Does anyone know if there's any type of "conflict", mainly from Carnival, if I was to book a shore excursion/s through another agency or the tour company itself, even though Carnival is offering it as a tour you can book through the ship?

I have found a web site for booking almost any type of tour imaginable on any of the Hawaiian islands for a lot less money than what the ship tours cost...and in some cases it's the exact same tour, same day, same company...same everything.

Will Carnival frown upon me booking these shore trips on my own and thus depriving them of some added $$$?? If in fact they receive additional $$$ for the amount of shore tours booked through the ship?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Just make sure you get back on board before the ship sails.

I won't give the actual company name, but it is a helicopter tour...offered on the ship at $190 each.

I found a website where you can book any type of tour on any of the Hawaiian islands (www.bookithawaii.com fabulous web site by the way!)..I found the exact same tour on the same day at $150 each...wait, it gets better.

I now went to the helicopter company's web site. If I book the tour directly with them now...same day and time as the one on the ship...I get another 15% off and wind up paying $127.50 each.

This seems like a pretty significant amount to me. Maybe this is just an out of the ordinary case, I'm not sure. But it certainly was the reason that prompted me to ask my question.

You are correct on the other hand, as I am looking at identical submarine tours at another island...one through the companies web site and the other through the "book-it hawaii" web site and there's only a couple dollars difference.

A difference of a little over $120 though is one that I can't pass up. I certainly hope my other fellow passengers (who ever they may be), who happen to take the same tour as my wife and I, don't get too upset when they find out what the ship charged them compared to what I paid.

The $127.50 price for the helicopter ride does NOT include transportation. I have received further info from the helicopter tour company that they are located..."about a 6 or 7 minute taxi ride from the pier".

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Originally posted by trailhiker:
Several years ago we booked a tour through the ship in St. Lucia. I think it was called the "Land and Sea." On the way back to the ship I got bonked on the knee by a cocoanut while I was sitting in the catarmaran minding my own business. My knee swelled by pretty bad. It had been thrown by a "Rasta man," on shore, to a kid working on the cat and I happened to be in the way. Nothing much happened other than a sore knee for a couple of months but the ship did not cover any medical expenses. Read the fine print. They are not responsible.

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Sorry about your knee - not fun - however the cruise line was not responsible - look at it this way - you're on a bus trip arranged by your local church - a stone comes through the window and you are hit - is the church responsible?...don't think so!

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Originally posted by billybob:
locarno....

The $127.50 price for the helicopter ride does NOT include transportation. I have received further info from the helicopter tour company that they are located..."about a 6 or 7 minute taxi ride from the pier".

The $190 price on board ship DOES include transport though...........expensive 6 minute cab ride!!

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Billybob, there are lots of reasons for differences in prices between ship's shore excursions and those you can do on your own.

It's so complicated to do some things on your own. You are paying for that complicated process spread across all of the ship tours when you choose to let them do the work of arranging the tours.

I have done some tours better on my own, and have also found a few sadly lacking when compared to what ship passengers may have received. There is no set answer as to what is better or worse.

Just consider these aspects though. What did it cost for you to arrange your own tour? Internet connect time, long distance calls, your time to do it, transportation to and from the tour place? Shouldn't the cruise line get compensation for doing those things for their passengers who wish to take ship tours?

And, consider this. Will you be able to change the time if your ship changes the days it is in the port, or if it is delayed in arrival? What if you get there and find out that the company is no longer in business? If I book a ship's tour, then THEY must worry about those things, and I don't.

I know I pay more for ship tours. I do know though that since cruise fares have dropped, that onboard revenue is what they use to make up the difference. So, if I want to take a ship sponsored tour, I should be the one paying for the overhead necessary to run the shore excursion office. If I don't take ship tours, then my lesser fare is not paying for their services.

When a tour company contracts with the ship, who is paying to put out those slick brochures that come with my tickets? Not the tour company -- but the ship. The tour company doesn't need to heavily advertise their services if they are routinely running cruise ship tours, with ready-made customers.

I have found big differences, and little ones. Sometimes the best operators of the adventurous tours are completely committed to the cruise lines, and as an individual I have no access to them. This happened to us in Alaska. Glacier Point Wilderness Safari was completely booked every day by three or four cruise lines. No room on their tours for an individual to book.

I have seen the shore tour folks do lots to make my experience better. I have had refunds when tours weren't carried out to the description -- due to weather or broken equipment.

And, I have seen irresponsible behavior by some independents, that leads me to be wary of booking with people. What if your snorkle boat isn't really seaworthy or if the company has no liability insurance, or they have poor maintenance like one we saw in Roatan, whose bus broke down on the way to the snorkle site?

I have seen independent operators take people out to Sting Ray sandbar in Grand Cayman when the ship tours have been canceled, then watched injured people get off the little boats returning that day after being battered by rough seas when trying to re-enter the boat after swimming with the rays. People have drowned on these excursions. I want the cruise line to hire reputable operators that THEY have checked out sufficiently. If it's my life in a plane or boat or copter, I want something other than an internet site as the link to the soundness and "worthiness" of the provider.

My husband and I always take one or two "high end" ship sponsored excursions, where we most definitely get our money's worth. They are usually adventurous trips, and well worth the cost.

When we just want to sightsee, we hire a car, or a taxi, or take a cheaper tour UNLESS the country we are visiting has language differences, or may have barely functioning cars and vans. St. Lucia is a case in point. Very hilly, and some independents may not have working air conditioning, or worse yet, their brakes aren't too great. Just walking off the ship and grabbing the first independent operator may land you in the hospital.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the differences in price don't always bother me if the excursion is worth it to me. The cruise lines need to cover their expenses and make a profit to stay in business. If everything they provided to you was losing money, then they will go the way of Premier, Regency, Dolphin, etc, etc. I'll pay for quality when I think it benefits me.

As for your tour in Hawaii, if you have lots of time in port and can do it independently, than go for it. Just don't cut your time too closely.

Cheers

The cruise line offers two opportunities to dive at two of the island stops, and the cost they give is about $10.00 more than the dive shops we found on the web. The equipment rental is higher than the dive shops, but not excessively. We wanted to dive at St. Lucia and contacted a dive shop there, because the cruise booklet did not list diving as an excursion choice. The dive shop told us to book this through the cruise line because they pick up divers at our ship for the cruise line excursion. This was not listed in our booklet as an excursion, but we guess we will see it when we get the actual sign-up listing on board. The dive shop was located about an hour away, so we would have taken a taxi and probably paid the same or more in the end, including all costs.

We like the fact that the cruise line waits for the excursions that run late, at least they did in San Juan last year. Getting picked up at the ship is a plus, too.

There are other deals that might be better by contracting with an on land excursion company, but we were pleasantly surprised about the ship's diving excursion costs. Three days and counting! : )

I worked closely with the tour operators in the Mexican Riviera to develop new tours so I know what the mark up is, but you have to remember there is a LOT of planning involved in putting a shore excursion together. Bus or boat rental or operational fees, Fuel costs, tour guides, license, etc. The mark up is not often as much as you may think...because it costs a lot to put on some tours.

On one occasion our tour vehicle developed transmission problems, and it took a long time for a replacement to come. The ship waited for us, and also refunded our cost.

Another time on a small yacht in Jamaica, and going towards Dunn River Falls, almost everyone went to the side of the Falls, and the yacht somehow tipped over, spilling people in the water. Many people lost some of their belongings, etc. No one was hurt though.

The Cruise Director got involved in making a claim for everyone that lost articles.