Carnival vs DIY Excursions

[Micahs Grandad]

We were in Saint John, NB Canada - so it was easy to feel safe. Many in the group wanted to continue drinking at the last stop and I'm sure the guide was only booked for so long. I've heard of a bar hop in Nassau that is similar where the guide leaves you at the last stop to finish on your own.

 

I hear you. Come to think of it I have asked tour guides to drop me off say a mile or so from the ship so we could walk back. Although we could see the ship in the distance so it becomes idiot proof getting back.

[planmaker]

What annoys me about Carnival excursions are the darn “bathroom” stops. I feel like I’m in the 2nd grade on a school field trip. There always happens to be a gift shop by the bathroom. Hmm... When port times are limited I like to spend my time on my planned activity not waiting for that last group of lingerers to get on the bus.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Micahs Grandad]

What annoys me about Carnival excursions are the darn “bathroom” stops. I feel like I’m in the 2nd grade on a school field trip. There always happens to be a gift shop by the bathroom. Hmm... When port times are limited I like to spend my time on my planned activity not waiting for that last group of lingerers to get on the bus.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Tour guides get paid for stopping at particular gift shop so that will always be a part of your tour.

[Keys2Heaven]

My 2 cents.

 

First, do your homework and really research these independent operators. The port of call boards here are a great way to get honest reviews. And, sometimes the tour operators themselves will post.

 

Second, most of these places depend on tourism and a lot of these independent operators will also contract with the cruise line or do the same exact tour. So, the same independent tour you book for less might be called something else, but is identical to what the cruise line offers. As long as they fill seats, the tour operator is making money. The nice thing about this is that you have confidence that the tour won't leave you stranded somewhere.

 

The only time I would go with the ship is:

 

1. There are not a lot of reviews about independent tour operators for that particular port of call.

2. The length of time for the tour or port of call would make me lean that way. Then, I would feel much better that the ship would not leave without us, if the tour encountered an issue that affected us returning to the ship.

 

Otherwise, we would much rather prefer to book an independent tour. And, we've even bartered to do a tour for a lot less that what the ship charged. I think that was in Aruba and is still one of the best tours we've ever been on.

[RedSails1968]

LOL on the bathroom stops. The people that need to make sure there are ample stops are the ones that are more likely to be on the ship excursions and the tour guide knows that. If you are young and/or able-bodied it is much easier for you to do the private ones.

[nick77]

you will not miss the ship with a private excursion. This is all they do for a living. Their business depends on you having a good time and getting you back to the ship.

 

 

On our last cruise 8 people didn't make it back on the ship. They went on an excursion to private island using an independent company. I guess they had some problems on the boat coming back and didn't make it back to the ship on time. They did board the ship at the next port

[millacon]

So what happens if you do miss the ship due to an independent company not getting you back on time (traffic, mechanical issues, etc.)? Do they pay for you to get to the next port or are you 'on your own' to pay and arrange transport?

[nick77]

That's Carnival's pitch. The ship will wait for their excursions. I don't believe many of the independents will pay your costs to get to next port. We've been on many cruises so we rarely do excursions any longer but we did our share of independent excursion companies and never had a problem

[planmaker]

There are many companies that offer to pay to get you to the next

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[planmaker]

port if you miss your ship. Sorry I hit send by mistake.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CdrescherRBL152]

Have always gone thru Carnival. 6 years ago showed why we will always spend the extra to book with Carnival. We were on Colon Panama. Our excursion was delayed getting back to the ship. A group of 12 had booked same excursion thru the same vendor. We got an escort back to the ship. The other 12 missed the ship had to get there own way back to Fort Lauderdale from Panama.

 

Sent from my LG-H918 using Forums mobile app

[KmomChicago]

We're retired and walking long distances isn't an option for my DH so ....We made a "personal rule" for ourselves :)

If we want to go somewhere taxis would be readibly available ... we book independently.

 

If we're going out into the country where we can't hail a taxi if the tour vehicle breaks down or there's some other problem ... we book thru the cruise line.

 

I'm sure there are others who think that's unnecessarily cautious but it makes us comfortable and in our minds that comfort may be worthy of the few extra $$ it would cost us. Just another point of view ..... :)

 

This is a rational, balanced approach and some version of it probably applies to most experienced but independent travelers: consider what you need and the overall value of each option, and take the most suitable choice. There is no question that the cruise excursions carry the lowest risk and the extra cost is built into that equation and perfectly reasonable. It's not unnecessarily cautious if you need that caution!

[KmomChicago]

So what happens if you do miss the ship due to an independent company not getting you back on time (traffic, mechanical issues, etc.)? Do they pay for you to get to the next port or are you 'on your own' to pay and arrange transport?

 

That is absolutely a potential risk and it's a biggie, ain't it? You'd typically be on your own in that case. If it's something short in duration and not very far from the pier, this risk is quite low. Plan to be back aboard a couple of hours before the posted deadline - if anything goes wrong and you miss that, you've got buffer time to recover - get unlost, find alternate transportation, or hoof it if all else fails.

 

If it's an all day thing and your schedule is tight with the ship's departure, your risk grows and it would be wise to carefully research the worst case scenario - if we do miss the ship, then what? Can you get cheap transportation overnight to the next port? How? Drive, fly, ferry? If the next port is back home after a sea day or two, that is a terrible risk, a lot of time onboard you have paid for and will miss, and likely a very expensive journey to get back and pick up your bags.

 

We figured in Progreso, Mexico, we could rent a car and drive to Playa del Carmen where we could then get a ferry to the ship in Cozumel the next day. Did not happen, as our Lawson's excursion had us back aboard with plenty of time to spare, but we would not even have tried without a carefully considered backup plan in place.

[ErinH1]

Very surprised to find Carnival's excursions to now be priced less than the independents for our upcoming cruise (Southern Caribbean).  I'm the independent (plus budget conscious) type. Haven't been on a lot of cruises but did our own in Europe and Australia/New Zealand years ago. Alaska was maybe half and half.  There are so many options in each port thinking of going with Carnival at least for a couple of ports (St Lucia, St Martin, maybe St Kitts). Last minute booking so haven't spent as much time as I normally do researching. I don't like being in a cattle call environment and would never have paid 50% (or whatever) more.  But wondering now if the cruise line's competitive pricing & options/guides at least provide a decent experience. We can do San Juan (previously had a week-long land vacation there) and St Thomas/St John (ditto San Juan) on our own for sure.

[coevan]

in our opinion, private are always better even for the same price.  One dive trip out of Grand Turk, we had 5 divers and a divemaster. The Carnival dive boat had over 30 people, this is not safe diving. Too much standing around and waiting with the cruise excursions.

[mlshum]

We have done both.  I don’t want to be accused of being silly or anything but there have been two times we would have been left if we hadn’t been on a Carnival excursion.  The first time was because our bus had engine problems and the second time was because the tour operator had apparently misjudged how long it was going to take to get everyone down the Flying Dutchman zip line in St Maarten.  He finally gathered everyone who was on a Carnival excursion and put us at the front of the line.  Unfortunately, some of the people from our sailing were there on a private excursion at the same time and didn’t make it back in time.

 

Those are rare occurrences but I always try to do a lot of research when booking outside activities.  I’m not a new cruiser nor am I a worry wart.... just aware of the possibilities and taking those into account when making a decision.

[mlshum]

To the OP....Key West is an easy place to get back to the ship.  It just isn’t that big!

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, mlshum said:

To the OP....Key West is an easy place to get back to the ship.  It just isn’t that big!

Possibly the best post of the thread...

[teknoge3k]

1 hour ago, mlshum said:

To the OP....Key West is an easy place to get back to the ship.  It just isn’t that big!

 

Unless you do the Duval Crawl. Then Key West is precisely 17 miles long by 32 miles wide. 

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, mlshum said:

We have done both.  I don’t want to be accused of being silly or anything but there have been two times we would have been left if we hadn’t been on a Carnival excursion.  The first time was because our bus had engine problems and the second time was because the tour operator had apparently misjudged how long it was going to take to get everyone down the Flying Dutchman zip line in St Maarten.  He finally gathered everyone who was on a Carnival excursion and put us at the front of the line.  Unfortunately, some of the people from our sailing were there on a private excursion at the same time and didn’t make it back in time.

 

Those are rare occurrences but I always try to do a lot of research when booking outside activities.  I’m not a new cruiser nor am I a worry wart.... just aware of the possibilities and taking those into account when making a decision.

Very good reply and right on.  Murphy's law can and does kick in and while potentially rare, the impact could be severe.  It is a risk vs rewards type of discussion.  There are times when we feel very confident and others where we do not want to take that risk for $25 bucks.  

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

 

Unless you do the Duval Crawl. Then Key West is precisely 17 miles long by 32 miles wide. 

been there and done that.  Actually once got a phone call when at a bar on Duval street and someone back home saw us on the webcam knowing we were in Key West and called and told us to get back to the ship.  While not overly close, we did most back.

[Haveuseen1]

Just food for thought.

I booked my snorkeling tour as a DIY for Grand Turk. It cost more than a similar Carnival excursion, but I wanted a smaller group and was fine with it.

 

Then the GT port got dropped due to mechanical issue. So I then had to get a days worth of wifi so that I could email the tour company who cancelled without issue.  That was nice of them.

 

On the same cruise we had an excursion through Carnival ( a cabana ) at Amber cove.  Carnival cancelled and credited without me having to do anything.

 

So sometimes the cost is not better, but the excursion may.  And there is some value in the off chance that you are unable to get to your excursion due to a situation out of your control.

 

To be fair, I just booked Nachi Cocom, and looking at Yucatan Cenote Adventures on an upcoming cruise.  So I guess it just depends on your comfort level.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, teknoge3k said:

 

Unless you do the Duval Crawl. Then Key West is precisely 17 miles long by 32 miles wide. 

 

 

no, it's tiny:

 

How many miles long and wide is Key West?

The island is only eight square miles.

Running four miles long and about two miles wide at its widest, Key West is a small island.

[jimbo5544]

41 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

no, it's tiny:

 

How many miles long and wide is Key West?

The island is only eight square miles.

Running four miles long and about two miles wide at its widest, Key West is a small island.

I think he as referring to the way it felt when drinking.😉