Has anyone bought shore excursions from the dock?

Question

Hi,

We are leaving on our Carnival Cruise in less than a month. We, as in our family of 5. Our friend just got off a Carnival Cruise a few weeks ago, said that he bought his shore excursions directly from the locals for less than half the price that the ship was charging. He said that they took you to all the same places that you would go if you had booked thru Carnival. I am looking at spending nearly $1000 on shore excursions at 2 different ports for the 5 of us---ouch!!!! Has anyone else bought excursions from the locals and how was their experience? He said that many of the "experienced" cruisers did this to avoid paying extra for Carnival being the middleman.

Answer 1

I have cruised all over the Caribbean and occasionally do get tours from people on the pier rather than the ship.  I have done my own tours on Antigua, St Thomas, Cozumel, Grenada, Grand Cayman, and a few other places.  Most of the time when you get off the ship in the Caribbean the tour operators will be right on the pier and their prices are ALWAYS lower than the cruise line and they do the exact same tours.  

There are two things that you need to watch out for.  One, make sure that you know exactly what the tour covers and what the total price will be.  Second, and most important, be sure that you know what time you need to be back to the ship and that the taxi/van/tour drivers know that you need to be back at least a half hour before the ship departs.  You do not want to go off on your own and get back late because the ship WILL NOT wait for you like they will if you go on a ship sponsored tour.  Finally, if you are going to Jamaica and wanting to do a tour on your own you have to be extra careful of being ripped off.  Make sure that you get a licensed tour operator on the pier and not a taxi driver who may stop you on the street.

Answer 2

Depends on which islands you're visiting.  Jamaica, no way - go with the ship tours [although even those sometimes have problems].  Grand Cayman or Cozumel, no problem.

To get tips from experienced cruisers, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then go to "Ports of Call".  The info there is very reliable.

If you go on your own, you MUST make sure you leave plenty of time to get back to the ship, because they won't wait for you.  Make sure you take the part of the daily activity sheet that gives the name and number of the cruise line's agent on shore.  Some people advise taking your passport with you, just in case you do get left behind.  You won't be able to leave without a passport.  If you do take your passport on shore, make sure you leave copies of them in the safe in your cabin.

Answer 3

When  I stay ON the islands I always hire local drivers for excursions.  (Antigua, Grenada, St.Lucia and Martinique, among others) and I've had excellent service. They have always been taxi drivers (with minivans) that I have met while being driven  from the airport, or that I have spoken with outside the hotel. We determine in advance the sites to see and the price. On the other hand, when I take shore excursions on a cruise, I have, to date, always used the ship service, unless I just wanted to go to a beach to snorkel. There is only one reason for this: if something happens, and you can't get back to the ship on time, the ship is responsible for getting you back on board ASAP. If they can't wait, they will fly you to the next Port of Call, and pay your expenses until the ship catches up with you. If you arrange your own excursion, and you "miss the boat" you're "sunk" and all expenses come out of your pocket. This is more than a remote possibility: road conditions are generally poor once you start inland; rains can wash parts of the road out; tread wear on tires does not seem to be a major concern on the islands and I've seen my fair share of cars/buses stranded on road sides. So for cruising, I recommend using the tour service. For on-island stays, go with the locals.

Answer 4

It depends upon where you're going.  We've cruised in the Med and in the Caribbean.  The Caribbean islands usually had lots of opportunities to purchase shore excursions and the small size of the islands didn't really impact the "time factor" (i.e. you're in port for 10 hours....and if there's travel involved, etc...  it may be difficult to get everything set up).  The Med was another story.  Port calls in Western Italy involve quite a bit of travel to Rome, Florence, etc...  If you haven't been to the locations before, and have something in mind that you "must see", you may be better off laying out the extra cash, but YES, if available, there can be big savings by not going through the cruise ship to book stuff.

Answer 5

It is usually cheaper to buy your tours on the dock or even on-line before you visit the port. You do get to visit the same places as the ships tour and even visit the same restaurants if a meal is included.

I have done a 2 day tour in St Petersburg with a company that many people on Tripadvisor and Cruise Critic recommended. It was $200 per person cheaper than the ships tour and equally as good.

The only reason for choosing to use the ship's tours is that if, for any reason, something goes wrong and you are delayed returning to the ship, the ship will wait for you. If you are on a private tour, you are on your own, and could get left at the dockside with the extra expense of trying to catch up with the ship.