Going on the Victory

[JoPleasant]

We have booked our cruise for next month on the Victory. This is our first cruise and we are trying to figure out the best thing to do in each port.
Should we be booking our tours with the ship or is it better to book with someone else?
From what i've been reading, the cruise ship tours can be a cattle herding experience. We want to do tours, but i dont' want to snorkel with 200 people or be stuck on a bus and in lines with hundreds of other people. I know cruise ships are big, but being on board with a few thousand people is one thing, when we are visiting each port, we want a chance to escape the crowds.
Any suggestions from experienced cruisers?

 

[Cruizer]

If this is your first cruise you might be better off booking through the cruise line. Yes, each of your concerns are real. However, if you don't know the ins and outs of shore excursions you could find yourself in worse shape then simply sharing your excursion with 38 of your closest friends.

For example, if a ship sponsored tour gets back late the ship will wait for you. If an independent tour gets back late, you are on your own - literally, since the ship will not be there. Another example, is there a difference between local time and ship's time? If so, and you are on a ship tour, no worries. If not, then you have to be the one to coordinate with the independent tour company. For example, the ship docks at 8:00am and your independent tour is at 9:00am. Plenty of of time - right? Not if the local time is one hour ahead of the ship's time, in which case you will miss your tour.

 

[earl_m]

We have booked our cruise for next month on the Victory. This is our first cruise and we are trying to figure out the best thing to do in each port.
Should we be booking our tours with the ship or is it better to book with someone else?
From what i've been reading, the cruise ship tours can be a cattle herding experience. We want to do tours, but i dont' want to snorkel with 200 people or be stuck on a bus and in lines with hundreds of other people. I know cruise ships are big, but being on board with a few thousand people is one thing, when we are visiting each port, we want a chance to escape the crowds.
Any suggestions from experienced cruisers?

First off Welcome to Cruise-addicts. you will love it here, As Cruizer
said this is your first time cruising , it will be alot easier booking tours through Carnival. Hope you have agreat cruise and come back
and tell us all about!!

 

[Jamman]

Welcome to Cruise @ddicts!!! I concur with the above. As you gain experience cruising, you will become more knowledgable and comfortable with doing your excursions on your own. Until then, stick with the ships excursions.

 

[Jeanie]

Welcome to our community. Go with the cruise line. Happy cruising

 

[bluelotus]

Well we have always booked tours independently of the cruise lines, all with the exception of the first cruise we did. Sorry but cruise line tours (at least the ones that we did) are all about line ups, crowds and you feel like cattle.

When I get off the ship in ports we try to get away from the crowds, smaller group tours, private tours, more personalized experiences.

Find companies that specialize in Cruise Excursions / Shore Tours as we found that they can tell me about the port times and if there are any time differences. Of course, use common sense. Don't book a 10 hour tour when you are only in port for 10 hourse You need time to get on and off the ship. Look for reputable companies and make sure that they have SECURE SITES if you pay by credit card and look for reviews from that company.

We done incredible tours with Cozumel Cruise Excursions, Caribbean Shore Tours and Grand Cayman Cruise excursions to name a few, you can talk to them live before you reserve. Shore trips is another one but I found them pricey and I couldn't ask any questions UNTIL I gave them a credit card so I was a little turned off.

If you do a little research you can save a lot of money and get more for your time in each port

 

[Mbandy]

We were on the Victory back in September and had a great time. We do not book excursions through the the ship because they are always much more crowded than booking through independant operators. Here are two of our picks with links to the web sites.

Great snorkeling in St. Thomas on the New Horizons
Snorkel Adventures : New Horizons

Honeymoon Bay, St John was beautiful. The house is where the U.S. Park Service ranger lives.

We Used El Tigre in Barbados. Two wrecks and snorkeling with Sea Turtles.
Day catamaran cruises on El Tigre - Barbados -

A shame they don't stop in Dominica any more. That was our favorite port.

Enjoy and have a rum punch for me :beach: