Celebrity Shore Excursions

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

12 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

That's a good choice as well and we have booked through them for our Dec Asia cruise/Africa trip and we have booked a couple TBLs for next year's Trans-Pacific sailing.

 

Many of the private guides that we have hired outside of TBL do not require any up front payment.  TBL charges the guide 30% so some/all of that fee is passed on to the customer (versus hiring the same guide outside of TBL) although you have pointed out what that buys you.

Why would they be charging the guide? I could see the guide only getting a portion of your fee, but I don't understand why they would charge someone to work for them.

[jwlane]

11 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Why would they be charging the guide?

TBL probably provides the marketing/booking, and I'm guessing the guides are independent contractors who keep all of whatever is charged.

[mahdnc]

12 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Why would they be charging the guide? I could see the guide only getting a portion of your fee, but I don't understand why they would charge someone to work for them.

 

Then I worded it poorly.  If I buy a tour from a guide through TBL for $500.  The guide receives $350 (70%). It also means that I could likely buy that tour for $350 if I hired the guide directly and did not go through TBL.  It depends on how the guide decides to price things.

[mahdnc]

2 minutes ago, jwlane said:

TBL probably provides the marketing/booking, and I'm guessing the guides are independent contractors who keep all of whatever is charged.

 

The guides are free to set the price for their tour through TBL.  When they get paid for doing the tour, TBL keeps 30%.

[Joanne G.]

@Harley167, if you are interested in Celebrity excursions, and depending on when your cruise is, you may be able to catch one of the periodic flash sales.   I booked my September 2024 Med cruise over a year ago, in the months after booking there have been several sales on excursions with discounts in the range of 40%-50%.   I was easily able to cancel previously booked excursions and re-book at the sale price, saving several hundreds of dollars.   The sales come and go quickly and are often around holidays. Celebrity excursions are easily cancelable for any reason, so you could book what interests you now and cancel if you later find a preferable independent option.

 

This thread - and the ports of call boards - have many suggestions and lots of good advice about independent tours.  I personally prefer ship excursions, especially in the Med as often the sites I want to see are some distance from the port, and a higher cost is worth it to me for the security.  I will also add that on 3 out of my 5 European cruises (not on Celebrity), ports have been missed due to weather or mechanical issues.   In each case, refunds for the ship-sponsored excursions were credited to my onboard account with no action needed on my part.  People with independent excursions had more issues negotiating refunds. Hopefully you won't have my bad luck, but any ship on any cruise line could miss a port for any number of reasons.

 

One more point - I may be naive, but I like to think that Celebrity (and other cruise lines) vet their tour vendors in a way that would cause them not to contract with a company whose vehicles have bald tires, such as shown in the picture @mahdncposted.  I know they will disclaim any liability regarding their own excursions, but it still seems very much in their interest to contract with reputable providers.  

 

I'm not trying to convince you to book independent tours, and I understand the reasons others prefer to explore independently.   I am just mentioning some issues that you may not have thought about.   Have a great cruise, however you decide to enjoy the ports.

 

 

[mtnlvr53]

We didn't get left behind but we were on a Celebrity Tour in Avignon, France going to Pope's Palace and the tour left a couple behind. The guide tried to find them but to no avail and we took off on the bus. The trip back to the ship was several miles(I want to say almost 1 hour) so it wasn't all that likely that they took a cab back after we left...

I always wondered if they made it back to the ship on their own or if they got left behind.

[mahdnc]

Our snorkel/diving excursions at the Great Barrier Reef (both booked through the ship and independently) had a strict headcount verification before the boats were allowed to leave the snorkel/dive area.  Also the head count was performed by more than one employee. Both of their numbers had to match and it had to be the "right" number which takes some effort since the boats at the GBR could be huge.  Good idea. I am sure this event had something to do with it: Open Water

[NMTraveller]

9 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

I have three things-got-exciting-but-we-didn't-miss-our-ship stories.

 

2. Constellation, Oct 23 2022, Toulon France (9:30am - 5:00pm)

We (party of 4) hired a private driver/guide to take us to Aix-en-Provence which is about an hour away from the pier in Toulon.  In the early afternoon on our way to Cassis, the passenger rear tire on our van blew out while we were on a going at a high rate of speed on the highway in the middle of nowhere.  Fortunately the driver was able to control the van and pull it over to the shoulder.

 

 

Amazingly, the driver did not know how to change a tire and neither one of us in our party were really able to help him (that is a long story in of itself).  It probably was around 2pm and so we had time BUT the driver (after consulting YouTube) could not physically change out the tire and we were stranded.  Our driver tried to call for a taxi, but they were over an hour away.  Uber was over an hour away as well.  We were lucky: a good Samaritan stopped to help us and he got the tire changed.  We were probably stranded by the road side for at least an hour and by the time we were back on the road, we were all frazzled.  We asked the driver to take us directly back to the ship because we were just done.  We got back with an hour to spare.

 

 

By the way, the blown tire was horribly bald and was not roadworthy.

 

 

 

 

LOL.

 

Next time give me a FaceTime call and I will get you through the tire change 🤣

 

Those tires look like mine when I was about 16 and doing burn outs in the parking lot 🤣

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Then I worded it poorly.  If I buy a tour from a guide through TBL for $500.  The guide receives $350 (70%). It also means that I could likely buy that tour for $350 if I hired the guide directly and did not go through TBL.  It depends on how the guide decides to price things.

Correct but for what you save, in this example $150,  you lose the security of booking through TBL including a free phone number if there are probems/queries during the booking and the guarantee to get you to the next port.

The Guide benefits from TBL's extensive marketing system and is guaranteed their money if you don't show up on the day.

 

[mahdnc]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

Correct but for what you save, in this example $150,  you lose the security of booking through TBL including a free phone number if there are probems/queries during the booking and the guarantee to get you to the next port.

The Guide benefits from TBL's extensive marketing system and is guaranteed their money if you don't show up on the day.

 

Yes. It simply comes down to what value you place on the higher price you pay from the mark up.  They don’t mean as much to me as it does for you.  The same thing goes with the mark up associated with Celebrity’s shore excursions.  Some people place a lot of value on the convenience and security. 

Edited March 17 by mahdnc

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

11 hours ago, mtnlvr53 said:

We didn't get left behind but we were on a Celebrity Tour in Avignon, France going to Pope's Palace and the tour left a couple behind. The guide tried to find them but to no avail and we took off on the bus. The trip back to the ship was several miles(I want to say almost 1 hour) so it wasn't all that likely that they took a cab back after we left...

I always wondered if they made it back to the ship on their own or if they got left behind.

Were there announcements for 2 people to report immediately to Guest Services prior to sailing? If so they may not have. If not they likely did.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

Yes. It simply comes down to what value you place on the higher price you pay from the mark up.  They don’t mean as much to me as it does for you.  The same thing goes with the mark up associated with Celebrity’s shore excursions.  Some people place a lot of value on the convenience and security. 

X's excursions have Zero value for us. My wife has mobility issues and X's big busses and then having to trail along behind a guide make the whole experience pointless. By the time we catch up with the Guide they have finished their explanation and are ready to mov to the next stopping point. Then of course there is the "shopping" break and the Comfort stop with a snack.

For us to be able to walk with the Guide (we talk as we walk so no stopping and starting) to have coffee/cake breaks when we want and to have a vehicle with easy access is priceless.

Another advantage of booking through TBL which we know others use is that when you share a tour you can set up the payments so each participant can pay their share direct - uiseful when members come from different countries.

Choice is always good

[mahdnc]

 

22 minutes ago, the penguins said:

X's excursions have Zero value for us. My wife has mobility issues and X's big busses and then having to trail along behind a guide make the whole experience pointless. By the time we catch up with the Guide they have finished their explanation and are ready to mov to the next stopping point. Then of course there is the "shopping" break and the Comfort stop with a snack.

For us to be able to walk with the Guide (we talk as we walk so no stopping and starting) to have coffee/cake breaks when we want and to have a vehicle with easy access is priceless.

Another advantage of booking through TBL which we know others use is that when you share a tour you can set up the payments so each participant can pay their share direct - uiseful when members come from different countries.

Choice is always good

 

I’m sorry to hear about your wife’s mobility issues. 
 

Choice is good. We've booked Celebrity shore excursions only when we have no other choice. It’s generally our least preferred option. Booking directly with the guide or tour operator is our first choice. 

Edited March 17 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

22 hours ago, Harley167 said:

I am looking for advise. I have always booked excursions through the ship we were on. As they scare me wiht "we will leave port without you"....But we are doin g a Mediterranean Cruise and cost is significantly less using private tours such as Viator /Rome in Limo.Any thoughts appreciated.

What ports are you thinking about making independent touring arrangements?

[ppanyan]

I have used Shore Excursions Group for independent excursions.  This outfit also seems to be the preferred independent outfit from my TA.  Shore Excursions Group has a guarantee to get you back to the ship on time or they will get you to the next port for free.  Fortunately I have never had to take advantage of that guarantee.

[love2crews.]

My take on independent shore excursions:

 

I love the flexibility independent shore excursions offer.  I tend to book direct with the tour operators.  I do, however, browse sites such as Viator.  If you look under "Additional Information," you will find the local tour operator. Then you can reach out directly to the tour operator.  Of course I always make sure the operator is well reviewed and there are RECENT reviews.  If there aren't a lot of reviews but they're all good, I'll see if the reviews are a ) all in the same language, b) posted around the same time, or c) if the reviewers only have a couple reviews.  For me, these are red flags.

 

I also make sure to tell the operators we have to be back to the ship 2 hours before the ship is scheduled to leave port.  For example, if we're in port until 9pm, I'll tell the operator we need to be back by 7pm.  I DO NOT tell them we're in port until 9pm; just that we need to be back by 7pm.

 

Also, if we have a long drive, I will NOT book with independent tour operators.  I will book with the cruise line.

 

For most tour operators, this is their job and they do not want to risk their reputation if something goes wrong.  They will do everything in their power to get you back to the ship.  Of course stuff does go wrong every now and then, but by allowing a minimum of a 2 hour cushion, we have always made it back to the ship in time. 🙂

[Lost in Italy]

On 3/16/2024 at 5:20 PM, Joanne G. said:

@Harley167, if you are interested in Celebrity excursions, and depending on when your cruise is, you may be able to catch one of the periodic flash sales.   I booked my September 2024 Med cruise over a year ago, in the months after booking there have been several sales on excursions with discounts in the range of 40%-50%.   I was easily able to cancel previously booked excursions and re-book at the sale price, saving several hundreds of dollars.   The sales come and go quickly and are often around holidays. Celebrity excursions are easily cancelable for any reason, so you could book what interests you now and cancel if you later find a preferable independent option.

 

This thread - and the ports of call boards - have many suggestions and lots of good advice about independent tours.  I personally prefer ship excursions, especially in the Med as often the sites I want to see are some distance from the port, and a higher cost is worth it to me for the security.  I will also add that on 3 out of my 5 European cruises (not on Celebrity), ports have been missed due to weather or mechanical issues.   In each case, refunds for the ship-sponsored excursions were credited to my onboard account with no action needed on my part.  People with independent excursions had more issues negotiating refunds. Hopefully you won't have my bad luck, but any ship on any cruise line could miss a port for any number of reasons.

 

One more point - I may be naive, but I like to think that Celebrity (and other cruise lines) vet their tour vendors in a way that would cause them not to contract with a company whose vehicles have bald tires, such as shown in the picture @mahdncposted.  I know they will disclaim any liability regarding their own excursions, but it still seems very much in their interest to contract with reputable providers.  

 

I'm not trying to convince you to book independent tours, and I understand the reasons others prefer to explore independently.   I am just mentioning some issues that you may not have thought about.   Have a great cruise, however you decide to enjoy the ports.

 

 

Do you need to go into your booking account to see if sales/discounts are available? Is there any other way to be notified? Our cruise is not until 2025. 

[justcrusn]

On 3/16/2024 at 12:37 PM, jwlane said:

Can anyone relate actual instances of being left behind while on a non-Celebrity excursion?

We were not left behind, but close one time.

Our van had a flat tire on the way back to the ship, too far to walk.

The company sent another van to pick us up and we did make it, but there was some worry about it.

[Joanne G.]

1 hour ago, Lost in Italy said:

Do you need to go into your booking account to see if sales/discounts are available? Is there any other way to be notified? Our cruise is not until 2025. 

I get notifications of the flash sales on my phone through the app.  So download the app if you haven't done so already and log into it to make sure your cruise is showing.   I haven't routinely checked my booking, as I caught all the sales due to the notifications from the app.  But it can't hurt to check your booking around Memorial Day, Labor Day, 4th of July, and Black Friday.  It was around those holidays when the best sales happened for my cruise.  The savings were significant.   Good luck!