Non Cruise Line Excursions. Too Risky?

[DarrenM]

Can I ask why it would bother anyone if the cruise departure was delayed a few minutes because other passengers were late?

 

I just love chillin on the pool deck regardless of whether the ship is in port or 200 yards out to sea.

 

So it leaves late. Who cares? And why?

[d9704011]

9 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

Can I ask why it would bother anyone if the cruise departure was delayed a few minutes because other passengers were late?

 

I just love chillin on the pool deck regardless of whether the ship is in port or 200 yards out to sea.

 

So it leaves late. Who cares? And why?

How much is ‘a few minutes’ and how would the Captain know that the passengers will arrive within that time frame?

 

BTW, I often take private excursions but so far have not been late to return to ship.

Edited August 6, 2019 by d9704011
add BTW

[Aquahound]

2 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

 First, it’s not guaranteed the ship will even wait for them.  

 

That's the key statement right there.  People seem to have a false sense of security that the ship will wait for a late excursion booked through the line.  Will they?  Yeah, probably.  But how long?  The truth is, the only thing that's guaranteed is its the cruise line's responsibility to cover your transportation and lodging.  Nowhere does it say the ship has to wait. 

[DarrenM]

Ok. Who cares if it's an hour late leaving?

 

And why?

 

Surely it cant be because some are so pompous that even the ship leaving late offends them?

 

Let's be brutally honest here.

 

The ship leaving late has absolutely no effect whatsoever on what folk do on the ship. It doesn't alter your dining time. It doesn't make the shows late. It doesn't shut the bars. And it doesn't stop you sun bathing 

 

What on earth is the problem?

[d9704011]

Ships typically leave port at a certain time for operational reasons; availability of pilots, tides, other ship arrivals/departures, transit time to next port of call, etc....

 

 

[akcruz]

21 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

Ok. Who cares if it's an hour late leaving?

 

And why?

 

Surely it cant be because some are so pompous that even the ship leaving late offends them?

 

Let's be brutally honest here.

 

The ship leaving late has absolutely no effect whatsoever on what folk do on the ship. It doesn't alter your dining time. It doesn't make the shows late. It doesn't shut the bars. And it doesn't stop you sun bathing 

 

What on earth is the problem?

 

Depending on how far away the next port is leaving late could impact arrival at that port impacting their day there.  That's the big thing that comes to my mind.

[cruisemom42]

45 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

That's the key statement right there.  People seem to have a false sense of security that the ship will wait for a late excursion booked through the line.  Will they?  Yeah, probably.  But how long?  The truth is, the only thing that's guaranteed is its the cruise line's responsibility to cover your transportation and lodging.  Nowhere does it say the ship has to wait. 

 

Actually that's not quite true. For example, I found this statement in Princess' FAQ page on Shore Excursions:

 

"One very important feature of taking an excursion organized by Princess is that we closely monitor the departures and returns of all excursions. Therefore, our ships do not sail until all of our organized excursion transportation has returned, so you can be assured that you won't miss the ship."

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/excursions.jsp

 

And from Azamara:

 

Why book shore excursions with Azamara?  Peace of mind. If your tour is delayed, the ship will wait.

 

https://www.azamara.com/es/shore-excursions

 

 

Edited August 6, 2019 by cruisemom42

[Aquahound]

20 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Actually that's not quite true. For example, I found this statement in Princess' FAQ page on Shore Excursions:

 

"One very important feature of taking an excursion organized by Princess is that we closely monitor the departures and returns of all excursions. Therefore, our ships do not sail until all of our organized excursion transportation has returned, so you can be assured that you won't miss the ship."

 

There was an example above of Princess not waiting.  What a cruise line says in a FAQ and what actually happens can be quite different. 

[cruisemom42]

Just now, Aquahound said:

 

There was an example above of Princess not waiting.  What a cruise line says in a FAQ and what actually happens can be quite different. 

 

I understand that and have been saying the same. My point to you is that it is actually easy to understand why cruisers are confused about it, because cruise lines cultivate the idea themselves.

[Daniel A]

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 9:22 AM, akcruz said:

I am not sure why you are fighting so hard to put down those who choose to do something besides a ship tour when in port.  If you, or your wife, are not comfortable with it no problem. 

 

No fighting or putting others down here.  I appreciate that there are many options for people to enjoy their cruise.  Just because something isn't a good fit for us doesn't mean it's a bad choice for others.  We all enjoy various experiences when we cruise.  I don't know where you got the impression that I was fighting or putting others down.  I certainly wasn't.  If you are referencing my question to ducklite about the rental car, I was genuinely interested in hearing what kind of alternative options would be available.  I also wrote to ducklite that their plans sounded like a great time.  If you are referencing my comment about the late returns or no returns, I made that comment because I sensed a cavalier attitude about retuning late to the ship.  I just wanted to remind posters that when somebody arrives late to the ship or not at all and the ship waits for them, they are inconveniencing a couple of thousand other people by making them wait.  I'm not fighting with anybody or putting anybody down.  We all enjoy our vacations in different ways. 

[Daniel A]

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 12:31 PM, DarrenM said:

Ok. Who cares if it's an hour late leaving?

And why?

Surely it cant be because some are so pompous that even the ship leaving late offends them?

Let's be brutally honest here.

The ship leaving late has absolutely no effect whatsoever on what folk do on the ship. It doesn't alter your dining time. It doesn't make the shows late. It doesn't shut the bars. And it doesn't stop you sun bathing 

What on earth is the problem?

 

[mom says]

On 8/6/2019 at 12:31 PM, DarrenM said:

Blah, blah, blah....

The ship leaving late has absolutely no effect whatsoever on what folk do on the ship. It doesn't alter your dining time. It doesn't make the shows late. It doesn't shut the bars. And it doesn't stop you sun bathing 

 

What on earth is the problem?

The ship incurs added costs from port fees. Pilots are booked for specific times- changing the departure times can screw with their schedules.  Some ports are very busy, and entry/exits have to be scheduled, not unlike airport landings and departures. Tides can be a factor in some ports. Distance to the next port is also a factor- not just in time, but in extra costs if they have to ramp up their speeds to make the next port on time. So yes, delays caused by tardy returns can be a problem. But you go ahead, relax, and let the bridge crew worry about it. 

[ducklite]

On 8/6/2019 at 12:31 PM, DarrenM said:

Ok. Who cares if it's an hour late leaving?

 

And why?

 

Surely it cant be because some are so pompous that even the ship leaving late offends them?

 

Let's be brutally honest here.

 

The ship leaving late has absolutely no effect whatsoever on what folk do on the ship. It doesn't alter your dining time. It doesn't make the shows late. It doesn't shut the bars. And it doesn't stop you sun bathing 

 

What on earth is the problem?

 

I care, because sometimes that hour can't be made up and I don't want to lose an hour in the next port (or potentially miss a flight) because of people who don't have the courtesy to be on time.  As my father used to say, their lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part.

[CPT Trips]

On August 7, 2019 at 8:57 PM, mom says said:

The ship incurs added costs from port fees. Pilots are booked for specific times- changing the departure times can screw with their schedules.  Some ports are very busy, and entry/exits have to be scheduled, not unlike airport landings and departures. Tides can be a factor in some ports. Distance to the next port is also a factor- not just in time, but in extra costs if they have to ramp up their speeds to make the next port on time. So yes, delays caused by tardy returns can be a problem. But you go ahead, relax, and let the bridge crew worry about it. 

 

On August 6, 2019 at 1:38 PM, Aquahound said:

 

There was an example above of Princess not waiting.  What a cruise line says in a FAQ and what actually happens can be quite different. 

 

Well Mom, do you think that when one of the scenarios you suggest actually comes in to play that the bridge crew will decide to do what's best for the ship and cruise regardless of what is writing in some FAQ?

[GottaKnowWhen]

On 8/4/2019 at 3:02 AM, LindaMG said:

....  But is it too risky to book through an independent company.

No. No viable operation will risk its reputation and future business by bringing their clients back late.

[Daniel A]

10 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Well Mom, do you think that when one of the scenarios you suggest actually comes in to play that the bridge crew will decide to do what's best for the ship and cruise regardless of what is writing in some FAQ?

There is a difference here.  In one instance, Princess is committed to honoring what they advertised on their website, so they would need to absorb the added expense in order to keep their word to their excursion customers.  In the other instance, individual late arrivals are causing the added expense for the cruise line because of their lack of responsibility.  BTW, it's not "some FAQ" it's their FAQ...

[Daniel A]

9 hours ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

No. No viable operation will risk its reputation and future business by bringing their clients back late.

I agree completely.  Earlier, I suggested that cruisers may want to check on prior customer experiences by looking on TripAdvisor for reviews of the independent tours.  What may be of help here is for experienced customers of the independents to offer information on how to research the reputations of the independents.

[austenfiend]

I booked an independent tour when we were in Costa Rica a few years ago.  My husband is still giving me grief about it!  Just wasn't a good tour  Other than that, we've stuck with the ship excursions, but I've got to be honest, I've been somewhat disappointed with each excursion (especially for the price!).  We're cruising Europe/TA next month and I've booked all independent excursions, based on recommendations from seasoned travelers here on CC.  They have given me recommendations on what we should see in certain ports, as well as the best tour companies to book with.  My husband is a nervous wreck about this (what if we miss the boat?), but especially on this cruise, the ship excursions were WAY overpriced for what you got.  The ones that I find most amusing - "(insert city here) On Your Own" - that means at least $60 per person to take a bus to a town where they drop you off for the day, all because they ports they are going to aren't really near anything.  Better to take a taxi or use an outside company, I say.

[ducklite]

5 minutes ago, austenfiend said:

I booked an independent tour when we were in Costa Rica a few years ago.  My husband is still giving me grief about it!  Just wasn't a good tour  Other than that, we've stuck with the ship excursions, but I've got to be honest, I've been somewhat disappointed with each excursion (especially for the price!).  We're cruising Europe/TA next month and I've booked all independent excursions, based on recommendations from seasoned travelers here on CC.  They have given me recommendations on what we should see in certain ports, as well as the best tour companies to book with.  My husband is a nervous wreck about this (what if we miss the boat?), but especially on this cruise, the ship excursions were WAY overpriced for what you got.  The ones that I find most amusing - "(insert city here) On Your Own" - that means at least $60 per person to take a bus to a town where they drop you off for the day, all because they ports they are going to aren't really near anything.  Better to take a taxi or use an outside company, I say.

 

The ones that really crack me up are on Santorini.  For the cost of the gondola (I want to think about $5 per person return but it's been a while so not positive) and the equivalent of about $3 US pp return you can take the "city bus" which is actually a pleasant coach from Fira to Oia, have a poke around, have a meal, do a little shopping and then return to Fira for under $20 total--the cruise lines charge $60 pp for the same "shore excursion." 

[slidergirl]

It's a person's level of comfort that is important.  Those of us who do it ourselves or book private excursions instead of those ship's excursions are fully aware that, if something goes sideways, it is up to us to either make it to the next port to re-board or whatever else needs to be done.  Me - I'm fully comfortable with that.  I always DIY unless it is someplace where you must go with a guide or group.  I have rented cars, I've taken public transportation, whatever.  So far (knock on wood), I have been back in plenty of time.  

[LindaMG]

Well after much thought I have decided not to book anything at all.  I was only going to book a tour because I thought I should do something 'touristy'.  Whale watching seemed the obvious but I live on the Sunshine Coast of Australia and have whales migrating just off shore for 6 months of the year.  We can book a tour for 2 adults and our 2 grandchildren for less than the cost of just me going out from Juneau, especially with the terrible exchange rate that is getting worse by the day.  So I am going to do something I can't do at home.  I am going to try and get into the Sanctuary and just totally chill out, then wander into town for a coffee and some retail therapy.

Edited August 10, 2019 by LindaMG

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, LindaMG said:

, justWell after much thought I have decided not to book anything at all.  I was only going to book a tour because I thought I should do something 'touristy'.  Whale watching seemed the obvious but I live on the Sunshine Coast of Australia and have whales migrating just off shore for 6 months of the year.  We can book a tour for 2 adults and our 2 grandchildren for less than the cost of just me going out from Juneau, especially with the terrible exchange rate that is getting worse by the day.  So I am going to do something I can't do at home.  I am going to try and get into the Sanctuary and just totally chill out, then wander into town for a coffee and some retail therapy.

I hope that works well for you.

 

As per most of the posts that answered your original question, you should now know that it is not a great risk. But of course that does not mean you should not do what you have just proposed.

[DarrenM]

On 8/8/2019 at 1:57 AM, mom says said:

The ship incurs added costs from port fees. Pilots are booked for specific times- changing the departure times can screw with their schedules.  Some ports are very busy, and entry/exits have to be scheduled, not unlike airport landings and departures. Tides can be a factor in some ports. Distance to the next port is also a factor- not just in time, but in extra costs if they have to ramp up their speeds to make the next port on time. So yes, delays caused by tardy returns can be a problem. But you go ahead, relax, and let the bridge crew worry about it. 

Well that's exactly the point isn't it. I do let the crew worry about as it's their job. If the ship NEEDED to depart, it would. 

 

Oh and I we all know ships can go a little faster if they need to.

 

Ask the CEO of celebrity who managed to get our ship into Palma 4 hours earlier than scheduled as she needed to catch a flight.

 

The ones who shouldn't be worried about it are the passengers.

 

A point you plainly seem to not understand.