How much buffer time should you have after an independent excursion to get back to the ship?

[latebuyer]

I’m sorry to hear this. I will say the advantage of these cruise tours are times are designed to work with the cruise ship. Many of these independent tours don’t. I am going on my first cruise ship tour on this tour so i’ll see what its like.

[cruisemom42]

7 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

I’m sorry to hear this. I will say the advantage of these cruise tours are times are designed to work with the cruise ship. Many of these independent tours don’t. I am going on my first cruise ship tour on this tour so i’ll see what its like.

 

It's true and I completely agree with your instinct on the timing. Part of being a savvy independent traveler is understanding when you need to be careful about cutting it too close.

[ldubs]

On 6/7/2023 at 12:13 PM, latebuyer said:

I’m sorry to hear this. I will say the advantage of these cruise tours are times are designed to work with the cruise ship. Many of these independent tours don’t. I am going on my first cruise ship tour on this tour so i’ll see what its like.

 

Personally, I think the time from the end of the float plane tour to ship departure was reasonable.  And, accepting that "anything can happen" I would say a reasonable risk.     I'm not saying you made a bad call cancelling that float plane tour.  I think you made a good one based on your concerns.  

[nolatravelgirl]

I just did a quick search for a date and it looks like there are multiple departure times. I would see if you could get on an earlier excursion.

 

[thinfool]

As alreadly mentioned, private providers rarely violate the 'on board' time for the ship.  Social media being what it is, their efforts to be on time are make or break for their business.

Indeed, in our 20+ years of cruising the majority of late tour arrivals have been with ship provided tours.  The operators seem to know when or if they can abuse the schedule because 'the ship will wait for them'.

I cannot say we never use a ship tour, but I will easily say that it is rare.  And we have never been even close to sail away/all aboard time unless there was a long line waiting to board at the ship.

[jsglow]

On 6/15/2023 at 1:37 PM, thinfool said:

As already mentioned, private providers rarely violate the 'on board' time for the ship.  Social media being what it is, their efforts to be on time are make or break for their business.

Indeed, in our 20+ years of cruising the majority of late tour arrivals have been with ship provided tours.  The operators seem to know when or if they can abuse the schedule because 'the ship will wait for them'.

I cannot say we never use a ship tour, but I will easily say that it is rare.  And we have never been even close to sail away/all aboard time unless there was a long line waiting to board at the ship.

This.  We have done probably 100+ independent excursions across 4 continents. Reputable tour operators absolutely KNOW that adhering to ship 'On Board' schedules is critical to their business success. For us, boarding somewhere between 30-60 minutes prior to 'back on board time' is perfectly reasonable and acceptable.  In most cases, tour operators have the ability to accelerate their return by cutting short a final stop or lunch, as an example. They 100% build in slack time just to always be careful.

 

Only once has a tour operator delivered us back to the ship past the designated time missing the cutoff by approximately 10 minutes (but still solidly 30 minutes prior to departure).  We gave them an earful as we left the bus (no tip, of course) and scampered aboard with the ship's crew saying 'No need to run; you're fine' knowing full well it was the excursion company's fault. THAT was way too close and way out of bounds without a reasonable excuse. But that's been the only time it's ever happened.

 

Back to the OP, if the ship departs port at 8:00 pm your onboard time is likely to be 7:30. There are likely many excursions ending at 6:30 pm (so as to maximize the day) as most of the passengers will likely re-board the ship sometime around the 7:00 pm hour.   

[donaldsc]

On 6/7/2023 at 1:22 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

It's true and I completely agree with your instinct on the timing. Part of being a savvy independent traveler is understanding when you need to be careful about cutting it too close.

 

One trick that we try to do is to have the last stop sort of close to the cruise port if possible.  That means that if you have a bit of a problem you can cut the last stop short.

 

DON

[DarrenM]

On beyond we had to be on board 30 minutes before due departure time.

 

Many folk were arriving back way past this time.

 

Especially the 2nd day in Istanbul.

 

Not surprised though, as it was almost impossible to go anywhere.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 6/1/2023 at 11:01 PM, cruisemom42 said:

On a private tour I generally tell them I want to be back at the ship one hour before "all aboard" time (which is usually 30 minutes before departure) ...

My personal comfort level is returning to the ship two hours before sail-away time.  I don't really pay attention to all-aboard time.  Two hours before sailing is enough that -- if something happens -- you'll have time to fall back to Plan B and get back to the ship. 

 

We always have a Plan B and a few dollar for a taxi or whatever's appropriate.  We always have a map and directions. We always know ship's time vs. island time and have a real watch (not just a phone).  

 

Not everyone is careful.  Recently I was in line, and the woman ahead of me was not allowed to board.  The crewman politely said to her, "Mam, you're trying to board Explorer of the Seas.  You are a passenger on Liberty of the Seas." and he pointed down the dock.   

On 6/6/2023 at 10:03 PM, ceeceeDee said:

Frankly, I wouldn't be game to take an independent tour. At least if you book through the cruise line, the ship will wait if you are late. 

I can understand being careful in your choices, but I can't understand being closed to all independent tours.  The quality is vastly superior!  You're with a smaller group, you have more control over your day, and -- cherry on top -- you pay less!  The cruise ship has created this fear of being left behind because they want you to buy their cattle-call tours. 

 

I've been reading these boards for a full two decades, and in that time I've read about exactly ONE independent excursion that was late -- and that was because of a rock slide that blocked the road.   

On 6/7/2023 at 6:30 AM, ontheweb said:

You do not know they were on independent tours as opposed to just exploring on their own ... 

Exactly.  Those people who were left may not've been on an excursion at all.  From what I've read, most people who are left behind are out on their own shopping or drinking, and they lose track of time.  

 

Reading these boards, it's easy for a first-timer to get the idea that people are left behind all the time -- eight or ten at every island!  But, no.  That doesn't really happen.  Leaving a cruiser behind is actually quite rare.

On 6/7/2023 at 11:16 AM, MCC retired said:

... Even the best tour operators can have a breakdown or delay.

Tour operators also have backup plans.  A second bus, a reciprocal agreement with another tour operator.  If they caused a cruiser to be left behind, they'd be out of business in a heartbeat.  

On 6/7/2023 at 1:35 PM, latebuyer said:

Thanks, the problem is our ship docks 15-20 minutes away so additional time. Anyways it was also a cost issue-600..00 seems expensive for 3 hours ... 

Cost is a whole different question, but -- yeah -- $600 for three hours is a steep cost.  

On 6/7/2023 at 2:55 PM, jsn55 said:

Yup, on a Viking cruise, we were locked into a gi-normous Chinese "cultural center'" souvenir shop for 90 minutes ... first they fed us some really awful food, then they announced that the bus would be back in an hour.  To be accurate, the doors weren't locked, but it was out in the boonies, so we had nowhere to go. our Guide was actively running around urging us to buy things ... let your eye rest on something for 3 seconds, and someone swooped in and handed it to you.  It's a shame, I would have bought a very nice jade horse had they left me alone.  Next time I'll bring a snack and just stay on the bus with my book.  Our T

Yes, this is one of the things that turned us off about ship excursions.  More than a few ship's tours have "agreements" (meaning kick-backs) about bringing tours into this-or-that shopping areas.  In contrast, private tours usually give you choices; for example, "Would you rather be dropped for an hour in this shopping area, or at this restaurant, or at the beach?  Okay, this couple's shopping -- we'll see you right here in an hour.  The rest of you want to be dropped at the restaurant.  Let's go."  

On 6/7/2023 at 3:13 PM, latebuyer said:

I’m sorry to hear this. I will say the advantage of these cruise tours are times are designed to work with the cruise ship. Many of these independent tours don’t ... 

No, independent tour operators know when ships will dock /sail and time their tours around cruisers' schedules.  If the didn't, they wouldn't have business.  

 

 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[jsn55]

The point is not to compare independent tours and ship's tours.  There are good and bad tours in both categories. The point is that if you're on a ship's tour and there's a problem, the ship will probably wait for you.  If you're on an independent tour with a problem, the ship will not wait for you. 

 

If my ship sails at 5pm, I am comfortable on an independent tour in the morning; equally comfortable on an all-day ship's tour.  It's a simple decision.  

Edited June 21, 2023 by jsn55

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, jsn55 said:

 If you're on an independent tour with a problem, the ship will not wait for you. 

 

 

 

This is not an absolute.   They often have waited when independent tours are running late.  I personally wouldn't count on it, but it happens, especially I think, when the headcount is high.  

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

This is not an absolute.   They often have waited when independent tours are running late.  I personally wouldn't count on it, but it happens, especially I think, when the headcount is high.  

 

In my experience, I'd say "rarely" rather than "often"...

 

As in:  "If you are late returning on an independent tour and the ship waits for you, you should buy a lottery ticket immediately because it's clearly your lucky day."

 

😂

[ldubs]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

In my experience, I'd say "rarely" rather than "often"...

 

As in:  "If you are late returning on an independent tour and the ship waits for you, you should buy a lottery ticket immediately because it's clearly your lucky day."

 

😂

 

I would take the odds of them waiting over a lottery ticket's.   But yeah, if often is to mean frequently then it was not a good choice of words.   

[thinfool]

We have been on ships with a long haul  to the next port, and because of that the  Captain waved bye, bye to any late tours whether private or ship sponsored.  And of course, he did not do it without the ok from the head office with which they are in constant contact.