Should I do shore excursions, or not?

Question

Hello everyone! This will be my 1st time going on a cruise, and I can not decide if I should choose some shore excursions. Or would I be better off finding things to do on my own?
(I'll be going to mexico on a 5-day cruise on Jan., 2007) should i also book the excursion ahead or wait the day before?

I have also posted another question about the cruise if ya could answer it it would help me out.
Thanks!

Answer 1

I have been on many mnay cruises and always book a few tours on each. The most important things you need to consider are HOW LONG WILL THE SHIP BE IN THE PORT STOP? and
HOW MUCH DO THE SHIPS'S TOURS COST?

The first thing you need to do is go to the web site for the cruise line you are going on and look at the descriptions of the tours offered. You can find the descriptions by clicking on the port stops and then clicking on tours offered.

I usually print the pages for tours that interest me and note the price. Tours from the ships can be very expensive, like maybe 25% or more over what you may be able to get on your own.

Remember that THE CRUISE LINE WILL NEVER LEAVE PASSENGERS WHO ARE ON ITS TOURS. But, if you go off on your own and are late getting back you will be left behind. So if the ship will be in port for a long day, like 12 hours or more, you may be ok looking for your own tours. I have done just that many times and usually get a tour by a taxi or tour driver for half price.

Then determine how much the tours cost vs how much you want to spend. My rule of thumb is to spend just $25 to $30 for a basic city tour if I don't want to spend a lot of money on tours.

In some places there will be "hot" tours that many people want to go on so you may want to book them ahead of time. The cruise ships always do "port talks" where they expalin tours and shopping. The last cruise we were on they had the port discussions on the TV in the room. So you can make last minute additions if you want.

Since this is your first cruise, here's some more info:

Once you are on ship the staff caters to you, its whatever you want. There is something to do all day every day. Each day you will receive in your cabin a "newsletter" listing the time, place and particulars of each event. There are generally shows every evening, one show for those with an early dinner seating and another (same show) for those who eat late. There is always food available. Usually there is a place in ship where you can go get something. Or, you can always just pick up the phone in your cabin and order from the room service menu (food is free). If you want, you can order breakfast room service.

All ships have a casino with slots and table games. They have ATM’s and a purser’s desk where you can cash a check or exchange currency if you need to. There is a tour and activities desk so you can schedule land tours and activities.

Some ships have free morning exercise programs, stretching and walking, etc, and on some you can pay for other things like Spinning. All cruise ships have gyms so you can go workout usually any time from 6:00 AM to late at night. There is usually a walking/running track on one of the decks also. Some ships leave the gym open all night. They call the gyms Spa because they do promote getting pampered with things like wraps and massages with aromatherapy. They will also generally have a beauty salon to do hair and nails.

Ships have movie theaters, generally small but nice, and you can also see movies in your room. There are demonstrations on ship like ice carving, napkin folding and towel folding, cooking demonstrations. Some ships may offer a galley (kitchen) tour or a tout of the bridge.

There are places on ships to play cards and board games and the games are provided. There are cocktail lounges that feature a variety of music. Some have a piano bar with jazz. There is usually a disco that starts after 10:00 PM each night.

Then there is always the pools. Some ships have more than one and the newer ships generally have an indoor pool as well as outdoor ones and all of these have hot hots.

I suggest that you go to the web site for the cruise lines and look at the features for the ships.

Answer 2

We just took our first cruise last month!! We did both. Bought shore excursions through the cruise line and going off to do our own stuff. From our experience both were really nice and going off alone was definitely cheaper. I could certainly see though it happening that quality could decrease because there are no "guarantees" from the cruise line. Often times "more experienced" cruisers will do their own thing so you will end up forming little tour groups with a several couples most of the time. This is good because you can be sure to make the deadline time back to the ship at the end of the day. Either way there will always be people trying to sell you things to do on their island/town. Also, most cruise lines allow you to sign up for shore excursions when your ON the ship so you can try a day on your own and if there is any trouble, start buying through the cruise line! If you do go out alone, make sure the tour guide understands your cruise line and knows what time you will be back. Interrogate everywhere you will go and what you will do/see. This might sound extreme but you really gotta make sure your getting what you pay for. They are usually happy to help cuz they are fighting over your business with 10 others who want to show you the same stuff. Overall, i would at least plan one day to try out not being planned up by the cruise line. See what the natives have to offer!! I hope this helped and wasnt too long, but this was what we experienced. Good luck! :-) HAVE A BLAST ON YOUR TRIP! I KNOW YOU WILL! :)

Answer 3

depends on the port. In most cases you can find private tour companies that will give you the same tour as what the cruise ship offers for a better price with better service. If you are planning an all day tour which is scheduled to end close to the time the ship leaves, then you should consider booking via the cruise line. In many ports, there will be tour operators / taxis etc hanging out right at the pier. Go to cruisecritic.com and look at the message boards, alot of good info about tours there.

Answer 4

My advice would be to check on all shore excursion options and pick the best one or two for you. Book as soon as you know what you want. There are so many options to choose from, and if you were to get shut out of what you really wanted to do by not booking early, you will not be happy.

Answer 5

i think so! i went on a royal caribbean cruise in 2004 and did a shore excursion. i went snorkeling with stingrays in the bahamas! it was fantastic! i'm so glad i did it because i wouldn't have found out about it on my own, and it was so worth it. i'm not sure what cruiseline you will be traveling with, but if it's royal caribbean, then you don't necessarily have to book the excursion in advance. once you are actually on the cruise, you can select excursions on your tv in your stateroom and they just charge it to your account. i hope you decide to go on an excursion! good luck!

Answer 6

I LOVE CRUISES, AM GOING NOVEMBER THIS YEAR TO MEXICO ON N.C.L. DON'T LIKE TO TAKE GUIDED TOURS, I FIND IT'S MORE FUN TO GO OFF ON YOUR OWN AND FIND THINGS THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL SEE... HAVE A GREAT TIME, AND PARTY SOME FOR ME...

Answer 7

i think you should it might bring more fun to you trip