Booking excursions outside the cruiseline??

[chrissyinct]

I've been reading about people who booked excursons outside of the cruiseline and how they saved money and how the experience was more enjoyable.

The boats were less packed and they got more of a personal experience.

I do have a few questions..

First i hear alot about tendering. At the risk of sounding stupid, what exactly is it? Exactly How does that work if you book an excursion outside the line?

How do you get your tickets? How do you get off the ship? are there any risks? How soon in advance should I book it?

Iv'e cruised before but never booked anything outside the cruiseline..

Thanks

Chrissy

Carnival Inspiration 4/06

[Bunkie103]

I've booked several excursions with private companies without any problem. On our Valor cruise in October we were concerned about the tendering issue, but it worked out fine. Most of the private companies know you have to contend with tendering in ports like Grand Cayman, Belize, to name a few and deal with it. We did our best to get on the tender line early and we were on shore in plenty of time to catch our excursion.

 

Most excursions are booked on line, some requiring a deposit and some not. Our ports were rotated several times due to a hurricaine, but the excursion companies kept me informed, in fact, better than Carnival did!:eek:

 

We like the idea of traveling with smaller groups. After hearing my son complain about his Princess excursion in Grand Cayman, I knew I would book privately.

 

Give it a try.:D

[flyrhatr]

Cruise ships cannot " dock" in all ports, they anchor out in deeper water, they use smaller boats to shuttle

passengers to the dock and to the ship.

[D4]

We only booked with the cruise line for our first few cruises. Then we started booking independent tours most of the time. It saves a lot of $ for our family of 4 and we usually feel like we get a better tour.

 

Things I consider are:

- how far away from the ship would we go?

- how much extra time do we expect to have before the ship leaves in case anything goes wrong?

- is the place dangerous? (ex: Colon, Panama - we stick with the ship's tours there)

- is our family splitting up? (We let our 15 & 18 year old go cave tubing in Belize while we went to the ruins. It was a tender port. We all took ship tours just to be safe. That's the only time we have taken different tours.)

[gatorclaw]

I would suggest doing a search for 'tendering' and I also recommend going to the port pages of the ports you'll be visiting and you should get some great information on local tour operators and after much research, you should be able to make an informed decision about wheather it's better to book something with the ship or with an outside vendor.

 

If doing research isn't your thing, it's probably best to just book with the ship to take all the hastle out of it. But if you're willing to put some effort in, I think you'll find private excursions to be very rewarding.

[silentbob007]

My first experience in booking independent tours in Belize almost turned disaster. About anything that could go wrong did, and we barely made the tender back to the boat. I stuck with the idea though, and in St. Martin and St. Thomas on my next cruise, the independent tours worked out fantastically. Soooo ... I guess my advice would be to prepare for the worst (ie, bring your passports always) and hope for the best ... and don't take independents on "short" port days.

[cruisecrazytoo]

Here is some additional food for thought... Our stop at Costa Maya was cut WAY short by the captain of the Liberty on 1-19-06. We were on a Carnival booked excursion busing about an hour away to a Mayan ruin. About 45 minutes down the road, the bus was stopped by a car and we turned around and went back to the pier. The sea had gotten rougher and an anchor rope had broke with fear there would be damage to the ship and pier. I think we were the last to get on the ship. So, what would have happened if we had gone off on a private excursion? Have not read the fine print. Thanks god Costa Maya is not overly developed with passengers spread out all over the place. I guess after 4 cruises, we continue to book excursions via Carnival for peace of mind or stay close by. The ship travel is the main attraction as far as we are concerned and we have no complaints about any of our past excursions. I am sure there are 'bad' private excursions. We consider the extra cost of Carnival booked excursions a small price to pay for some safety, security, and knowing we will not be left behind.

 

Carnival Sensation 2004

Carnival Glory 2005

Carnival Celebration 2005

Carnival Liberty 2006

[Binney]

"Tendering" means simply that the boat is too big to dock at the port, so you must take a smaller boat, or a "tender" into port. You will be tendered into port regardless of the excursion you choose if the port demands.

 

I prefer the cruise line excurison simply for the "peace of mind" that accompanies the tour. For example, if, in Costa Maya, the bus breaks down on the way back from the ruins, if it is a Carnival excursion the boat will wait. If it is not...who knows???

 

If we do not make it from the ship to the port that day due to weather, have I already paid an unaffiliated company for an excurion that will not be? If it is a Carnival excursion I know my account will be credited.

 

I know there is a commisssion from the local company to Carnival...but it is a guaranteed, no collections, payment. So, is that company better off....probably.

 

 

 

 

[Sharpy]

Do I ever have an experience to share on this topic!!!! We went on a ship booked excursion on Maui (Spirit/Oct 05), and believe me--they make mistakes too. We were misinformed of when to meet our bus after the aquarium tour, and the local tour operators were waiting for us. Told us we would have to get our own transportation back since every one else understood the time, and we were the only ones who missed the return bus. Well, sounds reasonable I suppose, until up walks a passenger they DIDN"T EVEN KNOW WAS MISSING FROM THE TOUR, to catch the bus at the same time we understood it was going to be there!!

I have never seen two "bosses" move so fast as to find us a taxi and pay for it so as to get us back to our ship!!

So, would I book excursions on board------Definitely!!

Would I be Very, Very Careful anyway--------Most Definitely!!