Booking Excursions Through Independent Companies

[tjeanty]

Hello!

 

I would like to know if any of you had any success booking excursions with companies outside Carnival. I want to book an excursion with Glory Tours for when I am in Barbados. There website seems legit, but I am skeptic. When booking outside of Carnival, will the company that I booked through be outside of the port when we dock? Do I have to meet them somewhere? How is the process?

[Socref124]

Hello!

 

I would like to know if any of you had any success booking excursions with companies outside Carnival. I want to book an excursion with Glory Tours for when I am in Barbados. There website seems legit, but I am skeptic. When booking outside of Carnival, will the company that I booked through be outside of the port when we dock? Do I have to meet them somewhere? How is the process?

 

You will have to ask those questions to the company you book with. We have had them pick us up at the port and we have had them where we have to get to and from their place on our own. We have used private companies in Cozumel, Belize, St Thomas, St Maarten, Grand Turk and Key West without any problems. Belize was cave tubing and the rest were dive companies. Go to the port of call section for Barbados and ask about Glory Tours. I'm sure someone has used them. Good luck.:)

[graymadeb]

Ditto on what Socref124 said. We have had GREAT success and saved a lot of money in the process using outside shore excursions companies. I think in all our cruises, we have only used Carnivals shore excursions maybe twice and that was right at the beginning of our cruising.

 

Just do your homework and ask lots of questions.

[caribbean dreams]

If you check the ports of call section here on CC, there are many people recomending private tour companies from personal experience. Thats how i usually find my shore excursions and have always had good luck.

[Froufie]

I prefer to book with independent tour operators if possible - usually way cheaper, less crowded and a more 'personal' experience!

 

I would of course ask lots of questions (esp about their cancellation policy should the ship not end up docking there!) - and of course word of mouth or recommendations are very important.

 

I agree that you should be able to get some good information on the 'ports of call' boards!

[TakeMeAway1001]

I used Carnival for excursions once and that was on our first cruise in 2001. I have since used only independent tour companies and always had a positive experience, I usually do as much research as I can utilizing the POC forums and the internet.

I found this thread when I did a search for Glory Tours on the Barbados boards, hope it helps~

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=866252&highlight=glory+tours

[dvan68]

The only thing I would add to the above comments, is that if you are looking at an excursion which is long - or has multiple 'legs' - ex - going to the ruins from Cozumel. You may want the option of going with the ship tour for ease of mind. Another example may be for time:

 

When we stopped at Belize, I ended up booking a snorkel tour through the ship, since the tour picked up right at the ship. Belize is a 10-15min tender ride in. So we were able to do our tour, then have time to change and go shop without hauling around our snorkel gear(we have our own), towels, etc.

 

In the end - research, research, research! TripAdvisor can also be a source of information for independent operators.

[BlueJacketsFan1]

If I were booking an excursion outside of Carnival's with an independent. I would be asking them if they were going to be picking me up at the pier and where they would be. If the company is unable to tell me simply things like that I don't think I would be using them. So why not call or e-mail them before you book to find out.

[osiebosie]

Definitely independent. We've never booked beforehand, but deal with tour operators/taxis outside the pier. Never had a problem and always seem to get good deals. Read my thread/review Best Carnival Cruise ~Freedom~ and you can see the deal we got in Costa Rica!

 

Shay

[lindseesmom]

I am looking for a private tour in Belize & added this to the ports of call board also. Has anyone had a private city tour? I have e-mailed some places but have not heard back.

Thanks!

[FamilyDoc]

We have cruised frequently and most of the time we book independently. The times we don't are short stop ports that time may be an issue.

 

Once we had to literally run from where the excursion dropped us to get to the ship and we stepped on board with one minute to spare! We were absolutely freaking out. The small boat captain had underestimated how long it would take us to get back to the ship with rough water. A simple mistake but as we don't take out travel insurance, it would have been a very costly one for us.

 

That being said, we have had many, many independent excursions that went perfectly and saved tons of money. Do your research and plan on being back on board way earlier than you really need to be just in case.