Informal quick survey - do you plan paid activities for each port of call?

[CA_Cruzing]

Informal survey here seeking other cruisers experiences.

 

For each port of call, do you plan a paid excursion/activity?

 

For example, on a 4-port cruise, do you have activities planned for each port (paid as in: snorkeling, local tour, food tour, boat trip, paid beach activity, any planned excursion type)?

[CA_Cruzing]

I'll start with our upcoming trip.

 

We have 4 ports of call during our cruise and we have planned: Snorkeling, local food tour, paid beach day reservations, full-day boat excursion/tour/snorkeling. On our return to POM we will take an Everglades tour then get dropped off at the airport.

 

In summary, we planned 5 excursions over a 8-day cruise.

[mgasaway]

Sometimes. On our upcoming 7 day Amber Cover (city tour & cable car) and St Thomas (catamaran) are going to be paid excursions. In San Juan we will use the free trolley and walk. Grand Turk we will walk unless the golf cart rental places are giving out deals since we'll be the only ship in port that day.

[coevan]

some ports we stay on the boat, like Amber Cove. Dominican Republic does not thrill us, and the music playing by the pool is so loud it's tough to read or talk

[bnorris10]

Depending on what ports it is depends on what excursion we do or don't do - We are going to 4 ports in December and we have 2 planned excursions and then for the other 2 spots we decided to just walk around ourselves

[thinfool]

If the port is new to us, then we will likely find/pay for a local tour so that we get an idea of where we are. If we have already visited the port, we may walk through the downtown (ex. Grand Cayman) or we might find a local operator to take snorkeling or out to Stingray City.

No rules...we're on vacation! :cool:

[Ziggy7]

We have 4 ports in January and have 3 excursions planned. 4th port is walk of ship and walk around and shop!

[ricew001]

We left Miami last Monday on 8/21. Did the airport transfer. Paid in advance.

On Tuesday, we did the Pub Crawl through Carnival which I paid for ahead of time also. It was in Key West and it was miserable hot. (Almost wished I had stayed on the ship.)

Wednesday we did Mr. Sanchos beach club - not through Carnival and we only had to put down a $5 per person deposit, so I paid the remainder when we arrived. ($90 for the two of us, all inclusive.)

Thursday - Sea Day

Friday - Everglades tour and airport transfer. Purchased prior and maybe my most favorite of all!!!

 

In some ports, I've waited to see how I felt that day to decide if I was going to do an excursion. Other cruises the whole reason for doing it was a particular excursion.

 

So..it varies!

[Towel Critter]

No, we do not plan ahead of time for each port. Typically, we'll only pre-purchase a tour for one port-of-call, occasionally two. We tend to explore on our own on islands we've never visited (though at this point those are becoming fewer). If it's a port we've been to three or four times, THEN we pre-plan an excursion to see sights we've not been able to see on our own before, just to keep the visit from being boring. There have been exceptions. We pre-planned the scenic railway on St. Kitts, even though it was a new port for us, because we both felt it was a worth while excursion, whereas many are not in our experience. What I mean by "many are not" is for example, purchasing a beach excursion. When going to a beach, we prefer to simply grab a taxi. Same content, much less money, same thing with SOME of the island and city tours. note* Unfortunately, we ended up having to cancel the cruise and the railway excursion at St. Kitts. But next time, we will likely pre-purchase the same excursion again for the same reason as before.

[chicchic325]

I'm trying to remember a port of call that I didn't plan some sort of paid activity.....the only thing I can think of is Norwegian's private island- I just treated that as a beach day.

 

We've rented cars, hired a taxi, done cruise ship excursions, gone through private tour groups, etc. I always try to go low cost, but it is usually some form of paid activity (even if it is a $10 museum ticket).

[Doctorsbaby]

No, I always plan one port to be a ship day. But the other ports will normally have some kind of activity planned.

[sanger727]

I may be mis-understanding the question but outside of walking to a free beach I'm not sure how you get out of paying for anything in port.

 

We pre-plan what we will do in each port and budget what it will cost. For example, on our last cruise we did:

 

Antigua - locally booked full day boat tour

 

St Martin - locally booked full day ATV tour

 

Tortola - took the ferry to virgin gorda and explored the baths on our own

 

San Juan - explored the forts on our own and had lunch in town - this probably qualifies as the least of a paid activity since the fort tickets were cheap to begin w and 1 ticket gets you in two forts. Just walked, no transportation needed.

 

We aren't beach people so just walking/taxi-ing to a beach kills a few hours but we don't like to spend the whole day there.

 

 

 

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[MMastell]

It really depends on the itinerary. If the ports are in areas I have never been before then I will usually hire a private tour guide to take us around. It is almost always the case in areas where there may be some "issues" and there are few English speaking people.

 

If it is a Caribbean cruise, I already know what I want to do and I will either do a taxi tour, or transportation to where I want to go. I may pre-book an activity but I enjoy just going to the beach, finding the local bars and restaurants or do an all-inclusive beach day. I am a big fan of Nachi Cocum in Cozumel.

 

If you are unfamiliar with a port, want to do snorkeling, scuba, zip lining, sightseeing, etc. I would pre-book something. I am not a big fan of cruise line excursions. I want to go at my own pace or change what I want to do and see during the tour.

 

Take care,

Mike

[coevan]

"there are few English speaking people."

 

 

What Caribbean island do people not speak English? As I have been to almost every island in the Caribbean and Martinique is predominately French, but most speak English as well. However, few ships port at Martinique.

[virginiab]

In most Carribean ports, we get off the ship, walk around a while, get back on the ship and enjoy the lightly-populated ship for the rest of the day. A couple of cruises back, we started adding a single excusion per cruise.

 

In Alaska or Europe, I am more likely to take an excursion or other planned activity (such as a self-guided walking tour) at most or all ports.

[bUU]

Sometimes. Our last cruise was to the Bahamas, and we have never have had paid plans for any cruise we've taken to the Bahamas. This coming trip is a port-focused cruise, and so we have specific paid plans in each port. Similarly with our next cruise after that, it's port-focused, and we will have specific paid plans in each port.

[trippingpara]

We always have something planned. It may not necessarily be paid (depending on the port, like snorkeling from the beach - we bring our own equipment; or walking the walls of Dubrovnik or Kotor - no tour needed). We cruise for the ports, so we never stay on the ship when it is in port.

[CA_Cruzing]

I may be mis-understanding the question but outside of walking to a free beach I'm not sure how you get out of paying for anything in port.

 

We pre-plan what we will do in each port and budget what it will cost. For example, on our last cruise we did:

 

Antigua - locally booked full day boat tour

 

St Martin - locally booked full day ATV tour

 

Tortola - took the ferry to virgin gorda and explored the baths on our own

 

San Juan - explored the forts on our own and had lunch in town - this probably qualifies as the least of a paid activity since the fort tickets were cheap to begin w and 1 ticket gets you in two forts. Just walked, no transportation needed.

 

We aren't beach people so just walking/taxi-ing to a beach kills a few hours but we don't like to spend the whole day there.

 

 

 

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to clarify, seeking replies on whether people plan an activity (spend $35+ per person or more) in a port, or do they spend that port day on the boat, or maybe just spend a few bucks to hang out at a local beach (taxi, beach fee, food, etc)?

 

from the posted replies, i'm seeing some people like to self-guide a tour, some people pay for an excursion, either privately or through CCL, or some people prefer to stay on the boat and relax (maybe shop near the port and then relax on the boat).

 

hope this helps clarify the original question.

[MarcJ55]

I am planning to create my own excursions, rather than pay for an excursion from the cruise ship. With a family of 5, sometimes it is much more economical this way.

[Drazil65]

No, not at all as we tend to go off and do our own thing. We have been to most of the caribbean Islands and Mexico (cruise and AI) so we are familiar enough to know what we want to do and where in most ports. There are many times that we just want to walk around port for a short time then get back on the ship to eat lunch and just hang out with no crowds. Totally depends on the port, the weather and the ship we are on.

 

Probably the only time we are concerned about getting an excursion early is if visiting HMC and we want a cabana.

[CaptainNappin]

We try to have an idea of what we want to do and then do whatever is easiest. Happy Sailing!

[dreadpirate3]

We have three new ports on our next cruise. We are taking a boat charter at one, going to an all inclusive beach day at one, and hiring a private car and tour at the third.

 

We have two sea days on top of the embarkation day, I think we'll be all set with relaxation time and have a balance of activities.

 

I have never booked an excursion from the cruise line, except for booking a beach clamshell last year.

[Warm Breezes]

Informal survey here seeking other cruisers experiences.

 

 

 

For each port of call, do you plan a paid excursion/activity?

 

 

 

For example, on a 4-port cruise, do you have activities planned for each port (paid as in: snorkeling, local tour, food tour, boat trip, paid beach activity, any planned excursion type)?

 

 

 

We mix it up. I do extensive research and will book some excursions through the cruise line, book some on-line with independent operators, book some at the port or not book any at all and explore on our own, take a taxi to the beach, or just stay on the ship. Every trip is different.

 

 

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[coevan]

Some of our best trips have been hiring a cab driver and doing an island tour. The drivers are very knowledgeable, of course they live there. We have spent an hour or two on a beach and he waits and usually talks to friends. We buy him lunch and go somewhere else. You usually can do this for about $50.

[CaptainNappin]

Barry and Barb