Best Non-Cruise line Excursion Booking

[TeeRick]

Not one size fits all.  Let our friend Google and written reviews help with this for each port.  And Trip Advisor. And your Roll Call.  Yes the big tour sites (Viator, Tours By Locals, etc.) are usually very good and also safe.  But in some ports and itineraries there might be better options.  Depends on what you want to see and do.  This was the case when we went around S. America and had penguins as a must see.  And if we ever get back to St. Petersburg the local companies are excellent.   One time we use ship tours -  tender ports especially with longer excursions from the port.  

[Loracpin2]

22 hours ago, mom says said:

The first place I check is the Roll Call to see if anyone is offering to share a private excursion. Then I look at the Ports of Call board. Next I go to TripAdvisor.  Tours by Locals and Viator are other 3rd party  sources.

I completely agree about checking your Roll Call first.  Experience has shown us that fellow cruise mates who have organized these tours have done lots of research before choosing the vendor. Private tours give you access to areas large bus tours cannot.  This is a perfect example. 

 

On our first trip to Normandy, we saw a video, visited the American Cemetery and looked down on Omaha Beach from an area adjacent  to the Cemetery.   

 

On our second trip to Normandy we joined a private tour organized by someone on our Roll Call. On this trip,  first we did all of the above then got back into the van and drove to the area where we had access to walking on the Beach. As we stood there and listened to the Guides excellent narrative and then turned arround to see the "still intact bunkers" the silence from all of us was overwhelming and an experience I will never forget. 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Loracpin2
spelling

[RTR 21-0]

On 2/2/2023 at 8:31 AM, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

It may be dated info but at one point TBL had at least a 20% commission since they are acting as the broker. They're going to make money off the booking somehow. 

 

Viator (owned by TripAdvisor who owns Cruise Critic) has even more fees and is a little more sketchy. They allow vendors to adjust their commission to boost their ranking in the search results among other things. Basically the big guys eat the little guys. 

Learn something new almost daily on here.  Had no idea TA owned CC.  

[Torfamm]

As others have said, Roll Calls for cruises with your itinerary and pages for individual ports of call offer a wealth of information.

There are websites that provide tours all over the world by local companies. Trip Advisor can be a starting point too.

 

https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/

 

https://www.viator.com/

 

https://www.toursbylocals.com

 

 

 

 

 

[mahdnc]

We found the Tours by Locals markup to be substantial when we shopped around for a guide in Rome. 

 

My wife and I hired a private guide for a couple of days in Rome this past October.  We booked her through her website.  The first day we did her Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Walking Tour which cost only 180 Euro ($194 USD today) thru her website for the two of us although it's a fixed price regardless of the (small) group size.  Her same 3 hour tour booked through Tours by Locals is $322 for two people ($429 for six).  That works out to a 66% markup (for two people).

 

My wife and I also took her four hour Ostia Antica tour which cost us 240 Euros ($259 USD) through her website (again regardless of group size).  The same tour booked through Tours by Locals is $358 for two and $447 for six.  That works out to a 38% markup (for two people).  

 

Our savings was actually a bit larger because she gave us 10% off of one of the tours because we booked two.  I don't think you get that discount from Tours by Locals.

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by mahdnc

[D. B.]

Another point about Viator and Shore Excursions Group.

 I have used Both in the Past but found out the hard way that SEG has a 2 WEEK cancellation window and with Viator it is 24 Hours.

 I had to cancel a Cruise at the last moment and getting my Money back for my SEG tours was a real Hassel.

[riredsox]

I have used ShoreExcursioneers in the past.  They guarantee your return to the ship on time or they fly you to the next port.  This was 3 years ago.  Their tours are very reasonable and always a good time!

[the penguins]

12 hours ago, mahdnc said:

We found the Tours by Locals markup to be substantial when we shopped around for a guide in Rome. 

 

My wife and I hired a private guide for a couple of days in Rome this past October.  We booked her through her website.  The first day we did her Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Walking Tour which cost only 180 Euro ($194 USD today) thru her website for the two of us although it's a fixed price regardless of the (small) group size.  Her same 3 hour tour booked through Tours by Locals is $322 for two people ($429 for six).  That works out to a 66% markup (for two people).

 

My wife and I also took her four hour Ostia Antica tour which cost us 240 Euros ($259 USD) through her website (again regardless of group size).  The same tour booked through Tours by Locals is $358 for two and $447 for six.  That works out to a 38% markup (for two people).  

 

Our savings was actually a bit larger because she gave us 10% off of one of the tours because we booked two.  I don't think you get that discount from Tours by Locals.

 

Interesting and in some ways "odd".

Prices on the TBL site are set by the individual guides not by TBL. If the figures you quoted are correct it was your guide who decided to add such a large premium.

Naturally TBL charges for its services (I had heard 20%) which covers its website, payment handling, insurance, refunds, and 24 hour emergency help etc.

The Guide only gets paid after they have completed the tour to your satisfaction.

As always the great thing is that we have the choice.

 

 

[mahdnc]

9 minutes ago, the penguins said:

If the figures you quoted are correct it was your guide who decided to add such a large premium.

 

I did embed hyperlinks to the relevant websites in my post so that one could examine the prices for themselves.

[the penguins]

19 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

I did embed hyperlinks to the relevant websites in my post so that one could examine the prices for themselves.

As it's the Guides that set the prices (not TBL) it was your guide who choose to charge so much more for the tours they offer via TBL. It does not mean that all Guides do this. 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

As it's the Guides that set the prices (not TBL) it was your guide who choose to charge so much more for the tours they offer via TBL. It does not mean that all Guides do this. 

Regardless of the cause, the difference in prices can be large. It's worth trying to eliminate the middleman if you can. 

[smtcan]

We use TripAdvisor to decide what we want to see in a port, as well as the descriptions of ship's tour and information from guide books or web sites. Then we figure out the best way to explore.  Sometimes we rent a car.  Other times a tour with our Roll Call, or public transport.  Occasionally a private tour is the best way to go.  When we booked a tour in the Holy Land,  we had a note from our guide to tell us that since our itinerary had changed we would not be docking, so our money had been refunded to our credit card.  Celebrity didn’t notify us of the change until the following day.

[the penguins]

5 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Regardless of the cause, the difference in prices can be large. It's worth trying to eliminate the middleman if you can. 

Just curious as how you identified the Guide as being the same before you booked as the TBL website hides that information until after your booking is completed. 

The other, and for us very significant factor, is the security of our money/ booking. Whilst you may be safe booking direct in Western Europe we would be reluctant to do so in say China/South America/ Asia.

 

[mahdnc]

41 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Just curious as how you identified the Guide as being the same before you booked as the TBL website hides that information until after your booking is completed. 

The other, and for us very significant factor, is the security of our money/ booking. Whilst you may be safe booking direct in Western Europe we would be reluctant to do so in say China/South America/ Asia.

 

 

I am not sure exactly what question you are asking.  Are you asking how do I know that the guide in the TBL website is the same as the one in the non-TBL website? In that case, if you compare the tour descriptions in both websites, they are identical word for word.  In both websites, her first name is the same, and in both websites her picture is the same, so it was easy to conclude this is the same guide in both websites. 

 

If you haven't already, click on the hyperlinks in my first post in this thread as I have linked the TBL website for this guide (which obviously is available to you without completing the booking) and her non-TBL website.  From looking at both websites, you should be able to conclude that this is the same person.

 

If you are asking  how I found the guide's private commercial website because TBL does not reveal the guide's full name until you complete the booking.  In that case, I got lucky.  I was attempting to find more review information on the internet outside of TBL's website.  When I searched based on her first name, the city I wanted to book a tour, etc, I found her mentioned in TripAdvisor and I stumbled onto her website.

 

If you were asking something different, I am sorry, just please re-state the question.

 

As far as security goes, she did not require an advanced deposit or any payment until both tours were completed which is very trusting on her part because the two tours were conducted on separate days.

 

We have a cruise to southeast Asia planned for this coming December/January.  We also will be doing a Galapagos cruise this November and will be staying in Ecuador for a few nights.  In both cases, we have been booking directly with tour guides (after doing our due diligence).  Most of the guides have been recommended by other Cruise Critic members.

Edited February 7, 2023 by mahdnc

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

I am not sure exactly what question you are asking.  Are you asking how do I know that the guide in the TBL website is the same as the one in the non-TBL website? In that case, if you compare the tour descriptions in both websites, they are identical word for word.  In both websites, her first name is the same, and in both websites her picture is the same, so it was easy to conclude this is the same guide in both websites. 

 

If you haven't already, click on the hyperlinks in my first post in this thread as I have linked the TBL website for this guide (which obviously is available to you without completing the booking) and her non-TBL website.  From looking at both websites, you should be able to conclude that this is the same person.

 

If you are asking  how I found the guide's private commercial website because TBL does not reveal the guide's full name until you complete the booking.  In that case, I got lucky.  I was attempting to find more review information on the internet outside of TBL's website.  When I searched based on her first name, the city I wanted to book a tour, etc, I found her mentioned in TripAdvisor and I stumbled onto her website.

 

If you were asking something different, I am sorry, just please re-state the question.

 

As far as security goes, she did not require an advanced deposit or any payment until both tours were completed which is very trusting on her part because the two tours were conducted on separate days.

 

We have a cruise to southeast Asia planned for this coming December/January.  We also will be doing a Galapagos cruise this November and will be staying in Ecuador for a few nights.  In both cases, we have been booking directly with tour guides (after doing our due diligence).  Most of the guides have been recommended by other Cruise Critic members.

Thanks. As always choice is a good thing, no right or wrong.

[rj59]

I used Shore Excursions Group for a Mazatlan stop, because they had a unique, cheap city electric bike tour. It was great fun, we got a personal close-up cliff-diver show and we were more efficient and close-up than the bus excursion hordes. If there's an attraction you'd like to see, you can also try booking direct, such as with dolphin swimming or whale watching. I'm also a fan of using public transportation with locals, so instead of getting ripped off by a taxi driver in Puerto Vallarta, I catch a colorful local bus for 25 pesos or so to get to downtown and back, so I can see how locals live and have an adventure. If you're going to Alaska, there are usually kiosks or tour centers when you get off the ship.  I usually look for electric bike rentals before I visit a place, which I've found the most enjoyable way to explore Catalina, Mazatlan, Skagway, Cozumel, and US coastal ports, and on my last Solstice trip I biked beaches by LAX before the cruise and Long Beach after the cruise. An older, stout woman I met on my Mazatlan tour said she even went around Cabo on a rental electric bike.

[smtcan]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

Just curious as how you identified the Guide as being the same before you booked as the TBL website hides that information until after your booking is completed. 

The other, and for us very significant factor, is the security of our money/ booking. Whilst you may be safe booking direct in Western Europe we would be reluctant to do so in say China/South America/ Asia.

 

We took all private tours on our South American cruise a few years ago, and did the same on several Asian cruises.  We had no problems at all.  I would be more reluctant in China, but after several non cruise small group tours there, we don’t intend to return in the current political climate.