Shorex ? What's that ?

[Crestawave]

Probably the simplest of my first time cruisers daft questions but what is a Shorex ?

[sparks1093]

It is a shore excursion, a local tour arranged through the cruise lines. You can purchase those but you can also deal directly with most excursion operators and pay less then what the cruise line charges. It all depends on your comfort level. 

[Crestawave]

24 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

It is a shore excursion, a local tour arranged through the cruise lines. You can purchase those but you can also deal directly with most excursion operators and pay less then what the cruise line charges. It all depends on your comfort level. 

As it's our first cruise we're going to keep everything in house with our cruise line.

[CDNPolar]

You may also see or hear the manager or team that manages the excursions as the Shorex Manager or Shorex Department.

 

What sparks1093 says above is true, but caution if you are booking your own excursions and if you book independently and you are not back in time for the ship to sail - for whatever reason - the ship does not wait for you.  On the flip side, if the ship arranged the excursion and that excursion is late, then they wait.

[Crestawave]

1 minute ago, CDNPolar said:

 caution if you are booking your own excursions and if you book independently and you are not back in time for the ship to sail - for whatever reason - the ship does not wait for you.  On the flip side, if the ship arranged the excursion and that excursion is late, then they wait.

I don't think the missus would be impressed if we get stranded ashore !

[CDNPolar]

1 minute ago, Crestawave said:

I don't think the missus would be impressed if we get stranded ashore !

 

Check out YouTube for passengers RUNNING for their cruise ships that have left port minutes before they got back.  Many of these are filmed by those of us on the ship hanging off our balconies for the sail away.  I personally have never seen this myself, but have watched many of the videos.  We did have a friend travelling with her best friend and they took a private car tour for the day and they were literally RUNNING and reached the gangway at the moment that they were going to lift it.

 

We do however book private excursions, but we look at the sail away time and always ensure that we have at least a 90 minute window and are back 90 minutes before sail away.  Just not worth the risk.

 

Also be careful how early the private excursion starts because docking times are never guaranteed, however we have never been late in docking in the morning, and in fact most times we dock earlier than expected.  

[leaveitallbehind]

6 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Check out YouTube for passengers RUNNING for their cruise ships that have left port minutes before they got back.  Many of these are filmed by those of us on the ship hanging off our balconies for the sail away.  I personally have never seen this myself, but have watched many of the videos. 

We have witnessed this several times in our cruising experience.  Two in particular are noteworthy:  The first was in Cozumel as the ship had already pulled away from the pier and about a mile out a small boat came quickly aside.  People on the boat were waving frantically and the ship crew realized they were "late arrivers" to the pier.  The ship slowed, the boat came along side, and crew members assisted two passengers off the boar into the gangway area.  One funny note with this was that one of the passengers on the upper deck watching the events unfold leaned over to get a better view and watched as his sunglasses fell off his head into the small boat below.  One of the "delayed" passengers picked them up and brought them back on board with them.

 

The second was in Bermuda as we watched an NCL ship pull away from the pier ahead of our departure.  When they were about 100 yards off the pier, a young woman in a bathing suit pushing a stroller with a baby in it came running down the pier waving to the ship, hoping it would stop.  It did not, and we then watched a very upset mother (and child) wander back up the pier looking for assistance.  We left shortly after with them still on the pier - apparently we were not in a position (or able) to assist.  

 

That being said, we too typically (especially in the Caribbean) manage our own shore activities as there are many local, reputable, and dependable operators who are very aware and sensitive to ship departure times and have not had any issues in over 25 years of doing so.  Early on in our cruising experience we did mainly ship based tours but soon gained the confidence and awareness to break away on our own.  But to each his own.  Although not necessarily related to independent excursions, obviously based on the experiences I shared there are risks to be aware of in this.

Edited October 15, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Host Kat]

16 hours ago, Crestawave said:

Probably the simplest of my first time cruisers daft questions but what is a Shorex ?

 

@Crestawave

 

You can research shorex on the Ports of Call forums. That is where you can find reviews or recommendations of tour operators, guides, property & business owners in the various ports of call forums.

[chengkp75]

23 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

On the flip side, if the ship arranged the excursion and that excursion is late, then they wait.

This should read "then they may wait".  Delaying departure for late guests is not guaranteed, even for cruise line sponsored excursions.  However, for ship sponsored excursions that miss the ship's departure, the cruise line will make all arrangements to get you to the next available port of call.

[ldubs]

On 10/15/2023 at 3:01 AM, CDNPolar said:

You may also see or hear the manager or team that manages the excursions as the Shorex Manager or Shorex Department.

 

What sparks1093 says above is true, but caution if you are booking your own excursions and if you book independently and you are not back in time for the ship to sail - for whatever reason - the ship does not wait for you.  On the flip side, if the ship arranged the excursion and that excursion is late, then they wait.

 

5 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

This should read "then they may wait".  Delaying departure for late guests is not guaranteed, even for cruise line sponsored excursions.  However, for ship sponsored excursions that miss the ship's departure, the cruise line will make all arrangements to get you to the next available port of call.

 

My SIL was on a private tour bus from Berlin that was late to the port from Berlin.  Ships waited for them.    They might have been waiting for ship excursion buses caught in the same traffic jam.  Who knows.   

[chengkp75]

18 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

 

My SIL was on a private tour bus from Berlin that was late to the port from Berlin.  Ships waited for them.    They might have been waiting for ship excursion buses caught in the same traffic jam.  Who knows.   

As I said, the ship may wait, depending on the transit time to the next port, limitations on leaving port (tides, daylight, etc), and how many pax will be involved.  It may wait, it may not, varying for just about each situation individually.

[ldubs]

3 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

As I said, the ship may wait, depending on the transit time to the next port, limitations on leaving port (tides, daylight, etc), and how many pax will be involved.  It may wait, it may not, varying for just about each situation individually.

 

I wasn't disputing.  Just sharing an experience.