For those who have done non-DCL excursions

[Princessmama 2]

We're leaning towards booking Aristocat Charters for a day sail in Tortola. I've read many positive reviews on TripAdvisor and what I could find here. I do have a slight concern since it's a non-DCL excursion though. I understand you have that added assurance with DCL excursions, so just wondered what made you go with a non-DCL excursion? Price, availability, age of kids? Did you have any concerns about getting back to the ship on time? We'll be there in October and the snorkeling sites seem to be frequented by other boats as well, so I don't feel like we'll be totally isolated and this is a well known reputed company. Just looking for some feedback. Thanks!

 

[kdogfister]

I'll share a brief story (I'll try to be brief) as it is a bit different from the typical non-DCL excursion choice.

We were on the 7/2 Fantasy sailing. The day before Tortola my 3YO son got sick with a stomach bug. We visited the ships Dr (awesome service) and followed all the rules to ensure we didn't spread any illness. That meant that we would not be able to leave our room until after our DCL excursion left. So I re-booked my daughter for another excursion with family, while my boys (3YO and 18M) and I stayed on the ship an hour past our excursion time when we were cleared to leave our room. Fortunately because of quarantine they were forced to allow us to cancel.

Once we got off the boat and into the shopping area (just an hour later than the excursion), I realized that the tour we had booked around the island was available for 1/3 the cost and was the exact same company and bus we would have been on anyways. All three of us got to go for what it would have cost for just me and returned back in time for plenty of shopping (there's only like 10 shops that aren't jewelry). I was never concerned that I would miss the boat (I was a single dad with 2 boys under 3) and got a much better deal on the exact same excursion.

I think if you are absolutely in love with a DCL-Excursion offered, it is quite convenient and stress free. We actually lost the option because of illness and ended up having a great time at 1/3 the cost. I was not anymore stressed out than with my DCL-Excursion on ST. Thomas the next day and enjoyed going at my pace which may have reduced stress in some ways.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We were on B2B DCL Magic Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruises last year and I booked, almost exclusively, private tours. For the cost of doing DCL bus tours, we ended up with private tour guides, private cars, touring flexibility, etc. We had great experiences and were never late for the ship.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Yes, we have done three excursions on our own. I definitely was a bit worried but we made sure we planned our activities with a lot of time to spare to ensure we got back in time. We booked our own excursion in Grand Cayman by chartering our own capt and boat to take us to stingray city, coral garden and starfish cove - High ratings on Trip Advisor. Booked a room at comfort Suites in Nassau to do Atlantis which was actually free since I used hotel points - that saved our family of four over $600! And, finally, we hired a taxi to take us to a snorkeling spot in Cozumel for a couple of hours. All three of these examples were for excursions not far away from the ship. I would think the further away you go from the ship the more nervous you may feel. But, if the outfit has good reviews then I think you will be fine. What you may even discover is that others on your sailing may end up planning the same excursion with the same company! My best advice is to plan smartly for a tour that gets you back a couple hours before all aboard and you should be fine. It's great to save money for the same exact experience. Have fun!

 

[elvispursley]

Princessmamma, when is your cruise? We are looking at booking with the same charter when we go to Tortola in Oct (on the Oct. 22 sailing). Haven't decided if we want to go with them or another charter, but we kinda want to be just with our family and see the Baths as well as a good snorkeling spot. I, too, am nervous about missing the boat since I don't know how long the boat is in port that day, but like others have posted, if the reviews are good, chances are that there shouldn't be a problem. Have you looked at another charter companies for the BVI?

 

[sharksfinatic17]

Last year we did all private excursions in Alaska and two years previously we did one private excursion on St. Maarten. We were back in plenty of time, and we were able save money too.

 

[ludari]

I typically always book my excursions through the ship but on two occasions I wanted to go scuba diving but Disney did not offer it. I checked with my local dive shop for recommendations on dive shops for those ports and booked with them online. I typically have to take a car or van to a dive shop and then jump on a small boat to the dive location so I have double the possibility of having transportation issues so I did have concerns about getting back to the ship, nevertheless the reviews I read on yelp about the dive shop where positive and of course the dive shop reassured me that they would get me back in plenty of time. I didn't have any problems with either of those dive shops and getting back to the ship in time so in the future I wouldn't have any problems booking with them again, however if DCL offered the same excursion I would book with them even if it cost me more money.

 

[SingingMom]

Just to play "devil's advocate", the best part of doing a ship sponsored excursion is the guarantee of the ship waiting for you or getting you to the next port. Two past incidents come to mind - On Celebrity to Bermuda, my DH & DD ship sponsored excursion was late getting back to the ship. They actually did have to hold the boat for the excursion to return.

On the July 2 Fantasy cruise, we were driving back from our St Thomas DCL sponsored excursion and the taxi driver hit the side view mirror of a passing van. (Van's fault) We started thinking about what if we had a true traffic accident and were detained with police investigation? A non-Disney sponsored excursion might not wait.

If you can arrange safe timing to return to the ship, then go for it. But, for me, I like the added safety net. ;-)

 

[Jennifer777]

We booked a DCL sponsored excursion on our first cruise before realizing they just hire private vendors at each port. We weren't particularly impressed with that vendor and since DCL does the booking, you never know what you're going to get. For our next cruise, we decided to do our research and find a private excursion. This way we knew who we would end up with and that they had solid reviews. We just scheduled to be back to the port a few hours early. That way, traffic and other issues that can result in a delayed return time were not really a concern. It gave us enough time to arrange alternate transportation back to the ship if complications arose. So for us, the motivating factor was knowing we'd have a reputable company, saving over $300 on that one excursion was simply a bonus on top of that.

 

[Princessmama 2]

Princessmamma, when is your cruise? We are looking at booking with the same charter when we go to Tortola in Oct (on the Oct. 22 sailing). Haven't decided if we want to go with them or another charter, but we kinda want to be just with our family and see the Baths as well as a good snorkeling spot. I, too, am nervous about missing the boat since I don't know how long the boat is in port that day, but like others have posted, if the reviews are good, chances are that there shouldn't be a problem. Have you looked at another charter companies for the BVI?

I looked at Patouche as well as Aristocat. Good reviews for both, although I did read more positive about Aristocat. I see there's a sail and snorkel through DCL, but don't know who it's through, if there's restroom on board (we have two girls 5 & 9), or life jacket. Can't find reviews on it either. And another sail and snorkel on there I saw was crowded with 30 people on the boat. Aristocat limits to around 20 and has sun and shade spots onboard.
We are also on Oct 22 sailing! I've been emailing Scott from Aristocat and just reserved spots for us for when we're there on Oct 25. Someone else has already chosen the route...Norman Island, the Indians and Bight. I've read on TripAdvisor about how they're great snorkeling spots. I thought the Baths looked cool too but wasn't an option and I don't want the crowds of it either. Hope you find what you want! Let me know if you end up going with Aristocat. I don't know how many others are on the boat reserved already.

 

[linetbo]

We were on B2B DCL Magic Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruises last year and I booked, almost exclusively, private tours. For the cost of doing DCL bus tours, we ended up with private tour guides, private cars, touring flexibility, etc. We had great experiences and were never late for the ship.

Do you remember which company you used in Norway?

 

[thegales]

We do both DCL and non DCL excursions. One thing to remember when doing a non DCL excursion, the company wants to stay in business. They will do everything in their power to get you back to the ship on time. If they don't, then they lose future business.

Think about all the people on these boards who do non DCL excursions. How often have you read about someone missing the ship? I don't recall many (if any) stories. Now it could be that the person might be too embarrassed to admit they missed the ship. But I don't even recall many stories about other guests saying other people missed the ship in various ports.

 

[SingingMom]

I see there's a sail and snorkel through DCL, but don't know who it's through, if there's restroom on board (we have two girls 5 & 9), or life jacket. Can't find reviews on it either. And another sail and snorkel on there I saw was crowded with 30 people on the boat. .

If you are talking about Tortola, we just did the DCL Sail & Snorkel on the July 2 Fantasy cruise. We had approx. 25 people, maybe less, if I remember correctly. There was a restroom on board, and ALL participants were given snorkel gear and life jackets. We had a lovely time. DD and DH snorkeled - I floated!

 

[Skywalker]

Just to play "devil's advocate", the best part of doing a ship sponsored excursion is the guarantee of the ship waiting for you or getting you to the next port. Two past incidents come to mind - On Celebrity to Bermuda, my DH & DD ship sponsored excursion was late getting back to the ship. They actually did have to hold the boat for the excursion to return.

On the July 2 Fantasy cruise, we were driving back from our St Thomas DCL sponsored excursion and the taxi driver hit the side view mirror of a passing van. (Van's fault) We started thinking about what if we had a true traffic accident and were detained with police investigation? A non-Disney sponsored excursion might not wait.

If you can arrange safe timing to return to the ship, then go for it. But, for me, I like the added safety net. ;-)

Nearly the only excursions I ever hear about arriving late are the ship sponsored ones lol. First theory is that knowing the ship will wait, they lack the incentive of the other companies to make it back early, second theory, cruise ships pay them to be late so that everyone can say "Oh wow the ship waited" thereby getting more people to pay the inflated prices. (I kid) LOL

 

[anniepoppins]

Other than cost savings, which can be sizeable, one thing not mentioned in the posts above is when you book yourself, you have the option to get off the ship as soon as customs clears the ship, thus allowing you to get to your destination far earlier than the large group excursions run by the ship. We've booked private excursions at many ports (always thoroughly researched) and made sure we have plenty of leeway time wise (several hours) before the all aboard call. For example, booking the well known Captain Marvins for the first boat out to sting ray city got us there more than an hour before the first DCL excursion. Less boats, less people, less crowded made for a nicer not to mention far cheaper excursion. You do have to do your research though. We sailed the Southern Carribbean this past Feb and some companies on the smaller islands stated that if you were on a Disney ship, you could not book privately with them. There must be some sort of agreement between them and Disney. We vote to save money every time if possible, especially since DCLl has raised their prices for cruises so much in the past 2 years. We prefer to sail DCL if we can, and every bit helps.

 

[lillygator]

We do it for the cost savings as well as the age factor of children. We have an upcoming sail date in December and I've booked a private tour for 6 on three of our stops.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We usually book independently. We have never gone wrong relying on trip advisor and the cruise critic message boards. I do it for the convenience of not having to wait for 20-100 other people to line up, board the bus, get their equipment, take bathroom breaks, etc. The only time we look for ship sponsored tours is when it will allow us to avoid a tender-- for example, some snorkel trips in Belize will depart from and return to the ship rather than having to tender in and out. Otherwise, it makes no sense to us to pay extra for a lower quality experience. Remember that DCL shore excursions use the same local vendors in each port as all the other cruise lines. We once had the opportunity to hear honest answers to commonly rebuffed questions and were told it is exceedingly rare and no one had been left behind in the last '2 or 3 months' for that particular NCL ship with over 2k passengers. No worries as long as you are booked with a good, reputable company.

 

[tcufrog]

When we went to Nassau we wanted to do a dolphin encounter but Atlantis didn't appeal to us since we wanted a quieter beach. We ended up going to Blue Lagoon. Not only was it cheaper than Atlantis but the kids had a blast on the uncrowded beach there. They had so much fun that we had trouble getting them to return to the Dream with us. I actually think they liked it better than Castaway Cay since they don't really like crowds.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

All of our excursions have been booked privately. I can say that one time we did have an issue, as tendering took forever and basically the tour left without us. BUT, one of the owners had stayed behind and it ended up working out even better, we basically got a private tour. I would not hesitate to book privately in the future.

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

We are also on Oct 22 sailing! I've been emailing Scott from Aristocat and just reserved spots for us for when we're there on Oct 25. Someone else has already chosen the route...Norman Island, the Indians and Bight. .

Princessmamma, when is your cruise? We are looking at booking with the same charter when we go to Tortola in Oct (on the Oct. 22 sailing).

I can follow up before your trip on how it goes. I'm on the same Aristocat itinerary in September. I have zero worries about it because they only take passengers from the same cruise ship (so our boat will be all DCL) and they're conscious of time.