Private Excursions

[cding2531]

There has been discussions about when DCL starts sailing they will only allow DCL excursions. It got me thinking how do people even go about planning private excursions. Where do you find what is available that DCL does not offer and how do you go about planning it? It seems like so much extra work and coordination to make it enjoyable. And what happens if you have to skip that port are you out the money?

 

[dioxide45]

There are plenty of websites and companies out there that offer private excursions from many different providers. So you can do all your "shopping" in one place. There are also lots of independant providers. Many provide full refunds if the ship doesn't port.

You will also find that smaller independant excursions are with smaller groups. So instead of loading up a motorcoach, it is a small van. Smaller groups mean a much more intimate and personalized excursion.

 

[gotomu212]

We’ve found ours brought a combination of others reviews on this forum and TripAdvisor. All the places we booked refunded deposits if the ship didn’t dock.

It is a little more work than clicking a button on DCL website, but in Alaska (where the cost is high) we saved $2800 for the week by booking on our own- and were on the exact same trips as DCL only we had a private guide for very small group and got to add stops with our extra time. Same in Europe.

The only time we use DCL excursions is if we’re leaving our kids onboard or those ports that are 2 hours from the city (Like Berlin, Florence, Rome).

 

[daedelus]

Start with Viator and go from there. Excursions through Viator are well reviewed and many of them offer (as was mentioned) refunds if the ship doesn't port.

Also make sure you ask about return time guarantees. Most excursions guarantee to get you back to port in plenty of time to board. This is VERY important, as the ship will wait for DCL excursions, but not for others. Although we did see them wait for one non-DCL excursion that had almost 50 people on it... can't really leave that many!

We have also saved a lot of money by using independents and had very good experiences. I completely agree with the previous poster about far away excursions - too risky to not do DCL.

 

[belle032]

I usually prefer (destination dependent) to book 3rd party excursions. I think that's all I booked for our British Isles cruise and some for our last Caribbean sailing.

Definitely check Trip Advisor and there are tons of groups on FB. You can even Google the destination you're going and search for "tour companies" or more specifically, "tour companies that cater to cruisers." A reputable tour company is pretty easy to find. They generally run their business by word of mouth and good reviews from people who have used them and have shared their experiences. And if you're worried, tour companies who market to cruisers absolutely understand the importance of getting you back to your ship in time. They wouldn't be in business if they didn't. Plus, overall, you generally save a lot of money and your money goes straight to the tour company, which on a smaller island can really help out.

For example on our last cruise, in Cozumel, we booked Mr. Sanchos all-inclusive beach resort, which is really well known as a place you can extremely easily book yourself. Also, we booked Daniel Johnson's Monkey & Sloth Sanctuary directly for our last port stop in Roatan. I believed we combined it with snorkeling (that they offered) as well. We paid probably half of what the same tour was through our cruise line. We toured the sanctuary with a small group, but the snorkeling was completely private. And all of our money went directly to that sanctuary. BTW, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place if you ever have a cruise stop in Roatan!

Edited to add: In our experience, the tour company will offer a refund if you ship cannot make it to port. We had a jet ski excursion booked in Grand Cayman, but our ship responded to some kind of emergency call overnight and we were unable to port. I got a hold of the tour company and was refunded. But each company is different, so make sure to check what their policy is.

 

[brentm77]

have you never gone on vacation to somewhere and done travel planning?? sigh, do you want a step by step well first you go to Google and check out the city. Then you go to official tourist websites. and then, etc etc etc. Really , can you not think for yourself and and I don't know, use the internet??

Can we please not shame people here for asking genuine questions? It may be obvious to you, but that doesn't make it obvious to the OP. The best thing about DIS is how helpful people are.

OP - We treat it like we would any other land vacation. Lot's of research. Lot's of reviews. But that isn't different than how we treat DCL excursions anyway. DCL is only reselling you a third-party excursion at a higher price. They don't guarantee it (and will rarely back you up if you get a bad one, by most accounts). I assume DCL does some sort of ground work before offering them - hopefully even sending a person to try each. But, there are many many reports of terrible excursions from DCL. So you really should be doing extensive research anyway.

We start with some major cruise websites, where people post what they did and didn't like about various excursions. We usually start with the places that are options - this beach or that beach, this museum or that museum. Once we have picked the place, we find a reputable tour company. In some places, we book a private car and tour guide (we did in Europe, but cruise was canceled). In Europe, we could often book the private driver and guide for a similar price to the excursion - getting us to the location quicker, letting us stop at more places, and having a very personal experience versus being lead around in large groups. And even getting done sooner if we didn't want to do a full day with stops that didn't interest us.

As for cancelation policies - it depends on the vendor. Check on their policy before booking.

 

[Chemist]

Most of the time, you don't miss ports. That being said, tour operators will generally refund your money if your cruise misses the port.

The main reason people cite for using ship excursions is so they don't miss the ship. We avoid this by:

1. If its a beach day, when a taxi drops at the beach we arrange to have them pick us up at a prearranged time. (With at least two hours before all-aboard time)
2. Only using 3rd party excursions that are relatively close by. That way we don't have to worry about major traffic issues.
3. The big one is, we make sure that we have a good 2 hour buffer between our return time and all-aboard time.

Our favorite excursion ever was sailing in Barbados. It was a small boat, with 3 families as guests. They were amazing with our 5 year old. It was a little more work to plan. Key thing for us was a boat that would welcome families with active young children. (Nothing that kept stressing how luxurious they were, for example and clearly marketed to adults.) It was absolutely worth the extra effort, as my kids still talk about that day.

 

[braysmommy]

We have only ever done one DCL excursion and planned all the rest on our own including the Med. Between trip advisor, DIS boards, google, and booking with tour by locals we have had incredible days in port. With a little planning you can save thousands of dollars and not follow a Mickey paddle around all day.

 

[princessmommyx3]

We have found many fabulous tour operators through TripAdvisor. Most, if not all, of the reputable ones (which you can determine by reading their reviews) will refund your money if the ship can't dock, and will do everything within their power to keep you from missing the ship as their entire business could be decimated by one or more bad reviews. The travelers really have the upper hand in this situation.

 

[KashasMom]

I don't particularly care for Trip Advisor/Viator. I use Cruise Critic recommendations or FB groups or Airbnb Experiences (which I love - they have some cool/unique offerings). Also good - Tours by Locals. I start off by Googling "things to do in XXX", find things we might enjoy and then look for tours or recommendations. For me, half the fun is planning a trip(cruise excursions). If you have something you love to do then Google for that. For us it's street art or cycling. I can find street art tours or find maps and do it on our own. If you just want to go to a beach, Google "best beaches in XXX". We have missed a couple of ports and our money was refunded.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I pretty much went entirely with suggestions from this forum for the private excursions we booked in Alaska, and was thrilled with all of them except the seaplane tour of the misty fjords in Ketchikan, which we took a week after there was a tragic crash and which still felt a bit sketchy to me. The only DCL excursion we did was the glacier day sightseeing that could only be booked through DCL. I don't like touring in large groups if I can help it.

 

[otten]

I don’t really like excursions period for a lot of places. I don’t want to be lead around by a tour guide, a Disney hired one or otherwise. I greatly prefer to do things on my own wherever possible.

 

[Chemist]

I don’t really like excursions period for a lot of places. I don’t want to be lead around by a tour guide, a Disney hired one or otherwise. I greatly prefer to do things on my own wherever possible.

Excursion doesn't necessarily mean tour guide. We spent a day sailing in Barbados. It was an "excursion" in that it was an off-ship activity. We still needed a sailboat and captain!

 

[mevelandry]

There has been discussions about when DCL starts sailing they will only allow DCL excursions. It got me thinking how do people even go about planning private excursions. Where do you find what is available that DCL does not offer and how do you go about planning it? It seems like so much extra work and coordination to make it enjoyable. And what happens if you have to skip that port are you out the money?

I research online, check the schedule to make sure I can make it fit (and rules for refund if the ship doesn’t make it to the port—the good ones will refund) and organize transportation if necessary. It‘s not that much extra work.

 

[Hegemon]

Thanks a lot for asking this. I'm generally risk averse, so I was planning to go only with the DCL excursions. Now, though, I think I'll look into a well-planned private tour to save some money and make sure more of it goes to the local economy.

 

[belle032]

Thanks a lot for asking this. I'm generally risk averse, so I was planning to go only with the DCL excursions. Now, though, I think I'll look into a well-planned private tour to save some money and make sure more of it goes to the local economy.

Just do your homework and you should be absolutely fine. I feel that quite a few of the companies DCL (and other cruise lines) use are the same ones you can book yourself. You're just getting rid of the middle man. As long as you feel comfortable, it's definitely worth checking into!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Example: Instead of a cattle call, at St. Maarten we had a private excursion with only 16 people onboard. We went to beaches we basically had to ourselves. We were able to go more places because we were within regulations for boats coming in at the nature sanctuary, which doesn't allow cattle call excursions.

We timed our visit to the bay for a plane takeoff and a plane landing at the airport. We found a secluded cove to snorkel with turtles.

Our tablemates at dinner, their jaws were dropping when my daughter was explaining seeing las tortugas and when we showed them the picture of the giant sandcastle that the first mate of our boat helped her and another girl make at the beach.

 

[KashasMom]

I pretty much went entirely with suggestions from this forum for the private excursions we booked in Alaska, and was thrilled with all of them except the seaplane tour of the misty fjords in Ketchikan, which we took a week after there was a tragic crash and which still felt a bit sketchy to me. The only DCL excursion we did was the glacier day sightseeing that could only be booked through DCL. I don't like touring in large groups if I can help it.

What company did you go with for Misty Fjords?

 

[mevelandry]

Thanks a lot for asking this. I'm generally risk averse, so I was planning to go only with the DCL excursions. Now, though, I think I'll look into a well-planned private tour to save some money and make sure more of it goes to the local economy.

What ports are you stopping in? Who knows, maybe we can help?

 

[Cheburashka]

There has been discussions about when DCL starts sailing they will only allow DCL excursions. It got me thinking how do people even go about planning private excursions. Where do you find what is available that DCL does not offer and how do you go about planning it? It seems like so much extra work and coordination to make it enjoyable. And what happens if you have to skip that port are you out the money?

It is not a lot of extra work at all. Imo it's harder to vet the Disney excursions, because there is relatively little information online about them (because Disney doesn't typically reveal in advance which tour operator they're contracting with). But major independent excursion providers will have lots of reviews on Trip Advisor, Yelp, etc., so you can judge for yourself just like you do before choosing a hotel or restaurant when traveling. Once you choose the excursion, you just book, usually online. Easy peasy.