NCL vs Princess Shore Excursions

[rnr4thatsme]

Are most of the excursions the same price and quality etc when compared between the two lines or?  Is one line better than the other in this regard?  I know there are private operators, but friends that I'm travelling with insist on only doing cruise line arranged tours.

[Glaciers]

Hopefully you can open these links that give pricing for NCL & Princess Excursions. You might have to navigate around a bit.  Too bad your friends don’t want to try independent operators. I have not read of any posts that indicate an Alaska independent tour operator getting back to the ship before the ship leaves.  Just doesn’t happen in Alaska.

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgqGrBhDtARIsAM5s0_n6nbRjtmuC9K0lE8vGQ4xoT_ioA1Pyjv7DJhb6iC4E58G5d1tnmj8aAs3nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/search?destination=Alaska+Cruises&amp%3Bactivities=Featured

 

[no1racefan1]

If it helps, most of the ship excursions I've looked at for AK have been the same price or within $10 of the price of independent tour operators. And remember most of the tour operators the cruise lines hire are still local; they just happen to have made a deal/contract.

[karatemom2]

In many instance the cruise lines are using the same tour operators in these ports - just sharing times, dates and capacities. Pricing will likely be similar as well. I would not choose my Alaska cruise based on the ship excursions but on the itinerary, scenic viewing locations and the time in port. 

 

And, as has been pointed out, Alaska is a very reliable place to plan your own independent excursions. We virtually never book through the ship in Alaska anymore as over the years we have found it so easy, cost effective and usually more enjoyable to book independently.

[Paula_MacFan]

6 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

If it helps, most of the ship excursions I've looked at for AK have been the same price or within $10 of the price of independent tour operators. And remember most of the tour operators the cruise lines hire are still local; they just happen to have made a deal/contract.

I agree, some of the independent excursions I've found have actually been priced higher than our cruise excursions for the same offering.  Also many of our excursions have gone way up in price since we booked them, and we're still 6 months out from our trip.  

[Glaciers]

The cost difference between lines and independents is pretty insignificant most of the time. I can’t imagine making that a consideration between choosing a line. What we’ve found with booking independent is smaller group sizes and a better experience.  I read an article that cruise lines in Alaska can charge a commission of up to 50% for simply booking the excursion. If you want the money to stay with the operator, book direct with them.

 

There are other details that are often overlooked like mandatory gratuities. We were surprised this year on a Panama Canal cruise with NCL that gratuities were $20/day vs. $16 with Princess. If the OP is concerned with difference in excursion cost, this may be a consideration as well.  Docking in Ward Cove in Ketchikan and tendering in Juneau would most certainly be higher on our priority list when choosing a line.

[CruiserBruce]

19 hours ago, rnr4thatsme said:

Are most of the excursions the same price and quality etc when compared between the two lines or?  Is one line better than the other in this regard?  I know there are private operators, but friends that I'm travelling with insist on only doing cruise line arranged tours.

There is, in the big picture, fairly limited resources for tour provision in Alaska. The excursions may have different names with different cruise lines, but most are the same, cruise line to cruise line, with the same limited number of providers working with most of the cruise lines. There is, for example, only so many ways to helicopter to a glacier, or see sled dogs, or whale watch.

[Coral]

I have found Celebrity shore excursions more expensive than Princess - same exact shore excursion. Sometimes the luxury lines are also significantly higher.

 

One need not shy away from booking directly with the vendor if possible. 

[sambamama]

Me, I would book either Princess or HAL or Alaska.  They both have been doing it the longest.  Also, I would go from Vancouver (more scenic) and absolutely book one that goes to Glacier Bay.