Ship's Tours
What are Ship's Tours like?
We have been on 5 Ship Tours over the two cruises and make the following observations.
- The tour buses we have seen are modern and clean with tour guides whose English skills can vary elementary to excellent.
- Tour Guides are often a good source of local information particularly if doing a "City on Your Own" type of tour.
- A lot of time can be waisted sitting on busses waiting for the sometimes less than agile members of the tour to get on and off.
- At a lot of attractions a time is given to be back on the bus. Often people do not get back to the bus by this time and the bus will not depart without its full complement. This can be very frustrating and annoying.
- Toilet stops can waste a lot of time as 40 people don't always need these facilities all at the same time.
- The tours often stop at the local "Tourist Traps" where either overpriced handicrafts are offered for sale after a demonstration of how they are made, or row of cheap souvenirs at the exits of the commercial attraction.
They do provide a safe and risk free way to sample a port. Even a full day tour will only give a brief sample of what a destination has to offer due to the above losses of time, and we have always returned to the ship saying to ourselves we need to go back there and have a proper look.
A listing of Ship's Tours that occurred on the cruises we have completed is pasted on each cruise destination page. Some have comments and links to more information on the attractions offered on each tour.
Princess Lines provide this information on their Tour Booking Form available on the ship
Quote:
PRINCESS SHORE EXCURSION ADVANTAGES
When you purchase shore excursions through Princess, you are assured:
EXPERIENCE AND SERVICE
The length of time the ship is in each port is limited and to maximize your time ashore our shore excursions are planned to do this. Well planned visits are most often the best experience. You may be able to see a sight on your own, but you may miss important parts of the site or may not understand the importance without an experienced guide.
VARIETY
You can select a tour which features sites for the first visitor or a tour features smaller groups. There are tours with activities like biking and swimming. There are also tours for passengers that want to minimize the amount of walking.
VALUE
Our Tour Operator partners share the values of our C.R.U.I.S.E. service program that you experience onboard. You can relax knowing that everything has been methodically taken care of, which is a standard of Princess. For each port, Princess has asked our past passengers to rate the tour programs. The feedback from these past passengers is used continually to plan programs which passengers feel are good value. The tours you can choose from have been given the "stamp approval" by our past passengers and Princess.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
All excursions are billed directly to your account.
All tours operate rain or shine!
TICKETS ARE SOLD ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS. Tour return times are approximate and can vary based on local traffic conditions. Tour order may vary.
TOUR SPACE IS LIMITED, SO BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!
Air conditioned motor coaches are not guaranteed!
Child rates (12 and under) are available on some tours.
TOURS WILL DEPART PROMPTLY. NO TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL BE MADE.
All tours conclude at the ship, except where special drop offs are noted.
Princess Lines also impose the following terms and conditions on Ship's Tours
Princes Cruises Terms and Conditions
TERMS AND CONDITIONS In selling shore excursions and other activities. Princess Cruises acts only as an agent for independent tour operators. Participation in shore excursions shall be conclusive evidence of your acceptance of the terms and conditions set forth in the cruise ticket passage contract, the shore excursion tour ticket and other documents, including the independent tour operator's own terms and conditions, which expressly release Princess Cruises and the tour operator from any liability for participation and otherwise affect each participant's legal rights. PLEASE READ THESE DOCUMENTS PRIOR TO PARTICIPATING. By signing this order form and/or participating in an activity. each participant agrees to be bound by all of the above referenced terms and conditions.
Exploring on your own
What are the Risks?
The BIG risk is not getting back to the ship on time. This does create a certain degree of stress as the day progresses and we have found we always commence our return to the ship at least three hours prior to the sailing time. So far we have always returned without any hassles and have had a couple of hours to have a swim, beer, cleanup and get ready for dinner. Additionally:
- You could get ripped off by taxis if you are not assertive or informed.
- Taxis may take you to "their" shops or places of interest where a commercial arrangement may exist.
What are the Advantages?
There are many advantages and a lot of younger cruisers do explore on their own particularly if they have been to the port before.
- You get to choose exactly what you want to see.
- You are not subject to the inevitable time wasting that can occur on a ship's tour.
Ship's Shuttle Busses
We have found where offered a "Ship's Shuttle Bus" as an effective method of exploring a port. The ship runs a service (usually half hourly) to a local shopping area or town or attraction and you are free to explore on your own for a cost of around $7 each way.
This is a good way to actually experience and mingle with the local people, but sometimes in a smaller port (such as Langkawi, Cenang Beach) the number of cruisers choosing this option can "overwhelm" the destination with the cruise passengers being very easy to spot and shuttle busses are not run in every port.
A taxi would normally be a cheaper option if 3 or more cruisers are travelling together.
When visiting a new port we normally take the "City on Your Own" cruise option which removes the risk of missing the ship, the tour guide does give basic survival information and also does allow some degree of independence to explore on your own
