Cruise guest says to ‘avoid’ certain port excursions

Shore excursions can be enjoyed while the cruise ship is in port and involve a number of activities. From water sports to guided tours of the local area, both the travel line and third-party companies offer a range of quick trips to passengers passing through. But one of the mistakes many people make when cruising is overpaying for excursions they don’t actually need.

In the popular travel forum Cruise Critic, one user shared their disappointment about previous excursions they had done while travelling.

The cruiser named cameljockey said: “I guess we’ve done about 14 cruises with various Cruise Lines. And I have to say we have never come back from any excursion saying that was worth the money.”

They suggested ditching those offered by cruise lines and using third-party booking companies instead, including “safe alternatives like Viator”.

However, not all fellow holidaymakers agreed that this is the only way to get the best deals on worthwhile excursions.

According to one member of the forum, who used the name cruiselvr04, “it really depends on the place you’re going”.

They said: “We still use ship excursions but avoid anything with panoramic or bus in them.

“Sometimes it’s the best way to do what you want to do and sometimes not.

“You can do most beach areas on your own. We research each port of call and try different things.”

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Tours advertised as “panoramic” experiences tend to provide a more generic overview of the port destination rather than focus on a specific landmark.

These are often done in groups of 20-25 people and involve a mixture of walking, sightseeing, and bus journeys between different sites.

As pointed out by cruiserlvr04, these whistle-stop tours are easy to do for a fraction of the price without a guide in some cases.

Instead, they recommended doing your own research to find the best deal at each port.

The cruise-goer wrote: “I plan what to do and then look into private or non-ship excursions vs ship. And we never just show up at a port without a plan.

“The plan may be to wander around on our own but it’s a plan. After almost 40 cruises we still do a mix of ships and ones we book on our own.

“The right ship excursion can still be fun!”

And other keen sailors agreed. One Cruise Critic member named ducklite pointed out that there are other benefits of showing yourself around each stop.

They said: “We’ve pretty well given up on ship-offered excursions.  We pretty much do our own thing. On our cruise next year, we’ll be in six ports and only buy a ship excursion in one. 

“We prefer to either just DIY or in places like St. Petersburg we’ll hire a private guide for two days.

“With just my husband and me on the tour, we can customize our itinerary and go at our own speed, which is often much faster than any group tour would offer in some places, and slower so we can take it all in at others.”

If you are looking to book an excursion through a third party, forum members recommended looking for private tours via Get My Guide, Klook, Viator, and Trip Advisor.  

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