Has anybody ever plan their own cruise excursions?

Question

Wife and I are headed to the Western Caribbean on Royal Caribbean cruise lines for 7 hopefully days and nights. I noticed that the cost of some of the excursions (available through the cruise lines) seem a little expensive. Has anybody ever booked their own excursions and if so is there a reputable web site you can do them through? This will be our first cruise, and was simply looking for some money saving tips. I am well aware of the alcohol thing on the boat, which is fine, we are not really drinkers. I saw some of the excursions like swim with the dolphins through the cruise lines were $160.00+ and were available for much less elsewhere, any ideas here as well? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

you don't have to worry about labadee, it really just a beach with shopping... as for the other ports i just like to make my own day trip, you see much more and can pick and choose what you do... most places you can walk around (it helps with weight gain) stop where you want or just look around the shops... have fun and be careful!!!

Answer 2

On average I only do one shore excursion per cruise.  I don't know anyone who does it at each port.  What islands are you going to?  Some stops like Belize, Hondoras, etc--I highly recommend a shore excursion.  The port is not that attractive and the people are very poor.  Lots of begging.  Some places--like Cozumel--there is so much shopping there.  And if you have your own snorkel gear, it's easy to take a cab to the Chankanaab National Park.  It's not far and then you can walk out on the beach and start snorkeling.  

What are your interests?  The shore excursions are varied in degree of activity.

Many islands are great to just walk around right off the dock.  St Thomas is like that.  In St Marteen, we rented a car and drove around the island.  It was only about 3 miles around so we just drove, stopped for lunch, walked on the beach and really felt like we saw the whole island.

When you dock, there will be a million people right on the dock offering their own "excursion".  You can easily do one of those though you want to be careful.  Obviously some islands are less reputable than others.  You don't have Royal Caribbean protection and recently there have been several on the news where the bus driver stopped and the people had to give an extra $50 to get back to the boat.  So if I were going to book my own, I'd research ahead of time rather than get off at the island and pick one of those guys standing around.

Certain ones you can tell are a ridiculous waste of money.  Jeep ride, beach excursion, shopping tour.  You can do all that on your own.

Some ports are not really ports.  Cruise ships stop at their own private islands basically just to add in an additional port.  NCL has Little Cay in the Bahamas.  Carnival built Costa Maya.  There is really nothing there.  I usually stay on the boat that day.  I have my own private yacht--my own private waiter bringing me drinks, the spa has great discounts on days you are in port, the casino is empty so they are more than willing to teach you a new game.

You can check some reviews out at Cruisecritic.com.  That has reviews from people who just got off the ship.

Answer 3

I just did this same itinerary and I'll share what we learned from our experiences. First thing I would do is purchase some Snorkel gear (goggles and hose thing) from like Sam's Club, walmart, BJ's, or some similar retailer for $15 or so. You can freely take this anywhere with you and you won't want to pay AT LEAST double for the same thing on the ship. A lot of people do this by the way.

Secondly, you can plan your excursions on your own, nearly all ports have stands outside the pier that offer mostly the same thing however depending on how involved the excusion and how much travel is involved to get there may make this an issue. Keep in mind that in places like Jamaica and Mexico you may have to haggle for prices and sometimes you may only be saving $5-$10 off the RCL excursion price after it's all said and done (which you may wish you spent to avoid the hassle). Before I get into detail, the rule of thumb we found was that easy things like snorkeling, scuba diving, and wildlife tours (including dolphins and stingrays) as well as like backcountry 4x4's and stuff you can easily find directions on how to do it off of the ship. Tours of old buildings and stuff you can just ask a cab driving to take you there and pay the regular fee to get into that particular attraction but either request the cab stay there for a fee or figure out how to get back to the ship after your tour is concluded. Now.....

In Haiti, I wouldn't waste my money on much and especially not on that $10 mat because you can easily float anyway but it's so hot you wouldn't want to sit out there all day. You can use your snorkel gear and have a good enough time checking out the fish. There is a zip line there but most poeple we talked to said it wasn't really that exciting in Haiti although not many people did it so you can go down more times than in any other spot. You can also do wave running and etc... but you don't get all that much time and the scenery isn't really anything special. A word of advice, get off the ship early and go to the beach to the far left FACING the ship...that's the best swimming and snorkeling you can get becuase not that many people use that beach and the water isn't rough on that side. Note, the beach is to the far left as you look at it from the front of the ship. I also found the shopping worthless, it's all c**p, and the food is simply RCL windjammer staff and food served on the island (the windjammer is closed that day). Best thing to do, get off early and plan on spending like 4 or 5 hours at the most then head back, you'll avoid the long lines and the hot afternoon sun.

In Jamaica, we did the Chukka bike riding and I'd recommend it because we not only got to see some of the villages but they also provided some refreshments and also an opportunity for "cliff" jumping (it was really only a 15 foot drop into the water) and snorkeling as well as sampling of some rhum. We spoke with some locals and they said the public beaches are dirty and you'll get mobbed by people selling stuff so the nicer beach would be discovery beach which you can get a cab to take you there but it's a good distance. Dunn's River Falls is nice and you can easily get a cab ride there and do your own walk up the falls. Note, you literally hike up the waterfall so you'll need an underwater camera. They will offer you a tour guide but we just said we had little time and they let us go and it was much better as you'll wait constantly to get up the falls. I wouldn't go in the morning because it'll be colder. It costs $15 to get in and the cab ride shouldn't be more than $5 a person. The dolphins in Jamaica can be easy to get to by cab and purchased at the gate of the park if you wish. If you go on the bike ride and you have Winston as your cab driver, he'll definitly take you directly after the bike tour if you ask him which makes for a really interesting and eventful day.

In Grand Cayman I wouldn't bother purchasing a snorkel expedition, when you get off the tendor walk to both your left and right and you will see dozens of snorkeling outfits that'll cost you less for snorkeling with sting rays and the reef and reck thing. Actually, we just walked a ways on the right to a snorkel outfit right on the water and we only paid $5 for the locker rental (which you don't need) and no sting rays or wrecks but plenty of coral and wildlife. Seven mile beach isn't far and it'll cost $5 a person to go. There are plenty of places to manage your own excursion and they speak english so it'll be easy to negotiate and understand where and how the excursion works. Lots of shopping as well but definitly expensive.

Mexico is a bit different. If you want to get drunk this is the place to do it, a lot of places will sell Corona's for a $1 and Margharetta's for $2 (in some place but definitly not the large chain restaurants like Senor Frogs). If ya'll like walking around and shopping Mexico is the cheaper version to Grand Caymen but I personally do not appreciate shopping although if you speak any decent Spanish you could have a good time haggling the prices down (most times if you respond to them in Spanish they will automatically lower their prices as they figure you are NOT a trypical tourist). Another poster mentioned the park and that's a good way to do it and to get a cab is very easy from the international pier (they speak decent English) and they'll take you anywhere for at least $10-$15 total but to the main strip of shops is $6 total. By the way, the shopping is a good couple mile walk from the ship but a long the way are plenty of places to check out different tours and stuff but I'd just make sure all excursions are ON the island of Cozumel because you do NOT want to go to the mainland on an excursion not booked through RCL mostly because you can count on getting back to the ship if RCL sponsered the excursion otherwise you may experiences hassles and I'd had friends experience this. We went to Tulum on this day and it was fine and we were glad to see it but it was VERY hot and a very long day and I think we'd rather not go through the nearly 6 hours of traveling to see the ruins for 2 hours. I won't do it again but for those people who really love history they'll enjoy it.

Some tips on the ship.

You will get a "cruise compass" in your room every day in the evening for the next day. On it is a list of activities onboard the ship and you can not possibly do them all. Honestly the participation is pretty low in a lot of them but still good programs. The pools will get mobbed on Sea days so if you plan to sit out at the pool I'd recommend being on deck 12 because you'll get a breeze that the lower level won't get unless the windows are open. You also get a good view of the activities on the pool deck (i.e. the s**y legs contest, Ms. Biceps, ice carving, dancing). There are also a lot of kids jumping around...if you really don't like this there is the solarium which is the next pool over but it's rather humid in there. There are also adult only hot tubs. There are bars everywhere catering to all sorts of people and honestly the drinks aren't really that bad. Frozen drinks and mixed drinks are between $5-7 + gratuity on each and that's what you'd pay going to a bar in the US however just think about going to the bar all day every day and that's where people get in trouble. We purchased on average a couple drinks a day, some more some less, and ended up around $80-$100 in alcohol and we are probably average mid 20's adults with our drinking habits.

The late night events are pretty funny, the love and marriage game was one of our favs and karaoke wasn't very well attended on this cruise but it might be on yours. Most people say you need to see "The Quest" but we only say a little but and it wasn't really all that funny, maybe our expectations were too high. If you want to climb the rock wall, pick any day and go EARLY, kids will get to it before long and the same with mini golf...the wind adds a little but of excitment to the game on sea days.

The food is pretty good but not spectacular. There are two formal nights (most men wear suits, few wore tuxes) and women wear dresses (mostly every night actually, formal nights were nice dresses and casual nights I saw a lot of sun dresses). For men, casual means like khaki pants but I did see nice jeans and colared or button up shirts especially towards the end of the week. The service is awesome, if you are lucky enough to have mevin as your assistant waiter he's a treat. Ask for the "savory bite" rolls if they have them, really good. You can actually find a copy of the menu on the message boards for cruisecritic.com or if you wish I can e-mail you our copy. On our cruise the food was like 95% accurate on the items and 90% accurate on the exact day they offered them. You can order as much as you like but the portion sizes are not consistant so be aware you may be getting a lot or very little than what you expect. On the plus side you can always order more and you don't have to eat it all. Johnny Rocket's is a nice fast food hamburger type joint that a lot of people go for lunch, either go early or late though because it'll be packed during prime lunch hours and the last sea day. I'd recommend if you want to go at all, go during the first sea day around 11 or after 2 because you will not have  a wait most likely...likewise with portofino or chops for dinner, the first sea day most people will not go but if you really want to spend $20 a person additional, it might be worth it...I personally didn't go because I wasn't going to pay more for food than I already had. The Windjammer Cafe was very good...if lacking in va

Answer 4

yes, I've booked my own, but you never quite know what you're getting, so I'd be very careful.  Also, if you book through the ship, and something happens (say the jeep breaks down), then the ship has to wait for you.  If you book on your own, they don't have to and WON'T!  It's not worth the risk.  I'd just swallow it and say for your first cruise you won't pinch pennies and then you'll have a better idea on your next one, what chances you're willing to take.  

On another matter, I hope you have better luck than I did.  Our ship couldn't pull into Grand Cayman because of "rough seas" which I didn't see.  I was so disappointed as that was the reason I chose that particular cruise.  So be prepared that things happen...have fun!

Answer 5

We always do our own excursions to save money...and we do something every day we're on an island.  The taxi drivers will take you wherever you want to go and will pick you up too. Just let them know what time.  They even know the island very well, and if you ask them to take you to a spot where there's good snorkeling, or whatever you're looking to do, they'll know the best spots.  Bring your own snorkel gear to save lots of money.  Go on at least one booze cruise; usually a snorkel cruise will have booze and food on your way to and from the snorkeling spot..they're a lot of fun.  go to Cruisecritic.com and find what people like to do on the islands you're going on and then just book it yourself.  Bring some dollars for your taxi drivers...tip them good on the way there, and they'll be back early and will wait if they have to, to pick you back up to get back to the ship.  Try this site too ibtraveling.com and see what links they have for you to help you.  Have fun!

Answer 6

Many people do excursions on their own, depending the island.

Labadee, this will not be an issue, as it is the cruise line's private island experience and you will not be leaving the premises.

Grand Cayman and Cozumel are very easy and safe to do on your own.  

In GC you'll probably want to swim with the stingrays.  This is much better if you do it on your own, because if you do it through the cruise line it will cost more and you'll be "one of the herd".  Captain Marvin and Nativeway are both good companies to go with.  I've used both, but preferred the latter because their trip also included Rum Point [Rays, Reef and Rum].  However, we were very tight getting back to the port and just caught the last tender to the ship.  [The ship will not wait for you if you're late unless you are on one of their excursions, so be forewarned.]  If you just want to do some snorkeling without having to get a cab [or bus - it's close to the port], you can walk [to the right as you face the city] to Eden Roc.  Or you can just get a cab/bus down to wherever on Seven Mile Beach.  Do a search for "Cayman Islands" and one of the choices will be "Cayman Activity Guide" or something like that - lots of info.

In Coz, you can catch a cab down to Chankanaab Park [they have a website], where you can swim with the dolphins.  I would make a reservation ahead of time, as this is a popular activity.  At the park you can also do an "introduction to scuba" and many other activities.  It's a very nice park.  Some people like Paradise Beach [they also have a website], but I preferred Chank.  There are many other "favorite" beaches in Coz.

In Ocho, I would not do an independent excursion.  The "must do" here is Dunns River Falls, which is pretty, but a mob scene, too.  The ship will have an excursion which goes to DRF by party boat and this would be a nice way to do it.  Hint:  when you leave the falls, go back down to the "entrance" or to the beach - do not go through the "exit" unless you want to be assailed endlessly by vendors.  This high pressure by vendors et al is the reason I wouldn't go it alone.  One thing you can do that's easy and relaxing is to walk [5 minutes] over to Island Village/Margaritaville [to the right with your back to the ship].  It's not at all authentic, but there are some shops and M'ville has a small pool, water slide, hot tub, beach toys, etc.  Access is restricted, so you'll only have to run that 5-minute gauntlet to get there and then you'll be left in peace.  One thing that we had a blast with was the tubing on the White River, which we did through the ship.

For lots of info and feedback from very reliable experienced cruisers, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then go to "Ports of Call".

Have fun!