Excursions through cruise ship?

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Monica T

I have done this cruise on the RCCL Navigator of the Seas.

Labadee is a private island. I suggest no excursion. There is a buffet and shopping and if you feel like it, you can rent jet skis on site. Otherwise, they have a nice beach.

Nassau Bahamas - I did the "swim with the stingrays" tour and was disappointed. Don't do that. I don't know what to suggest as an alternative, perhaps kayaking or an ecotour. Those are fun.

San Juan - I did not do an excursion. The ship lets you off right in old san juan. It's a beautiful city. I walked to "el morro" which is the famous fort and walked around the city and shopped. The guys in our group did the Barcardi tour. They enjoyed it as well.

Charlotte Amelie -This was my favorite port. We did a snorkeling excursion with Captain Nautica. They took us to several different snorkeling sites on a speed boat. It was so much fun. We had enough time to walk around the town after the excursion. They are supposedly famous for their inexpensive jewelry. All jewelry is out of my price range though. :)

To summarize, definite snorkel in virgin islands. Do a self-tour in Puerto Rico. In Bahamas, perhaps visit Paradise Island or do some sort of kayaking or eco-tour. You can never go wrong with them.

have a great time.

lily

To me, its worth spending the extra money and doing the excursions through the ship. Ive been on two cruises and for a beginner, it was much less stressful doing it this way. Youve pretty much got someone holding your hand, telling you where to be, at what time. As long as you are at the meeting spots on time, you will make the excursion, and are guaranteed to have a fun and SAFE time. If you decide to go off on your own by catching a cab, you stand a chance of getting ripped off. Make sure to agree on the fare before going anywhere in a cab on any of the islands you will be visiting. The locals like to take advantage of someone that doesnt look like they know whats going on. I did the swim with the stingrays in Nassau and thought it was pretty neat, lots of interaction with them. Have a great trip. Make sure you go to the excursions talk given by the cruise director, they will tell you about each island and what there is to do at each one. I just felt more comfortable with the whole thing being planned for me, rather than wing-it. The cruise line has worked with the people that runs their excursions, and they are insured if anything should happen also.

Springie

Often times it can appear cheaper to do your own excursion, however there are many advantages to ship's tours. The ship will always wait for all the ship's shore excurions to return before sailing. Believe me, if you are not back in time, the ship will sail without you.
It also depends on what you want to do. For the more specialized tours - diving, etc, it's more cost effective to take a ship's tour, the price per person will be less than going at it alone.
Another thing to remember is the guests on a ship's tour are given priorty to debark which really comes in handy if you are at a tendering port.
From personal experience, I have done both and I prefer to go on a ship's tour, all the organizing of the activity is done for you and you can just enjoy the experience.

lucy g

I have done both. If it is just the beach or shopping you want to do, it is ok to go on your own. I recommend doing the excursions that the ship arranges. I too, think they are expensive and like doing things the economical way, however this is where you should not economize. The excursions are well worth the money. They have all the interesting inside info that you would never know. They bring you to the best, safest places.
You get to get off the ship quicker if you are on the tour and get special treatment. For safety reasons alone it is worth the tour. There are a lot of stealing going on at most islands, and they monitor and take you to the safest spots. If you dont have the money to do all the excursions, at least pick one or two that you like. Labadee you could do just the beaches and swimming. San Juan I would take the excursion. St Thomas I am torn because I did both-- excursion twice and went on my own once. I enjoyed both. If you have any room on your credit card, make sure you purchase jewelry there--you will get the absolute best prices. Shop around first then go back to buy what you like best. They have great bargains and great quality. I bought inlay opal and when I came back to th states, the jewelry shop sold it 3x the price that I bought it. You only go around once---make it worthwhile--you are worth it. Whatever you decide........ENJOY ENJOY....ENJOY

Manisha

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