Ship Shore Excursions - Are they ever good?

[LILynn]

I am taking my first cruise to Europe on the Princess Grand 9/1/06. I have been on a number of cruises to the Caribean, Canada and Bermuda and have rarely done any of the ship shore excursions.

 

This is my first time going to Europe. We are going to Monte Carlo, Naples, Florence (Livorno), Santorini, Athens (Pireus), Mykonos, Ephesus (Kusadasi), Katakolon, Corfu, ending in Venice.

 

I think it will be easy enough in the smaller ports to find our way around, but we are considering shore excursions in Florence (2 hours in Florence then the rest of the day in Chianti), Naples (Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast), and Athens (the highlights tour).

 

There are not very many people on the roll call board for this cruise - which is suprising because other than the inside cabins, the ship is sold out.

 

Everyone on this board seems to do private tours, but for 2 people it seems to be very expensive.

 

Are the shore excursions that bad?????

 

Thanks in adavnce for your opinions.

[Cruise or Lose!]

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, buy the idea that unless you do a private tour, you won't be getting your money's worth.

 

The ship's shore excursions are good enough for me, and I'm going on a Mediterranean cruise too (July 1, Millennium). They give you a good taste of a city the first time out, and most importantly, they feature licensed guides who have a responsibility to get you back to the ship on time.

 

I won't knock the private tours (unlike some people, who seem to sneer at anyone who wants to do a bus tour) but I wouldn't use them, especially on my first trip to Europe (which this isn't)

[no_wake]

It really depends on the "type" of traveller you are. If you prefer "independent travel" and like to discover things on your own, then you're better off skipping the ships excursions. If you have a set check-list of places you want to see in that particular port, then a tour of some type is in order. For me, I have found that discovering things on my own brings the biggest joy to travel so I prefer the independent travel choices.

[Ashlea13vb]

You read my mind, LILynn! I, too, am on the Grand this summer - leaving on August 8. And our rollcall is virtually non-existent - despite the fact that the ship is almost sold out! I wonder why this is the case?

 

With a party of two, as we have as well, private tours do seem quite expensive. We like to move at a pretty quick pace - so we're a bit hesitant on ship tours. I've read reviews that the ship tours don't move as fast (which does make sense, since it will have quite a few people on each tour), and I'm concerned about not seeing as much as we could do on our own. On the other hand, I'm also worried about transportation strikes, or something happening beyond our control that makes us late to the ship if we do venture out on our own. Oh, the decisions!

 

My boyfriend thinks a ship tour makes sense in Naples, although I'm slightly bummed because I think I'd really like to see both Pompeii and Herculaneum... and no ship tour takes you to both. So I'm stuck on that one.

 

Any thoughts from posters out there that have done both Grand ship tours and "on your own," and thoughts about which is better? I know it comes down a personal choice, but is there one thing that made all the difference for you?

[digby]

We always do ship's excursions and are generally happy with them other than the time wasted for shoping.

[vacationhappy]

We took a simialr cruise with Pricess last August. We mixed ship's tours, private tours, and on our oown - we paid for four - 2 adults and 2 children.

 

We took a ship's tourin Onte Carlo to St. Paul de Vence and the perfume producing villages - it was excellent. We also took Capri, Pompeii and Sorento tour in Naples - it was also very good. In both cases, it was more economical to take the tours then go on private tours.

 

We hired a drive in Athens and in Livorno. Our Athen's driver cam highly recommend on this board and frankly I don't think I would hire him again. We hired a taxi once we got off the ship in Livorno and that worked out well and was less expensive than a private tour.

[superagentnyc]

Personally, my wife and I only would do a ship's tour as a last resort. We much prefer to do things independently at our own pace. I think you get more of a feel for a place and enjoy it more without a large group. Depends on the port, but you can rent a car, take a train, etc. We did one private tour in a group of 8 with people we met through the roll call on here for our cruise. It was of the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. We had a terrific day, but we had a great group and were able to wander on our own in the towns and at Pompeii, where the other six took a guided a tour.

 

Ron

[Bruin Steve]

Some of the ships' excursions are excellent...then, again, some aren't...

But, the same can be said of private tours...

 

NEVER let anyone tell you that there is only one correct way of visiting any port...

 

There are good points and bad points to both:

 

Ships' excursions:

Good:

--Little stress, they handle all of the logistics, you just pay and go...

--You'll never miss the ship's departure

--They won't flake out on you

--You don't have to find tour-mates over the internet

--All expenses (entrance fees, local guides, lunch) are included

Bad:

--You can't alter the itinerary

--You're on a bus with 20-40 others

--They'll wait for all the stragglers at each stop

--You may be restricted as to where the bus can go

 

Private tours:

Good:

--You can adjust the itinerary to your liking

--You don't have to wait for anyone else at any stop

--You get personalized attention

Bad:

--The cost may be considerably higher unless you can find "tour-mates" to split the cost--of course, then, you may find the tour-mates have different needs and desires, want different stops, straggle, etc.

--In some places, especially in Italy, most private drivers are not licensed to give tours in public sites like Pompei or the Vatican--they can only drive you and drop you off and you'll need to hire an additional guide...

--You have to deal with all of the logistics

--Drivers/Guides have been known to flake out, same with "tour-mates"

 

Here is my general take:

I'll go with a ship's excursion when it goes where I want to go and the price is reasonable. I'll put up with a big bus (there's really nothing wrong with a bus) and 30 or 40 other passengers (Hey, there's often some good cameraderie there)

 

I'll hire a private guide when the ship's offerings don't cover some particular desire of mine...

 

I'd be more likely to go with a private guide if I were travelling in a party of 4 and I'd be virtually sure to go with a private guide when travelling in a party of six...At six, the cost factor turns around and private tours, in general, become more reasonable...At two, you are paying a major premium...

 

When we went on the Millie to the Med, we did Ship's excursions exclusively...and were quite happy we did--most were outstanding...

 

This July, on the Nautica, we're doing mostly private tours...Why? The ship's offerings don't generally cover what we want to see, especially where we've been to the port before...Plus, Oceania's prices are a tad higher than some others...

 

That said...

We did that Capri, Sorrento and Pompei tour last time and loved it...

Also thought the San Gimignano/Volterra tour from Livorno was great...

We were not happy with our guide in Villefranche for the Nice, Eze and Monte Carlo tour and the timing at the stops was not good...In hindsigh, that would have been a good one to do as a private tour...

Our Rome tour (Walk in Renaissance Rome) worked out almost like a privat tour--with only 11 passengers and two guides!--but they've altered this one since...we thought it was the best bargain of all the tours...

 

Good luck...

...and no, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the shore excursions...you'll have a wonderful time...

[chica]

I have taken several tours from the ship when they were what we wanted to do/see in a given port and have never been burned by them. In fact some of them have been great and all of them gave you exactly what you were promised. Take the ship tours and enjoy. Since it is just two of you it also serves as an opportunity to meet more people. Have fun!

[Trevoli]

I have always done ships' tours with great experiences every time. You bypass a lot of lines if you're with a tour, your admissions tickets are already paid for, and I've had the good fortune to have some awesome tour guides.

 

Except for one occasion. For some reason, I didn't arrange a tour in Livorno, thinking that all I wanted to do was see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and how hard could that be?

 

How hard could this be? Famous last words... I call this the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles tour.

 

From the ship, we took a shuttle to the bus (got on the wrong bus) to the train (bought a 2nd class ticket, got on a 1st class car by mistake and then got off at the wrong stop) to a taxi to the Tower, and then did everything in reverse (minus the wrong stops part). We had very little time to explore, and I'll never try anything like this again.

 

I'm always amazed how people wander around on their own. How do you know where to go? How do you know what you're looking at?

 

And, of course, if you're on a ship's tour and for some reason are late getting back to the ship, they will wait for you. If you're on your own, or on a private tour and are delayed getting back.....

 

T

[LILynn]

Thanks everyone - I fell so much better after hearing from you all. Since I have never been anywhere in Europe, everything will be new to me so I am sure it will be great. All the previous threads just made it sound like shore excursions were terrible and the only way to go was private tours. You have all made me feel so much better.

[Cruise or Lose!]

Glad to be of service! *smile*

[VanCruise]

You read my mind, LILynn! I, too, am on the Grand this summer - leaving on August 8. And our rollcall is virtually non-existent - despite the fact that the ship is almost sold out! I wonder why this is the case?

 

With a party of two, as we have as well, private tours do seem quite expensive. We like to move at a pretty quick pace - so we're a bit hesitant on ship tours. I've read reviews that the ship tours don't move as fast (which does make sense, since it will have quite a few people on each tour), and I'm concerned about not seeing as much as we could do on our own. On the other hand, I'm also worried about transportation strikes, or something happening beyond our control that makes us late to the ship if we do venture out on our own. Oh, the decisions!

 

My boyfriend thinks a ship tour makes sense in Naples, although I'm slightly bummed because I think I'd really like to see both Pompeii and Herculaneum... and no ship tour takes you to both. So I'm stuck on that one.

 

Any thoughts from posters out there that have done both Grand ship tours and "on your own," and thoughts about which is better? I know it comes down a personal choice, but is there one thing that made all the difference for you?

 

Hi

 

You can definitely do Pompeii and Herculaneum the same day yourself. You can either walk or take a bus to the train station. Buy a roundtrip ticket to Pompeii for the Circumvesuviana train (stops at both Pompeii and Herculaneum). Do Pompeii in the morning. Take train back and stop at Herculaneum (Ercolano Scavi) for the afternoon.

[Schplinky]

The thing I hate about ship's tours is the shopping. It's a source of additional revenue for the ship but to rush you through legitimate sites and then to pause at a shopping venue is unfair, given the price of excursions. That said, we are two people and the cost of private excursions seems prohibitive. Oy!

[4 cruisers]

On your first trip to Europe (especially) I think the ship's tours are actually a great idea. I still like the idea of no stress. As a family of 4 or more travelling, it is a value issue for me to look at alternatives. If it was just my husband and myself, we'd probably take more of the ship's tours. Since we have been to Europe and most ports quite a few times now, there are things we'd like to see that aren't offered (such as Herculaneum on our last cruise). We took the bus to the train and were able to manage.

 

I did read later that the bus directly to Herculaneum would have been SO much more convenient. Then you could take the train from Herculaneum to Pompeii Scavi! Then train back to Naples and cab from train to ship. I can't remember who the poster was last summer, but they even can tell you the bus number to hop on in front of the ship for Herculaneum. If not, the tabacco stand where you buy the bus tickets should be able to tell you.

[MVPinBoynton]

There is nothing wrong with ship tours at all, but a private tour can be better; and has been whenever we have had one. There are plenty of bad private tours also. With two people, it is quite cost prohibitive to do a private tour, and with this being your first trip to Europe, I would definitely do the ships tours. You will see many things and have lots of fellow cruisers to share your experiences with. You will have a ball.

[dbh62ark]

On your first trip to Europe (especially) I think the ship's tours are actually a great idea.

For my husband and me, it depends on the port, but we are not a big fan of ship's excursions. I've spent 42 days (and counting!) in Venice and really hate to see passengers take excursions in that port because Venice is a place to be and not to run from site to site in my opinion. You can simply hop off the shuttle in St. Mark's Square and follow the signs that say "Per Rialto" to the Rialto Bridge or just pick a street to walk down and get lost in the beauty of Venice.

 

I saw the post above about the ship's stops to shop in "approved" stores, and I hate that too. But what I hate more is the eternal wait while a busload of passengers loads, unloads, uses the restroom, etc. And I hate 2 hour lunch breaks while I could be wandering around looking at Renoir paintings. Time is so precious in ports, and we can see at least twice as much going on our own, and that's not touring at a frantic pace. We just prefer choosing to spend our time as we see fit and not being called away from a wonderful site just to follow the guide with the umbrella to then stand and wait again.

 

Every time I hear someone talk about the security of going with the ship's excursion, I really think that is just overblown and has been drilled into passengers's brains by the cruise lines. With planning, the risk of being left behind is minimal, and the rewards are great. For those who try independent sightseeing either on their own or with a private driver, most don't like going back to the ship's excursions after that due to the reasons I've stated, so many of the board members who write messages don't like shore excursions because they are experienced travelers who like going independent.

 

We also love using private guides in small groups and think that is an excellent plan for the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, and Villefranche/Monte Carlo areas. These boards are a wonderful resource to form groups on your roll call board. In other ports, we do our research in advance and then head out on our own using our shoe leather, and that's always a great experience. These boards a great source of information to help with planning in ports.

 

I do think the shore excursions work well for passengers with limited mobility. And if we keep traveling like we have for the past 20 years (we're in our mid-40s), we may need to use shore excursions one day, but I can tell you that I dread it because it insulates passengers from experiences with the locals and from a more authentic experience in many ports.

 

It's usually much cheaper to go out on your own too, but that's just an added benefit for me. I'm not going to balk at spending some $$ for a private tour after paying thousands for cruise fare.

 

There are a few ports where I think shore excursions work well, but you need to ask a lot of questions to determine exactly how much time you will have at the sites you want to visit so that you're not disappointed. For example, for those returning to the port of Barcelona, I think Montserrat is just spectacular. It is difficult to visit Montserrat in a port stop due to the timing because you need a train and two funiculars to get to the monastery and then must repeat that to return to the ship. So if you can't form a group with a private guide, a ship's excursion might be a good option there.

 

But all of the opinions you read are just sources of information to help you decide what is best for your and your travel partners. I personally hope that all will try going out on their own some because it's so wonderful, but I wish for happy travels to all.

 

Donna

[4 cruisers]

So true, Donna! It really does depend on the port! The personality of the traveller too, for that matter! If my husband was traveling without me (I'd have to be dead, by the way! LOL!), he would no sooner set out on his own than fly to the moon! Lucky for him, he married a spirited, adventuresome gal who plans all his excurssions!

 

We have to take into account the special event tours that the ship offers sometimes. We are taking one that includes an evening concert in Ephesus exclusively for our cruise. That is actually the only ship's tour for us on our upcoming 12 day cruise. I think everyone here agrees that wading into the water is the first step in learning to swim!

[dbh62ark]

Yes, that tour you referenced sounds wonderful. I've also seen some in Edinburgh that go to the tatoo, and I would go on one of those too. And I also think that personality plays a part because we just are not inclined to sit still too long at home or on the road, so the long breaks on the bus tours that don't work for us may be just fine with others.

 

Donna

[GramaFran]

We do private tours because I have a walking problem and the ship's bus tours have just too much walking required.

Our private tour is normally in a car or van which can get closer to the sites or into the towns with limited walking required, or I can stay in the car and just look at the site while my DH can walk closer and take pictures. I also like being able to find a cafe to enjoy people watching while my DH walks on the tour. Getting older does not mean taking bus tours, I feel just the opposite, Bus tours often have much more walking required to get to and from the bus stop and to the site or town you want to visit. Plus waiting for the stragglers to come back to the bus is just wasting my time.

 

We only take a ship tour when we are unable to find a private tour at a price we consider resonable. On our cruise in Sept. we are doing private tours (Lisbon, Rome, Villefranche), going on own (Brugge, Gilbrater & Malaga), renting a car (Le Havre) and taking 1 ships tour (Vigo).

Francine

[dbh62ark]

We do private tours because I have a walking problem and the ship's bus tours have just too much walking required.

Francine

Francine, that's a good point because I would have guessed that you would have more walking on a private tour. So that emphasizes again the beauty of a private tour where you can dictate where you go and when to set things up to best suit your needs.

 

Donna

[lulu47]

:) My Mother (she 75) and I (47) went on the European cruise last October and booked most of the tours through the ship. The few times we ventured out on our own it turned out to be either a waste of time or a disaster, as in Rome. We were robbed twice by two different cab drivers!! I felt much safer and my Mother (who had difficulty walking) was looked after by booking the ships cruise. We also just got back from a Carribean cruise last month and the only trip we booked was a tour of Miami with the ship. Unfortunately, our camera was stolen, they said they'd reimburse me because the bus wasn't locked like they promised. Anyway, I only recieved $300 for $1800 worth of property. I was told today thats the maximum RCCL will pay out.

[dbh62ark]

Oh my, that is a run of bad luck. I always think that one day our number will be up and we'll run into some bad luck, so I hope that's the end of it for you.

 

Donna

[Cruise or Lose!]

It's fine to have a personal preference for one or the other. It's when I'm made to feel like a second-class traveller because I take shore excursions with the cruise line that I really get annoyed. The OP was almost convinced ship's tours were a bad idea period before starting this thread, and there seems to be the attitude that you're cheap or not adventurous if you go with the cruise line's options. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

As for the poster who said the security issue was "overblown", well, let's put it this way, if I have a problem with a ship's tour, I have Celebrity to contact so as to resolve the problem. With a private tour, I might have a fly-by-night who's nowhere to be found when the trouble starts. That IS an issue for me - we're paying a lot of $ for this cruise and we want some protection. What is wrong with that?

 

I like having the best of both worlds - ship's tour in the morning, on our own in the afternoon or vice versa.

[dbh62ark]

It's fine to have a personal preference for one or the other. It's when I'm made to feel like a second-class traveller because I take shore excursions with the cruise line that I really get annoyed. The OP was almost convinced ship's tours were a bad idea period before starting this thread, and there seems to be the attitude that you're cheap or not adventurous if you go with the cruise line's options. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

As for the poster who said the security issue was "overblown", well, let's put it this way, if I have a problem with a ship's tour, I have Celebrity to contact so as to resolve the problem. With a private tour, I might have a fly-by-night who's nowhere to be found when the trouble starts. That IS an issue for me - we're paying a lot of $ for this cruise and we want some protection. What is wrong with that?

 

I like having the best of both worlds - ship's tour in the morning, on our own in the afternoon or vice versa.

I hear what you're saying and agree with you that you should not feel like you are being belittled for chosing ship's shore excursions. But regarding your perception of private tour operators that are "fly-by-night who's nowhere to be found when the trouble starts," the good tour operators, which would be a vast majority of those recommended on these boards, all have back-up plans in place such as vehicles that can be dispatched in the event of a break-down. We don't use "fly-by-night" tour operators, and I think most of the board members on this site don't either, so we have a high level of confidence in our private guides. I can assure you that with the wealth of information on these boards it would be reported loud and clear if there were tour operators who weren't returning passengers to the port on time. In my years of reading the boards, I have read two cases of passengers missing the ship, and one passenger admitted that her group was at fault because they didn't listen when the tour operator told them it was time to go. Weigh that against the thousands who have reported positive experiences with private guides here, and that's a risk that I will take. But if you want the "protection" that Celebrity offers and are more comfortable with that, then that is the right decision for you.

 

Donna