I would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. Bottom line: It's easier to cancel tours on board. (Be sure to check the cruise line's policies.) It's trickier to change your mind when you have to call or email a third-party provider, and that company may have different cancellation policies. If the weather looks bad for the day of your bicycling tour or you've had enough beach time and decided you want something different, you can usually cancel your tour within 48 hours for a refund. Related: Avoid these 10 mistakes when booking cruise shore excursions Changes to the tour can be made during sailingĪ ship's cruise shore excursions desk is for booking - and canceling - tours. With independent tours, you're at the mercy of that tour operator's cancellation policies. Ship-sponsored tours either will adjust to accommodate you or you'll get a refund. The same principle holds true for any itinerary changes that cause you to miss a port or arrive later than planned. Guests who booked a ship's tour were simply picked up at the new arrival point. Thankfully my plans were fluid - take a taxi to Seven Mile Beach - but had I booked an independent tour I might have missed the scheduled pick-up time due to the new arrival location. On one visit to Grand Cayman, high winds forced the ship's tender boats to shuttle passengers to a different pier than originally planned. If the ship's itinerary changes or a port stop's altered, you won't miss the tour Communications between the shore excursion guide and your ship are tight, and if the tour runs late due to traffic or another reason, the ship will wait for your bus to return. (Photo by Antonio Busiello/Getty Images) You will be back to the ship on timeīecause everyone on the tour is a passenger on your ship, there is no way the ship will leave without your group back on board. You might choose a ship-sponsored tour in select ports or when traveling with certain people, but opt to go it on your own on other trips or in other destinations. And remember, this isn't an all-or-nothing game. On both, I got what I was looking for: a glimpse into local culture.įor cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter.Ĭonsider these pros and cons of both types of shore excursions as you're sifting through the choices on a cruise line's website. When I think back to my two favorite tours, one was ship-sponsored (a plant-based cooking class with a Rastafarian in Jamaica through Princess Cruises) and the other independent (a walking and history tour with a lifelong resident in Havana booked online). But is it better to do your in-port exploration on a ship-sponsored tour booked through the cruise line or independently, either by booking shore excursions on your own with a third-party company or guide or exploring the port without a tour? One of the reasons we board a ship is to experience the world, whether that's island hopping in the Caribbean, animal watching in Alaska or stepping into storybook-like towns across Europe.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |