Mandatory ship excursions vs independent shore excursions a future possibility?

[Funbrit]

Has anyone heard what policies will be instated moving forward regarding shore excursions?
As a devotee of independent tours ashore I am just wondering how the cruise ships will manage protection of their passengers when going ashore? Are we going to see ship excursions as the only option for going ashore to maintain a covid free bubble?

 

[rkacruiser]

In the near term, yes.  I think that is most likely.  MSC is currently doing in Europe.  There may be other cruise lines operating in Asia or Europe are requiring as well.  I am not certain.

 

Long term?  I doubt it.  But, how long "near term" will be defined has yet to be determined.  

[Hlitner]

There is not a one size fits all answer as policies are (and will) vary depending on the cruise line and itinerary.  For example, while some cruise lines are insisting that passengers much take excursions to get off a ship, Seabourn has told me that they have Greek government permission for their passengers to go ashore on their own in Greek ports (they have cruises starting in July).  

 

My advice is that if you are seriously thinking about booking a cruise where you are committing non-refundable money, you should give the cruise line a phone call and ask the latest info on going ashore.  But you need to be understand that if you are booking something more then a few weeks in advance, the policy could very well change by the cruise date.

 

Hank

[wowzz]

The cruises starting in the UK this summer are cruise operated only. You cannot leave the ship unless you are on an organised excursion. 

Why? No idea!

[c-boy]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

In the near term, yes.  I think that is most likely.  MSC is currently doing in Europe.  There may be other cruise lines operating in Asia or Europe are requiring as well.  I am not certain.

 

Long term?  I doubt it.  But, how long "near term" will be defined has yet to be determined.  

good points. I'm confident in modern pharmaceutical research and developments . 

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, Funbrit said:

Has anyone heard what policies will be instated moving forward regarding shore excursions?
As a devotee of independent tours ashore I am just wondering how the cruise ships will manage protection of their passengers when going ashore? Are we going to see ship excursions as the only option for going ashore to maintain a covid free bubble?

 

In all our years of cruising we never did independent tours.

[clo]

5 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

In all our years of cruising we never did independent tours.

And we've never the ship ones. This could be a deal breaker but the only one we've booked could still be doable. But that's going to depend on the tour prices. I have over a year to cancel for refund of deposit.

[getting older slowly]

It is depends on the country one is visiting.... they will call the shots....

 

So whatever they decide is it.......

[Honolulu Blue]

14 hours ago, Funbrit said:

Has anyone heard what policies will be instated moving forward regarding shore excursions?
As a devotee of independent tours ashore I am just wondering how the cruise ships will manage protection of their passengers when going ashore? Are we going to see ship excursions as the only option for going ashore to maintain a covid free bubble?

 

Hank told us about Seabourn and Greece (thanks for that).  The only other one I know of with independent exploring allowed is Crystal's voyages from the Bahamas.  I think cruise ship excursion bubbles will be the trend for a while, at least until (a) vaccinated cruisers as a group are trusted to NOT bring disease into the country, and/or (b) disease counts worldwide drop to lower levels.

[kazu]

9 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

In all our years of cruising we never did independent tours.

 

9 hours ago, clo said:

And we've never the ship ones. This could be a deal breaker but the only one we've booked could still be doable. But that's going to depend on the tour prices. I have over a year to cancel for refund of deposit.

 

I’ve done some ship excursions but it is rare, like clo I much prefer independent.

 

One thing that concerns me, IF the only way you can get off the ship is on a ship’s excursion that means that you can’t spend any time in the port on your own.  No sitting in a cafe, no wandering streets or exploring.

Once your shore excursion is over, you are stuck on the ship looking at the port you can’t enjoy.  

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, clo said:

And we've never the ship ones. This could be a deal breaker but the only one we've booked could still be doable. But that's going to depend on the tour prices. I have over a year to cancel for refund of deposit.

One should not rule out any choices. Sometimes ship excursions can be the way to go.

 

Two examples of ship excursions we have taken that were just wonderful.

 

The Bob Marley bus in Ochos Rios Jamaica. Just a blast, and you get to see part of the country that tourists do not usually see.

 

The ship excursion from Dover back to Heathrow airport including a stop in Canterbury. Nice trip and a wonderful guide. You also did NOT have that feeling the vacation was over even though you just left the ship. This was especially true as we knew some of the other passengers who had been on our roll call.

 

We had already booked something quite similar on our cruise that did not happen last summer, Southampton back to Heathrow with a stop in Stonehenge.

[BoozinCroozin]

It is ridiculous not to allow independent shore excursions. It is crazy that the cruise lines charge $125 for the same excursion that is $50. I've looked at a few things I want to do when we do cruise and one of them is West Bay in Roatan. The cruise lines are charging $50-$60pp. I can get private service for $25-$30 per person. Another one is a power cat in St Maarten. It is $150-$175 for 4 hours lunch and one 30 minute snorkel. The one we want to take is $125 for 6 hours. 3 snorkel stops, lunch, Majo beach, etc. It is ridiculous to think that cruise line only excursions are the only option.

[ATC cruiser]

It’s not so much the price difference between a private excursion and a shipboard excursion that will be the deal breaker, it will be not being able to spend time in port, either shopping or having lunch. We tend not to take full day excursions so we can spend a few hours on our own. 

[babs135]

Not being able to do our own thing is probably a deal breaker for us. Can't stand the thought of being told you only have an hour here and thirty minutes there, etc.  But equally we have done some very good ship trips. 

Wonder what they would do in a case that happened to us a few years ago. We were supposed to be calling into Bermuda (out of the UK) but the weather was so bad the captain made the decision to cancel and instead we ported in the Azores.  Obviously there were no excursions arranged and everyone disembarked free to do their own thing.  

If this was today I'm assuming that we wouldn't be allowed off the ship?

 

[Joebucks]

2 minutes ago, babs135 said:

Not being able to do our own thing is probably a deal breaker for us. Can't stand the thought of being told you only have an hour here and thirty minutes there, etc.  But equally we have done some very good ship trips. 

Wonder what they would do in a case that happened to us a few years ago. We were supposed to be calling into Bermuda (out of the UK) but the weather was so bad the captain made the decision to cancel and instead we ported in the Azores.  Obviously there were no excursions arranged and everyone disembarked free to do their own thing.  

If this was today I'm assuming that we wouldn't be allowed off the ship?

 

 

This is a big deal-breaker for many. For as many people who say "safety this, or reasonable that" a lot of these proposed measures are a huge-turn off to many people. This would probably be the biggest deal-breaker for me. The freedom to do what you want at a port is one of the best parts of a cruise. To be told you have to spend X money, to work on a schedule, and do what is preplanned for you, in the name of safety? You can go shove that bs.

[1980dory]

12 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

In all our years of cruising we never did independent tours.

In all our years of cruising we ALWAYS do independent tours.  We don't buy into the scare tactic that the cruise ship will not  leave if we don't make it back in time.

The independent tour operators would very soon be out of business if they did not get you back in time.  Many will offer guarantees and if they fail, they will pay the costs to get you to the next port.  Additionally, the independents are usually less crowded, more flexible, more personalized, and far cheaper that the cruise line offerings.

There are many very reputable independents available for those who want to do the research.

[cruisemom42]

56 minutes ago, babs135 said:

Not being able to do our own thing is probably a deal breaker for us. Can't stand the thought of being told you only have an hour here and thirty minutes there, etc.  But equally we have done some very good ship trips. 

Wonder what they would do in a case that happened to us a few years ago. We were supposed to be calling into Bermuda (out of the UK) but the weather was so bad the captain made the decision to cancel and instead we ported in the Azores.  Obviously there were no excursions arranged and everyone disembarked free to do their own thing.  

If this was today I'm assuming that we wouldn't be allowed off the ship?

 

 

In the immediate future (e.g., starting up operations) I doubt it would be possible for them to even substitute one port for another as there seems to be a fair amount of negotiation regarding acceptance of cruise passengers. You'd probably just end up with another sea day.

 

 

[clo]

4 hours ago, kazu said:

 No sitting in a cafe, no wandering streets or exploring.

Exactly. We often find we'd rather do that than visit churches, museums, etc.

[lenquixote66]

14 hours ago, clo said:

And we've never the ship ones. This could be a deal breaker but the only one we've booked could still be doable. But that's going to depend on the tour prices. I have over a year to cancel for refund of deposit.

I accept that I am in the minority.

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

Once your shore excursion is over, you are stuck on the ship looking at the port you can’t enjoy.

 

Indeed -- put that way it's a pretty unappealing prospect. 

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

 

I’ve done some ship excursions but it is rare, like clo I much prefer independent.

 

One thing that concerns me, IF the only way you can get off the ship is on a ship’s excursion that means that you can’t spend any time in the port on your own.  No sitting in a cafe, no wandering streets or exploring.

Once your shore excursion is over, you are stuck on the ship looking at the port you can’t enjoy.  

I have not physically been able to do an excursion since 2018.I was referring to when I was not disabled.

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, 1980dory said:

In all our years of cruising we ALWAYS do independent tours.  We don't buy into the scare tactic that the cruise ship will not  leave if we don't make it back in time.

The independent tour operators would very soon be out of business if they did not get you back in time.  Many will offer guarantees and if they fail, they will pay the costs to get you to the next port.  Additionally, the independents are usually less crowded, more flexible, more personalized, and far cheaper that the cruise line offerings.

There are many very reputable independents available for those who want to do the research.

In 1973 when there was no such thing as shore excursions my wife and I went off to sight see and after awhile realized that the ship was due to sail in 45 minutes.We hitchhiked back to the port only to see the ship just about to leave.

[1980dory]

59 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I accept that I am in the minority.

Lenny:

To each his own.  You don't have to defend your choices to anyone and no one can say that their way is the only right way.  It's your money and your choice how you spend it.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Exactly. We often find we'd rather do that than visit churches, museums, etc.

Not only can you not choose what/where you want to do, group tours are generally bogged down by the dawdlers and the self-absorbed who severely limit everyone else's ability to enjoy what there is to enjoy. And, they frequently involve "shopping opportunities".

[lenquixote66]

15 minutes ago, 1980dory said:

Lenny:

To each his own.  You don't have to defend your choices to anyone and no one can say that their way is the only right way.  It's your money and your choice how you spend it.

Thank you