Tendered/Docked - Ship Tour/Private Tour?

[mrs and mrs]

I wonder if they even have taxi's on mystery island, I didn't think they even had roads, or are you referring to water taxi's.:confused:

 

oh god mystery,port den whatever vila, champagne, its all small, don't be so bloody pedantic.

Edited November 30, 2016 by mrs and mrs

[MicCanberra]

oh god mystery,port den whatever vila, champagne, its all small, don't be so bloody pedantic.

 

Sorry, I think:o

[mrs and mrs]

lol;):rolleyes::)

[Meamat]

Just to give another factor to consider... !

 

I'd read on the forums here about tours getting priority tender, about being delayed off the ship if you went privately etc, but it must depend to some degree on the ship and line you're with.

 

We were on Carnival Spirit and planned to have a relaxing morning and get tenders when the rush died down, but the rush was actually about 10am-11am, the people ready for the first tender boats were off in no time and had fewer crowds all day. In future, we'll get off early and come back early. Maybe the Carnival crowd has more kids to get ready in the morning and party people sleeping in after a big night out?

 

In terms of tours in tender ports, in our particular case it wouldn't have been an issue. The tender process was incredibly smooth and our only docked port was Noumea where there were buses to catch to town anyway. I'm fairly sure the process of tendering to shore was around the same time frame as getting off the ship and loading onto a bus to the town centre, neither took very long realistically.

[MicCanberra]

Just to give another factor to consider... !

 

I'd read on the forums here about tours getting priority tender, about being delayed off the ship if you went privately etc, but it must depend to some degree on the ship and line you're with.

 

We were on Carnival Spirit and planned to have a relaxing morning and get tenders when the rush died down, but the rush was actually about 10am-11am, the people ready for the first tender boats were off in no time and had fewer crowds all day. In future, we'll get off early and come back early. Maybe the Carnival crowd has more kids to get ready in the morning and party people sleeping in after a big night out?

 

In terms of tours in tender ports, in our particular case it wouldn't have been an issue. The tender process was incredibly smooth and our only docked port was Noumea where there were buses to catch to town anyway. I'm fairly sure the process of tendering to shore was around the same time frame as getting off the ship and loading onto a bus to the town centre, neither took very long realistically.

 

That is true and sometimes, even a high loyalty program status doesn't work to override the ship's tour's priiority either.

[Meamat]

It does make it confusing, but I'm pleased to know now that it's wise in our case to get up early and be on the first tenders. It didn't take too long to get off the ship even when we were in the rush time, but I'd rather not be part of a rush!

 

But yes, somehow I knew lots of things required the question 'which line are you sailing with?' (e.g. food quality, entertainment options, kids clubs, etc) but somehow I'd made an incorrect assumption that a tender process was pretty standard across the board. My In-Laws had recommended the same thing to us and talked about the difficulty getting on early tenders if you didn't have a ship tour booked, but they have mainly sailed with Princess and that's obviously a totally different clientele.

[mr walker]

just want to comment on 'private' tours & point out there are, to me, two distinct types. I have done both types and also ship's tours.

 

Booking a private tour ahead of time, where you book & perhaps pay a deposit to an operator who you have been able to research beforehand can be a very good option, compared to ship tours. You will normally have contact details for the operator, a designated meeting place & likely someone will be there with a sign with your name on it. And you know the itinerary ahead of time.

 

The other way of just finding a driver/tour on arrival & not having a pre-arranged itinerary is not quite the same. Valuable time can be lost finding someone, 'fighting-off' the hordes of operators & then trying to establish an itinerary and negotiating a price. We have always had a good experience in this way.

However, it hasn't happened to me personally, but know of a case where the visitor took a taxi into town for $10 ea. On the drive the driver asked "do you want to see xxxxx?" .... "Yes, ok". And then "do you want to see yyyy?" .... "Yes, ok". And so on. My friend was anticipating some additional charge on top of the $20 taxi fare. After a few hours, the driver then told them "$200". A disagreement ensued, with both parties threatening to call the police, before a settlement was reached, but it sure spoiled a good day for them, and my friend and his partner are no longer a couple (likely not just because of this :eek:). Experienced travellers would likely have asked 'how much" at each offer, but just something to bear in mind.

 

As ever, just know the scope of the 'contract'.

[wanderingoz]

Experienced travellers would likely have asked 'how much" at each offer, but just something to bear in mind.

As ever, just know the scope of the 'contract'.

 

Sage advice. Cheers.

[lyndarra]

We have never done a ship's tour. We do private tours with one or two other couples or DIY it and catch a cab or public transportation.

 

Primary reason is we do not want to travel with 50 or so other people. We might want to stop along the way, stay longer at one particular place, extend the tour if we really are enjoying it or cut it short if the weather turns bad, etc.

 

we are geocaching nuts and if we find a cache along the way or hear about an interesting hike, we want to feel comfortable changing the itinerary without affecting others.

 

We always make sure we are back in port at least an hour before the all aboard time. Doesn't matter if it is a docked or tender port. That's just us - do what's comfortable for you.

 

 

 

 

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We will only do a ships tours when there is something we really want to see/do that cannot be done privately. Example, In Juneau, Alaska, the Five Glacier Floatplane flight and Taku Lodge Salmon Bake.

Like you, we are keen geocachers (colleda) and were fortunate to find a rarely found geocache ( GC5BHEG ) which can only be accessed by floatplane, cool. Otherwise we will do our own thing on shore and find lots of interesting places, of the beaten tourist path, that we would not have otherwise found if not for geocaching.