Crazy Concerned over Non-DCL Shore Excursions ...

[Main Street Matilda]

We are a group of 10 and were considering chartering a boat in Grand Cayman. I'm not afraid to use a third-party for a shore excursion, per se, but I am hyper-concerned about not making it back to the ship on time given that we are under someone else's control.

Inasmuch as I like the security of using a DCL shore excursion, they don't offer what we want so I'd have to look to a third-party. Has anyone had good/bad experiences with this? Am I ridiculous for being concerned about this?

 

[starvenger]

I won't say that your fears are unfounded (we've all at least heard stories about people missing the boat), but you may be overly concerned about time.

Most third party providers schedule their excursions based on your boat, so they will likely make every effort to get you back on time, even if they don't provide a guarantee. When I scheduled some excursions in St. Thomas a few years back, I emailed back and forth with the provider A LOT to ensure that the timing would work out for us.

Since you're chartering, you actually have more control than I think you're giving yourself credit for. Work with your provider to create a schedule that works for you. And once that's done, you can do what one is supposed to do on a cruise - relax.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Any time we schedule an excursion with a third party, they usually schedule us back to the ship at least an hour before boarding time. Look for companies that will guarantee that they will get you back to the ship in time or they will pay expenses to get you to the next port. It is in their best interest to make sure you do not miss the boat. I use Travel Advisor to find good excursion companies. So far we've never had any problems.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I think you're overly concerned also...a company that fails to get its guests back to their ship on time isn't going to do well in the excursion business. The guarantee may be missing (a company may have its own guarantee), but it's in their best interests to return their guests on time, so you can bet they know your ship's schedule and are working around it.

I do like to check reviews online and see how the company does with scheduling.

 

[jeepnjudy]

We only book Non-DCL excursions and have not yet missed the boat. When renting a car we make sure to be back to the ship no later than 1-2 hours prior to departure and when using a third-party vendor we communicate often and make sure they understand our drop dead time we want to be back to the ship.

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

Agree with all PPs. I completely understand your concern, but if you do your research and book with a company that is consistently highly rated, I think you'll be fine. Anything fluke thing can happen so there is never an absolute guarantee, so try to plan for a trip that accounts for adequate time to get you back to the boat afterwards. The first time I booked a non-DCL excursion (on St. Maarten) because we had a group of 10 also, I was pretty nervous about the exact same thing, but the company and guide were as reliable as the reviews stated. Saved a ton, had a private tour for our family, and no issues at all. Remember, it is their business to satisfy cruise guests, so a good company will do everything in their power to get you back to the boat happy. Have a great time.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We have never booked a excursion through cruise line. We have had all great experiences. We save money and see more of what we want. I always plan to be back at least 2 hours before all aboard.

 

[Pens Fan]

Agree with all the above comments. A company that causes passengers to miss their ship won't be in business for very long. Do your due diligence. Check reviews on Trip Advisor, look for reviews on cruise boards (Cruise Critic has a terrific port specific board), and go from there. Also, be aware that being on a Disney excursion is no guarantee you won't miss the ship should something go really wrong. They will wait as long as possible, but if the excursion is delayed too long, the ship will sail. Now, Disney will bear the responsibility and expense of getting you to the next port, but a lot of private excursion companies offer that as well. And honestly, even if a company didn't specifically offer that on their website, I can hardly imagine any reputable company would just drop you off at the pier and leave you to your own devices.

While I do think you are worrying about this too much, it's a pretty common worry so you have good company. The cruise lines use that fear to their advantage. When we first started cruising, we stuck with cruise line excursions, but now we hardly ever use them. We have found that booking privately can not only save you money, but almost always gives you a better experience. Big group tours are just not our thing.

 

[dcassetta]

I have booked a number of private excursions and have never had an issue. I do understand your concern, but if you work with a reliable company, you'll be fine and have a great day!

 

[Main Street Matilda]

Thanks for the feedback - I really needed some perspective. This is only my second cruise and we're joined by my brother and his family. I have visions of the Fantasy pulling away while my family stands on the dock and my brother glares at me ... actually, he'd probably think it was funny. It's me, the planner, that wouldn't be laughing.

 

[Shanti]

I have booked only independent excursions for our upcoming Alaska cruise. Cheaper & sometimes better experiences are available than what DCL will offer, and I didn't have to wait for concierge, platinum & gold to book first.

 

[bumbershoot]

Read tons of reviews. Look at the ports of call section of the message boards on cruisecritic.com and see what people say about the company.

 

[AquaDame]

We are a group of 10 and were considering chartering a boat in Grand Cayman. I'm not afraid to use a third-party for a shore excursion, per se, but I am hyper-concerned about not making it back to the ship on time given that we are under someone else's control.

Inasmuch as I like the security of using a DCL shore excursion, they don't offer what we want so I'd have to look to a third-party. Has anyone had good/bad experiences with this? Am I ridiculous for being concerned about this?

You're definitely not being ridiculous about this - we've booked a fair number of excursions off ship so to speak and they all make it a big deal on their end that they will do everything within their power to make sure you are back to the ship on time. Many ask where you are staying and if it is on a ship sometimes they will book you into shorter options for even more leeway to get you back. For example, the snorkeling excursion we wanted was only available in the afternoon as a 3 hour instead of 4 hour tour - 45 minutes was too little of a buffer, they wanted 1:45. They know if they don't get you back to the ship, they will suffer from bad PR.

 

[aggiedog]

Counting up, I've done maybe 12-15 non-cruise sponsored tours. I've never had a problem. We usually book private tours as we travel with a group of 8 family members and I've even had tour operators tell me what isn't feasible to do and still get us back to the boat in plenty of time. Every one of them has wanted us back no later than an hour prior to sailing. One criteria I have when choosing tour providers is good communication and the feeling that I"m talking to someone who knows what they are talking about. That makes me feel better about putting my family in their hands.

In the age of TripAdvisor, no one wants a bad review with a missed sailing. So, you're not crazy, but I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[panda123]

I suggest looking into their refund policy in case the ship isn't able to tender in to Grand Cayman. I don't know how often it happens but twice out of five cruises I've taken where Grand Cayman was one of the stops, we ended up not stopping at Grand Cayman because the waters were too rough for all the tender boats to safely get passengers ashore. Our most recent cruise, mid December on the Fantasy, it was a last minute decision for the Captain and it turned into a sea day. One benefit of booking through Disney is that you do get a full refund in cases like those.

 

[Silver Queen]

We've done both cruise sponsored and non cruise sponsored excursions on Disney and Princess. Ironically, the only problem we had was on a Disney excursion on St. Maarten. Our excursion bus broke down on the way back to the ship. Fortunately we had plenty of time and another bus came to rescue us so we were in no danger of missing the all aboard time. Once we were on the ship Disney was very thorough about following up with us and the other passengers about our experience. They asked very specific questions and were very interested in hearing everything that we had to say about the excursion, the driver, and the condition of the bus. I completely agree with the other posters who have recommended Trip Advisor. We have used private excursions that they have recommended in Alaska, San Juan, and Aruba and have been very pleased with our experiences.

 

[Jess_S]

I generally do non-ship excursions and haven't had an issue, but I'm a worrier. For that reason, I give myself a cushion of at least 60 minutes (usually more like 90 minutes) for any non-ship excursion. We plan to be back that much earlier than all aboard so that there's time built in if anything goes wrong. I'm not suggesting that this is necessary -- but it may give you piece of mind if you are someone who worries too.

 

[tj48103]

We booked our own excursion in Grand Cayman two years ago and I had the same worries you did. Turned out I worried for nothing. We had an awesome time and the tour operators were very careful about making it back in time for the ship. We had time to spare. We did a tour of Stingray City, plus snorkeling at a reef, then visited Starfish point. The tour was with Cayman EcoAdventures.

 

[JsMom2]

There are some excursion companies that will not only guarantee that you get back to the ship in time, but will transport you to the next port in case of unforeseen circumstances.

 

[x19]

Everyone has this well covered, but I would add that by booking independently we've been able to book Private tours for less than the cost of the Disney group tours. When your group is the only one the provider is responsible for you have control over the schedule, and can ensure you arrive back to port at an appropriate time. This means you get a superior experience, and peace of mind on making it back to your boat.

For our upcoming Mediterranean cruise this June, we've booked all day private tours for each port with the same company based on TripAdvisor reviews. They don't have a cruise guarantee that I'm aware of, but they're extremely highly reviewed.