Booking tours outside of disney

[adabotcon]

I have a tour I'd like to book that is with someone else besides Disney (I didn't like any of the tours available through Disney for Aruba.) We're supposed to be able to go Ashore at Aruba at 8:30 AM and the tour starts at 9:30 AM. It only takes 15 minutes to get to the tour. Is the Cruise ship likely to dock too late for us to get there? Honestly, an hour seems like enough leeway but I thought I'd get some opinions or experiences others have.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Could there be delays? Yes. Will there be delays? Probably not but no one can say for certain. 1 hour does seem like sufficient leeway. Make sure to check the tour operators billing/refund policies should the ship be late/not able to make port. I would also make sure that any non-DCL excursions have a wrap-up/back to ship time of at least 1 hour before All Aboard.

 

[starvenger]

Agreed with pp. Definitely contact the tour operators. Most are pretty accommodating with their schedules, and can adjust based on the ship's arrival and departure. If they turn out to be inflexible I probably wouldn't book with them

 

[remlap]

Everything third party operator we've used have all said, if ship doesn't dock, they will refund. Confirm this. Our European Cruise didn't stop in Villa France.

 

[tlprice]

I have a tour I'd like to book that is with someone else besides Disney (I didn't like any of the tours available through Disney for Aruba.) We're supposed to be able to go Ashore at Aruba at 8:30 AM and the tour starts at 9:30 AM. It only takes 15 minutes to get to the tour. Is the Cruise ship likely to dock too late for us to get there? Honestly, an hour seems like enough leeway but I thought I'd get some opinions or experiences others have.

We did our own excursion in Aruba and had no problems. We went horseback riding to the Natural Pool. It was fabulous! Our tour operator picked us up right outside the terminal at the agreed on time, but we then had to go to a hotel to pick up some other people. They were running late so we had to wait for them.
We were late docking in Antigua and our tour operator waited 1/2 hour for us and all of the other people that were from other ships were very gracious about waiting for us.

 

[dcassetta]

I have a tour I'd like to book that is with someone else besides Disney (I didn't like any of the tours available through Disney for Aruba.) We're supposed to be able to go Ashore at Aruba at 8:30 AM and the tour starts at 9:30 AM. It only takes 15 minutes to get to the tour. Is the Cruise ship likely to dock too late for us to get there? Honestly, an hour seems like enough leeway but I thought I'd get some opinions or experiences others have.

Agree with previous posters, just check with the vendor to make sure of their policy if the ship is late, or doesn't make port. Outside of that, you're likely to be just fine. In Aruba, they rely on tourism, and they rely on good reviews from the tourists. The company has a vested interest in fulfilling their contract with you and returning you to the ship on time.

 

[meliscan]

I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer but booking on your own before you arrive could be risky. Our last cruise the ports were moved to try to avoid Hurricane Irma. It didn't work but those booked with Disney didn't have to worry about how they were going to move their tours around and refunds. Our table mates also had a bad experience last year when they got off the ship and took a tour on their own. They barely made it back to the ship as the guy who drove them there left on an emergency and they were stuck.

Just a few things to think about.

 

[adabotcon]

Perfect! All of these were exactly what I was looking for. Thank you, everyone!