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Excursions?
- Thread starter bow0303
- Start date
bradandsarabr
Member
The price of the excursion will be higher when booking through DCL. The DCL excursion usually provides less free time & less flexibility. However, the DCL excursion guarantees that you get back on the ship before it leaves.
We prefer booking outside of DCL for cost & flexibility, but have used DCL before for peace of mind.
We prefer booking outside of DCL for cost & flexibility, but have used DCL before for peace of mind.
deanaandrich
Well-Known Member
If you are going to book excursions through disney, you can do it before you board ship, just to save time. The tickets will be ready for you and you will be ready. But I've never had a problem with an excursion selling out once I board, so you can wait. They will be more expensive through disney, but you don't have to worry about getting back on time and you will know its a reputable company. If you choose a local company you can usually find much cheaper deals and the guides are more flexible (take you to less crowded areas and spend more time in a location if you really enjoy it). For my family, it all depends on the destination. If it is a safer port, we find local deals. If there are more concerns about the area, we stick to the cruise line excursions.
Disneyfalcon
Well-Known Member
Some excursions will sell out, so if you know you want something, definitely book it. The dolphin excursions are a good example of some that frequently sell out.
If you're flexible on what you want to do, there's not a huge hurry. But there's no downside to booking now. You don't pay for them until you sail, and you can cancel with no penalty if you're more than 3 days out.
We sometimes go on our own to save money, but we've enjoyed most of our Disney excursions too. If your time in port is short, go with Disney. That way you know you'll be back on time.
If you book on your own and your ship can't dock, you may be out the money you spent also.
If you're flexible on what you want to do, there's not a huge hurry. But there's no downside to booking now. You don't pay for them until you sail, and you can cancel with no penalty if you're more than 3 days out.
We sometimes go on our own to save money, but we've enjoyed most of our Disney excursions too. If your time in port is short, go with Disney. That way you know you'll be back on time.
If you book on your own and your ship can't dock, you may be out the money you spent also.
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
Yep! What everyone else said. If you know what you want to do when your booking window opens (online checkin day) you can book what you like and not worry about paying until the cruise. I know on the Western Caribbean the Secret River thing and the Segways (not sure which port ?) are known to sell out.
My husband has been more worried about booking excursions away from the cruise line than me. You have to be diligent and do your homework. For our cruise next month we have all our excursions in Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, and Cozumel all booked independantly. I looked things up online thru basic google searching. When I found vendors/operators I thought looked interesting I went to other cruise forums such as Cruise Critic and searched for info about those companies. I also used Trip Advisor to check reviews and info. Definitely check cancellation policies and what each company does if the ship doesn't port as planned. The more reputable companies will have at least a 24 hr cancellation policy and many will not charge you if the ship cannot make it to port. Very important to know these things for sure, tho!
We are doing a private charter boat to Stingray City in Grand Cayman that costs $500 for up to 10 people. We have 7 so the per person cost is less than $75. We'll get 3 hours tailored to us. All equipment, bottled water, and rum punch is provided. My favorite part is escaping the herds of tourists.
In Costa Maya I have standup paddleboards reserved from an ex-pat from Texas and some cushy shaded loungers, table w/chairs reserved from a couple ladies from Canada on the beach for the cost of some yummy fresh-made food and drinks. Hello $2 beers! LOL! I'm expecting the taxi to/from, paddleboards, and food/drink to run us a total of about $150-$200 for the 7 of us. And, in Cozumel we booked the Xrails to Jade Caverns directly thru the operator the cruise ships use. I had to do it this way because of our family makeup and the cruise line excursion age restrictions. We have 7 people: 3 adults and 4 teenagers ages 14, 15, 16, & 17. The 16 & 17 yros both are licensed drivers. Well, the xrails seat 2 people each. The cruise line says the minimum age to drive is 18 w/valid drivers license. We couldn't book thru them because we'd have more kids than adults and I'm not about to send one of our kids off with someone else driving. I think they'd be uncomfortable. The tour operator says the minimum age to drive is 16 w/valid drivers license. Well, we have 2 of those so now we can go and it'll be one of us grown-ups riding solo which we don't care. Not saving any money for the excursion. However, the tour operator has a spring/summer special right now offering each of their guests a $20 voucher to Margaritaville. We had planned to hit up Margaritaville after our excursion (& cleaning up ) anyway. Double score for us, huh?! I'll come back and let you know how our independant excursions go. I'm really looking forward to seeing how we like spreading our own little independant wings and rolling on our own.
My husband has been more worried about booking excursions away from the cruise line than me. You have to be diligent and do your homework. For our cruise next month we have all our excursions in Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, and Cozumel all booked independantly. I looked things up online thru basic google searching. When I found vendors/operators I thought looked interesting I went to other cruise forums such as Cruise Critic and searched for info about those companies. I also used Trip Advisor to check reviews and info. Definitely check cancellation policies and what each company does if the ship doesn't port as planned. The more reputable companies will have at least a 24 hr cancellation policy and many will not charge you if the ship cannot make it to port. Very important to know these things for sure, tho!
We are doing a private charter boat to Stingray City in Grand Cayman that costs $500 for up to 10 people. We have 7 so the per person cost is less than $75. We'll get 3 hours tailored to us. All equipment, bottled water, and rum punch is provided. My favorite part is escaping the herds of tourists.
In Costa Maya I have standup paddleboards reserved from an ex-pat from Texas and some cushy shaded loungers, table w/chairs reserved from a couple ladies from Canada on the beach for the cost of some yummy fresh-made food and drinks. Hello $2 beers! LOL! I'm expecting the taxi to/from, paddleboards, and food/drink to run us a total of about $150-$200 for the 7 of us. And, in Cozumel we booked the Xrails to Jade Caverns directly thru the operator the cruise ships use. I had to do it this way because of our family makeup and the cruise line excursion age restrictions. We have 7 people: 3 adults and 4 teenagers ages 14, 15, 16, & 17. The 16 & 17 yros both are licensed drivers. Well, the xrails seat 2 people each. The cruise line says the minimum age to drive is 18 w/valid drivers license. We couldn't book thru them because we'd have more kids than adults and I'm not about to send one of our kids off with someone else driving. I think they'd be uncomfortable. The tour operator says the minimum age to drive is 16 w/valid drivers license. Well, we have 2 of those so now we can go and it'll be one of us grown-ups riding solo which we don't care. Not saving any money for the excursion. However, the tour operator has a spring/summer special right now offering each of their guests a $20 voucher to Margaritaville. We had planned to hit up Margaritaville after our excursion (& cleaning up ) anyway. Double score for us, huh?! I'll come back and let you know how our independant excursions go. I'm really looking forward to seeing how we like spreading our own little independant wings and rolling on our own.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
We are doing a private charter boat to Stingray City in Grand Cayman that costs $500 for up to 10 people. We have 7 so the per person cost is less than $75. We'll get 3 hours tailored to us. All equipment, bottled water, and rum punch is provided. My favorite part is escaping the herds of tourists.
You will find plenty of tourists out on Stingray City. Just because you are on your own boat does not mean there wont be a dozen others out on that sandbar as well.
It's funny though, all the little tour companies seem to do the rum punch thing. Out on a kayak tour in the mangroves, out comes a can of fruit punch and a bottle of rum. On a evening catamran from Three Mile Beach to Rum Point? Out comes the bottle of rum and that can of fruit punch. About the only time I was not offered rum punch was on a bioluminescent kayak tour. I suspect that since we had to cross an open channel, on a night with no moon (because that is the only time they do bioluminescent tours), in kayaks, to get back home, I guess they didn't want everyone all rum punched up.
-dave
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
@Phonedave: Yeah, I've read there's rum punch all over the place. I'm just happy to be offered anything at all. I can email the tour people w/the private boat w/any other beverage requests & they'll bring it for us. She said they don't ask a service charge & will give us the store receipt so we only reimburse the cost. I thought that was kinda nice. Definitely expect other tourists a-plenty at Stingray City but it'll be nice not to have to wait for the group at every turn. Not sure what we'll do w/the rest of our time. We won't be at Stingray City the whole time. I thought we'd see what everyone is up for and go with the captain's recommendations. I wish we could see a sea turtle (not at the turtle farm) since my older niece loves them so much. 