Will Ship Make Us a Boxed Lunch for a Private Tour?

[Alakegirl]

The OP is not booking through Celebrity Shore Excursions so ought to be able to customize the tour to avoid tourist traps and junk shops 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Alakegirl

[dlh015]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

Yes, this is always a concern. We do tend to lean more towards X tours if the time back to the ship is tight. Also more risks in ports the ship visits less frequently as the tour guides are more likely to be less experienced. 

Precisely why I asked what port they were traveling from...but no response from OP on that. If they are traveling from Busan, well, I would be a nervous wreck!

 

I do note that they can fly between those places...but I'd still be worried!

 

Wish we had more detail...

[Wakepatrol]

There has to be a quick place to grab something along the way versus a sit down meal

There’s a KFC lurking out there somewhere

[bigbenboys]

12 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Precisely why I asked what port they were traveling from...but no response from OP on that. If they are traveling from Busan, well, I would be a nervous wreck!

 

I do note that they can fly between those places...but I'd still be worried!

 

Wish we had more detail...

We have done a X Asia cruise that stopped in Busan and Jeju Island. Millie is doing a Japan sailings with a stop at Jeju Island. 

[dlh015]

3 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

We have done a X Asia cruise that stopped in Busan and Jeju Island. Millie is doing a Japan sailings with a stop at Jeju Island. 

Ah!!  Thank you for clearing that up for me!

[txtechmk]

4 hours ago, zitsky said:

Would the shore excursion desk have info about lunch breaks when description doesn’t say anything?  I’m not sure how knowledgeable they are?

It's a private tour, not ship's excursion.  We wanted to see the most important sites on this island and in a small group.

[txtechmk]

17 hours ago, dlh015 said:

How long is your ship in port?? That is quite a distance (assuming you are arriving at Busan port??)

 

I can see how that would be tight...good luck and safe travels!!

 

ETA: I'm assuming you are at some other port...

It's the Port of Jeju.

[keesar]

If you are in a rush , there is a McDonald in Jeju.   Burgers are probably better than the Mast Grill.  

[Lady Chew]

While you can get in & out of McDonalds quickly, some of the best stops we've had on private tours were by asking our guide "where do YOU eat" and  eating there.  Not only good food, you will probably meet some locals and get some good stories.

 

On larger private tours (more than 10 of us) whoever organizes asks the guide/tour company to provide time for at least a snack.

 

Also, even on a ships tour the ship cannot always wait.  It doesn't happen very often, but occasionally the port (or weather) requires the ship to leave, period.  But in that case Celebrity will get you to the ship somehow.

 

We have been on two private tours and were going to be late.  Our guides contacted the ship and the ship did wait.  But those were very nerve-wracking experiences which I wouldn't care to repeat!

[1025cruise]

As has been said before, no the ship will not prepare you a boxed lunch. It is most likely illegal to take food off the ship in port due to agricultural laws.

[the penguins]

13 hours ago, keesar said:

One concern that has not been addressed deals with being late in getting back to the ship.  On a private tour, the ship will not wait for your group.  I have questions regarding the experience of the OP and the tour guide.  

Two points on getting back late:

1) Even on a ship's tour X does not guarantee to wait. What X guarantees is that if the ship doesn't wait they will get you to the next port free of charge.

2) the best private tours (for example we use Toursbylocals) offer exactly the same guarantee.

Lunch: 

we always take out the lunch stop and replace it with coffee/cake breaks. Would never arrange a tour with no breaks.

 

[txtechmk]

17 hours ago, the penguins said:

Two points on getting back late:

1) Even on a ship's tour X does not guarantee to wait. What X guarantees is that if the ship doesn't wait they will get you to the next port free of charge.

2) the best private tours (for example we use Toursbylocals) offer exactly the same guarantee.

Lunch: 

we always take out the lunch stop and replace it with coffee/cake breaks. Would never arrange a tour with no breaks.

 

Yes, we are using ToursbyLocals, and this guide has a 5 star rating.  There are public restrooms at each of our stops.  Not for sure about snacks at each stop but I guess at least one has snacks/drinks.  I will do more research on that.  I might get with my group and see if they want to leave 30 minutes earlier for a time cushion.  

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, txtechmk said:

Yes, we are using ToursbyLocals, and this guide has a 5 star rating.  There are public restrooms at each of our stops.  Not for sure about snacks at each stop but I guess at least one has snacks/drinks.  I will do more research on that.  I might get with my group and see if they want to leave 30 minutes earlier for a time cushion.  

In which case I don't see your issue. Make coffe/cake stops part of your deal and let the guide sort it out.

provided you have been honest about the ship docking and sailing times and TBL have accepted these you will have no issue with the times. We always get back a minimum of 1 hour before the all aboard time .

We prefer to "do less well" rather than pack in so much everything becomes a blur. That way if we happen to see something enroute we generally have time to stop. Hence the dinosaur pic. This is a life sized model, I am standing under it to give the scale, and we were the only group/tour which had time to stop.

Not right or wrong just our preference.

Our preferred group size is 4 or occasionally 6 but always with a larger vehicle as we like the space.

Enjoy your trip.

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

In which case I don't see your issue. Make coffe/cake stops part of your deal and let the guide sort it out.

provided you have been honest about the ship docking and sailing times and TBL have accepted these you will have no issue with the times. We always get back a minimum of 1 hour before the all aboard time .

We prefer to "do less well" rather than pack in so much everything becomes a blur. That way if we happen to see something enroute we generally have time to stop. Hence the dinosaur pic. This is a life sized model, I am standing under it to give the scale, and we were the only group/tour which had time to stop.

Not right or wrong just our preference.

Our preferred group size is 4 or occasionally 6 but always with a larger vehicle as we like the space.

Enjoy your trip.

Looking at the pic again reminded me that since the model was built the museum has discovered  that, although the skeleton it is based on is the largest yet discovered, the dinosaur was not fully grown!