I’m taking an NCL cruise to the Western Caribbean, however I would rather not participate in any of the excursions. I get the idea that they are merely more costly than using a local service or even hailing a cab to get me somewhere.
How do cruisetalkers go about locating their own excursions is the question I have. Do you simply use Google to find them? Experiences with Airbnb? Or is there another app or method for finding items?
I’m just interested to know other people’s methods for organizing trips that aren’t connected to your cruise line.
@Nidal I also do exactly the same thing. Never once have cruise critic port of call boards led me astray. I rarely use TripAdvisor for anything other than dissatisfaction with the information I obtain there, though.
I always had really good luck researching with Trip Advisor and then contacting the company directly. I have taken a Western Caribbean cruise a couple of times. Not sure if you’re going to Belize, but the company (cave tubing) I used outside of the cruise line was incredible and literally half the price. Plus, they had the tubes already at the cave entrance whereas the people that booked their excursion with the ship, had to carry their’s quite a long trek.
I see people saying that booking through the cruise lines is better due to them not leaving you behind if something goes awry. Well, I’ve not once had an issue with booking outside the Cruise line. These companies know the importance of getting the tourists back to the ship on time and the ones I’ve used in the past always have some plan in case something happens (tour bus breaks down, etc.). If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be in business very long.
For us, our travel agent located them. We had to make last-minute itinerary changes that required switching ships, and my desire to visit WETA FX in New Zealand was dashed. The trip was already fully booked. I was reassured by our TA that I should not worry, as she had other plans. They were the ones that signed me up for the tour, but I was informed that it had already sold out. Once more, she assured me she had a secret weapon and connected me to Viator, who had a tour with space remaining. We went and had an amazing experience. I doubt my own search could have located it.
Travel agent we go through (Vacations To Go) has some non-cruise line excursions they usually send out to us a few months before the sailing. I’ve yet to have book one as none have been enticing enough, both in terms of the activity and price.
I’ve booked a few excursions through the cruise line, but I’ve also just rented a car in a couple of ports and driven around to do our own thing, or just walk up and buy tickets on the local sightseeing trolley, get a taxi, etc.
Only time it felt a little sketchy renting my own cab was going to Smuggler’s Cove in the BVI to go snorkeling. The cruise ship’s snorkeling excursions there looked rather underwhelming for the price there. There was near zero service there, and the cab driver I paid just asked what time they needed to come pick me up. I was kind of sweating it a little bit as I was 100% relying on this guy to be trustworthy to come back to pick us up. I gave us about a 2 hour buffer, which fortunately we didn’t eat into that much (there had been accident on the lone road to/from there and the port that the driver had a time getting past) but I don’t know if I’d do that again. Looking back at it, there was a REALLY large chance of getting stranded out there, and there weren’t many others out on that beach. Not only would have we possibly missed getting back on the ship, but even trying to make our way back to the port could have been a feat in and of itself.
We located someone who was joining us on our vacation and planning a few excursions by using the vacation Critic board. Had an amazing tour of Gibraltar. We took a trip of Florence and Pisa using Viator.
places of call for cruise critics, A local travel agency is TripAdvisor. For instance, I just went on a private tour of Pompeii with an archaeologist whose parents were archaeologists and who was raised there. She understood the history of every brick and stone there as she had been running among the ruins from the age of three. She showed us the rooms her parents had dug and the one she was digging now. That is not something you will find on a mass-market cruise adventure, and I will not waste my time on them.
@Dorea I concur with Viator in full. I occasionally look around for AirBnB trips or GetYourGuide, but Viator is the greatest. It’s important to read the reviews, and I appreciate that I can pay (for the most part) two days in advance. Additionally, it’s convenient to have all of my reservations in one location rather than attempting to oversee every tiny excursion firm and website across numerous nations with disparate currency and language systems. They often cost just slightly more than reserving directly, which can be a hassle, and are about one-third of the cost of ship excursions.
@Dacosta I normally pay cash on the spot. decide based on what’s offered at the port; many of them have unsold tickets or last-minute cancellations. I’ve always saved a ton of money, accomplished interesting things that I otherwise would not have, and done all of this.
Consult with others. Tours {under your port} on Google. Facebook. Viator is quite pricey. We recently spent $130 on a self-guided tour. Viator was used by other passengers on the ship to make reservations with the same company. They gave more than $500.
When you reach a port, you’re on the dock. You have to keep in mind to return to the ship on schedule. They promised an excursion, but the ship won’t wait for it. Thankfully, UBER is available almost everywhere, so you can quickly acquire a ride in an emergency.
I have used Viator numerous times, and the one drawback is that you can frequently book the same adventure on the dock for significant discounts. That only functions, of course, if the tour is not reserved in advance. Haha.