"Standard" sized balcony rooms on cruise ships are generously sized and comfortable
ONE OF the challenges of such travel, however, is the logistics of the onshore portion of the trip. Options can be limited. One option is to simply let the cruise line do it for you, participating in their excursions. In our view, that is normally the least attractive option. Negatives include expense, larger groups (often tour bus size - and often including multiple tour buses), and in our experience, lack of quality and expertise on the part of those working for (or contracting with) the cruise line. Keep in mind that none of the cruise lines actually operate most of these excursions. They contract them out, sometimes even to the very same purveyors that you can privately contract. On a Princess Cruise a few years back, after a great day for us on shore with our privately-arranged tour, the four of us joined another group of 4 in the main dining room. Discussion naturally covered the subject of "what did you do today?" They had taken an underwhelming ship-sponsored tour which covered many of the same places our privately-arranged tour had taken us to. Astoundingly, they related to us their tour guide's introduction of herself, including her admission that she had never done the tour (neither the local subject, nor the country) before and that they would be "learning" together today. Wow! And the kicker was that they paid nearly the same we did for our private, 4-person tour, with a local who was very good and very knowledgeable!
we think the positives of other alternatives usually outweigh the cruise line-based alternative
THERE ARE positives, of course, to a cruise-line sponsored excursion. If for some reason your cruise line-based tour is delayed, the ship will wait for their own excursions (their policy is that if you are on at third-party excursion, or on your own, they won't wait, and you will have to make your own arrangements to get to the next port - more on that issue later). The cruise line sponsored tours are organized so you meet on board and then all proceed as a group to your onshore mode of transportation, which avoids any potential difficulty in hooking up with your guide. For us, the positives (generally) end there. To us these are - all but one - minor points that just aren't persuasive. That one item is the "guarantee" that the ship will not leave without you if your excursion is late or delayed returning to port. Indeed, as I read (a lot of commentary) about this issue, that seems to be the only real reason people posit for cruise-based excursions. That's all they have, LOL. We think the positives of other alternatives usually outweigh the cruise line-based alternative.
These Princess operated busses are a common sight at many ports around the world
THE OTHER options involve making arrangements on your own: Private tours, semi-private tours, and self-guided tours. We have done some of each of these. There may be a perception that these are "too expensive." That has not been our experience. They sometimes cost more and sometimes less than the cruise line-offered excursions. We think though, that the cost/benefit is where the privately arranged tours usually shine. Our groups have generally been limited to between 4 and 8 participants (occasionally 12). When you divide the overall cost among that many people, the cost is very competitive. It is a great ratio of participants to guide, and gives us more or less one-on-one interaction with our guide. Usually, the guides are licensed, experienced professionals, who do their excursions often. They know the "ropes." They are usually known by the officials at the various attractions. They more often than not get us "skip the line" privileges. And they are always friendly, fun and very informative.
realize that many port cities around the world have different, and sometimes multiple, cruise terminals (or even separate ports)
TOURS DO not always begin right at the gangway. The cruise-line sponsored tours will almost always pick you up and drop you off right at the ship. While many of the private tours do likewise (sometimes depending on the port), often they do not. If you join a local walking tour, or some other tour sponsored by local residents, sometimes you need to find your way to a central meeting point somewhere in the port city. The way you do this may vary, depending on the nature of the port you are in - and the type of tour you are taking. This is where having some knowledge of the particular port is useful. It is also important to realize that many port cities around the world have different, and sometimes multiple, cruise terminals (or even separate ports). As I mentioned in a recent blog, the first critical item is to never leave a port without knowing the specific name of the port. From there, knowing whether you are able to walk to a destination, or need to find alternative transportation like a taxi, uber, or public transportation, will be of additional importance. That is not always readily apparent, and cruise ship personnel are not always helpful (or particularly knowledgeable). There are several tips that might stand you in good stead if you are going to venture out of the port. Most cruise ships give you a printed itinerary - usually the night before - for the day (on board and off). On that itinerary there is always a section that has contact information for the port authority, and usually the ship. It might be a good idea to have someone write down telephone, port name, and similar information in the language of the country you are visiting, so you can show a taxi or Uber driver.
never leave a port without knowing the specific name of the port
WE HAVE found that often the cruise line is not very helpful in regard to exactly where you will be in a port (i.e., which berth, or even area - they can be big places), what transportation amenities are nearby, and whether the main attractions are "walkable," until the time they actually dock (and sometimes not even then). Some of this may be due to them not even knowing their specific berth before they enter the port. But other times, I think it is just a lack of communication on the part of the cruise line - something they could all certainly improve upon. There are some other resources out there that can be of assistance. One is the website: "whatsinport.com." That site has a number of tools to assist you with information about some 1200 ports worldwide. There is also a Google Maps section, and a printable (PDF) map for most ports. Many of them have lists of amenities (and some even have excursion information). There is also a section that lists virtually all current cruise ships including when they were built and passenger capacity. Cruise Mapper is another helpful site. One of the utilities on Cruise Mapper is the ability to search by ship and port. If you know the main port city on your itinerary, there is an excellent chance that you can pinpoint the terminal.
I HAVE mentioned Cruise Critic here before. They have a section of their site that addresses cruise ports. Again, however, after acknowledging the 100's of ports over the world, they limit their coverage only to those they have done a specific "writeup" about - and they tend to be the largest and most popular ports. Unfortunately, they really don't cover many of the ports that even a somewhat frequent cruiser will encounter - many of which are the more difficult or obscure ports. During our first 10 years or so of crusing, we found Cruise Critic to be the most valuable resource for information-gathering, contacts and arrangements with other passengers for tours, and just overall cruise knowledge. Two factors have now diluted that resource. The first and most certainly most consequential has been so-called "social media," and in particular, Facebook. Facebook seems to be the place (ironically, given that it was never really targeted to us) that people in our generation (we are in our 60's as I write this) go to for information and online "gathering." As such, Cruise pages and groups have proliferated there. You can find a group for almost every major cruise line. There are also groups that are sorted by a particular ship. Perhaps most useful for purposes here, these days at least one cruiser starts a group for each particular cruise. We look for those when we sign up for a cruise, and there is a lot of the same useful knowledge that we found on Cruise Critic. There are some (in my view significant) differences, though. Cruise Critic is rather (generally) civilized, where Facebook can be akin to the "years ago western frontier." Cruise Critic members, by and large, tend to be "seasoned" cruisers, with experience and information that is often more relliable and focused. We find the quality of information on Cruise Critic to still be very good and very reliable. Just not as plentiful. Facebook, on the other hand, is all over the place. There is some very good information, an awful lot of uniformed opinion and volunteered information, annoyingly often repeated questions, lots of irrelevant discussion. Don't get me wrong. There is also good information. You just have to work harder to weed out the chaff. The second factor working against sites like Cruise Critic was the 2020 pandemic. As many know, cruising ran hard aground for at least a year during the pandemic with near catastrophic results for the cruise (and consequently tourist) industries. Sadly, Cruise Critic does not seem to have recovered to the extent it was pre-2020. Still, it is a resource I highly recommend for its depth and quality of information and the many seasoned and experienced cruisers there.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE have not found a single, comprehensive site that will give us the "on-the-ground" information you will need to have a successful off-ship excursion. You will have to check multiple sources and be somewhat resourceful with your research. The Whatsinport site it pretty good. But still, it is not comprehensive. For example, when we finally got back on the Celebrity Reflection in January of 2022, one of our stops was Roatan, Honduras. A little research revealed that Roatan is not mainland Honduras but is a small island of its eastern coast. This was a short, Western Caribbean Cruise, to "get our feet wet" again after the Pandemic of 2020 - 2021. We didn't make any comprehensive excursion plans. Probably a good thing in this case. The spot where our ship was docked would be best described as "sketchy." We had walked off our other 2 stops (Cozumel, and Nassau) and just done some general sightseeing. We made the on-the-spot decision to stay aboard in Roatan. I was, however, kind of disappointed. I had to wonder why a mainline ship like the Reflection would dock in a spot like this. But I had not done my personal research well. It turns out that the "main" cruise port is just a short way north up the coast but is pretty much locked up by Princess (and its subsidiary lines). It was a much more "developed" port, with the amenities we have learned to expect to see immediately on shore. We would certainly have walked off had we been in that port. We might also have taken an Uber or taxi up that way, had we known more (had I done a better job of researching). Moral of the story, do research the port(s) well prior to your cruise.
cruising ran hard aground for at least a year during the pandemic with near catastrophic results for the cruise (and consequently tourist) industries
CRUISE PORTS tend to fit into one of 3 patterns. There are ports that are very cruise friendly (a few of them built specifically to accommodate the cruise industry (think: Nassau, Bahamas). They will generally have good docking facilities for ships of all sizes, a generous terminal, and a robust tourist shopping area right at the port - within short walking distance from (if not directly on) the pier. The second type of port is more of an industrial setting, often in ports where a robust tourist infrastructure is not present yet (or maybe never will be), where the commercial aspects of the port take precedence. Toulon, France and La Spezia, Italy come to mind in my own experience. In some of the places there are multiple ports (like Helsinki, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, and one of the ports in St. Thomas, USVI). The third type is a situation where the port is very remote from any attractions. The best examples in my experience were found on our cruise to South Africa. Only Cape Town and Durban had any "attractions" near the port. Every other stop was pretty heavily industrial, and separate transportation to any area of interest - often hours away - was a necessity. Some of the ports are combinations. The Port of Naples, for example (I understand the city itself is an attraction worth spending some time in - we haven't and don''t think most cruise passengers do, either), is a stepping-off place for many more remote attractions, like the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Sorrento, and the ancient ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In each of these cases, some familiarity with the port and how it works is a good thing. The terminal in Naples has some - mostly tourist "knick-knack" and luggage - shopping facilities. Nearby on the pier near the ferry terminals, there are more touristy shops and eating establishments. Another factor is the amenability of the host port to cruise ship traffic. La Spezia has virtually nothing. It is an industrial port and requires a shuttle from the ship to the port exit/entrance. It is short, but there are none of the tourist shops anywhere near the port (yet). In many senses, to me, the lack of the "cookie-cutter" shops, etc. that we find in many of the more cruise-oriented and developed ports is refreshing. It is my belief that a very large factor in selection of ports by cruise lines is tied to economics. No judgement there. Just pointing it out. And that is not a bad thing. We have docked in La Spezia multiple times and really enjoy the walk around the harbor, as well as the fact that we are in a somewhat "normal" city, rather than a cruise ship amusement park.
More recently, some ports and cruise destinations have become less "cruise-ship-friendly"
IN RECENT years we have seen another development. Some ports and cruise destinations have become less "cruise ship friendly." My first indication of that was the city of Venice. In 2013, we made our first cruise to the Mediterranean. That cruise was on the tnen newest and largest Princess ship, which was docked right in Venice. Since then, these large ships are no longer allowed in Venice. We next saw the issue in Santorini. More recently, Amsterdam, and the Norwegian Fjords, and now even in Barcelona. I posted a blog entry more specifically devoted to this subject on back in March.
Roatan, Honduras - Celebrity Reflection 2022
OVER THE years that we have cruised, we have
been involved in a few conversations with other “seasoned” cruisers over the
advisability of using third party purveyors for onshore excursions. Online, and
on some of the organized sites (like CruiseCritic.com, and FB group pages)
there is – understandably – some trepidation expressed about third party
excursions and tours. Are they safe? Will they guarantee to get you back to the
ship, and if not, will the ship wait for you? Are they more expensive
than the cruise-sponsored tours?
ALL GOOD questions. Among those of us that have
done many of them the general consensus is the most of these worries are
unfounded. Perhaps the biggest worry we see expressed is that the tour operator
won’t make it back to the ship on time and you will get left behind. And that
is certainly a risk you take. But in our view, a calculated risk. You are never
going to get a cruise line to guarantee that they will wait for you. But our
experience is that there is some latitude there, especially if the ship is
aware of extenuating circumstances. Not a lot. But some (and not always - see "Somebody Missed The Boat," an incident which we believe was well outside the "norm," and one which spoke badly about the cruise line. One would have thought they would have swiftly addessed and remediated that situation, just as a process of good marketing and customer-relations. Alas, they weren't yet quite finished. Just in the past few months, the left a large family stranded in Juneau, Alaska - this time on one of their own sponsored excursions! These incidents naturally garner attention, but we are confident that the vast majority of these independent operators are very cognizant
of the consequences of not following the ship’s timetables. In all but one
instance for us, the operators have been conservative, planning (and succeeding)
to get us back to our ship at least 30-60 minutes before final boarding. It also often the case that our operators are local professionals who know their way around the area, are up to the minute with traffic conditions, transportation strikes, and other occurrences. During our 2019 stop in Barcelona, there was a massive march into the city from out in the country of Catalonian separatists, which ultimately massively clogged the streets of the city, particularly in the old city near the port. Our guide was concerned about getting us back to the ship and cut our tour short in that endeavor (refunding part of our costs of course). It turned out to be a good call on his part, though because of the magnitude of it, I believe it may have been one of those cases where the cruise line would have exercised some latitude. I know we left port a couple hours late that afternoon/evening. In the end, you and you only, are responsible to be sure there is a complete understanding with the tour operator. We have one very close experience - ironically, very recently - in all of our years of touring (see box below).
WE DON'T think the other expressed concerns are really much to worry about. Our experience, when we share the costs of a private excursion with others, has been that if it is more than the ship-sponsored tours, it is only marginally so. And the quality of the excursion is just so much better. As for safety and reliability, most of these companies are licensed and professional, and most of them are on sites like Viator and Travelocity. We have generally booked them after reading others' reviews. In all, we have found them to be much superior to any of the cruise tours we have participated in. Do your homework. Look for tours through legitimate sources (like Viator), where the purveyors have been vetted, and are generally reliable. Some of them will even guarantee timely return to the ship or reimbursement of expenses in the event they do not. Plan your excursion to give yourself plenty of time to return to the ship (I often see a cushion of at least 2 hours suggested). To us, that depends on the length of the shore time, and the nature of the tour.
WHEN YOU do leave the ship, there are a few items of preparation you need to consider. Do get the information (from the daily piece delivered the night before on most cruise lines) about the port authorities including the number to call for your ship, your cruise line, the ship's port agent and the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. In the very unlikely event that you get stuck in port and your ship leaves without you, those contacts will be invaluable. You won't be able to leave the ship without your cruise card, nor will you be able to return to the ship without it, so keep it close to you at all times. In most ports, you won't need your passport. But it is good information to have before leaving the ship. There will be announcements if a passport will be necessary to re-board, but that is rare, so we generally leave it locked up in our room's safe (though I will confess that on my last couple cruises, I have taken to carrying mine with me). We do carry a photo or a photocopy of our passport with us, though, in the event of an emergency, as well as photo I.D., (in some cases photo I.D. will be required to re-enter the boarding area of the port - the ship generally will make an announcement about that). We also carry a small amount of cash (what we think we may need for that day), at least one credit card, and our ATM card. Perhaps needless to say, but I will say it anyway. It is pretty important that you have devised a method of "safe carry." We hear a lot about pickpockets in many of these places around the world. Make sure any valuable items are on your person, where you can be constantly aware of them. Unzippered pockets and back flaps and pockets of backpacks and purses are not a very safe place for them.
IF I had to sum it up in one word, it would be research. Do as much research as you can about each port, in addition to excursions, even if you are on a private excursion that picks you up directly from the ship. Preparation will ward off most anxiety about returning to the ship. And make sure you and your tour guide have a very clear understanding about when you must be back to the ship. Above all, enjoy!
[We are off again on travel for the next couple weeks in Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic. Will be back in 2 weeks. Stay tuned]
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