The cruise lines argue we should always do
their excursions because they are convenient, easy to book, include the must-see sights,
the ship will wait for us if the cruise line excursion is delayed, and they have screened
the tour operators. But as I will explain, I don’t think those
are good reasons - and it also makes it a way more costly way to explore ports. However, while I prefer self-exploring ports,
there are a few times when I absolutely will go on cruise line excursions having learnt
some lessons the hard way, as you will hear. If you're new here, welcome aboard. I'm Gary Bembridge, making it fun and easy
to do cruising right – including when to take a cruise line excursion and when not
to. The first key thing I ask about any destination
or port I am going is, "How safe is it?" Most cruise ports are safe but if I have even
the slightest doubt, I stick with the cruise line. The most extreme example of that was going
to Egypt on a Nile River Cruise. I knew that Egypt has a reputation of being
relatively unsafe. There's been unrest, stories of crime on tourists,
being aggressively hassled by vendors, twitchy police and army who have been known to even
arrest people taking photos they deem suspicious, and harassment of some travellers, including
women and LGBT travellers. So, for that trip I stayed within the cruise-controlled
bubble the whole time and did every single tour with the cruise line. But asking the question applies just as much
on any cruise anywhere. Just because a cruise calls into a country
or port I don’t assume that means it is safe to. For example, several Caribbean islands I am
due to go on a cruise next year to have reputations for being unsafe, like Jamaica whereas I record
this the US State Department has just raised its warning level against travelling there
due to a crime surge. There are unsafe protests going on in Panama
also at time I am making this - another place I am due to call on. I will look at doing cruise line excursions
in those. Of course, by the time I go things may have
changed, so I always check the latest State Department or UK Foreign Office advice close
to going and if any issues, book cruise excursions. There is though, another part to the “how
safe is it” question! For example, when I go to Alaska, the Norwegian
Fjords or places with majestic scenery or glaciers I love going on helicopter rides. In Alaska up onto glaciers to walk or sledge
with dogs, in Norway to see the huge mountains and mountain-top lakes. These are costly but also high-risk activities. So, I always book cruise line tours as I want
to make sure that they're well screened and verified. This decision was reinforced for me when doing
a helicopter tour on a Disney Magic Norway cruise. Talking to the pilot, I found the line only
allowed pilots from that company with over a certain number of flying hours to be used
on their tours. In the back of my mind was the terrible accident
in Misty Fjords near Ketchikan Alaska a few years back when five Holland America Nieuw
Amsterdam passengers booked their own less costly fly plane that crashed with their loss
of life. I know a cruise line excursion is not a guarantee
of 100% safety when doing riskier activities, but I feel it reduces the risk. If I am doing anything high value and high
risk like those or even ATV or Ziplines and so on, I book the cruise line screened providers. Also, if I have any issues or problems with
these costly trips, I have a very strong leverage for getting that resolved. For example, I have been refunded once half
of a long cycling excursion by the line in Marseille as I felt it was not up to their
advertised standards. So, anytime I have the slightest question
either about safety of the place or even the activity in my mind, I will always book the
cruise line excursion and stay within that bubble. But there is another more pragmatic issue
that determines it too. This next one is the most frequent reason
I book a cruise line excursion. And that is when the port is nowhere near
the main attraction or city. This is especially the case when cruising
Europe, South America, and Asia where many of the headline and must-see places are a
long way away. For example, I am just back from a Western
Mediterranean cruise on Norwegian Viva. And three of the ports fitted into this. Rome was a good hour from the port of Civitavecchia. Florence, and Pisa, were an hour and a half
from the port of Livorno, and Seville was also an hour and half away from Cadiz where
we docked. My cruise before that was on Regent Explorer
and the must-see Kyoto was also an hour and half from Kobe where we docked. I could reel off example after example from
my cruises. Whenever the city or sights I want to see
are a distance away, I stick with cruise line tours to remove the stress and hassle of getting
there and worrying about getting back in time. Though mostly I book their “On Your Own”
tour as that has a transfer there with a guide enroute to brief on what to see and how to
get around, a contact number to call them if I get lost or stuck, and a meeting point
and transfer back. But even if the distance issue for booking
a cruise line excursion does not convince you, the next one is very practical as can
increase your time to explore. There are two times that taking a cruise line
excursion has made getting out and into the port for me easier and faster. First, sometimes a cruise line excursion has
helped me skip the hassle of getting a visa, or getting through immigration faster than
those that are not on tours. My best example of that, which is not applicable
right now as cruise lines have put going there on hold, but when I went to St Petersburg
Russia on Silversea Silver Whisper by going on their cruise line excursion, I didn't have
to go to all the hassle and expense of getting a Russian visa to get off the ship. Those self-touring had to get a visa in advance. On some cruises calling on multiple countries
the authorities require us going through immigration. On a Queen Mary 2 trip through Asia, we had
to do that in Singapore. The tours had priority and we went first,
and friends who were self-touring were delayed some hours getting off by the queues. So, I now check if either visa or getting
through immigration checks make a cruise line tour worth it. The other time a cruise line tour speeds things
up is in is in a tender port, where we all must get the tender boats off the ship into
the port. On large ships especially, like when I was
on Celebrity Edge on a Mediterranean cruise last year, I found it could take hours to
get one as the line excursions went first, then those in premium cabins and then everyone
else had to get a ticket and wait for it to be called. A cruise line excursion is good way of getting
around all of that. Though there is another consideration that
trumps all these reasons for doing a line excursion! And that is frankly when it's the only option! For example, when I went to Antarctica, we
could only go on land with the cruise line, the same too in the Galapagos. In the summer I went to Greenland and the
Canadian Arctic and at most stops I could only get off the ship on a cruise line excursion
because of the threat of polar bears, and so the area had to be patrolled by armed polar
bear guards. And the other easy decision on doing a line
excursion for me is when they're included. Like on that Regent Explorer Japan cruise
I mentioned, included in my fare was a choice of excursions. So, as I had paid for them I did them in each
port. The same when I went on a Viking Ocean Cruise
from Venice to Athens as an excursion was included in the fare. Most river cruise fares include excursions
too, so when I went on a Viking Danube cruise recently, I also did the excursions. So, check if any tours are included. There are only a handful of lines that do,
and most tend to be the premium ones. When going on cruise line excursions, I see
several big mistakes cruisers make when going on them. So, join me in this video where I explain
what those blunders are. Starting with something many do but should
know better. See you over there.
