In the past I would never consider a 3rd party excursion due to the anxiety of missing the ship. Now with the internet and websites to get reviews on different vendors I am more comfortable with considering a 3rd party excursion.
If you go to Rome, I recommend you don't do ship shore tours. I did a 4 hr tour but 3 hrs of that was travelling from the port to the city. It was terrible. We only got 50 minutes at the Vaticanoutside. No time to even go inside and pick up time is late as well meaning the lines are already long to try and get inside. I recommend taking the train into Rome and doing the hop on hop off bus to see all the sites.
Love your videos - I’m catching up…just got off Navigator and another thing to add to third party excursion info happened on our cruise, an overnight in Cabo. A couple we met had booked a third party excursion for our full day…..unfortunately, wind conditions kept us from tendering so we went back out to sea (to return for half day next day, but not enough time for the lengthier excursions available for the cancelled full day.) They had precooked a third party excursion that they obviously couldn’t make. (I noticed that these days a lot less people are booking cruise line excursions so I imagine this happened to numerous people!) The last I heard, they hadn’t heard from the tour company about a reimbursement….☹️
Great points Brandon but number 5 really nailed it. I find once I have been to a port several times usually in the Caribbean you get a comfort level in booking with 3rd party vendors. When travelling to Europe or Asia we stuck to the cruise excursions but tried to pick ones that had a limited of people.
Great video Brandon. Before 2020 I used to do only 3rd party booked shore excursions. Since the restart, I have booked excursions through the cruise line and have to admit I like the convenience. I will be doing a mix of the 2 for now on especially if an excursion is long, booking through the cruise line may be a safer bet.
Hey Brandon, thanks for a great video. We always pay a bit more and go through the cruise line. The back on the ship guarantee is the main reason. We book before we go and take advantage of a discount but it is still a bit more. However, we use Viator for tours in the port city before or after our cruise.
Great feedback and you are definitely not alone in that logic! Viator is a great option and many cruise ship folks use it as well! I have become a bigger fan of Get Your Guide recently but they offer similar experiences.
depending on your loyalty level with the cruise line, cruise line excursions can be cheaper overall then 3rd party. on NCL they have the 50 dollar free at see shore excursion credit plus if you are silver or higher you can get 10% off the tours. that can be like 60+ dollars off of a excursion
Very good advice. For people who may think the ship will wait for you if you didn't do a cruise-approved excursion, they absolutely will not. Think about the math; You booked a $1500 interior room and are 20 minutes late getting back. The cruise port tells the ship captain that they'll incur a $10,000 fine if he doesn't depart their slip in the next 10 minutes, what would make financial sense for the company to do? If you're an experienced traveler/cruiser, you might get by alright. If not, it is probably best not to risk it.
Yeah shore tour prices suck beyond belief but unless I know a place really well, I’m not game to go it alone. I might on my cruise to Tassie next year. I know Hobart quite well because I lived there for a while. I can safely navigate around but, by that same token, I also know the city quite well and have done the touristy things. So I wasn’t planning on doing any shire tours on that cruise.
In the past I would never consider a 3rd party excursion due to the anxiety of missing the ship. Now with the internet and websites to get reviews on different vendors I am more comfortable with considering a 3rd party excursion.
If you go to Rome, I recommend you don't do ship shore tours. I did a 4 hr tour but 3 hrs of that was travelling from the port to the city. It was terrible. We only got 50 minutes at the Vaticanoutside. No time to even go inside and pick up time is late as well meaning the lines are already long to try and get inside. I recommend taking the train into Rome and doing the hop on hop off bus to see all the sites.
Great advice Sharyn! Thank you!
Love your videos - I’m catching up…just got off Navigator and another thing to add to third party excursion info happened on our cruise, an overnight in Cabo. A couple we met had booked a third party excursion for our full day…..unfortunately, wind conditions kept us from tendering so we went back out to sea (to return for half day next day, but not enough time for the lengthier excursions available for the cancelled full day.) They had precooked a third party excursion that they obviously couldn’t make. (I noticed that these days a lot less people are booking cruise line excursions so I imagine this happened to numerous people!) The last I heard, they hadn’t heard from the tour company about a reimbursement….☹️
Great points Brandon but number 5 really nailed it. I find once I have been to a port several times usually in the Caribbean you get a comfort level in booking with 3rd party vendors. When travelling to Europe or Asia we stuck to the cruise excursions but tried to pick ones that had a limited of people.
Thanks as always Judi! Yeah, I go back and forth as well. It really depends but I enjoy getting away from the cruise lines when I can.
@@TheWeekendCruiser Hope you are staying safe.
@@judis4900 All is well here! Southeast Florida was really spared this round. Thank you for checking in!
Great video Brandon. Before 2020 I used to do only 3rd party booked shore excursions. Since the restart, I have booked excursions through the cruise line and have to admit I like the convenience. I will be doing a mix of the 2 for now on especially if an excursion is long, booking through the cruise line may be a safer bet.
That is very true! Always be on the safe side when booking!
Hey Brandon, thanks for a great video. We always pay a bit more and go through the cruise line. The back on the ship guarantee is the main reason. We book before we go and take advantage of a discount but it is still a bit more. However, we use Viator for tours in the port city before or after our cruise.
Great feedback and you are definitely not alone in that logic! Viator is a great option and many cruise ship folks use it as well! I have become a bigger fan of Get Your Guide recently but they offer similar experiences.
depending on your loyalty level with the cruise line, cruise line excursions can be cheaper overall then 3rd party. on NCL they have the 50 dollar free at see shore excursion credit plus if you are silver or higher you can get 10% off the tours. that can be like 60+ dollars off of a excursion
Very good advice. For people who may think the ship will wait for you if you didn't do a cruise-approved excursion, they absolutely will not. Think about the math; You booked a $1500 interior room and are 20 minutes late getting back. The cruise port tells the ship captain that they'll incur a $10,000 fine if he doesn't depart their slip in the next 10 minutes, what would make financial sense for the company to do? If you're an experienced traveler/cruiser, you might get by alright. If not, it is probably best not to risk it.
That is actually a video idea of mine! What to do if you miss the ship!
I would always go through the cruise line. Hey, you picked the right time to go to your parents'..... you missed the hurricane here at home!
ha, I sure did! Luckily, south Florida was spared this go round!
Yeah shore tour prices suck beyond belief but unless I know a place really well, I’m not game to go it alone. I might on my cruise to Tassie next year. I know Hobart quite well because I lived there for a while. I can safely navigate around but, by that same token, I also know the city quite well and have done the touristy things. So I wasn’t planning on doing any shire tours on that cruise.
Thank you Brandon, I just used your link to book a tour in Israel :)
Thanks Gail! Always appreciated. And jealous about Israel!
Thanks! Great information.
My pleasure and thank you! I didn't even know you could send a super chat in the comments!!! That just made my day ❤❤
Great video thank you
Great excursion info. Thanks.
Thank you! Always look forward to your comments 😀