Thoughts on Shore Excursions For First Time Cruisers

Shore Excursions – Or Leaving Your Ship And Exploring Ashore

Use your cruise to explore new interests or places.

Use your cruise to explore new interests or places.


Cruises these days go so many places around the world.  So use your cruise as one way to see different places and help you decide which ones you would like to go back to and spend more time visiting there.  If you visit one island in the Caribbean or in Hawaii that seems like a place to linger, then you can plan to make a longer land based vacation there later.  If you visit a place that doesn’t appeal to you, cross that one off your vacations wanted list and move on.

You can also use your cruise to investigate an interest or sport you already have or think you’d find interesting.  For example, like to golf? Cruises give you a chance to golf at varied types of courses almost anywhere (you can rent clubs and shoes at most courses or you can take your own onboard).  If you like to cook, cruising can give you a chance to try different cuisines and cooking classes around the world (Jamaica, think jerk chicken or in Spain, making and sampling many kinds of tapas).  Also, don’t forget cruises often offer varied types of cooking classes, including making sushi, right onboard the ship.

Sometimes an organized shore excursion is the only way to see a sight within the set number of hours your ship is in port. Sometimes an organized shore excursion is necessary to visit a place or have a particular experience because it is not available unless booked that way.  That can be the case in exotic far-away places and even in America or Canada. Be sure to factor that into your considerations when thinking about what to do and see on shore.

Check out shore excursions from private vendors at your cruise’s port stops in addition to the cruise line’s offerings.

Check out shore excursions from private vendors at your cruise’s port stops in addition to the cruise line’s offerings.

Considerations to think about the regarding the cruise line’s own shore excursions.  When it comes to going ashore to sightsee, eat, drink, or play most cruise lines arrange for a variety of shore excursion offerings you can take.  While still at home, you can usually view these offerings online and purchase your tickets online. That means you know what you will do at any given stop before you leave home.  If you can, that is probably the best way to book a ship’s shore excursion as you know you are on it before you leave home. The shore excursions offered by the cruise lines are offered based on what they know most people want to do at a particular destination.  Such shore excursions are usually well organized and vetted for guest safety.

If you are interested in going ashore somewhere where you don’t feel comfortable going alone or somewhere you don’t speak the language, then it can be a good idea to book your shore excursion through the ship.  Remember you can book it online in advance or once on board through the shore excursion desk. For example, if you are on a cruise to Mexico and getting to your selected Mayan ruin destination will take more than an hour going just one way, then consider booking that excursion through the cruise line.  If something happens to delay your excursion from getting back to the ship before sail away time, the ship will wait for you to return. If you booked that excursion through a non-ship vendor, you might get back to find you missed your ship. That can and does happen. The ship cannot wait past a certain time, and if you are not onboard by then you have missed it.  I once got back from a shore excursion late enough to be past the all onboard time, but thankfully not past the deadline must sail away time. Remember you don’t want to be one of those pier runners trying frantically to get down the pier before the ship leaves.

All that being said, you still can have a great shore excursion booking through an independent vendor or by going out on your own to explore.  An independent vendor can offer a shore excursion with fewer people on it usually at a lower price than the cruise line’s shore excursions. Also, an independent vendor often can tailor your shore excursion to what you want to see or alter the tour stops to make sure guests have the time to see what interests them the most.

Most independent excursion vendors are keenly aware of when your ship leaves port.  They work hard to be sure you get to sightsee what is promised and get you back in time.  You can probably safely use an independent tour vendor for excursions that are about sightseeing around a town, for a food or drinks tour, or for activities such as diving or snorkeling.  If you are in Caribbean and want to go snorkeling, then you should consider an independent vendor. Depending on the port, there should be many companies to choose from. Check them out online before you book.  For example, Aristocat Charters in the British Virgin Islands is one vendor that offers several great snorkeling and beach visits to choose among. Try to get reviews and feedback from people who have toured with an independent vendor.  There are many sources for looking them up, but you can try such sites like the Cruise Critic message boards, Facebook, Trip Advisor, Expedia, and other travel websites.

Think about your time – it’s valuable. Think carefully about how long you want to be on a shore excursion before you book it.

Think about your time – it’s valuable. Think carefully about how long you want to be on a shore excursion before you book it.

Shore excursions, whether through the ship or an independent vendor, are offered in different time lengths.  How long you will want to be on a trip depends on where you want to go, what you want to see, and how long you can tolerate the traveling required.  When you want to go somewhere that is further away from the port remember to consider the travel time necessary to get there and back along with what kind of travel it will take to get there.  Consider whether you really want to book any shore excursion that lasts longer than three to four hours. If the excursion turns out not to be what you thought it was or you get sick, most people can get through that amount of time before they return to the ship.  If you book a shore excursion for six to eight hours or more, than you are likely stuck with it until it is over.

Make your own shore excursion. Exploring on your own can be fun, rewarding, and cost less than an organized shore excursion.

Make your own shore excursion. Exploring on your own can be fun, rewarding, and cost less than an organized shore excursion.

Since you are going on a cruise you know when you book what ports your ship will stop in (weather and sea conditions can alter stops, but that is rare) .  You can just get off the ship, pick a taxi vendor, and wing it by going where he or she suggests or takes you to. You can just get off the ship, make your way into town, and explore it on foot.  That way you can stop at what catches your eye or what you think will be an interesting place to investigate. However, if you can bring yourself to plan ahead some you are more likely to have rewarding and interesting experience.  First, make sure you know what could be a dangerous part of the town or country. Looking that up online should give you an idea of where not to go. You can generally find such information on travel websites, the U.S. Department of State website, or in crime reports or warnings posted by localities and local law enforcement.  Once you are armed with such information, then you can start looking at what kind of places you do want to see. Check local travel, welcome, or business websites to see what are local highlights. Once you know what is there to explore, think about what you really would like to see or do. Note a place’s open hours, admission charges, and locations.  Your time in a port is limited, so use it wisely.

Get yourself an old fashioned map of your port and look at it so you can plot out the best routes between various places.  Note any hills, rivers, or other impediments between two places so you can plan how to cross or conquer that hill. Once you know that kind of information you know what you can expect to see and about how long it will take you to get there, experience it, and move on.  Use your phone’s map to help you only if you have it set for overseas travel without excessive use charges or have pre-arranged the charges for outside the U.S. use before you left the U.S. Otherwise, the cost of using your Google Maps or other mapping service can result in huge charges.

Once you are on your way, remember you are exploring.  Enjoy yourself, stop and smell the roses or take in the view.  Sample at the chocolate factory, check out that bakery, or hike up that hill to see what is on the other side.  If you come across something that interests you and that you did not plan to do, enjoy it and adapt your plan as needed.  Remember, the only thing you have to do is get back to the ship by the all onboard time!

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On-board Activities for First Timers

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Dining For First Time Cruisers