Your experiences with (gasp!) non RCCL excursions

[randbmom]

We haven't cruised in a decade and "back in the day" (i.e. before the internet) I used a travel book titled Caribbean Ports of Call to investigate excursions and activities to do on our own. Some of our best island memories are around touring on our own with a native driver we booked when we got to the port.

 

We are sailing western Caribbean on LOS in April. With two boys (13 and 9) in tow, I'm less inclined to completely wing it like the old days, but really balk at having to pay RCCL as the middle man for excursions unless it's really necessary. I also like small group touring rather than following someone with a flag at the front of a huge group.

 

With online searches it appears that the canopy tour in Jamaica has to be booked through the cruise line, as they buy up all the spots for the day the ship is docked. I can deal with that.

 

I saw a private tour to Tulum out of Cozumel/Playa del Carmen for $360 for up to 4 people that sounded interesting. Hubby and I booked a taxi back in '94 for $60 and got to Tulum to see the ruins and another stop in Xel Ha 15-20 minutes ahead of all the "tours" and loved it. Of course the Costa folks put the fear of God into us about missing the ship (we had to ferry from Cancun to Playa del Carmen for touring) but we made it with plenty of time to spare and had a fabulous day. I'm sure the RCCL folks will use the same fear tactics.

 

The unknown factor to me is disembarking at port. I've never cruised on a huge ship; always one that could dock (not needing tenders) so it was easy on, easy off. Does RCCL give preference to passengers taking THEIR tours when leaving the ship? I saw reference to groups of 50 at a time getting off. Is that a nightmare? Does it take forever?

 

The other non-RCCL excursion I saw that I liked was a kayaking excursion on Grand Cayman that leaves pretty close to the dock in Georgetown, so I don't see that one as so much of an issue as going to Tulum.

 

I just hate being part of a huge tour, and love the discovery of smaller group touring. Of course, I'm praying that Tulum is spared from the destruction of Dean, and is still there in April.

 

Thanks for your input. I'd love to hear your experiences with excursions both RCCL-booked and self-booked.

[texancruzer]

You will get many posts to this query..... all each with it's own take on this topic. You must do what feels most comfortable for you and your family. We have personally found that with the right advance planning (that would be me researching everything to death :) ) that a full and fun day can be planned and executed without the paralyzing fear of missing the ship.

 

We will always try to "do our own thing" by either renting a car and heading out (of course with a good map bought months before and a detailed itinerary-one that can be flexible if unforseen obstacle arise) or having a private tour lined up. There have been islands we decided the best bet is an RCI excursion - but not many.

 

We personally have never really had any problem with the tender issue. One time had to wait in long long line.....in Grand Cayman. But we allowed plenty of time (dd and I on this cruise) and were still the first in line and waited for excursion at the dock. But have never had a problem coming back to the ship. If you are in the line for a tender - you will not get left. That came from one captain directly when I asked him. So even if they say the last tender leaves at 3:30 (or whenever) if there are more people in line and not all will fit on the tender....they will send another one. The tender we used in Cozumel held 200+ people. Went fairly quickly.

 

Again, you have to decide what feels most comfortable for you and your family.

[TEXASMUNK]

When tendering: RCI will give preference to RCI Sponsored tours....BUT, you can get up early and catch the very first tender (the one with the RCI staff on it) before they start sending the throngs onshore.

 

When docking: Makes no difference...the size of the ship, they use several gangways.

 

The key: Self touring is great, but we only do it in ports that have a strong infrastructure in case we have to alter plans to get back to the ship. For example, self-touring over tot he mainland in Mexico from Cozumel. Kinda 50-50. What if a bus breaks down or a engine on a ferry goes down? Those are the risks one takes.

[WhiteSoxFan]

My last cruise, Western, I booked a Snorkel/Stingray City tour on my own and a cave tubing tour in Belize. We had no problems whatsoever with time at either of these spots. The private tour operators know what time the ships get in and how long it takes the passengers to get off the ship and accommodate for it.

[FunCruiser56]

For us it depends on the port. We have done our own thing in Cozumel and booked through a tour company in Grand Cayman. If RCI has a tour that is reasonably priced and is what we want then we will go with that- like an island tour. We wanted a tour/stingray city tour in GC and have used Nativeway a couple of times with great results. Do read the port of call boards and see what tours others have done and recommended operators.

We had an AWESOME tour in Costa Rica that was so much better than any RCI offered and we paid about 1/2 the price.

I am not sure I would take the Tulum tour on a private one just because of the ferry and if you ran into problems with that RCI would wait for you, I would hate to miss the ship!

We are also doing the West Carib on the LOS and with the negative things going on in Jamacia we will not even risk taking our son off the ship, except to the secure area in the port. If things changed we might take a RCI tour but not private.

There is a certian amount of comfort level taking RCI tours but you will usually be with huge groups, pay more and not see as much.

Do lots of investigating and Have a GREAT cruise!

 

Bev

[CryogenicSpecter]

I think that it really depends on your personality and sense of adventure. I personally never take an RCI tour and always just get a taxi, head out on foot and sometimes rent a scooter. I have found that by doing this I can do more in less time and save a ton of cash doing it. For example, in Ocho Rios, my wife and I got a taxi and he drove us to Bob Marley's Mausoleum where we did the tour (like an hour and a half drive away and then back), to Dunn River Falls where we climbed the falls, to town to shop and to a non tourist jerk chicken place (complete with three legged dogs and flies). It was all awesome. The cab was only $150 plus tip. Most people that do a guided tour will be crammed into a bus with a bazillion other people, come and go on their schedule, and only be able to do one thing for the day.

 

Also, when I was in Grand Cayman, I took a bus to the public beach (7 mile) for $2 and sat next to a lady that paid $35 for the same ride, a sandwich and a drink by booking it with the ship. ... Yeah. OK then.

 

The thing is, if you are on an excursion booked through the ship, the ship will wait for you if you are late. If not, you are on your own in another country, usually without a passport or clothes or a toothbrush and flying last minute is not cheap! I am not sure if the cruise line will let you back on the next ship for free (doubt it), but I have seen people getting on with luggage as we were getting off first thing in the morning....

 

Really if you are responsible enough, then going on your own is the way to go. If you are an "always late" person, or just plain scared, go with a ship excursion. I do not have kids, so I am not sure, but I would expect that these are better for kids too.

[randbmom]

We are also doing the West Carib on the LOS and with the negative things going on in Jamacia we will not even risk taking our son off the ship, except to the secure area in the port. If things changed we might take a RCI tour but not private.

 

In fact, Jamaica was where we planned the canopy tour offered by RCCL. It's the one port I don't want to leave to chance.

[CryogenicSpecter]

By "negative things going on in Jamaica", do you mean the hurricane, or is there something else that scares you about it? I have been to Jamaica several times and have always felt safe (except that they drive crazy there. Wear a seatbelt!). Costa Maya is more scary than Jamaica IMHO.

[ColoradoMom!!]

If you look at the "Ports of Call" message boards on here, you can get a pretty good feel for reputable private companies. It is there where we decided that the NativeWay "Rays, Reef and Rum" excursion was one we wanted and booked for Grand Cayman. In Cozumel we will go to Paradise beach with our boys 9 and 13. I love those boards, and wish people would post more on them!

[FunCruiser56]

The negative things I am refering to are the group of cruisers on a ship's tour that were attacked by armed gunmen. When I read the report from the father of one of the children on the tour I knew then I could not enjoy myself in that port. Also I hate being hassled by people trying to get me to buy stuff or offeres of drugs..

Of course I know this can happen anywhere. When we were in Ocho Rios we had a wonderful time going to Dunns River, we will have our son with us this trip and I just don't want to worry about it. We will have a nice relaxing day on the ship.

 

Bev

[polodad]

I'm in your camp because i like to think of myself as independent and thrifty.

On the other hand, fiancee prefers RCI outings because she thinks they are reliable and really likes that the ship will wait for you to get back if on their outing. On the last cruise we used the RCI sponsored trips on Aruba & St. thomas.

 

I discovered something interesting. the St. Thomas trip to Megan's Bay thru the ship was only $5 pp more expensive then on our own. Same deal in Aruba.

After adding in the cost of transportation being provided by RCI the cost differential was insignificant. Fiancee has a point, for the $5 we get priority off the ship, some level of reliability from the vendor and insurance that the ship will wait for us if the excursion is late. That seems like a lot of value for $5.

[CryogenicSpecter]

True, and that is a good deal for the $5, but you still have to take a large group bus and wait for everyone else. That is not always a bad thing though. My favorite thing about cruising is meeting new people.

[MakinGold]

There are exceptions, but for the most part, the belief that tours are much more expensive through RCI is a myth. I think your $5 difference example is pretty typical. What you can gain sometimes with the do-it-yourself approach is get a little bit more of a personal experience, rather than following the crowd.

[CryogenicSpecter]

The negative things I am refering to are the group of cruisers on a ship's tour that were attacked by armed gunmen. When I read the report from the father of one of the children on the tour I knew then I could not enjoy myself in that port. Also I hate being hassled by people trying to get me to buy stuff or offeres of drugs.

Bev

 

Yeah, I heard that this happened in Omaha once also.:rolleyes:

 

I am just giving you a hard time. You even said that you know that it can happen anywhere. I can say that I understand, but I do not have kids so that would only be theoretically true.

 

The average income in Jamaica per YEAR is about $3,500 (not a typo). Even a mid level, degreed professional in the IT industry makes about 17k to 20k per year. Over all it is a poor country, so if you are there and you feel as if you have no value to a vendor other than the dollars in your pocket... you are probably right. Don't be afraid to say no, or simply ignore them. If they are rude and will not leave you alone, then you should feel free to be firm. They are more likely to start hitting up someone a little more... pliable.

 

Of course the country has also outlawed guns and you know what they say about that: "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns". (Of course I guess you could say that about monkeys or potato's also. You know, only outlaws will have potato's... makes you think. I am not sure about what, but... anyway.)

 

Personally, I refuse to live in fear. That does not mean that I am stupid. There are places I will not go here in the US either, like, say an inner city ghetto. As with anywhere in the world, you have to be aware of the neighborhood you are in.

[MakinGold]

*runs off to cancel trip to Omaha*

 

I'm with you, though. I, too, choose not to live in fear. Violent crime in Jamaica is actually pretty rare in the main tourist areas. They work hard to keep it that way, because they depend on tourism so much for their economy.

 

But I'll try not to get into this discussion too deeply. I've been there before and had it suggested that I don't care about the safety of my family, if I would even consider leaving the ship in Montego Bay . . .

[CryogenicSpecter]

Right, most violent crime in Jamaica is spousal abuse, as unlike in the U.S., people actually serve time for their crimes there. You are much more likely to run into theft, like a pick pocket or purse snatcher, not a holdup.

 

Anyway, I am pretty sure the crime wave in Omaha is why the cruise ships quit going there. Well, that and the Huskers...

[dagored]

It depends where you are docked.

 

In Alaska, we set up our own dog sledding excursion and saved about $75 each over RCCL. Same company, same trip.

 

In Europe last year, we met 2 other couples on these boards and learned thru these boards that it is better to set up your side tours yourself. We even found sites to go to and had a great time in the Mediterranean. Thank you Cruise Critic.

 

In St. Maarten, we are going to Divi Little Bay ourselves. We found on this site that it is cheaper and better. Go figure.

 

Now, when we were in Venezuela, we took the ships tour to Caracas. Glad we did. The entire time they had men around us with uzis. Best coffee I ever bought.

[xpcdoojk]

There are exceptions, but for the most part, the belief that tours are much more expensive through RCI is a myth. I think your $5 difference example is pretty typical. What you can gain sometimes with the do-it-yourself approach is get a little bit more of a personal experience, rather than following the crowd.

 

I have saved a lot more than $5 on most of the excursions I book on my own, and the biggest plus is not getting stuck on the bus with people who seem to linger at every stop.

 

I am actually booking a 1/2 day excursion with the cruiseline on my next cruise, but that is the rare exception. When I was new to cruising I booked almost all of them with the cruiseline. Now it is extremely rare. I haven't been in a cattle drive in a few years, probably why I booked the 1/2 day excursion.

 

The biggest stress was in Hawaii in 2003 in Hilo, customs took 2 hours to clear the ship in from Tahiti, and I had a 9:30 helicopter flight booked with Blue Hawaii we arrived at 9:25. I am sure that they would have let us fly later, but it would have wasted precious port time.

 

jc

[FOXTROT]

We have taken lots of tour with non cruise ship tours. Like other posters say do your research. We have had many fantastic memories. The only sour items are when other cruise ship passengers start with missing the ship. Do not be afraid to grab a taxi & go some place. Just give yourself some fudge time to make the ship.

[marci22]

I've only taken one ship tour and that is because I couldnt book it on my own, and I knew there wouldn't be 50 other people on it.

 

Go to the Ports of Call board for advice on both ship and non-ship excursions; the posters there have really helped me a lot.