Has anyone missed the ship while on a private tour?

[CGinMTL]

I look at the number of moving parts. My example is always 

A. Tullum from cozumel , take ship tour

B. Walking tour in quebec city. Please,  do on your own. 

 

Agreed,  have had only 2 bad private tours. In over 100.

One, the cc organizer was too plan. She gave the group a meeting time on the pier of 1hr earlier.  Ex. She told us 9. But the guide and herself showed up at 10. As responsible people are 15 to 30 min early.  That set the tone for the day.

The 2nd. Was Berlin. We knew it was not going to be good when the guide started by saying this was his job to pay for university,  he had just graduated and we were his last group.

We were not late back. He rushed everything,  drove way too fast. And were back 3 hrs earlier. 

[Mum2Mercury]

On 7/7/2022 at 7:23 AM, Wendy-Europe said:

Oh no - the pier runners are real - no one has to fake that! ... 

Oh, sure they're real -- but they aren't nearly as numerous as first-time cruisers fear or You Tube suggests.

On 7/8/2022 at 10:51 AM, cruiserking said:

The best perk of booking a cruise sponsored excursion is the ship waits for you.

But the cost of that "safety" is a mediocre experience with a big crowd.  The money is secondary.

 

Independent choices are so much better -- and as long as you use reasonable caution, you're not really in danger of being left behind.  Know what time the ship will sail, understand ship's time vs. island time, keep your group together, don't drink heavily, and have a Plan B in case things go wrong (for example, cash for a taxi).  

 

Exception:  If you're going to do an all-day excursion that requires extensive transportation, it might be good to accept that you need to use the ship's excursions.  The ruins-trips in Mexico come to mind. 

[Mum2Mercury]

14 minutes ago, CGinMTL said:

I look at the number of moving parts. My example is always 

A. Tullum from cozumel , take ship tour

B. Walking tour in quebec city. Please,  do on your own. 

Reasonable. 

 

Tullum from Cozumel requires traversing the town, a ferry trip, then a lengthy bus trip to the ruins ... and all of that in reverse, in a Spanish-speaking country.  Plenty can go wrong with all those "moving parts".  

 

On the other hand, I don't get why people pay for a ship's excursion beach day.  Why not take a taxi to the beach and return on your own schedule?  

Edited July 10, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[Markanddonna]

This discussion prompted me to wonder if some of the inferior private excursions were not properly researched. For example, if I ask on a CC board for a recommendation for a tour guide, and some random poster reports "We had a great guy named Bob who gave us a great tour. Here's his number," I don't consider that a great recommendation. We all suspect that "Bob" probably posted the info himself. I like that I can research tour companies online. You can't do that for companies used for ship shore excursions.

 

[donaldsc]

This is a 2nd hand story and not exactly to the topic but it is too good not to post.  I can verify that the person whom told it to us is a friend and does a lot of cruising.  I am assuming that it is true.

 

You are on a cruise departing Florida with stops in the Caribbean and then on Europe.  At the last Caribbean port before Europe you go to the beach.  All you have is your beach clothes.  You don't have your passport, credit card or cell phone and minimal money.  You get back to the ship late and it is gone - next stop Europe.  According to our friends they managed to sort things out and did reconnect with the ship in Europe.  

 

Can you imagine the feelings that they had when they got back to the port.

 

DON

[wcook]

7 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I agree about the close ports in the Med. You could easily take a train if you miss.

 
Unless you are in Malta 🙂

[Hlitner]

18 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

This is a 2nd hand story and not exactly to the topic but it is too good not to post.  I can verify that the person whom told it to us is a friend and does a lot of cruising.  I am assuming that it is true.

 

You are on a cruise departing Florida with stops in the Caribbean and then on Europe.  At the last Caribbean port before Europe you go to the beach.  All you have is your beach clothes.  You don't have your passport, credit card or cell phone and minimal money.  You get back to the ship late and it is gone - next stop Europe.  According to our friends they managed to sort things out and did reconnect with the ship in Europe.  

 

Can you imagine the feelings that they had when they got back to the port.

 

DON

There is no accounting for "stupid!"  Why were they late?  When you go off on your own (which have been doing for over 55 years, you need to use some degree of common sense and get yourself back to within walking distance of the ship (or tender) with lots of extra time.    I would imagine those folks could also get separated and lost when on a cruise line excursion and get left behind.  And by the way, those that think you are absolutely safe when you take a ship excursion are wrong.  In fact, we know of two couples who missed the ship on one of our cruises (it happened to them on Malta) when they separated themselves from their cruise line excursion (in Mdina) and then decided to take their time at a cafe.  Their excursion leader waited about 30 min for those couples (I am sure the others on that excursion were happy) and finally had to return to the port because the ship was due to depart.  Our Captain departed on time and those couples found their way to Messina (at their own expense) where they rejoined the ship the following day.

 

So I will repeat, there is no accounting for stupid!  And some folks are simply idiots who also lack common sense.   The reality is that reputable private tour operators will get you back to the ship on time with very rare exceptions.  And independent travelers (that would be me) will also get back to the ship in plenty of time with very rare exceptions.  Idiots, on the other hand, will somehow find a way to miss a ship, be a pier runner, etc.

 

Just a hint for any cruiser.  When you go ashore, make sure you have the information on how to contact the ship's Port Agent (this is usually listed in the port information or daily schedule).  These days we also like to quietly ask, at Guest Relations, if there is a phone number to call the ship.  The truth is that every ship can be reached by phone but some refuse to give out a phone number and want you to use their agents.   Cruise lines also have emergency numbers  (usually in your pre-cruise documents) and it is a good idea to put that into your phone's contact list.  

 

Hank

 

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, wcook said:

 
Unless you are in Malta 🙂

Not just Malta.  There are lots of Greek Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, etc.  We usually have a Plan B for those places and if we know we cannot reasonably catch-up to the ship we will simply be extra cautious to get back to walking distance (from the ship) at least 1 1/2 hours early.

 

By the way, one of our two near misses (in over 47 years of cruising) did happen on Malta :).  We were with friends (who live on Malta) who were giving us their idea of an island tour :).  Our friend (hi Joe) decided to be a wise guy and cut things too close.  Since he was a major import/export broker on the island he fortunately knew just about everyone at the port.  He got us back at the last possible minute, was able to drive right onto the pier, and we pulled up as they were taking down the side rails of the gangplank.   It turned out we were not the last to arrive.  We were up on deck looking down (after the gang plank was withdrawn) and just after we had cast off all our lines a taxi pulled up to the pier with two ladies who had lots of shopping bags.  We looked down at the ship's door/hatch and could see the tows of a pair of white shoes (obviously an officer) sticking out of the door.  A minute later we saw the drop a rope ladder and two crew members climbed down (about 5 feet) to the pier.  They handed up all the packages and then assisted those ladies up the rope ladder.  That was also the same cruise where two other couples (on a cruise line excursion) did miss the ship (I posted this story elsewhere).

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

For example, if I ask on a CC board for a recommendation for a tour guide, and some random poster reports "We had a great guy named Bob who gave us a great tour. Here's his number," I don't consider that a great recommendation. We all suspect that "Bob" probably posted the info himself.

 

An excellent point!  I have participated in private excursions that others have arranged as well as those that I booked.  I research.  The woman who arranged the others did the research.  (Don''t remember where she got the company's name.)  For those that she booked, we batted .500, but we did get a refund for the other .500 that didn't work out as expected.  I am batting 1.000 for the ones that I have booked.  (So far.)  

[wcook]

38 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

minute later we saw the drop a rope ladder and two crew members climbed down (about 5 feet) to the pier.  They handed up all the packages and then assisted those ladies up the rope ladder.

Would have been funny if they’d taken the packages and left the ladies. 

[Hlitner]

39 minutes ago, wcook said:

Would have been funny if they’d taken the packages and left the ladies. 

ROFL.  It was a strange day.  Over the decades we have been to hundreds of ports (and one nearly everyone on our own) around the world and had never been aware of a single passenger ever missing the ship.  And then on one bright day, on a single cruise in a single port, we came close to missing the ship (only the 2nd time that has happened), those ladies got very lucky, and two other couples actually did miss the ship (and had to catch up in Messina).   Despite having cruised on far more than 100 cruises that is one that is easy to remember.  It was on the Enchantment of the Seas in 1997.  We had booked the 6 day maiden voyage (from Southampton) and the following two 7 day cruises (back to back to back).  On the first cruise we shared a dinner table with two couples from Malta (who are still are friends) who debarked after that short 6 day cruise.  2 weeks later we were docking in Malta and one of those couples offered to give us a tour of the island (including an amazing lunch at a closed restaurant (our friend's brother was the executive chef) where the only customers were our little group and the President of Malta (with a few others).  One of those days not forgotten.

 

Hank

 

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

I have participated in private excursions that others have arranged as well as those that I booked.  I research. 

 

One additional complication with private tours is that some people are only looking to better the cost of taking the ship's excursion. They are not greatly concerned about the quality of the guide, nor do they spend time tweaking the itinerary (which is possible with true private tours).  

 

For me, that's not the key concern. My thinking is this:  Who knows when I will make it back to this place again, if ever. I want to have the best experience possible with the time that I have here.

 

With that in mind, I plan my day and look for the best option -- whether that is a private tour or just doing it on my own. Often it's the latter. And yes, I research the heck out of it.

 

To be brutally frank, I've heard tour guides tell an awful lot of bosh to customers on tours and pass it off as truth. I guess there are those who prefer an entertaining myth or urban legend, but I'm not one of them.

[Mum2Mercury]

5 hours ago, donaldsc said:

This is a 2nd hand story and not exactly to the topic but it is too good not to post.  I can verify that the person whom told it to us is a friend and does a lot of cruising.  I am assuming that it is true.

 

You are on a cruise departing Florida with stops in the Caribbean and then on Europe.  At the last Caribbean port before Europe you go to the beach.  All you have is your beach clothes.  You don't have your passport, credit card or cell phone and minimal money.  You get back to the ship late and it is gone - next stop Europe.  According to our friends they managed to sort things out and did reconnect with the ship in Europe.  

 

Can you imagine the feelings that they had when they got back to the port.

 

DON

I'd assume they'd feel like kicking their own butts. 

 

The ships don't keep their departure time a secret.  Why wouldn't a reasonable person head back to the ship with plenty of time to spare?  This is an easy-to-avoid problem. 

[iancal]

If you are eastbound....don't miss the ship in Madeira.  

 

We always do DIY or private tours-group or otherwise.  We have never even come close to missing a cruise. 

 

We tend to take a private excursion as early as possible leaving at least two hours leeway prior to the last embarkation. 

 

We want to return to the ship, grab our ipads, then head for a quiet bar/pub shoreside that has reasonable internet in order to catch up with mail for an hour or so.  Not to mention a 'cold one' or a some of the grape.

Edited July 11, 2022 by iancal

[Top_of_the_Cube]

Speaking only of my personal experience with excursions in the Caribbean.  The further that you travel from the port (I am generalizing), the less time you might have with the actual excursion part of your trip with a private tour.  That is because (again, my experience) the private tour will tend to try to get you back to the ship early enough to account for unforeseen delays.  I think they do this with all their tours, but it becomes more noticeable with longer travel times.

 

Ship-sponsored excursions have less to lose by pushing the return time.  But, I bet there is some clause in the contract with the ship line about delaying the ship's departure.

[lynncarol]

I have read through all these posts and nowhere did I see this topic mentioned.  Although my husband and I almost always do excursions independently, I have noticed a disturbing trend by the cruise lines (at least on Royal and Celebrity) to allow ship excursion passengers to disembark before those who are on their own.  Once in Bar Harbor, the earliest tenders were ONLY for ship excursion folks...the rest of us forced to wait to they got off.  Another was in St Petersburg, where they hinted that unless we were on the ship excursion, Russian authorities would not allow us to enter. When I confronted them with evidence to the contrary, we were told all private departures had to congregate first on one of the upper decks, on the opposite end of the ship from disembarking point on a lower level. When I refused to do that, the woman caved and said, "You don't need to congregate there, but don't tell the others"

[Charles4515]

15 minutes ago, Top_of_the_Cube said:

Speaking only of my personal experience with excursions in the Caribbean.  The further that you travel from the port (I am generalizing), the less time you might have with the actual excursion part of your trip with a private tour.  That is because (again, my experience) the private tour will tend to try to get you back to the ship early enough to account for unforeseen delays.  I think they do this with all their tours, but it becomes more noticeable with longer travel times.

 

Ship-sponsored excursions have less to lose by pushing the return time.  But, I bet there is some clause in the contract with the ship line about delaying the ship's departure.

That is true. Years ago I took a ships excursion to Tulum. That is one I advise not doing on one’s own because of distance and having to take a ferry to the mainland. Did not really have much actual time there. Years later I was at a resort on the mainland and did Tulum with family members with a tour booked at the resort. Instead of a large bus we went in a small van, had more time and a better guide. It was a much better tour. The lesson I learned from that is not book a tour that is far from the cruise ship. Save those tours like Tulum for land vacations. I have also done Coba and Chichen Itza on land vacations and I am glad I passed on doing them from a cruise ship. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

3 minutes ago, lynncarol said:

I have read through all these posts and nowhere did I see this topic mentioned.  Although my husband and I almost always do excursions independently, I have noticed a disturbing trend by the cruise lines (at least on Royal and Celebrity) to allow ship excursion passengers to disembark before those who are on their own.  Once in Bar Harbor, the earliest tenders were ONLY for ship excursion folks...the rest of us forced to wait to they got off.  Another was in St Petersburg, where they hinted that unless we were on the ship excursion, Russian authorities would not allow us to enter. When I confronted them with evidence to the contrary, we were told all private departures had to congregate first on one of the upper decks, on the opposite end of the ship from disembarking point on a lower level. When I refused to do that, the woman caved and said, "You don't need to congregate there, but don't tell the others"

They tried to pull that on us at St. Petersburg too. Both claiming we had to be on a ships excursion and that we had to wait to get off. The tour agency we used there prepped us what to do and like you the ship crew caved. When we did Bar Harbor we were on the first tender only because of priority status with the loyalty program. We were put waiting in the same lounge as they had ship excursions.The other folks had to wait. 

[Tonsoffun44]

Never missed the ship but do like to pretend being pier runners like those we see in online videos. 

[Markanddonna]

3 hours ago, lynncarol said:

I have read through all these posts and nowhere did I see this topic mentioned.  Although my husband and I almost always do excursions independently, I have noticed a disturbing trend by the cruise lines (at least on Royal and Celebrity) to allow ship excursion passengers to disembark before those who are on their own.  Once in Bar Harbor, the earliest tenders were ONLY for ship excursion folks...the rest of us forced to wait to they got off.  Another was in St Petersburg, where they hinted that unless we were on the ship excursion, Russian authorities would not allow us to enter. When I confronted them with evidence to the contrary, we were told all private departures had to congregate first on one of the upper decks, on the opposite end of the ship from disembarking point on a lower level. When I refused to do that, the woman caved and said, "You don't need to congregate there, but don't tell the others"

I recall worrying about this and was proactive for private excursions in Israel. The CS told me it would be no problem.

[Nebr.cruiser]

3 hours ago, lynncarol said:

I have read through all these posts and nowhere did I see this topic mentioned.  Although my husband and I almost always do excursions independently, I have noticed a disturbing trend by the cruise lines (at least on Royal and Celebrity) to allow ship excursion passengers to disembark before those who are on their own.  Once in Bar Harbor, the earliest tenders were ONLY for ship excursion folks...the rest of us forced to wait to they got off.  Another was in St Petersburg, where they hinted that unless we were on the ship excursion, Russian authorities would not allow us to enter. When I confronted them with evidence to the contrary, we were told all private departures had to congregate first on one of the upper decks, on the opposite end of the ship from disembarking point on a lower level. When I refused to do that, the woman caved and said, "You don't need to congregate there, but don't tell the others"

This definitely has become a problem with some cruises--if you are not on a ship tour, you may have to wait a long time to get off the ship, which can be especially slow in tender ports.  I find this practice to be unfair in many ways.  If the ship tours were more reasonably priced and of better quality--not huge buses full of people (I am generalizing here; some are not as bad) it wouldn't matter so much, but to pay sometimes twice as much for an inferior tour borders on fraud.

[donaldsc]

49 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

This definitely has become a problem with some cruises--if you are not on a ship tour, you may have to wait a long time to get off the ship, which can be especially slow in tender ports.  I find this practice to be unfair in many ways.  If the ship tours were more reasonably priced and of better quality--not huge buses full of people (I am generalizing here; some are not as bad) it wouldn't matter so much, but to pay sometimes twice as much for an inferior tour borders on fraud.

 

Yet another reason to avoid taking one of the Genormous of the Seas cruise ships.  If you take a small ship w <1000 passengers, not only do you get a much better cruising experience but almost no lines and definitely none of the problems that people are talking about here.

 

DON

[Charles4515]

2 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Yet another reason to avoid taking one of the Genormous of the Seas cruise ships.  If you take a small ship w <1000 passengers, not only do you get a much better cruising experience but almost no lines and definitely none of the problems that people are talking about here.

 

DON

 

I have given up those ships for cruise lines like Oceania except for some group cruises where I don't get to pick the ship.That said  I have found that Genormous of the Seas (Oasis Class) moves people on and off pretty fast. They designed the gangways to move a lot of people on and off and there are two. They never tender. 

[wcook]

5 hours ago, Top_of_the_Cube said:

Speaking only of my personal experience with excursions in the Caribbean.  The further that you travel from the port (I am generalizing), the less time you might have with the actual excursion part of your trip with a private tour.  That is because (again, my experience) the private tour will tend to try to get you back to the ship early enough to account for unforeseen delays.  I think they do this with all their tours, but it becomes more noticeable with longer travel times.

 

Ship-sponsored excursions have less to lose by pushing the return time.  But, I bet there is some clause in the contract with the ship line about delaying the ship's departure.

One the one hand this is true. On the other hand, a *good* private tour has much less down time than ship tours. 

[wcook]

Random story: Bagnoregio (from the port of Civitavecchia) is a poor choice to tour independently. It’s far from the port, there are no good ways to get there or back via public transportation if something goes wrong, the next port (if not Naples) can be a pain to reach, etc. I’ve often thought about going, but I’m just not a ship tour kind of guy.

Well during the heart of Covid, ports were cruise ship tour only. I figured this was my best chance to go. Had a good time.  

Edited July 13, 2022 by wcook