excursion newbie

[Heatherdbby]

we haven't ever booked excursions before because my son was super young previously and was content without them.

While he will still be content now, this trip he is 9, and we looked at the different excursions for our upcoming cruise, and the only one that he really got excited about was horseback riding in Jamaica.
if we book through Disney they have a higher age threshold than if we book through the company directly.

Now since we have never booked an excursion before, I have hesitations, specifically around missing the boat. How often does that happen where the boat gets missed? Also, is there a way to find out for sure if the company I found online is the same company that DCL is booking their guests with?

In Caymans we plan to just explore as hubbys grandfather was one of the developers of the island, Mexico we are renting either a jeep or scooters to explore, and at castaway I am doing the 5k then we are going to snorkel and pelicans plunge. So the horseback riding would be the big thing we do.

 

[Heatherdbby]

Bump?

 

[sponica]

I'm not sure how often it happens that someone misses a boat when their non cruise excursion doesn't get them back to the port in time. I'm sure when it does happen, people don't typically tend to post it....because the whole reason it's recommended to do one through the cruise company (any cruise company) is the boat will wait for you if you're on an excursion booked through them.

Maybe you can check the reviews of the excursions themselves, I imagine if it did happen, someone might include it in a review? Company stated return time would be x, but was actually y and we missed all aboard?

 

[Mommb]

It is rare that a private excursion will return late enough for you to miss the boat. Excursion companies know that if they do return you late, you will may tell other people, and will certainly not use them again, and it may hurt their business. If you are concerned, choose an excursion that has a scheduled return several hours before all-aboard time.

I do not know how to check whether a company is the same that is used by DCL. I have heard that some companies won't allow private bookings at the same time as Disney excursions they are also running, but I don't know if that applies to all companies.

Also, if Disney has an age restriction, it may be for a good reason, so you will want to talk with the company to gain confidence that your son will be safe.

 

[Calantha]

I have heard that some companies won't allow private bookings at the same time as Disney excursions they are also running, but I don't know if that applies to all companies.

I've had had both. One excursion in Alaska (Juneau), I HAD to book through Disney, they would not let me book direct. Another excursion (Ketchikan), I could book either way (lots of availability from both). Then, in Dominica, Disney said the excursion was full, but the company let me book with them directly. So, it definately varies.

 

[Calantha]

How often does that happen where the boat gets missed? Also, is there a way to find out for sure if the company I found online is the same company that DCL is booking their guests with?

I would always just pick an excursion that leaves plenty of time before returning. As PP said, missing the boat is bad for future business.

Hard to say if there is an easy way to figure out which entity is providing the tour. For example, in my previous post...the Juneau company explicitly said "you must book with Disney" so give-away there. The Ketchikan experience was so unique - i.e., there is only one boat doing this tour, it had to be the same one for everyone. In Dominica, again, there was only one company that offered the tour (b/c the island is so small), it had to be the same one. And yes, there were tons of Disney people on the excursion.

If I were looking at a larger island tour, e.g., on St. Thomas, I don't know how I would figure it out.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Technically, booking with DCL doesn't guarantee that the ship will wait for you, it guarantees you that they will ensure you get to the next port on their dime, not yours. Now, in practice, most of the time the ship does wait, especially because it's usually more than just one family on that excursion. But just be cautious, that isn't the guarantee and it has happened before that the ship has had to leave without people.

We always book excursions on our own when we can. I look for guarantees from the excursion companies or at least what assistance they will provide if the worst should happen. You could chat with the company to assure yourself.

 

[Chemist]

We always to private excursions. We just basically make sure there is enough of a time buffer. For example, if all-aboard is 4:30 and the beach is 30 minutes away, we get picked up around 2:30 or so.

In both Alaska and the Caribbean, operators fully understand how cruise ship schedules work. They will make sure you get back in time!

(We never have wanted to be with the same operator as the Disney excursions, we often go much smaller.). My ten year old gets charged as a child, not a "Disney adult".

 

[Flying Fish]

How/where is everyone currently finding the good excursions to book on their own? Years ago, I used to book through Shore Trips, who are no longer around. After a while, I knew most of the things we wanted to do/explore in the Caribbean and just kinda figured it out. I do not care for the huge Disney excursions, but I would love to find another place where I can find several options. Any ideas on this?

 

[AgentMama]

How/where is everyone currently finding the good excursions to book on their own? Years ago, I used to book through Shore Trips, who are no longer around. After a while, I knew most of the things we wanted to do/explore in the Caribbean and just kinda figured it out. I do not care for the huge Disney excursions, but I would love to find another place where I can find several options. Any ideas on this?

I typically google tours and such in the areas that we're going to and use a combination of TripAdvisor and Viator for reviews of the tours I'm intersted in.

 

[Chemist]

How/where is everyone currently finding the good excursions to book on their own? Years ago, I used to book through Shore Trips, who are no longer around. After a while, I knew most of the things we wanted to do/explore in the Caribbean and just kinda figured it out. I do not care for the huge Disney excursions, but I would love to find another place where I can find several options. Any ideas on this?

I look at teh cruise websites for ideas of what we want to do.
If its an established place, you can go directly to their website. (Atlantis in Nassau, we did that for Carambola Beach Club in St. Kitt's.)

If its an activity, just google it and see who is offering excursions. Then look at their reviews on TripAdvisor. We went sailing in Barbados on a small sailboat and had a blast.

Really, it is not much different than planning activities on a land-based vacation!

 

[lilsonicfan]

How/where is everyone currently finding the good excursions to book on their own? Years ago, I used to book through Shore Trips, who are no longer around. After a while, I knew most of the things we wanted to do/explore in the Caribbean and just kinda figured it out. I do not care for the huge Disney excursions, but I would love to find another place where I can find several options. Any ideas on this?

I do usually use the big sites like Viator for ideas, but I really try not to book through them. I did one excursion through Viator and it was a bit of a mess as the directions for where to meet were unclear and there wasn't really anyone to call to ask for help. I've had a lot of success with smaller companies that run their own tours (as opposed to Viator which basically resells excursions run by other companies).

 

[Chemist]

I do usually use the big sites like Viator for ideas, but I really try not to book through them. I did one excursion through Viator and it was a bit of a mess as the directions for where to meet were unclear and there wasn't really anyone to call to ask for help. I've had a lot of success with smaller companies that run their own tours (as opposed to Viator which basically resells excursions run by other companies).

Yeah, places like Viator are probably not much better than Disney! They still take a cut from you! They are a good places to nose around see what choices are out there, though.

Just look around and book directly. Its really not that hard.