Cruise Line Excursions: 6 You Should Take And 6 To Avoid

Which cruise line excursions should you take, and which not? I suggest 6 excursions that I would usually take with the cruise line, rather than with an independent tour company or self tour. I also recommend 6 that I would suggest you consider not doing with the cruise line, and how to do them yourself. The big advantage of going on a cruise line excursion is the ship will always wait for all their tours to return before leaving. They do not guarantee to wait fro late passengers on their own arrangements. However, consider my list of ones to do and not do when planning excursions on your cruise vacation.

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Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 77 cruises at time of making this video.

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[jimevans]

Any destination that is a long distance from ship by taxi or bus should always be taken through cruise line because if for whatever reason you don't make it back on time they will leave you behind. If you book a tour through the ship they will wait for you no matter how late you get back. I know this for a fact because I took a tour in Costa Rica to the rainforest, on the way back we got a flat tire on the bus, the bus didn't have a spare they had to send someone to town to get the tire and bring it back and then change the tire on the bus. The ship waited for us only because we were on a tour booked through them.

[garyneal]

I'll do the beach/resort excursions is when they're competitively priced with a taxi + daypass. A Roatan taxi can run $30 one way, but Carnival offers a $23/person resort excursion provides roundtrip transportation and basic resort facilities (public shower, restrooms, changing rooms, etc.).

[Jg-beit]

I booked the Maui downhill bike tour on haleakala crater through NCL, and it was the best excursion I've ever been on.

[davepratt]

We tend to do ship excursions more when tendering is involved. Getting the priority and guaranteed tendering time vice the space available loading process is worth the cost difference.

[georgevalentine]

In Alaska the cruise line wanted $120 for a trip to the glacier. I took the local bus to the same place for $2, plus I got to meet and talk to some locals.

[janonthelam]

In addition, Gary, when I lived in Bermuda, renting a scooter often meant injury or death of a tourist with their narrow roads and driving on the “wrong” side.

[yesimsixtyfive]

Once I went through a third party on a Caribbean cruise and paid very little to get picked up, put on a semi-private beach near a restaurant where I had some of the best food ever. Sometimes the cruise line excursions aren't worth the money.

[Biggun]

I think that probably the best reason for buying an excursion at all is to have the piece of mind that they are guaranteed to have you back on the ship before it leaves.

[pittmanjt]

So right about not doing museums and historical sites on a group excursion. I’ve visited the mansions in Newport, RI a couple of times on my own. I arrived at a mansion once at the same time an excursion bus from a Silversea tour arrived. The guests were herded like cattle. I stepped aside to let them chase their fast-moving guide, then resumed my leisurely tour. If I ever do Silversea through Newport, I’ll get off and rent a car to do the mansions solo!

[amybradley]

True about Iceland! Many sites are inland and quite a hike. No worries about being back in time if on a cruise tour.

[chuckmeadows]

Thanks Gary! This was a particularly good video. I learned several tips I hadn't previously considered when exploring shore excursion options. What makes your videos so valuable to me is that your detailed analysis and information allows me to be more confident and effective when planning shore activities.. Very helpful and much appreciated!

[davidandrew]

I booked the Skagway Train with the Cruise Line. It was because I wanted to do it as it was Bucket List Item, and I did not want to miss out on it.

[hettytravels]

I love the Hop on Hop off bus! Good tips!

[Marshal_Dunnik]

Great advice, as usual. Two quibbles:
2:53 Guest services may steer you in the exact same direction as their colleagues at the shore excursion desk. Better to ask the random crew members you will get to know (waiter, steward, maitre d, entertainment staff, etc). Experienced cruisers know that crew members are a valuable source of information on ports.
6:07 Done the same tour (amazing), but booked directly with the local operator. If a mainstream line offers such a tour, it's likely the same tour is offered and if so, you could save 50-100%+ by eliminating the middleman. With luxury lines it's possible it's an exclusive, usually exclusive in terms of the time/day its offered, to correspond to the port call
(edited: grammar)

[scottj]

We did the dog-sledding back in 2008. Helicopter flight over the glaciers, landed on one of the glaciers at "Doggie World" and then went dog-sledding on the glacier. Worth every penny. We still talk about it.

[gregfreeman]

Good points about cost and size, some excursions are best done independently.

[davedove]

I'm not a shopper, so I never take shopping excursions. I also avoid excursions that have shopping time built in if I can. Much like you said with the meals, those stops always take too much time. I would rather spend more time at sites or even get me back to the ship earlier so I can relax a bit.

[appleforever]

Vatican Excursions is a must to bypass the long heavy lines.

[BinaPgh]

Mr. Gary, this was truly helpful. I’m going on my first cruise in a few weeks and needed this. Thank you!

[GregSr]

My favorite excursion so far is Helmet Diving in Grand Cayman Islands. My cheeks hurt from grinning so much.