Who better to provide shipboard information than your fellow passengers as they part with their knowledge on topics like packing for the cruise, documentation, tipping, dressing excursions, seasickness, disembarking, your health and lots of other helpful information.



TAKING EXCURSIONS


Passenger tips on the right approach to cruise excursions ...
FROM: From Alf "the cruise meister" Samson : Ever climbed onboard and found that that one excursion you were really looking forward to has been sold out? It shouldn't happen to you again. We've learnt to make use of the cruise line's web sites where they usually list the excursions along with descrciptions and prices and the facility to book ahead.     This is really something you want to think about when the excursions have limited participants, like helicopter rides over volcanoes. Be smart - book ahead!

FROM: Harold Carter, England : A word of warning for those passengers who think they’re going to find all they need to know about the ports of call when they’re on board their cruise ship: many cruiselines offer ports of call lectures but are usually geared to the excursions they offer and tend to be little more than a sales pitch. If you want to be prepared - do your homework before you leave.

FROM: Tiffany Hall, Florida : Watch out for those all inclusive city tours. I watched one such trip from the deck of our ship at Sitka, Alaska. It took passengers half an hour to get on the coach at the dockside and half an hour to get off. The 20 minutes in between - as we watched the bus tour the tiny town - they could have managed in less time on foot for free - and they’d probably have seen more!

EDITORS NOTE: SEE OUR CRUISE ADVICE PAGES FOR SHORE EXCURSIONS

NEW INPUT . . . FROM: Jolene Martin, Vancouver – We’re back from an Alaska cruise which was great and reasonably priced ... until we tried to book an excursion. I see Alf "the cruise meister" Samson talks above about a helicopter ride over a volcano. In our case it was to be a helicopter over an icefield ... until we came to book it and they told us the price. “I don’t want to buy the helicopter,” my husband told the excursion desk. Frankly, I was so shocked at the price. Even the most basic excursions were overpriced (in my view). It put rather a damper on the cruise.

NEW INPUT . . . FROM: Jack Marquard, Seattle – We discovered those fancy excursion prices a long time ago. But we love the Alaska cruise because it is so convenient for those of us living on the North-West coast and by now we’ve seen all the sights. So we tend to find a reasonable cruise (price-wise) , go for a walk in each port-of-call, and for the rest of the time sit in great comfort and enjoy a leisurely lunch on the ship while many of the first-timers are paying through the nose.

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