Shore Excursions: Independent or Ship Sponsored?

We spend a lot of time talking about the actual cruise ship, which makes sense, after all the ship itself is a destination. However, some times we lose sight of the fact that the ship is also a mode of transportation. Half the fun of cruising is that it allows us to visit many different countries or regions over the course of a few days or weeks. This begs us to answer another question, what to do when we get to our destinations.

Some of the more adventurous cruisers may like to get off the ship and just explore on thief own. If you are adventurous, this article may not be for you. Now, for those of you still reading I will examine the two types of excursions, cruise ship sponsored and independently booked.

Independent Shore Excursions

If you have the time and ability to do your own research, you can save money booking an independent excursion for each port. However, you have to make sure you are booking with a reputable company or you may be risking both your money and more importantly your safety. Many reputable companies provide excellent shore excursions, just be sure to do your research first. While it is true that you will occasionally hear about a safety incident or someone on an excursion not making it back to the ship on time, be advised that these are in most cases urban legend. The truth is most independent excursion providers advertise solely through word of mouth and stake their business on their reputations. In my experience, I have found independent excursion providers to be every bit as reliable and knowledgeable as those booked through the cruise lines.

You should choose an independent excursion if:

• You desire a more exotic excursion
• You are comfortable making your own arrangements
• You desire a smaller group setting
• You wish to cruise as economically as possible.

Ship-Sponsored Shore Excursions

All cruise lines have special ship sponsored shore excursions. These excursions are outsourced to companies that have great reputations for both safety and customer satisfaction; the drawback is the cruise lines charge a “finder’s fee”. Since all of the excursions have been pre-screened, you can be certain they provide the highest levels of safety. Ship-sponsored shore excursions are usually listed on your cruise lines website and advertised in the ships daily newspaper. Usually you can book ship-sponsored excursions either before you board or while onboard. Ship-sponsored excursions will be charged to your shipboard account.

You should chose a ship-sponsored excursion if:

• You want to have the cruise line make all the arrangements
• Money isn’t really a concern
• Your desired excursion is fairly common
• You want to do an excursion with friends you met onboard the ship
• You don’t want to have to worry about anything

Whichever way you choose just remember that cruise lines are businesses, they intend to make money whenever possible.  As far excursions go, cruise ships make money by being the middleman, so in order to save money it is possible to cut out the middleman.  Since a majority of cruise excursions are merely outsourced to local companies with a bit of research you can find those companies and take the very same pre-screened excursions at a significant savings by booking directly.

Related posts:

1. The Basics of Shore Excursions
2. Additional Costs of Cruise Vacations

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