Ever wonder what % take overprised tours opposed to own tour or staying on board?

[BoPippy]

The earlier question about cruise tours being expensive,with a possible 50% mark up+- or - i wonder what % of passengers in the carribbean as an example take the more expensive marked up tour,what % go independent and stay on board and do the majority take tours on every island they visit???Having always liked stats,it would be interesting to see the numbers.:)

[chrysalis]

...then set up a poll......but there are alot of variables...

[spongerob]

It's going to be difficult to get an idea of what the numbers are from this site. One, we don't just visit islands. Cruises go to all sorts of places.

 

But, to answer your question, we do both. It depends on things like language issues, time in port, and whether or not I'm willing to invest time into finding alternatives. Sometimes we join others on private tours, and sometimes others join us. That changes the equation, too. I'm less likely today to organize a private tour with people I haven't met than I was in the past.

 

It also depends on the activity. I usually book golf through the ship because that way the details are taken care of even though I know I could do it less expensively on my own. Plus, the pro on board might have access to places others would have a hard time getting into - being with someone who has a PGA membership is handy!

[paul929207]

We take few cruises to the Caribbean, so it is hard to answer.

 

On the few occasions we are at one of the islands, we almost always just get off the ship and wander around by ourselves.

[gipper77]

We have taken excursions from the ship and rented cars where possible and have enjoyed both. We don't travel to stay on the ship in that case we would stay at home. I want memories to take back with me , that's what I pay for.:)

[FritzG]

I wonder what a poll would show if it asked about cruises to Europe or Asia. With a language barrier and ports being far from the city I would guess more passengers would opt for ship's tours.

[flamomo]

The first option is rather vague - I presume you mean that to be ship's tours, and voted accordingly.

[Times Prince]

First time in any port is almost always a Ship's tour. After that it depends.

 

for the Caribbean, most ports are no longer first time, and it will depend on the availability of the attractions we want to see whether we will take an organized tour or wing it. For ports like Cozumel, we have seen the major sites and now will snorkel from a beach. for other ports it is different.

[Pam in CA]

Your poll is a loaded question. Gee, if I pick "overpriced" ship's tours, then I must be an idiot, right? Because who wants to admit that they throw their money away by picking something that's overpriced. In your poll, you are assuming that the additional amount paid by going on a ship's tour carries no intrinsic or actual additional value and that's just not true.

 

There is NEVER an absolute as to whether it's better to take a ship's or an independent tour. There are too many variables, situations, ports, countries, languages, etc. I've had some incredible experiences by going on ship's tours that I doubt I could have experienced while on a cruise any other way. Here are a couple of recent examples: a private night concert in the ancient Odeum in Ephesus with wine and hors d'oeurves and cushions on the stones; and, a long camel ride in the Sahara in Douz, Tunesia (an oasis about 4 hours from the coast) where we went over dunes pretending we were Lawrence of Arabia albeit at a snail's pace.

[billet]

I am not sure there is a representative sample on CC. I would guess that the majority of CC people are more experienced than the average passenger (certainly more dedicated to cruising) and thus they would know how to find the deals and go independent rather than a ship excursion. I actually answered both because we do 50/50 depending on whether it is a new port for us.

[Grego]

To us the decision whether to take a group tour or do it solo depends on if we have been there before. We usually take a "Best Of..." tour the first time we visit the island and when we are able to return we pick and choose what, if anything, we want to see and spend more time at.

 

So, the poll should probably have been postured around what do you do the first time you visit somewhere?

[floatingwood]

We plan on asking the locals where the best beach is, with a bar( food and drink) and the first taxi to take us there wins!

 

at every port!!

 

I voted: go independent

[cruisealot54]

I agree with Pam, we have done both - When we are in a port that we are comfortable with and none of the ship's tours "jump" out at us, we will wander on our own. However, if we want to go outside of the town or do something special, we will book an "over-priced" ship tour. For us, the peace of mind that we gain from the ship's sponsored tours are well worth whatever the additional cost would be

[chasetf]

You didn't give us a 50-50% option. ;)

 

For us it depends what we want to do whether we book a tour or do our own.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

There is NEVER an absolute as to whether it's better to take a ship's or an independent tour. There are too many variables, situations, ports, countries, languages, etc. I've had some incredible experiences by going on ship's tours that I doubt I could have experienced while on a cruise any other way

 

I also agree with Pam.

You have to treat each Port of Call on its own and work out what suits best. Some of our cruising is on the "Exotic" voyages rather than the milk runs and some ports just dont have the infrastructure to cope with a ship full of tourists descending on it for just 1 day.

[caribill]

Although we still book a fair number of Princess shore excursions, we also book independent tours, always with reputable vendors (based on Cruise Critic postings) and usually with with people who have posted on the Cruise Critic roll call for the cruise.

 

Main advantage (other than price): Usually a much smaller group. One bus or van that beats/avoids the crowds instead of 6 or more Princess busses showing up at a site at the same time.

[DanJ]

In answer to the original question, no I have never wondered what percentage do whatever type of tour LOL.

 

We also pick and choose whether we book a ship tour or do it on our own. Last year on the CB, I looked through the choices offered, and decided to pick a couple from them. The Explorer party boat and bus tour in St Maarten wasn't something that was open to the public. The Views of St Thomas which included Paradise Point and Mountain Top didn't strike me as way overpriced for a 4 hour tour. We've also done the private tours where you grab a person on the pier and head off for a few hours. We've also rented a car in Aruba, and the agent gave us a map which highlighted the things the cruise tours were going to, and we managed to time it that we were just leaving an attraction as the buses pulled in.

 

The only time we've ever stayed on the ship was San Juan in 1999 when the weather was miserable. We did set foot in the terminal, grabbed some junk food in the store there and went back on board, so at least we can say we did shop there LOL.

[bruru]

You know people on CC are the most wonderful people in the world. We have always booked an excursion through the recommendations of the posts on CC and have never been disappointed. The tours are smaller and the guides have been great. Kudos to Lawrence of Antigua for example. Going on the Ruby in April and booked tours in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman through CC recommendations.

[smoosh21]

I have done both. Sometimes I want to do a specific excursion and it requires that you do it through the ship. Some operators are willy to look the other way and let cruise passengers book independantly, but others take their contracts with the ships very seriously and will not book a cruise passenger.

[denmarks]

I paid about $30 for a tour in Ensenada. My sister and husband just went into town and when they got off the shuttle they found they could take the same tour for $10. When people say that Princess marks up the price 50% are they referring to the before or after price? Example: A tour purchases off ship costs $10. Would princess charge $20 or $15.

[MSN-Travelers]

First cruise was all ship's tours. Now, we rarely book through the ship unless they are the only way we can book the tour.

[linda_22003]

"Ever wonder what % take overprised tours opposed to own tour or staying on board?"

 

No, that's one thing I have never spent a moment wondering about in my life. I do what I feel like - seldom staying on board, because I want to see where I am. My husband and I will go off on our own, or do the "overpriced" tour, but I sure don't care what anyone else does. :)

[cruiserbryce]

we go on excursions put together by the ship. I had a tour last week that got me thinking for a second about this...I paid $170 to golf at El Tigre in Puerta Vallarta...the cost of an actual round of golf there is $130, plus transportation to the course which is over 30 minutes away would likely be at least $20 and the tour included bottles of water throughout the excursions which I wouold have spent at least $10 on anyways. All total the cost was within $20 of what the ship charged, which I think is worth the insurance of not getting left behind if the round runs long

[DanJ]

I paid about $30 for a tour in Ensenada. My sister and husband just went into town and when they got off the shuttle they found they could take the same tour for $10. When people say that Princess marks up the price 50% are they referring to the before or after price? Example: A tour purchases off ship costs $10. Would princess charge $20 or $15.

 

When people say Princess marks up 50% they are just talking off the top of their head. There is no set rate that a ship's tour is more than what you can do it yourself, if you can do it yourself.

[BoPippy]

"Ever wonder what % take overprised tours opposed to own tour or staying on board?"

 

No, that's one thing I have never spent a moment wondering about in my life. I do what I feel like - seldom staying on board, because I want to see where I am. My husband and I will go off on our own, or do the "overpriced" tour, but I sure don't care what anyone else does. :)

Well!! PO PO PE DO,i bet u have a lot of friends including family.:)