Shore Excursions

That’s a strange picture to start a blog about cruise ship shore excursions. Not really. I just want you to start thinking out of the box and be that person heading to the left when everyone else goes to the right. One of my favorite parts about a cruise vacation is unpacking once and having the world come to me. That’s the way it seems anyway, I get on the ship and every day or two I’m somewhere new. It’s unique, and my favorite way to travel. Don’t get me wrong I love to visit all inclusive resorts too, but staying at the same place for a week isn’t as appealing to me as seeing 5 ports of call on a 7 night cruise. Another way to travel is on a land group tour in a bus, but you have to pack and unpack every day or two. For me unpacking once is the way to go.

That get’s us to, what to do once you are at this destination, shore excursions. The cruise ships have for years told us that if you miss the boat it is your responsibility to get yourself to the next port of call to get back on the ship. There are very few times that this really happens, in fact the shore excursion company that I like to use has never had a passenger back late to the ship. Nevertheless that is the tactic cruise lines use to scare you into buying excursions from their excursion desk. The cruise company might have the best excursions for you but I like to have choices. That is where the expertise of a travel agent is invaluable. Travel agents have two, three, four different vendors or more to choose from. Sometimes the best advice I can give is to simply go it alone and grab a taxi at the port. An example from my recent Mediterranean cruise when we were at the port of Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik was new to me and we needed a little help to get to town. I had my excursion booked but it was in the middle of old town about a 15 minute taxi ride from the port. I stopped at the customer service desk on my way off the ship and asked how to get to town. The nice lady there said that Dubrovnik has it’s own currency and they don’t take Euros so you need to ride our bus into town. Would you like me to book that for you? It’s only 10 Euros per person. I said no I will try it on my own. I walked off the ship straight up to a cab and asked if he accepted Euros. Guess what he said? Yes! Our cab ride to the city was 10 euros for all four of us and the driver told us all about the area on the way in. Once in the city we purchased the Dubrovnik card which included admission to walk on the wall used in Game of Thrones as well as a bus ticket back to our ship.

Another port we stopped at was Livorno Italy, which is the port the cruise ships dock at to explore Pisa and Florence. This is where a private tour really stands out. The first photo above shows the line of people waiting to board their bus for excursions they purchased aboard the cruise ship to Pisa and Florence. Actually the line was about 100 people long and it didn’t fit in my shot. The next picture is our tour guide holding up a sign with our name on it. We had a guide and a driver in this nice Mercedes van for the entire day. They first took us to Pisa, where we got there before the crowds so we were able to take the touristy shots without 50 other people in the picture. Next we drove to a beautiful view of Florence up above the city so that we could get a look at where we would be spending the day sight seeing. Florence is crowded no mater how you visit but with a guide to walk you through the city you can make sure you see all of the famous sights. Now I’m sure the big bus tour gave you a map of the must see stops also but you were mostly on your own. Our guide then took us to the Galleria dell’Accademia where we walked right past the long line and straight into the museum that houses Michelangelo’s David. All of this was included in our tour cost, oh by the way did I mention that the cost of our tour was substantially less than from the cruise ship? We were able to spend several hours on our own and had lunch in Florence before our guide and driver picked us back up. The most amazing part of our day was on the way back. Because when we first met the tour guide they asked us what we wanted to do. Of course being in the Tuscany region of Italy I wanted some local olive oil. So on the way back to our ship our guide remembered this and stopped at two different shops before we found some great olive oil. All of this and it cost less than being on a bus with 65+ people just being dropped off to fend for yourself. Now to be fair I have not been on that particular excursion from the cruise line but I have been on many similar tours in my travels and I know how they can lack the personal touch.

In the internet age the best way to travel is to do your research. If you like to do your own research that is awesome, if you want someone else to research for your that is awesome also. The best thing about using a travel agent is they are paid by the cruise lines and tour companies. This means that for the same price as booking it yourself a travel agent will book it for you and also give their expert advice on the location you are traveling to. So if you like to do all the research and only want someone to help you book your findings or if you want someone to do it all, calling a travel agent is the way to go. Is this one of those too good to be true stories? NO. Travel agents will help you plan your ideal vacation and usually save you money. One way I add value for cruise customers is I monitor the price of the cruise and if the price goes down I can offer it to my clients. Certain restrictions do apply, but not many. I end up saving a fair amount of my clients money or getting them upgraded rooms for little or no extra money. Just remember the cruise ship excursions are not always your best choice. If you want help with your vacation planning just click here to be added to my VIP email list and I will send you weekly travel deals and ideas.