Carnival excursion vs. your own

[deb380]

On the boards it has appeared that Carnival doesn't like you booking your own excursion and gets you off late.

 

Any opinions on what we can do, we are planning on booking our own in Grand Caymen.

 

Thanks

[flyingb]

On the boards it has appeared that Carnival doesn't like you booking your own excursion and gets you off late.

 

Any opinions on what we can do, we are planning on booking our own in Grand Caymen.

 

Thanks

 

Just be sure to be back on board before the ship leaves port! :eek: Have you read about the lawsuit by some people who got left behind? :( How would the Carnival know if you booked you're own tours? :confused: My DH has heart problems and can't do too much walking, so I ALWAYS go solo with a group from the ship for safety reasons. :cool:

Luv's Cruisin'

[kytten_kat]

I do not think they intentionally get you off late if you book your own excursion. They, however, give preference to those who book through them, as is expected. Just be sure to allow yourself plenty of time before and after your excursion.

I was on a Carnival excursion and due to 2 seperate incidences on the excursion, we were the last persons to return to the ship, getting there just moments (literally as they had all but 1 of the gang planks up and stored away) before they were due to leave. It was a bit unnerving to see them getting ready to leave and we are 3/4 a ship length away.

Candy

[BlueJacketsFan1]

Grand Cayman is a port where you are tendered to shore. Carnival will let everyone who has booked early excursion with them off first. I don't know how long they held everyone else, but I wouldn't think it would be longer than about an hour. This is part of the excursion problem for people thinking of Carinval vs. independent tours. We have always done ours with Carnival and have been very happy. You may pay a few $ more, but it's simple and we have peace of mind in the event of any problems. So it's something each person has to decide. Good luck and have a great time.

[budster]

The ship knows who is on board and who is not on board. That is why you put your S&S card thru their machine before you disembark. It is too bad the cruiselines are not more competitive in their prices so people do not want to do private tours. :(

[mginsb8256]

It's not just Carnival. I was on NCL in Alaska, when a couple of guys did a private tour, and arrived (literally) as the ship was pulling away. They needed to take a smaller, faster, boat and get alongside our ship (Seem to recall we were on the Norweigan Sky) The captain (of the Sky) barely slowed down enough for these poor guys to climb rope ladders up. Guess it beat trying to "catch the ship up" at the next port of call. Of course they have a story to tell, but for me, (we travel with a 6 year old) it has instilled a little fear, and we have decided that the cost of booking the more expensive excursion with the cruise company is worth the peace of mind. For the original poster. The only suggestion is use a reputable company (plenty of suggestions on these boards) AND book an excursion that is due to come back well in advance of the ships departure.

[redskin80]

I have been on several ships that have left people in the ports. All of these had booked private tours or did their own thing. When we left one port everyone was onthe Lido deck as we were leaving and these two guys came running up the pier yelling at the ship, everyone was just waving at them. They had to make it to the nexts top on their own. That was the Carribean.

 

Last year in Europe we left people in Dubrovnick, Croatia, a young couple rented a car (in their honeymoon) the car broke down. We waited for them a while but finally had to leave. The next port was not far. They had a heck of a time geting to the next port. This also happened in Florence, this was the last day of the cruise. We waitied again for a while as Rome was not far, but we did finally leave them.

 

So word of caution, the last thing you want to see on your cruise is :THE BACK OF THE SHIP LEAVING PORT AND YOUR NOT IN IT.

 

We always book with Carnival as stated before yes you do pay a little more, but the ship will not leave without your group.

[JoFromFL]

We booked our own excursions in Cozumel and Belize. (Note: Belize is NOT a place where I would want to get left behind!) Our tour provider guaranteed that if we missed the ship, they would get us to our next port. We almost had to invoke the guarantee as we made it to the tender dock 10 minutes AFTER the last scheduled tender. We did make it back to the ship, albeit barely. Would I do it again? You bet! Our tour was cheaper, longer, less crowded, and better than the one the ship provided. The mad rush back to the dock was pretty exciting and gave us many laughs. (Our whole group was from CC) And, I have a fair tolerence for risk. Doing the private tours isn't for everyone, and it depends on how reputable the tour operator is. If I'm not positive I can trust the operator to get me to the ship or the next port, I'll book through the ship and pay the higher price.

[loungelizard]

In ports that use tendering it's probably wiser to spend the extra money and book with Carnival...primarily because you get priority on getting off the ship. If you are more adventurous and choose to do a private excursion make sure you do your homework and give yourself plenty of time to get off, and back on the ship. Of course we all expect things to go smoothly, but if the water is a bit choppy the tenders will sometimes have to wait, or worse...cancel. Even if the waters were calm, it still depends on how many other ships are in port...5 ships is a LOT of people to move. If you are late you will be called to the captain's office for a good "talking to" LOL...on my Jan15 Liberty cruise they announced all the names of the late people over the ship's PA. It's kinda funny, unless you happen to be one of those people.