Booking your own excursions

[NEDisney]

Hello all!

I will be taking my 1st Disney cruise with the family in the spring of 2019 and I have been told the best way to book excursions is to book them directly with the companies that offer them on the islands instead of booking through DCL. In my case we are going on the 7 day Western Caribbean so I'm going to be looking at some kind of Dolphin swim in Mexico, A stingray City thing in Cayman, and maybe the zip line/bobsled thing in Jamaica. Are there any downsides to booking directly with one of these companies that in other posts on this forum are highly regarded? I'm told its cheaper in many cases and you can book early instead of 90 days prior ect.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello all!

I will be taking my 1st Disney cruise with the family in the spring of 2019 and I have been told the best way to book excursions is to book them directly with the companies that offer them on the islands instead of booking through DCL. In my case we are going on the 7 day Western Caribbean so I'm going to be looking at some kind of Dolphin swim in Mexico, A stingray City thing in Cayman, and maybe the zip line/bobsled thing in Jamaica. Are there any downsides to booking directly with one of these companies that in other posts on this forum are highly regarded? I'm told its cheaper in many cases and you can book early instead of 90 days prior ect.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Only downside would be if you don't ask the right questions, specifically regarding "what if the ship doesn't make port? Will there be a refund? How much?"

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

The biggest difference might be that if your excursion is delayed and you are not back on the boat in time, the cruise ship will leave without you. It is then up to you to get transportation to the ship in the next port, at your expense and inconvenience, of course. The exception to that is that if you are on a Disney sanctioned excursion and the excursion gets back late, the ship will wait for you. All Disney excursions, in most cases, meet on the ship in designated locations, and you are then escorted off the ship by a cast member. You are taken as a group directly to your port adventure crew.

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

You can save money when you book on your own - but then you have to make transportation arrangements to go with the excursion. The biggest drawback in my book is the risk involved. When I book through Disney, I know I will get a refund if weather or other issues prevent me from getting to the excursion. More important to me though is that by booking through Disney, I know that the ship will be waiting when we return or Disney will get me to the next port-of-call. If you book on your own, you lose that protection. If a bus breaks down and you don't return to port on time, you are on your own.

If you save enough to make the risk worth it to you, you will most likely have no issues. This is just one are I am willing to pay a premium in order to play it safe.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

Only downside would be if you don't ask the right questions, specifically regarding "what if the ship doesn't make port? Will there be a refund? How much?"[

And if you are on a Disney excursion and for some reason you don't make it to the port, your shipboard account will be credited back the full cost of the port adventure.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

if you are on a Disney sanctioned excursion and the excursion gets back late, the ship will wait for you.

....if possible. It's quite possible that the ship can't wait (due to tides, port schedules, travel time needed to reach next port, etc). In that case, DCL will see to getting everyone to the next port (for those on DCL excursions).

Along that line, IF (big "if") you miss the ship and must be transported to the next or final port (either private excursion or DCL), you'll need a passport to fly from a foreign port.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

....if possible. It's quite possible that the ship can't wait (due to tides, port schedules, travel time needed to reach next port, etc). In that case, DCL will see to getting everyone to the next port (for those on DCL excursions).

Along that line, IF (big "if") you miss the ship and must be transported to the next or final port (either private excursion or DCL), you'll need a passport to fly from a foreign port.

A good thing to keep in mind for everyone, whether you are on a DCL PA or have booked one on your own.

 

[NEDisney]

Thank you for the quick responses! Well it sounds like its not worth it at all to book these on my own. I do not want any "risk" involved with 4 kids on a stress free vacation! hehe. So I now have another question - Is there anything I need to know or any good tips regarding booking these excursions in this 90 day window to ensure I get the adventure I want? i found out that when booking this trip many others got 1st shot at rooms because they were plat/gold/silver? Will those same people get early booking for excursions as well?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thank you for the quick responses! Well it sounds like its not worth it at all to book these on my own. I do not want any "risk" involved with 4 kids on a stress free vacation! hehe. So I now have another question - Is there anything I need to know or any good tips regarding booking these excursions in this 90 day window to ensure I get the adventure I want? i found out that when booking this trip many others got 1st shot at rooms because they were plat/gold/silver? Will those same people get early booking for excursions as well?

Yes, Platinum (and Concierge guests) can book activities at 120 days out. Gold - 105 days; Silver 90 day; and first time cruisers 75 days out.

But don't let that dissuade you. Not everyone goes all the same excursions. And, even if full when you try to book, keep checking back all the way up to the day you leave, as people book "just in case" and then cancel.

Also, it's a good idea to have a look at the various excursion/activities available before your window opens and pick a backup or two, in case your first choice isn't available.

 

[lklgoodman]

On our last cruise our DCL excursion on Grand Cayman was cancelled, so we received a refund since it was booked with Disney. The next day we were unable to do our excursion due to medical condition that happened during the cruise. It was also booked with Disney. They gave us a full refund for myself, my dh, and our dd. They said they usually will just give a refund for the person who has the medical problem plus one other person in their group who is to be the caretaker. However because our dd was too young to be the caretaker or to go on the excursion on her own they also gave us a refund for her excursion. Refund was over $400. Not sure if a private company would have given us a full refund. As Princess Schmoo said, make sure you know exactly what the private company will do for you if you miss the excursion for ANY reason.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

On our last cruise our DCL excursion on Grand Cayman was cancelled, so we received a refund since it was booked with Disney. The next day we were unable to do our excursion due to medical condition that happened during the cruise. It was also booked with Disney. They gave us a full refund for myself, my dh, and our dd. They said they usually will just give a refund for the person who has the medical problem plus one other person in their group who is to be the caretaker. However because our dd was too young to be the caretaker or to go on the excursion on her own they also gave us a refund for her excursion. Refund was over $400. Not sure if a private company would have given us a full refund. As Princess Schmoo said, make sure you know exactly what the private company will do for you if you miss the excursion for ANY reason. Ok, I hit some button on my keyboard and can't figure out how to fix this wide gap, sorry.

It looks like you posted an image at the end of your message, and it's taller than a line.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

There is a Port Adventures Desk on board, too, where they can help you with any questions or changes that you may want to make. A good thing to do on boarding day. They can check on availability for you once on board, in case there are cancellations for the PA that you're interested in and cannot book online.

 

[wanderlust7]

To offer another perspective - we did Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab in Cozumel on our own. I felt that the cost savings was worth the small risk. It's about 15 minutes away from the port by taxi and I knew that taxis were plentiful, so I wasn't too worried about missing the ship as long as we left early enough. I meant to leave 1 1/2 hour before all board to be extra safe, but the kids were having so much fun we ended up leaving an hour before (it turned out fine). We used a Groupon, so I'm not sure what would have happened if we missed the port, but I had travel insurance that would have covered it. If you book direct, I believe they give a 90% refund. After I booked the Groupon, I realized that the direct price had dropped and it would have been the same price (it was about 3 weeks before).

This is how the cost savings worked out:
$50 for the dolphin encounter for me (Groupon with 20% off). DD was free (5 and under). DS didn't want to do it, so he and DH stayed behind and enjoyed Chankanaab. Entrance fee for DH was $19 and $12 for DS (had a $1-2 off coupon). Taxi was $12 each way. Total came out to $105 for a great day.

Now if we'd gone through Disney, I think DH and DS would have been charged the observer rate, which is $50/person. I would have been $115 and DD would have been $92. Total would be $307.

Of course, everyone's risk tolerance and cost/benefit analysis is different. But I think it's useful to calculate it out. Now, if it was an excursion that was further away with a smaller cost savings, maybe I would have chosen differently.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

In general, the risk of not getting back in time is fairly small if you make good choices and look at the excursion times and your in-port times. In GC, a group like Captain Marvin's will advise if your scheduling attempt is going to be high risk. The good providers live and die by their TripAdvisor ratings and have a great deal of interest in getting you back on time.

 

[Shanti]

If you're careful you should be just fine booking independent excursions. Check the reputation of the vendor, their refund policies, & leave at least 2 hours of cushion time in case of delays. Just booked an independent excursion for our Alaska cruise that is less than 1/2 the price of DCL's for the same experience, same provider. Saved $250 that way & not worried at all. During our Fantasy cruise, we had a much better experience independently taking a local taxi to the beach at St. Thomas than we did with our miserable DCL-booked "Beach Break" in Tortola.

Another reason to consider independent bookings is if you're new to DCL or a silver CC member. Some of the most popular & limited-availability excursions available via DCL might already be booked up for your cruise by the time your booking window opens.

 

[mareed]

For most excursions (other than those that take up almost all of the time at port or involve very long transportation times), I book independently through a reputable company for a better experience at a better price than you can get through Disney. Sting rays at Cayman is a perfect example! You can find reputable companies through CruiseCritic and/or TripAdvisor and you'll get a better price and have a more personal experience with a smaller group. All the companies I've used also let you cancel if the ship doesn't make port for some reason and are going to be sure you make it back to the ship on time because their reputation is so very important to them and you'd hear if people on their excursion are missing the ship! Cozumel is so easy to go places with taxis at posted prices and you're in control of your departure time by setting the time you line up for your return taxi ride - easy as can be! For Jamaica, I've used 2 different independent tour companies and have been highly satisfied with both.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

Always agree on the price with the taxi driver before getting into a cab.

 

[ludari]

A an avid scuba diver I always go diving whenever I can especially when I am on cruises. Going on a scuba diving excursion usually requires a few different types of transportation (van/boat) and personally I prefer to book all my excursions through DCL to ensure that if they are an problems with either the vehicle or boat that the ship will wait for me, which of course would not be the case if I booked my own excursions. I know most people don't have these issues and like to save a little money by booking their own excursions which is fine and I may do the same if I wasn't going scuba diving.

 

[undertheradar]

It all boils down to risk and personal responsibility. It is your choice to book your own excursions, so you take on all of the travel risks. Having a group involving kids, not sure that the risk is worth it. Sometimes ports are reversed, missed, storms happen. Once you are onboard and the cruise is under way, how will you communicate with a private provider if there are changes?

 

[Pens Fan]

We started off booking with Disney but soon realized that being on a bus with 40 to 50 of our new best friends wasn't for us. Now, we always book independently. It's not so much about the cost, but the experience. We prefer private tours for just our family and often are able to book those for about the same (or less) than we would pay for a cruise line bus tour. The really good guides also know how to time the tour so that you miss the bulk of the buses and crowds if at all possible, which not only offers a better experience, but saves you time as well so that you can do more things. Speaking of time, remember that your group tour will only move as fast as the slowest person on the bus.

It really doesn't take that much effort to research the private companies. Trip Advisor, Cruise Critic's port specific forums and these boards are full of recommendations and reviews. We have never even come close to missing the ship. A reputable company will have a back up plan (and often a back up of the back up) in place in case of an unplanned event (car trouble, etc.) Their business lives or dies based on their online reviews and they are not going to risk getting a bad review by cutting it too close getting you back to port.

As for being on the hook for the cost of the excursion if the ship doesn't dock, IMHO that fear is overblown. Most of the companies we have used have full refund policies if the ship doesn't dock. We had a couple of tours in Europe where that was not the case, and all I did was call our trip insurance company and they added the cost of the excursions to our policy. I was very surprised at how inexpensive it was to do so. For our last two cruises we have purchased a cruise specific trip insurance policy which includes coverage for losses incurred if the ship does not not make a port.

As for contacting a private company once you are on the ship, email and texting works . Most guides will ask for a cell phone number just for that reason. Yes, you will need to purchase internet on board, but I always do that anyway. I have communicated with many guides while on the ship, as a lot of them want to check in, verify pick up times, etc.