But you should be able to get a pretty good estimate of the cost of excursions you might be interested in.

 

That said, I'm confused why you aren't able to get the information you want from the Seabourn website, which does show general pricing information for excursions. Click on the cruise you're interested in, and on the itinerary list, click on "Learn More" for any port; the pop-up window will show the excursions typically offered at this port — including a price. Of course, pricing may vary based on date; 2025 excursions will undoubtedly be a little more expensive than 2024 excursions. Is there a reason the pricing on these pages isn't what you're looking for? 

[Techno123]

When we did our Norwegian fjords cruise last summer I booked 2 expedition team excursions and the rest we did ourselves at a fraction of Seabourn's cost - on several we passed the Seabourn groups and one or two were far better than anything Seabourn had on offer. It just means you need to do your own research (oh and make sure you are back on time 😜) 

Are you going to book through a travel agent? They (or you) could contact Seabourn to ask the price and also check that the excursions you want to do are still available as popular ones do sell out.

Edited February 22 by Techno123

[markandjie]

1 hour ago, Techno123 said:

the rest we did ourselves at a fraction of Seabourn's cost

 

I feel like pre-COVID the pricing was much more in line with booking on your own. Perhaps a small mark-up but one that was easily overcome by having Gold status. Now it seems they are marked up 1.5-2x the price and it doesn't really make sense to book thru the ship at all.

[Mahogany]

3 hours ago, markandjie said:

 

I feel like pre-COVID the pricing was much more in line with booking on your own. Perhaps a small mark-up but one that was easily overcome by having Gold status. Now it seems they are marked up 1.5-2x the price and it doesn't really make sense to book thru the ship at all.

Except for the ease of maybe canceling onboard