About purchasing side trips - not from cruise line?

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LadyBug

I agree with Anja. (Anja ought to be chosen for Best Answer)

I went on my first cruise, booked excursions on board rather than in advance (in case of last minute changes) and stayed with what the cruise lines suggested. They have agreements with tour companies who depend on the cruise lines for their business. They are responsible for getting you back to the ship in reasonable time. Also, in my opinion...less liklihood of being a victim of crime.

Don't go off the beaten path unless you know a local VERY WELL.

Happy sailing.

Anja H

Well you can get your own excursions, however, there are 3 downsides to the positive of being provided by the cruise line.
1. If the excursion arrives back in port late - the ship will not wait for you.
2. Mostly there is not insurance with those excursions, whereas cruise ships work with tour operators which have certain insurances and are covered should there be an accident or worse.
3. Often the guides are better on the shore excursion from cruise lines. There is someone from the ship with you all the way in order to evaluate the guide and to have a contact person.

Paul in San Diego

I live in San Diego and have been to Ensenada many times. I also took a quick cruise that included Catalina a few years ago.

I think the only excursions they have for San Diego is the zoo and a bus tour of the city. Don't bother. When you get off the ship at Broadway pier, you can get a cab to anywhere in the city - even the zoo - for about 10 bucks. Maybe a little more if you want to go somewhere like La Jolla (it's about 10 miles to the north). All you need to do is figure out where you want to go. I recommend the downtown area called the Gaslamp District. There's great restaurants, bars, and shopping down there, and you get a real flavor of what it's like living in San Diego.

In Ensenada, the only thing that would concern me is all the violence in Mexico these days because of the drug cartels. A good tour there is a bus tour that takes you to a couple wineries in the Guadalupe Valley, about 20 miles inland. You can sample as much as you want and they also have tequilas to sample. They finish up the tour by stopping in downtown Ensenada for a couple hours. This is where there's lots of shopping, restaurants, and bars. But, you then board the bus for the return to the ship, which is safer than walking.

In Catalina, I enjoyed just walking around the waterfront from one end to the other, stopping at the restaurants and bars. They also have a lot of shopping there. You can also rent scooters and motorized carts to drive around the island and explore. But, there's no need to pay for an excursion in Catalina (do they even have any?).

dave.greg

Anaj is almost right.
The ship does not have someone on every tour. They check the tour in the beginning and then spot checks, sometimes. If they start getting complaints then they revalue the tour.
They want as much revenue from the tours with the least amount of trouble.
( they want money! If your happy it's a plus.)
I don't know of any web site for tours other than the cruise's web page. But you can walk off the ship and do your own bartering.

Robin C

It depends on how adventurous you are. The trips the cruises offer are designed around their arrival time in port, departure time, etc. While in Greece, I took a public bus to Knossos (a buck and change, only in euros) and the day I went, it had free admission (tourist day). Total cost of my round trip was about $5. The trip the cruise offered was closer to $50 (keep in mind the euro factor so I'm rounding up). A good time was had by all and it was really interesting to see the "real" Crete.

sally b

Always. You have to remember that not everyone goes to these places on a ship. People go there and stay at the hotels and they take tours too. Those guides are much cheaper than those connected to the ship, and often much better, Also, much smaller groups which makes it better.

Looking 4nice place 2livein SD

My answer would be the same as AnjaJ

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