NCL Excursion group sizes

[marsh0925]

First time cruising NCL. I’ll be on the Viva in the Mediterranean in October. I’m looking at excursions and wondering if the ship’s excursions are typically big groups. I’d like to use the $50 credits, but I prefer smaller groups. Thanks in advance! 

[complawyer]

depending  on the tour, but on the most of the tours, you can expect at least a bus load of people.

 

the ncl shore excursions, (like everything else) are designed to bring in as much revenue as possible. so smaller group tours are not economically beneficial to ncl's bottom line.

as for the $50 off, while it's better than a stick in the eye, if  you're booking an excursion that's a few $100 per person while it helps, it certainly doesnt lower the bottom line by much.

 

at a great many ports, i ignore the $50 perk, and hire a cab. they're much cheaper, and if you want a small group, it's a much better way to see the sights.

 

also, try and go onthe viva roll call.

[eileeshb]

If a particular excursion takes smaller groups it's usually explicitly mentioned in the description. When I did the western Mediterranean itinerary the Italian guides all used a walkie-talkie system so you didn't have to be right on top of your guide to hear what they were saying. I would suggest bringing your own wired ear bud to plug into the walkies as their single use one is not very comfortable, think airline ear phones without the foam!  I prefer smaller groups but the setup in Italy actually worked quite well. I went to independent providers in Barcelona and Palma, Barcelona wasn't so good as there was a road race that day and the diversions were a mess for the driver. Palma was an e-bike tour and there were only 3 of us that showed up so it was very relaxed, we were even invited into the courtyard of a private  building when we had stopped to look through the gates.The caretaker told us they were planning to open the place to the public in the future much to the delight of our guide. 

[marsh0925]

Thank you for your help!  I am on the roll call and already booked a small group tour in Naples with some people I met there. The tour has great reviews and costs less than a tour with similar sites through NCL. So I’m thinking that really the only advantage of NCL tours is the ship waiting if anything happens. But that should be manageable by not cutting it close on times. 

[Cruise5life]

5 minutes ago, marsh0925 said:

Thank you for your help!  I am on the roll call and already booked a small group tour in Naples with some people I met there. The tour has great reviews and costs less than a tour with similar sites through NCL. So I’m thinking that really the only advantage of NCL tours is the ship waiting if anything happens. But that should be manageable by not cutting it close on times. 

What tour did you book in Naples ?      Curious as I’ll be heading there.     Thanks 

[marsh0925]

32 minutes ago, Cruise5life said:

What tour did you book in Naples ?      Curious as I’ll be heading there.     Thanks 

It’s this one. They need 8 people to sign up for it to be a go. 
https://www.italytours.eu/shore-excursions/naples-shore-excursions/pompeii-sorrento-positano/

[FredZiffle]

If you enjoy riding around in a stuffed motorcoach for several hours, then ship excursions are exactly what you're looking for.  For entertainment, they will even make sure that every bus has at least one couple who can't be bothered to get back on time at the stops, so you'll end up waiting on them which will, of course, shorten your time elsewhere.  We're actually going on a couple of ship excursions on a cruise next month, but there is actually a good reason.  We're in separate cabins, so each of us has the $50 excursion credit.  The ports are nothing special, so just riding around looking at scenery is fine with us.  Since the excursions are less than $50, they'll be free after the credit.

[marsh0925]

32 minutes ago, FredZiffle said:

If you enjoy riding around in a stuffed motorcoach for several hours, then ship excursions are exactly what you're looking for.  For entertainment, they will even make sure that every bus has at least one couple who can't be bothered to get back on time at the stops, so you'll end up waiting on them which will, of course, shorten your time elsewhere.  We're actually going on a couple of ship excursions on a cruise next month, but there is actually a good reason.  We're in separate cabins, so each of us has the $50 excursion credit.  The ports are nothing special, so just riding around looking at scenery is fine with us.  Since the excursions are less than $50, they'll be free after the credit.

Haha. Thanks for making me laugh. That’s pretty much how I thought it would be. I think since I’m already spending as much as I am (especially for the new-ship smell of the Viva lol), I’m not going to cheap out on excursions. I chose this cruise solely for the ports. That’s also why I’m not concerned about all the negative reviews of the Prima. There are no sea days. 

[eileeshb]

3 hours ago, marsh0925 said:

It’s this one. They need 8 people to sign up for it to be a go. 
https://www.italytours.eu/shore-excursions/naples-shore-excursions/pompeii-sorrento-positano/

I was going to use Italy tours back in 2020 when my cruise got cancelled by covid, and then when I cruised in October 2021 the Italian authorities wouldn’t allow guests off the ship unless it was a cruiseline excursion. Despite not having had the chance to use Italy tours my experience dealing with them and the cancellations was all good, they are super responsive and will give you a discount if you book multiple excursions with them . 

[AstoriaPreppy]

6 hours ago, marsh0925 said:

First time cruising NCL. I’ll be on the Viva in the Mediterranean in October. I’m looking at excursions and wondering if the ship’s excursions are typically big groups. I’d like to use the $50 credits, but I prefer smaller groups. Thanks in advance! 

 

NCL small group tours will be noted as "U Tours" with an icon on the excursion's description page. Instead of a motor coach size group, you'll likely be in a sprinter van size group. 

[Susandt]

We usually avoid ncl excursion because of size.

every excursion outside of ncl have been wonderful