Is booking tours independently much cheaper?

[smariner]

Is it much cheaper to book tours independently, than going through Royal Caribbean? Some of my research on the web seemed to indicate that the price difference is about 10-15% or so. Does that sound accurate? (eg: the Pilot's choice tour at http://www.temscoair.com/tours/juneau_pc.htm is just about $30 lesser if I book it independently than through RCCL)

 

So, is it worth the hassle of trying to book the tours independently for a saving of 10-15% (since we need to arrange for transporation between ship & starting point of the tour; may need to deal with cancellation policies if the ship changes itinerary at the last minute, etc) ?

[cheezwhiz]

Risky but cheaper

[Nliedel]

It depends. Some tours are almost as expensive as the ships tours, but they offer more.

 

People get very concerned about meeting the ship or the risk of non ships tours. These people live and die by their reputation. The ones that are well reviewed here, but posters with long term membership, are very safe bets. The days a tour leader can futz around and make customers miss the ship are long gone. Indeed those situations, while not unheard of, are very, very rare.

 

You can book the well reviewed tour leaders with confidence. I've done it many times myself and so have many long term posters.

[pcur]

Nliedel is correct. Go to the Ports of Call boards and find a board for the port you're interested in, and you will find recommendations there. I found lots of good information for our Med cruises. There is an especially helpful man on the St. Thomas board who lives there. He anwers just about any question you've got.

[hstrybuf]

It depends, but many of the well known tour providers are not only cheaper, they give you more personalized service. Their groups are smaller than those booked through the cruiseline so you don't get that "cattle call" feeling. AND they are aware of when you need to be back to the ship so they make every effort to keep you on time.

[sgttami]

Independent tours may be a bit less expensive but I really don't think that the price difference is all that much.

 

My son and DIL went on their honeymoon cruise on 5/28 and did a tour through the cruiseline in St. Thomas. On the tour they were involved in a taxi accident..(no one hurt) and spent about 2 hours waiting for the police to take a report.. There were about 20 people on the tour and it ended up getting back to the ship an hour later than they were supposed to. Ship was scheduled to sail at 2, they were told to be back by 1:30. They got back at 2:20.

 

Had they gone off on their own, the ship would have left without them..(maybe, maybe not??)

 

They also got a full refund of the excursion the next morning.

 

I will book independently at times if I know the area and have been there before.

 

In St Thomas we go to St. John to visit friends but we've been there many times and if we EVER got stranded, we'd have a place to stay.

 

In Alaska last year we only did tours through the cruiseline. I have no friends in Alaska!!! On another cruise to Canada/New England it was my sister and I travelling without husbands and we toured with the cruiseline. We just didn't want to venture into unknown territory unescorted..

 

Overall, my vote would be to book through the ship...unless you know the area.

 

Hope this helps...

 

 

Pam

[Morgsmom]

My DD and I took a Small Bus tour in San Juan last year to the Bacardi factory and around new/old San Juan for $15.00 total. It would have been $60 ($30 ea) through RCI. This only happened because we were flexible and joined a group at the end of the pier who were going independently, too. Since there were about 20 of us all from the same ship, I felt perfectly safe and I negotiated my DD to go for free. Cash is king on many of the islands you will visit; it's really a matter of common sense and willingness to be open. HOWEVER, if you have your heart set on an exursion and/or if it takes you far away from the ship (such as Tulum in Mexico) I'd absolutely book through the ship just in case something happened.

[Sheffie]

It depends. Some tours are almost as expensive as the ships tours, but they offer more.

 

People get very concerned about meeting the ship or the risk of non ships tours. These people live and die by their reputation. The ones that are well reviewed here, but posters with long term membership, are very safe bets. The days a tour leader can futz around and make customers miss the ship are long gone. Indeed those situations, while not unheard of, are very, very rare.

 

You can book the well reviewed tour leaders with confidence. I've done it many times myself and so have many long term posters.

 

Ditto!

[WECoyote]

As stated, the local tour companies are competent and reliable for the most part. Book with a credit card so you have recourse if something goes wrong or you miss the excursion through no fault of your own. With that said, I always book through the cruise line, just to have the little extra "insurance" in case something goes wrong (and it did go "south" on one occasion, got a full credit with no hassle).

 

But, I will only add one more thing to take into consideration when and if you decide to go out on your own to book an excursion. Check to see if the port is tendered or docked. If it is tendered, check to see when the boat is due in and what the start time of the excursion is. People with excursions booked through the cruise lines have priority on the tenders. Make sure you will have enough time to disembark and meet your tour. Check the threads in your ports (Ports of Call). A high percentage of people book their own excursions and post their experiences on this web site.

[herecomesthesun]

Sometimes. You really need to do your research. Don't assume just because its private it is cheaper or better. For example, two of our excursions (Deep Sea Fishing and Canopy Tour) we plan on doing through the cruiseline because everything we found was either the same exact price or more expensive, and the independent tours did not have good reviews on the port boards. Reading the port boards is very helpful!

 

If an excursion through the ship and one through a private company is almost the same price and offers the same things, I would go with the ship, especially if it is a longer excursion. If you go through the cruiseline they will wait for you if you are running late, but not with a private tour. You also get priority when getting off the ship.

 

Then again, some things offered through the cruiseline are very overpriced, and some great excursions the cruiseline does not offer, like going to Rum Point in Grand Cayman.

 

I think the important thing is to do your research!

[SuzieTrue]

For our last cruise, I booked all our excursions privately. I saved at least $20 per person [ 4 people], on 3 outings. The total savings basically equaled a free excursion. I also checked out all the companies through the boards. Most private companies have policies concerning the ship missing the port. I had deposits on 2 out of 3 trips and made final payments at the time of the excursion. I also had trips that were not all-day trips. In all cases, we had time to shop/explore before getting back on the ship. Remember though, do what makes YOU feel most comfortable.

[negc]

You need to do your homework and compare prices and features of the tours being offered. You also need to check schedules to make sure that you will have enough time to take a private tour and still be back at the ship on time. In Aruba, a group of us are taking a privately chartered Kukoo Kunuku tour for about $10 pp less than if we booked it through the cruiseline. On St. Maarten, last year, it would have cost more to book the high speed ferry to St. Barths on our own than it did by booking it through the cruiseline, and the ferry schedule on their website did not show a return trip to St. Maarten that would get us back to the ship by the time it was due to sail. In St. Thomas the cost of the tram ride was the same if you booked it through the cruiseline or waited until you got to St. Thomas and bought your tickets at the tram. If you are doing a sightseeing tour or shopping tour or going to a beach, you can probably do better booking them at the pier when you arrive than booking them in advance through the cruiseline, and if it is a capacity controlled excursion (America's Cup Regatta, BOB Underwater Adventure for example) you may find that the best way to guarantee that you can participate will be to book through the cruiseline. Check out things carefully before you decide which way to go. There is not one right way to book all excursions.:)

[love2vacation]

Is it much cheaper to book tours independently, than going through Royal Caribbean? Some of my research on the web seemed to indicate that the price difference is about 10-15% or so.

So, is it worth the hassle of trying to book the tours independently for a saving of 10-15% (since we need to arrange for transpiration between ship & starting point of the tour; may need to deal with cancellation policies if the ship changes itinerary at the last minute, etc) ?

 

I did the same searches when we took our last cruise. Some of the "independent" tours were almost the same price, or the same.

 

Last trip, we did one ship tour, one independent tour, and one stop we hired a taxi tour at the dock. Sometimes it is worth the 10.00 or 20.00 more it costs for the ship tour, not to have to deal with taxi drivers, traffic etc. On the other hand, sometimes the cruise lines don't offer exactly what we want to do and the independents will tailor a tour to your needs.

 

I agree with other posters, check the boards and see what others have done. It sure helped us decide. I also look at the port, and whether I am comfortable going it on my own.