Rate your Seabourn Excursion

[whystayhome]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm sure you've noticed that the cost of Seabourn excursions has skyrocketed.  But, has the quality kept pace with the increased cost?  Don't think so. Another issue:  There is often limited correspondence between the write up of the excursion and what actually happens.

 

I thought it would be helpful if people would post their impressions of excursions they've taken to help all of us pick the winners and avoid the losers.

 

Here are some recent excursions we did, and our assessment of them on a 1-10 Scale with some annotation:

 

Stornoway, Scotland:  Ancient Lewis and the Blackthorn Village:  9 - terrific day and great guide

 

Saguenay, Canada: Zodiac in Saguenay National Park: 9 - beautiful ride on a beautiful day

 

Quebec, Canada:  Train to Baie St. Paul: 2 - Boring train ride. Mediocre snack stop. Commercialized town with not much to do if you're not interested in buying things you could get on line if you really wanted them.

 

Trois Rivières, Canada: Hiking the Cascades Trail: 1 - The bus driver didn't know how to get to the park, which was also not in the Cascade mountains.  This was supposed to be a 2-hour guided hike.  The "guide" pointed in the direction of the trail and told us he would meet us at the picnic area in an hour.

 

Trois Rivières, Canada:  A tour of the city and a visit to the Old Prison: 8 - The tour of the prison by an on-site docent was excellent.  Our guided tour around town was pretty lame.

 

Boston, Massachusetts:  American Presidents Kennedy and Adams: 10/3 - dual rating. The guide was excellent and made the best of the day. The Kennedy Library was terrific - if you haven't been there, go.  The John Adams house was closed that day, so we couldn't tour the interior.  Seabourn should have known that and not included the house tour in the tour description.

 

Please consider sharing your impressions of the Seabourn excursions you've taken.  Thank you.

 

Linda

 

 

 

 

 

[SLSD]

Linda,  This thread is such a good idea!!  I think it will be very very helpful to Seabourn cruisers.  I will try to go back and rate some of the excursions in Norway we took last summer.  We are returning to some of the same ports this summer on our 28 days Iceland/Norway itinerary.  I may not get to rating them for a few days.  

[labonnevie]

8 hours ago, whystayhome said:

 

Here are some recent excursions we did, and our assessment of them on a 1-10 Scale 

 

Trois Rivières, Canada:  A tour of the city and a visit to the Old Prison: 8 - The tour of the prison by an on-site docent was excellent.  Our guided tour around town was pretty lame.

We took this tour September 2022 and would rate it a 5. 
The first part through the old town was interesting but at the prison it went downhill fast. We were held captive for 45 minutes to an hour in the prison. 15 minutes would have been sufficient. Then, when we finally left, our guide ran us through the restaurant area of town and promptly left us, albeit in sight of the Quest. 

 

8 hours ago, whystayhome said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[commodoredave]

We have found most cruise line excursions to be hit and miss. Which is why we always compare offerings from local tour providers to those offered by the cruise line. About 50% of the time we book a private tour, especially if we can find another couple or two to share the cost.

[Shipless in Seattle]

We were just on Seabourn Odyssey a few weeks ago an Alaska cruise, and spent about $3000 on tours through the ship. I did think the prices were higher than I was used to, but when I tried to look at booking independently in the various cities, there wasn’t much savings, so I think the pricing has just gone up for everything overall. We’re getting on Pursuit shortly in Manaus to Ushuaia and have been nicely surprised there are complementary tours in nearly every port so getting on their new expedition ships has that advantage. Silversea and Regent include the tours but Seabourn seems to be having some more aggressive prices on their cruises lately so you’re still paying for probably the same price overall wherever you go.

[whystayhome]

Shipless: We had Alaska booked twice and pre-booked mostly Seabourn excursions.  Both times the cruise was cancelled by Seabourn due to the pandemic.  If we try again, would you recommend taking the Seabourn excursions you booked?  Or were some of them simply forgettable, that is, a waste of time?

 

That some of the other lines include the excursions in the up front price may be convenient, but we were in port with a Regent ship and saw 40+ people climbing on to a tour bus, which didn’t seem all that appealing. Would Regenteers weigh in?

 

Linda

[jsiegel]

On 10/4/2023 at 10:03 AM, whystayhome said:

Hi everyone!

 

Trois Rivières, Canada: Hiking the Cascades Trail: 1 - The bus driver didn't know how to get to the park, which was also not in the Cascade mountains.  This was supposed to be a 2-hour guided hike.  The "guide" pointed in the direction of the trail and told us he would meet us at the picnic area in an hour.

 

Please consider sharing your impressions of the Seabourn excursions you've taken.  Thank you.

 

Linda

We did the Hiking the Cascades Trail in October 2022.  Same experience, except the bus driver did know the way.  The "guide" pointed to the trail and told us to come back at a certain time.  There were multiple paths so some people got lost and everyone was not back at the appointed time so the guide went off to find them.  Many of us complained about the tour when we returned to the ship and we did receive a partial refund.  I'm surprised they are still using that tour company and not providing a guided tour.

 

Jackie

[SDuckers]

In St. Lucia 2 years ago (so still in pandemic "bubble" for excursions), DH and I did the aerial tram and  Ziplining canopy tour.  I think you can probably now book it independent of Seabourn through a number of vendors but that wasn't an option for us.  The tram and ziplining was a blast and our guide was fabulous -- very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna we were seeing.  My only criticism was that after we completed the full series of ziplines from the top of the forest to the forest floor, we had to hike all the way back up to the top.  If I had known that I might not have signed up for the excursion, because the hike back up was strenuous (and I admit to not being in great shape for such a thing).  So maybe it's better I didn't know.   I felt bad delaying everyone else in the group because I was so slow going back up.  

Edited October 9, 2023 by SDuckers

[cruiseej]

On 10/8/2023 at 12:58 PM, commodoredave said:

We have found most cruise line excursions to be hit and miss.

 

And sometimes even from one excursion to the next can be hit or miss. One guide could be great, another could be dull/bored/unengaged. There can be traffic issues which throw a tour off completely one day, equipment malfunctions, missing/scarce wildlife, and other factors that could make the same excursion a 2 for one person and a 9 for someone else. 

[whystayhome]

15 hours ago, jsiegel said:

Many of us complained about the tour when we returned to the ship and we did receive a partial refund.  I'm surprised they are still using that tour company and not providing a guided tour

I finally got a complete refund for the tour (I was really peeved) and was surprised that they used the same company when we returned to the port 2 days later. Amazing they were still using that group a year after your unsatisfactory experience.

 

linda

[CruiseCruiseCruise13]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a day time Ephesus tour? Seabourn offer a few at varying prices, but we’re stuck on which one to go for.

[Vineyard View]

Vis Island to Hvar in Croatia. The excursion was not only one of the worse but also a safety concern. The small, old  boat used to transport passengers to and from Hvar was so packed there was no elbow room. The largest percentage of people were stuck inside smelling exhaust fumes the entire way. A smaller percentage of passengers sat outside in the back with not a spare inch of open room. It was a fairly long boat ride and I was extremely nauseated we arrived in Hvar. We opted to DIY so that I could settle my stomach. That turned out to be a great idea based on what other passengers said about the tour. We were sure to cut our time short and be early enough in line for the return to grab a seat outdoors.  I did not see one single smiling face on this tour. Some passengers were very experienced sailors and expressed concerns on the safety of how overloaded the old boat was. 
We did notify guest services. They agreed to a smaller percentage refund. If this is offered on future stops I would certainly ask questions around the water  transportation before I signed up. 
Otherwise, Hvar was a lovely island to visit. 

[EbonyJ]

16 hours ago, CruiseCruiseCruise13 said:

Does anyone have a recommendation for a day time Ephesus tour? Seabourn offer a few at varying prices, but we’re stuck on which one to go for.

Check out a company called Ephesus Shuttle.  We used them for both group tours and private tours in both Kusadasi and Istanbul.  Both were excellent.  For Ephesus I would recommend one that includes the terrace houses. 

[Vineyard View]

15 hours ago, EbonyJ said:

Check out a company called Ephesus Shuttle.  We used them for both group tours and private tours in both Kusadasi and Istanbul.  Both were excellent.  For Ephesus I would recommend one that includes the terrace houses. 

We used them in 2014, same two ports, private tours. Excellent experiences in both locations. Good to know they are still offering their services. I will look to see if they also operate out of Izmir. 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Vineyard View

[lisa6191]

On 10/27/2023 at 12:15 PM, CruiseCruiseCruise13 said:

Does anyone have a recommendation for a day time Ephesus tour? Seabourn offer a few at varying prices, but we’re stuck on which one to go for.

Definitely do a private tour rather than a ship tour, they are much less expensive and you get your own guide (and can skip the obligatory rug factory tour/sales push if you want). We used Curio Travel and were very happy with them. We did Ephesus, the Terrace Houses (must see) and Artemis temple (can miss, nothing there really) for $150 total for two of us. I think that price was good for up to 4 people which is a steal, but even for two people it was a great price. The guide also offered us various options for visits to a rug factory, leather factory, or ceramics factory, with and without lunch, all of which would have been included in the $150, but we were not interested in any of them. Bonus, our guide took some great pictures of us at Ephesus and knew the best vantage points for various photos.

 

Also, if the free night excursion is offered, it is a must do. Probably the best thing we did on our whole cruise.

[worcestergal]

Considering the discussion about non-Seabourn guides, we have had excellent luck with getting private guides from ToursByLocals, Context and Viator. However, on our last cruise, we were left high and dry when our private guide, hired thru Viator, did not show up at the dock in Giardini Naxos (Taormina). We were supposed to be met there at 8:30 and I found that at 8:15, we received an email saying that the guide was sick and we would receive a refund. Just something to be aware of…

 

On a more pleasant note, I was wondering if anyone has had experience with private guides in Morocco. Our cruise next year has 2 nights in Casablanca and I was thinking about arranging an overnight to Marrakech. Has anyone done that?

 

 Thanks!

[toseaornottosea]

Why not check out ToursByLocals since you've been happy with their guides.  We have always been happy with their guides.

[frantic36]

2 hours ago, worcestergal said:

On a more pleasant note, I was wondering if anyone has had experience with private guides in Morocco. Our cruise next year has 2 nights in Casablanca and I was thinking about arranging an overnight to Marrakech. Has anyone done that?

 

We used Tours by locals for both Casablanca and Tangier and both guides were wonderful with very good English. We were in Tangier about 5 days after the earthquake so there were no tours to Marrakech not even ship tours so I can't help with that experience. 

 

In Casablanca we did a walking food and history tour with Issam. The only hiccup was we met at a local landmark and it would have been easier if I had arranged him to meet us at the port and then taken a taxi to the are with him. Once we started we had a wonderful day and learnt a lot plus walked a lot. The only thing I regret was we but my son a lovely leather jacket in the souk which he loves, now I wish I had bought one for myself as it was so soft and half the price from elsewhere I have travelled.

 

In Tangier our guide Hamid took us to Chefchouan (the blue city) which is where he lives so he knew lots of people in town. He didn't drive but organised an excellent driver at no extra charge and our van was a quite new Mercedes van. The 2 hour drive one way was very interesting and went surprisingly quickly as we chatted about life. Chefchouan itself was well worth the drive. You do have to walk in the town as the streets are very narrow.

 

 

[worcestergal]

Considering the discussion about non-Seabourn guides, we have had excellent luck with getting private guides from ToursByLocals, Context and Viator. However, on our last cruise, we were left high and dry when our private guide, hired thru Viator, did not show up at the dock in Giardini Naxos (Taormina). We were supposed to be met there at 8:30 and I found that at 8:15, we received an email saying that the guide was sick and we would receive a refund. Just something to be aware of…

 

On a more pleasant note, I was wondering if anyone has had experience with private guides in Morocco. Our cruise next year has 2 nights in Casablanca and I was thinking about arranging an overnight to Marrakech. Has anyone done that?

 

 Thanks!

[worcestergal]

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I did plan to check out ToursByLocals. However, since there are so many guides on that site, it is great to get some firsthand recommendations. 

[jdk-atlga]

On 10/29/2023 at 11:18 AM, lisa6191 said:

Definitely do a private tour rather than a ship tour, they are much less expensive and you get your own guide (and can skip the obligatory rug factory tour/sales push if you want). We used Curio Travel and were very happy with them. We did Ephesus, the Terrace Houses (must see) and Artemis temple (can miss, nothing there really) for $150 total for two of us. I think that price was good for up to 4 people which is a steal, but even for two people it was a great price. The guide also offered us various options for visits to a rug factory, leather factory, or ceramics factory, with and without lunch, all of which would have been included in the $150, but we were not interested in any of them. Bonus, our guide took some great pictures of us at Ephesus and knew the best vantage points for various photos.

 

Also, if the free night excursion is offered, it is a must do. Probably the best thing we did on our whole cruise.

On the Encore in September - we did the SB excursion to Ephesus in the morning and came back to ship for the afternoon. Depending on the weather and number of other ships there, I suggest doing any tours earlier than later.

 

Yes, the "Exclusive" SB concert at Ephesus was the cruise highlight.

[CruiseCruiseCruise13]

11 hours ago, jdk-atlga said:

On the Encore in September - we did the SB excursion to Ephesus in the morning and came back to ship for the afternoon. Depending on the weather and number of other ships there, I suggest doing any tours earlier than later.

 

Yes, the "Exclusive" SB concert at Ephesus was the cruise highlight.

Your photos look amazing! We’re very much looking forward to the evening excursion. Which daytime excursion did you choose?

[Vineyard View]

We visited Ephesus a number of years back in the daytime. These evening events look incredible. 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

We visited Ephesus a number of years back in the daytime. These evening events look incredible. 

It is an unforgettable evening.  To me it represents the best of Seabourn. 

For those planning a cruise that includes access to Ephesus, the evening concert is only offered from Kusadasi, not from Izmir.

[Vineyard View]

Good to know. Thank you.