Cruising 101 – Shore Excursions you’ll love

When we first started cruising, we booked every day in port on a cruise line organized excursion. By the second cruise, we had learned that only ‘inexperienced’ cruisers booked the cruise line excursions. So, we planned and booked private tours. This Cruising 101 – Shore Excursions post will give you some ideas for planning the best ones for you.

I’m going to tell you something about private excursions. Your experience can really vary.

Over the last 20 years, we have had amazing shore excursions and some just okay ones. Yes, a lot of the amazing ones were private, but so were some of the cruise line ones. In some ports the cruise line was the only tour provider in town. So, every tour guide was hired through them. This was just the way it is.

If you have the time and the inclination to plan the private excursions, I would suggest you do so. Particularly for the ports that you really want to see specific things at. For control of your day, size of group, and to ensure you get value out of the excursion, a private one can ensure this happens. This assumes of course that the guide is a good one and listens!

Key Questions

We practice some basic principles when planning our excursions:

• How does this excursion fit with the area/country we are travelling in?

• Is it one we would really like to experience no matter the area/country we are travelling in?

• Can we keep the group to 8 people so we have more flexibility and still have value for dollar spent?

• Is there a good balance of activity and exploration? (we don’t like sitting for long periods of time!)

• Does it sound like it will give us a great experience?

• What are we doing the day before/after?

• Are we already doing something just like it on this same cruise?

• Are there a few providers to choose from? or is this a one-off?

Other Considerations

All of these are important questions, but pretty easy to answer with a bit of research and analysis. If all of this is too much for you, or you don’t want to spend the time there is another option. You may be able to find private tours for your cruise on Cruise Critic. Sign up to your cruise boards to see what others on your very same cruise (same departure date) are planning. See if you can join their tour! We first tried this out on our second cruise and we were hooked! It is a great way to learn about some of the folks joining you on the cruise. It also is a great source for tour company names, referrals, and so on.

Cruise Ship Tours

Cruise ship tours can be (and sometimes absolutely are) the same as the private tours being offered. You are just paying a (typically) inflated price for the convenience of booking through the cruise ship. In previous years the cruise ships’ excursions were the only ones that guaranteed your on time return to the cruise ship. If you were late, the ship may (and sometimes did) sail without you. However, in the last 5 years or so, many of the tour operators are starting to guarantee your return to the ship on time. They will work with you to amend the excursion on the fly during the day to ensure your timely return.

Cruise ship tours can be very beneficial. Depending on your age, level of interest in planning/booking an excursion, and the amount you want to do or see, it may be preferable. We have quite enjoyably taken a cruise ship walking tour in some ports and were glad we did. We didn’t get lost, we found a great place for lunch and we had fun!

Why take any shore excursions? You don’t have to. If you have selected a cruise ship you know you will like, spend the day enjoying all it has to offer. The spa will have discounts as they are in port, and the pool and hot tubs will likely be empty. When we have selected cruises with repeat ports for us we sometimes use the day to enjoy the ship and relax!

In addition to this Cruising 101 – Shore Excursions post, please check out the best fit for your Itinerary or the Ship you want to set sail on for more information on cruising! It’s your Choice!