Shore excursion question from inexperienced cruiser

[jwnyc]

Hi folks!

Is it better to book shore excursions independently (e.g., via TripAdvisor) or through the ship? Which will get me the most options and the best price?

I'm doing a 7-day Norwegian Fjord cruise in mid-August 2022 on Queen Victoria.

Thank you so much in advance!

[John Bull]

Most folk on Cruise Critic are experienced cruisers and tend to avoid ships' excursions for a number of reasons. Poor value, herded like sheep, ship's choice of sights & schedules rather than your own, often an un-wanted stop at a workshop or outlet (anything from diamonds to big stone ornaments) that gives them a bung or commission on sales.

But sometimes even experienced cruisers use ships' tours because of distance from port, poor local transportation, tight timings, unreliable tour operators, etc. And the generally-true but over-hyped "if you're on one of our excursions the ship won't leave without you".

 

The likes of Viator and bookings thro TripAdvisor aren't tour operators, they're consilidators - they sell operators' excursions worldwide.  Their staff generally can't tell you more about the excursion than what's on their website. Booking direct with the operators is almost-always cheaper, though not always by a large margin because as well as the margin that they add they get bulk discounts.

And sometimes it's reassuring that your money is safe (they always want payment with booking, altho many independently-booked tour operators don't) because they have their reputation to keep and will more-readily provide a refund than an operator.

 

Regardless of whether you book direct or thro an agency, book only excursions that are specifically for cruisers. If everyone else on the tour is staying in a local hotel it's no big deal if the tour gets back late 😮.

 

In the Caribbean its easy to wing-it with taxis & vans at the port, in Europe you need to research & pre-book tours, or know the timings, reliability, etc of local transportation.

 

As a newbie its probably best to play safe, bite the bullet, and book thro the ship at most ports.

But before you do, check out posts on Cruise Critic's Northern Europe board, & ask questions on there.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/

And book an independent tour in a port or two, and mebbe do your own thing in another port or two - either within walking distance or using public transport.

 

JB 🙂

[jwnyc]

Thank you John Bull! So helpful!

[hallasm]

Norway is an easy for ‘Do It Yourself’ - list your itinerary and I can provide you with some guidelines.

 

in the meantime you can find more information here

Or in the Northern Europe and Baltic Sea forum 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/

[Flatbush Flyer]

26 minutes ago, jwnyc said:

Thank you John Bull! So helpful!

Well - mostly helpful BUT:

 

If you are an “inexperienced” cruiser, you may want to limit how much you “independent” activities you do until you’ve got your “sea legs.”

 

That said, which ship and which ship’s tours can make a big difference in the quality of the offerings. In addition (I have no idea which cruise company is Queen Victoria), some cruise lines include a selection of “no extra charge” excursions (or discounted tour packages) and do not use big buses (except for the occasional panoramic tours) or poor quality guides. 
 

Another consideration is the time and energy it takes to do the research required to make good private tour choices. Using CC and Trip Advisor is a decent start to develop a “short list” of providers for any particular tour. For some locations, one particular company may rise quickly to the top of the pile (for example, Maohe Nui in Bora Bora). But, one thing’s for sure: IMO, don’t get lazy here by doing no research and then picking someone holding a sign on the pier. Some countries have licensing requirements for tour guides and many of the pier folks are not that. 

And speaking of that necessary research: it takes time! We do about 75 to 100+\- nights on ships annually. When looking at the true cost of ship vs private tours, note the value of your time/effort in your value calculations. If nothing else, ship tours are convenient.

 

However, do not buy the BS about ship’s ALWAYS “waiting for you” if their tour runs late. Certainly ships will make every effort to delay departure for their own late tours. But, “time and tide wait for no man.” There are conditions where a ship in some ports have no option to wait much longer than a “drop dead” departure time. Read your T&Cs and Ticket Contract. When it comes to tours, what the bottom line ship’s guarantee says is that, if it leaves without you, the company will pay your expenses to get to the next port (and provide arrangements via the Port Agent). Hopefully, there’s not several sea days until then. BTW, read those same docs regarding what is provided by the cruise line should a flight you booked through them be delayed or canceled. Again, the ship doesn’t necessarily wait (unless perhaps it’s their charter flight) and the cruise line only sells tix and assists with rebooking if a problem arises. They will NOT cover your costs for “trip interruption.”

 

With the understanding that our situation of multiple cruise segments each year may be unusual for the average cruiser, our strategy is to mix ship and private tours (taking full advantage of our preferred line’s included tour package as well as our own research).
 

And, because we prefer one way cruises that start and end in interesting new (or favorite) locations, we always build in land stays at each end and do the research to find a tour company that will package transfers (airport to hotel and hotel to cruise terminal) into the deal.

 

For example, our upcoming cruise leaves from Stockholm (was supposed to be Cape Town but that’s a whole other Covid era discussion). Not only did we have to toss all our preplanning for the original itinerary, we also had reduced time for the new itinerary planning.

 

And, for Stockholm, we’ve found a well respected company that will pick us up at ARN for hotel transfer, do a full day semi-private (max 7 people) Stockholm tour and then deliver us to the ship (no extra charge) on embarkation day.

 

At the other end of this 5 week cruise is NYC where, although I am a native (though now living in SF). We need no guide there. But we still prearrange private transfers to hotel and to EWR several days later.

 

OP: Enjoy what may become your new passion!

 

 

[matamanoa]

You can also join in your roll call for your cruise itinerary and ship.  That way, you can get to know some of your fellow passengers and perhaps glean information about what types of tours they are taking and ask to join some smaller groups taking private tours.  For a first time cruiser though I would recommend taking the ship's tours to be on the safe side.

[Blondilu]

I like to do a combination of private tours, ship's tour and on my own.

 

Private tours can be awesome.  However, they are not necessarily less expensive.  Some are sold by the vehicle.  If you book one like this you pay for the whole thing and it would be up to you to fill the other seats and collect money from the other folks.  I don't like to do that so I budget accordingly and usually only take one tour like that per cruise.

 

Other tours are booked by the seat.  And you will either be on a great big bus just like the cruise line uses or a smaller vehicle with limited passengers.  You have to read the info to see which it is.  Rather than go to any particular website what I do is Google "cruise excursions" in whatever port I'm going to be in.  All kinds of things will pop up.  Just be sure and read everything and call or e-mail them if you have questions.  I personally like the smaller, sometimes quirky little tours.  If Google isn't helpful come back here for suggestions.  

 

On your own is great, and probably my favorite.  But as has been stated it requires research.  For instance I bought tickets to the Titanic Museum in Belfast.  And in another port tickets to the Blarney Castle.  Next question is how was I going to get there.  Is it walkable?  Are there taxis or buses, etc.  Are you comfortable with that kind of transportation?  Can you manage the time on your own?  Sometimes the ship will have a shuttle.  Sometimes the locals will provide one.  But, remember, you and you alone need to make sure you get back to the ship on time.  Cruise Critic is a great resource for logistics for these kind of outings.  Someone is going to be able to offer advice (sometimes in great detail) on how to get from one place to another.  In Boston I took very detailed advice of someone here.  Turned out nearly perfect.  But, I screwed up on securing transportation back to the ship.  The 1st plan fell through and I didn't have a back up.  We were about 2 miles from the port and pretty walked out.  I couldn't find a cab anywhere.  I spotted a hop-on hop-off bus nearby.  The driver told me they were on their last stop and heading back to the port.  They generously let us hitch a ride.  

 

I actually have really enjoyed certain tours booked through the cruise line.  Again, I read the description very carefully.  Because while some have been great others have been pretty lame.  My favorite are those who tranport you to a site, have a knowledgeable guide on board, but one who lets you wander off on your own after telling you what time to return.  

[hallux]

And the MOST important thing to keep in mind if you're not on a ship-booked excursion is KNOW YOUR TIMES.  Have a time device in sync with the ship's time (sometimes it's different from port time, do NOT rely on a cell phone that can automatically update the time on you) and know what time all-aboard is so you can be sure to be there on time. 

 

Someone on the NCL forum did a self-guided day in Nassau recently, and based their timing on what their previous experience in the port was for all-aboard.  They were wrong, it was earlier and they got to watch their ship sail off while they were having some final drinks at a bar near the port.  The cruise lines generally post those times on the dailies AND on a sign as you exit the ship - pay attention to those!

 

I actually did all 3 options on my Mexican Riviera trip.  I did a cruise line excursion in Puerto Vallarta (big bus that seats 40-60 people), self-guided in Mazatlan (probably the best day of the 3) and privately-booked in Cabo, maybe 10 people including the 3 in my party.

[hallasm]

OP’s question is related to a 7-day Norwegian Fjord cruise in mid-August 2022 - might be useful with information to independent tours related to Norwegian ports - might be very different from ports in other parts of the world.

[Essiesmom]

Since Queen Victoria is one of the current three ships of Cunard Line, I suggest you ask on the Cunard board here.  And has been suggested somewhere above, see if there is a roll call for your sailing.  That’s where you can pick the brains of other CC members sailing with you.  EM

[DenaInWyo]

Thank you to the experienced cruisers pointing out that "the ship will always wait for you" isn't exactly the truth.  The other part of that truth is that if you are on a popular independent tour with 20 other people from your ship, they are just as likely to wait for you as one of their own excursions if you are in contact with the ship.  They DO NOT want the bad press of leaving people behind.  The ONLY difference is whether or not they pay to get you back to where you need to be.  At the end of the day, as pointed out, there is only so long they can wait for ANYone, ship tour or not.  I've long since given up on arguing with anyone on this point though.  It's a waste of time.

 

(I get really tired of the ol' "they HAVE to wait for you" baloney)

Edited April 16, 2022 by DenaInWyo