Sold out excursions in Bermuda

[Max and Ruby]

Next July is my first cruise including a Bermuda stop. Last night I apparently bought the last 2 tickets for a cave excursion. I need 2 more though. 

 

Any experience if more tickets will open up closer to the date?

 

I know I can probably do this on my own so all 4 can go. I was just surprised that the excursion sold out. Didn’t even have that problem on my Alaskan Cruise!

 

Anthem of the seas , July 2019 is our ship and sail time if it makes a difference. 

Thanks!

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, Max and Ruby said:

Next July is my first cruise including a Bermuda stop. Last night I apparently bought the last 2 tickets for a cave excursion. I need 2 more though. 

 

Any experience if more tickets will open up closer to the date?

 

I know I can probably do this on my own so all 4 can go. I was just surprised that the excursion sold out. Didn’t even have that problem on my Alaskan Cruise!

 

Anthem of the seas , July 2019 is our ship and sail time if it makes a difference. 

Thanks!

 

No experience with that one because there is no need to do the caves as a cruise line excursion. I have done them twice and you just show up at the caves. Take public transportation, taxis or a combination of ferry and taxi. If you have four in your party taking a ferry to either Hamilton or St. George's and then a taxi for the balance of the way will be a piece of cake. Really, very easy.

 

If you insist on doing it thru the cruise line keep checking back. Likely there will be cancels and openings before July. Check every week. Also they may hold some slots to sell onboard. You have plenty of time. 

Edited November 24, 2018 by Charles4515

[Turtles06]

We were in Bermuda last week, our second visit.  I agree strongly with Charles, there is absolutely no reason to take a ship tour to the Caves.  It’s very easy to get around Bermuda on your own as he has explained.  You can take a ferry to Hamilton or St. George, and then a bus or taxi to the Caves.  There is a wealth of information on this board and the internet about using public transportation in Bermuda. 

[Max and Ruby]

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

No experience with that one because there is no need to do the caves as a cruise line excursion. I have done them twice and you just show up at the caves. Take public transportation, taxis or a combination of ferry and taxi. If you have four in your party taking a ferry to either Hamilton or St. George's and then a taxi for the balance of the way will be a piece of cake. Really, very easy.

 

If you insist on doing it thru the cruise line keep checking back. Likely there will be cancels and openings before July. Check every week. Also they may hold some slots to sell onboard. You have plenty of time. 

Thanks very much!

[elhenry]

For probably what you were willing to pay for a ship's tour, you could also engage a private tour guide who would take you to the caves.  We sailed the Anthem to Bermuda in August, and I know the tour guide we engaged, Quinton Bean, was taking a group to the caves later that week. We ourselves did not go to the caves.

 

I am sure that it is easy to get around Bermuda and I am sure the buses are wonderful, but it's just not my thing when I'm on vacation. So another option for you to consider. 

 

[njhorseman]

9 hours ago, elhenry said:

For probably what you were willing to pay for a ship's tour, you could also engage a private tour guide who would take you to the caves.  We sailed the Anthem to Bermuda in August, and I know the tour guide we engaged, Quinton Bean, was taking a group to the caves later that week. We ourselves did not go to the caves.

 

I am sure that it is easy to get around Bermuda and I am sure the buses are wonderful, but it's just not my thing when I'm on vacation. So another option for you to consider. 

 

Using a tour guide to take you to the caves is a waste of money. The diver is getting paid for sitting in his car for a couple of hours while you're in the caves being led by one of their guides.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

Using a tour guide to take you to the caves is a waste of money. The diver is getting paid for sitting in his car for a couple of hours while you're in the caves being led by one of their guides.

 

Obviously I meant to type "driver" .

[elhenry]

Something is only a *waste* of money if that’s how not how you want to spend it😁

 

Quinton waited for us while we climbed Ft. Gibbs lighthouse, sat with us while we ate lunch, and at various other times was not with us while we toured. He was a bargain at twice the price.

 

I thought I made very clear that *for me*, the $20 expenses of waiting for two hours at the caves ($70 an hour for seven of us) would have been a bargain. Was it probably ten times what the bus cost? Yes. Would it have been worth every penny for me? Yes.

 

Each cruiser needs to make their own decision about where to spend their hard earned $$$$. That is how I choose to spend mine😎

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, elhenry said:

 

I thought I made very clear that *for me*, the $20 expenses of waiting for two hours at the caves ($70 an hour for seven of us) would have been a bargain. Was it probably ten times what the bus cost? Yes. Would it have been worth every penny for me? Yes.

 

 

Anyone can take a taxi to the caves and back and not pay for those two hours in between. I am sure Quinton or other drivers don’t mind being paid for doing nothing. When I did a taxi tour the driver was very eager to take us to the caves and do just that, and was not thrilled when we passed on the caves and he had to drive us around those two hours. While we got a pretty good tour I never mention his name or recommend him because of how he pushed the caves even after we said no. I had already been to the caves. We got to see a lot in those two hours that we would not have seen if we had not had that time. It is not the bus versus doing the caves on a taxi tour, it is doing a taxi tour without the caves and taking taxis to and from the caves not as part of a taxi tour. You can take taxis without paying for them to wait while you are in the caves. 

Edited December 2, 2018 by Charles4515

[elhenry]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Anyone can take a taxi to the caves and back and not pay for those two hours in between. I am sure Quinton or other drivers don’t mind being paid for doing nothing. When I did a taxi tour the driver was very eager to take us to the caves and do just that, and was not thrilled when we passed on the caves and he had to drive us around those two hours. While we got a pretty good tour I never mention his name or recommend him because of how he pushed the caves even after we said no. I had already been to the caves. We got to see a lot in those two hours that we would not have seen if we had not had that time. It is not the bus versus doing the caves on a taxi tour, it is doing a taxi tour without the caves and taking taxis to and from the caves not as part of a taxi tour. You can take taxis without paying for them to wait while you are in the caves. 

 

I think the only point I wanted to make was to disagree with the term (and you did not use it) “waste of money”.

 

taking a bus, taking a taxi, having a taxi wait for you, are all options to consider. And of course, cruisers should try to educate themselves on what the costs are of each option (which is where our experienced Bermuda cruisers, like you, are so helpful🙂 

 

But no one can say what is a good way to spend someone else’s money, that is subjective. I may find a $200 bottle of wine to be an extravagance, someone else may find it a delight. The thing is to know ahead of time that it’s $200😉

 

ETA: and I have been though all 3. In my 20s and 30s,  I would have taken public transport and saved the money. In my 40s and 50s, split the difference with a cab ride to and back. Now, I’ll actually pay for someone to wait for me and have less wine to make up for it 

Edited December 2, 2018 by elhenry

[njhorseman]

9 hours ago, elhenry said:

 

I think the only point I wanted to make was to disagree with the term (and you did not use it) “waste of money”.

 

taking a bus, taking a taxi, having a taxi wait for you, are all options to consider. And of course, cruisers should try to educate themselves on what the costs are of each option (which is where our experienced Bermuda cruisers, like you, are so helpful🙂 

 

But no one can say what is a good way to spend someone else’s money, that is subjective. I may find a $200 bottle of wine to be an extravagance, someone else may find it a delight. The thing is to know ahead of time that it’s $200😉

 

ETA: and I have been though all 3. In my 20s and 30s,  I would have taken public transport and saved the money. In my 40s and 50s, split the difference with a cab ride to and back. Now, I’ll actually pay for someone to wait for me and have less wine to make up for it 

The problem is that you didn't use a tour guide to visit the caves, in fact you didn't visit the caves at all, so your recommendation has a few obvious holes in it that needed to be brought to light so that others can make a decision with a full set of facts in front of them. I don't care how you spend your money. I care how others who read this forum and might know little or nothing about Bermuda spend theirs. The fact that you didn't actually spend your money doing this only weakens the value of your recommendation.

 

Just as taking a ship's tour to the caves is a poor use of one's money so is taking a taxi tour. It isn't a matter of your $20 for one hour, it's a matter of a total $140 for two hours. Everyone in the taxi has to pay, not just you, and it's going to take closer to two hours, not one, for a full tour of the caves. 

 

You're free to spend your money as you want. I'm free to explain why I don't think it's a good idea. 

Edited December 2, 2018 by njhorseman

[Max and Ruby]

On 12/1/2018 at 12:24 AM, elhenry said:

For probably what you were willing to pay for a ship's tour, you could also engage a private tour guide who would take you to the caves.  We sailed the Anthem to Bermuda in August, and I know the tour guide we engaged, Quinton Bean, was taking a group to the caves later that week. We ourselves did not go to the caves.

 

I am sure that it is easy to get around Bermuda and I am sure the buses are wonderful, but it's just not my thing when I'm on vacation. So another option for you to consider. 

 

 

Thanks for the idea.  But my husband would agree with another poster that "we don't need a driver".  I checked the price for the caves pp and at $22 pp paying $90 pp fort eh excursion when I have to take a ferry or bus back from one of the main towns anyway if I did go on Royal's excursion is too much money .   I do agree with you that buses and public transportation isn't my preference while in port for 7 hours, but it is what it is. I'll just take my savings and spend it on the mini golf right by the dock. 🙂

 

Speaking of which, does anyone have any comments about that? Bermuda Fun Golf Dockyard?

 

 

[elhenry]

7 hours ago, Max and Ruby said:

 

Thanks for the idea.  But my husband would agree with another poster that "we don't need a driver".  I checked the price for the caves pp and at $22 pp paying $90 pp fort eh excursion when I have to take a ferry or bus back from one of the main towns anyway if I did go on Royal's excursion is too much money .   I do agree with you that buses and public transportation isn't my preference while in port for 7 hours, but it is what it is. I'll just take my savings and spend it on the mini golf right by the dock. 🙂

 

Speaking of which, does anyone have any comments about that? Bermuda Fun Golf Dockyard?

 

 

I completely agree with you, one cruiser’s “justified extravagance” is another person’s justified savings, and only you can make the right decision for you

 

unfortunately, I have never been to the mini golf, so I can’t give any info there🤷‍♀️

[HardyVA]

A question to those who have used Quinton Bean...how would I get in touch with him?  I thought I had an email for him but apparently not.  

[njhorseman]

20 minutes ago, HardyVA said:

A question to those who have used Quinton Bean...how would I get in touch with him?  I thought I had an email for him but apparently not.  

It's in the Bermuda private guide thread where you asked about booking him in a Dec. 9  post. His email is in another post made just a few posts before yours. Just scroll to a few posts before yours.

Edited December 23, 2018 by njhorseman

[HardyVA]

49 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

It's in the Bermuda private guide thread where you asked about booking him in a Dec. 9  post. His email is in another post made just a few posts before yours. Just scroll to a few posts before yours.

Thanks very much.  

[HardyVA]

Where did Quinton Bean take you? For how  many hours did you book him?  Did he pick you up at Dockyard? And did he include St George? Hamilton?  

   We were thinking of doing St George ourselves?  

 

 

[elhenry]

8 hours ago, HardyVA said:

Where did Quinton Bean take you? For how  many hours did you book him?  Did he pick you up at Dockyard? And did he include St George? Hamilton?  

   We were thinking of doing St George ourselves?  

 

 

 

We booked Quinton for seven hours, on the day that we were in Bermuda overnight.

 

We did the "cram as much as you can into one day" tour. That may or may not be your idea of a good time.

 

He picked us up at the Dockyard. The scheduled stops were the Ft. Gibbs lighthouse, Ft. Scaur, Hamilton and St. George's. We like history, so the city stops were heavy on the churches and old buildings. We also stopped at a home to learn about rooftop collection of water, at a cemetery to learn how Bermudians inter those who have passed on, scenic views, famous people's houses, and three different beaches on the way back to scope out our options for the next day. Oh, and the tiny drawbridge and a small fish joint on the water with hoppin John and fish sandwiches.

 

Yes a full day, but this was our choice, Quinton kept asking, do you want to go here? Do you want to go there? Am I helping you see what you want to see?

 

It really will be what you make of it. 🙂

[HardyVA]

Thank you for the information.  I have him booked for 6 hours our first day.(we will be there for 3 days).  We have been to Bermuda three times in the past 4 years.  We have used ships excursions but thought we'd like a private.