Are Cruise Excursions Worth It? My Honest Opinion
Are cruise excursions worth it? I’ve taken more than a dozen cruises to destinations around the world, including the Caribbean, Mexico, the Northeastern United States and Canada, Alaska, the Mediterranean, and Northern Europe. And I have a lot of thoughts about the value of cruise excursions.
If you’re thinking of booking a cruise ship shore excursion, be sure to read these pros and cons first!
First, let me give a little background on my travel style, because this might help you decide whether or not cruise excursions are right for you. You may not feel the same way I do, and that’s fine!
Cruises aren’t my favorite way to travel, as someone who typically prefers independent exploration and spending longer in each destination I visit. However, I can’t deny the convenience of cruises. You only have to unpack once, and then you get to visit multiple destinations without dealing with any logistics.
You simply wake up, and you’re in a new port every morning (unless you have a day at sea.) Even though you only typically have a single day in each destination, you can get a taste of what it’s like.
When I’m on a cruise, I like to make the most out of my days in port. I’m someone who goes on a cruise for the destinations first and foremost, with the actual “cruising” being secondary to me.
Many people on cruises choose to book shore excursions, which are guided tours or activities you book through your cruise ship. But are these cruise excursions actually worth it? Let’s get into it!
Pros and Cons of Cruise Excursions
Below I’m going to get into the pros and cons of cruise ship shore excursions.
Spoiler alert: I usually don’t think the excursions are worth it. I’ll share my reasoning why, and you can decide if you agree. That being said, cruise excursions are worth it in some scenarios.
Just because cruise ship shore excursions aren’t worth it to me, they might be to you. My goal here isn’t to convince you one way or another, but to help you decide what’s best for YOU.
Let’s start with the cons of cruise ship shore excursions:
Con #1: They’re Expensive
One of the biggest reasons I don’t like cruise ship shore excursions is because of the cost. They’re often wildly overpriced for what you get, sometimes double the cost of third-party tours.
What’s really crazy is that the cruise ship often contracts out tours to third-party providers anyway. So if you just book direct with a tour company instead of through your cruise ship, you can save money.
I’ve often seen cruise ship excursions priced as high as $250, but then a very similar tour is available on Viator or GetYourGuide for just $125. If there’s a specific tour or activity I really want to do, I will always check with third-party providers for options that work with the times that I am in port.
But the majority of the time, I will just explore on my own. Unless your cruise port is really remote, you can often get to where you want to go by taking an Uber, taxi, train, bus, or just walking.
Con #2: Feels Like You’re on a Field Trip
Something that really bugs me about cruises in general is feeling like you’re often being herded around like cattle (this is especially true when you’re on a large ship with thousands of other passengers.)
It’s even worse when it comes to shore excursions — it feels like you’re on an elementary school field trip. You start off gathering with hundreds of other passengers in a designated area of the ship, waiting for them to dismiss each tour group one by one. You then walk in a single file line off the ship with your group.
You’re immediately handed off to your tour guide, then herded onto a coach bus or whatever other form of transportation your tour requires. The whole thing makes me feel like I’m back in school. It takes away from the excitement of discovering a new destination when you have a tour guide babysitting you.
Con #3: No Control Over the Itinerary
Speaking of the field trip comparison, you also have no control over the itinerary or how you spend your day when you book a shore excursion. There’s a pre-defined schedule, and you stick with the group.
If you book a tour with three stops, and you’re really only interested in visiting two of them, you won’t be able to skip the one you’re less interested in. If you pass a restaurant, museum, or street that catches your eye, you won’t be able to make an unplanned detour to check it out — you have to stay with the group.
This lack of flexibility is a major drawback for me. I like planning an itinerary specifically tailored to my interests, and leaving room for discovering new things or taking interesting detours along the way.
Con #4: It Can Feel Too Rushed
Another thing I don’t like about cruise excursions is how rushed they can feel. This goes hand in hand with the lack of flexibility you have in the itinerary of an excursion. You also can’t control the timing.
I’ve seen people on excursions at popular museums or other tourist attractions where they only have one hour to rush through the entire thing, whereas if you’re on your own, you can take your time.
You also tend to lose time when on a group tour since you inevitably have to wait for people to make it back to the meeting point, stop for breaks, and so on. There’s a lot of time wasted here and there throughout the day, making it feel rushed and like you’re barely squeezing in all of the actual sightseeing.
Con #5: Can’t Maximize Your Time
Personally, when I’m on a cruise, I like to make the most out of every second that I’m in port. I have the days at sea and the evenings after departing port to enjoy the ship. The last thing I want to do is be stuck on the ship when it’s docked in an exciting port that I could be exploring on my own instead.
You might be in port from 9 AM until 7 PM one day, but if you book a shore excursion that doesn’t start until 11 AM, you lose two valuable hours in port. Many excursions only last a few hours, but they still include transportation back to the ship, so your options are either to go back to the ship early or else forfeit the included return transportation and make your way back to the ship later at your own expense.
I like sightseeing on my own because I can hit the ground running and be one of the first people off the ship in the morning, then come back at my leisure within the last hour before departure.
Pro #1: Don’t Have to Worry About Logistics
I’ve talked about the cons, but now let’s talk about the pros of cruise ship shore excursions. One of the biggest pros is that you don’t have to worry about the logistics or plan anything yourself.
You just have to show up, sit back, and relax. No judgment here if you’d prefer that kind of vacation rather than organizing transportation, tickets, activities, and meals in port on your own. As long as you don’t mind paying a premium for it, cruise ship shore excursions eliminate a lot of the hassle for you.
Pro #2: Good for Special Activities
There are some cases where I think it makes a lot of sense to book a cruise excursion, and one of the biggest is if you want to do a special activity that would be hard to organize on your own. Think something like a whale watching excursion by boat, or a wine tasting tour stopping at multiple vineyards.
If it’s something that’s easy to DIY or you can find it cheaper through a third party, like a walking tour or city sightseeing, I don’t think it’s worth booking an excursion through your cruise ship.
But for special activities that you can’t do on your own, or in cases where you can’t find a suitable tour to book through Viator or GetYourGuide, it can make sense to book it through your cruise ship.
Pro #3: Helpful in Remote Ports
This is where it’s important to do research on the ports you’ll be visiting on your cruise. In many ports, your ship will dock just a short walk away from the main attractions of the destination, or you’ll at least be in an area where you can quickly hop on a bus, train, or cheap taxi or Uber to get where you want to go.
However, if it doesn’t seem like there are good independent transit options or many third-party excursions available, it might be safer to book an excursion through your cruise ship instead.
Pro #4: Guaranteed Return to Ship
If you book a shore excursion through your cruise ship, you will have a guaranteed return to ship. This means the cruise ship will not leave without you, even if your excursion is delayed for some reason. In rare cases, if you’re extremely delayed, the ship will leave without you, but the cruise line is required to handle all the arrangements for getting you to the next port to meet back up with the ship.
This is not the case if you’re exploring on your own or doing a third-party tour. If you get caught in traffic or your tour bus breaks down and you miss the all-aboard call, the cruise ship will leave without you. You’ll be totally on your own for making arrangements to get to the next port to rejoin the cruise.
So booking excursions through the cruise ship can add some extra peace of mind. It can also be a good option if there are no third-party tours that align well with the times that your ship is in port. When you book it through your cruise ship, you’ll know that the timing matches up to your schedule.
Pro #5: Discounts Are Available
Although cruise ship shore excursions are often more expensive than comparable third-party tours and activities, you can find discounts or special incentives on them sometimes, making them a better value.
Shore excursions are available for as much as a 50% discount if you book them well in advance, or when the cruise line is running special promotions. You might also be eligible for incentives like a free onboard credit of up to several hundred dollars when you book your cruise, which you can put towards excursions.
Are Cruise Excursions Worth It? My Final Thoughts
This guide showed you the pros and cons of cruise excursions. Based on what I’ve discussed, I lean towards the cons outweighing the pros a lot of the time, and cruise excursions not being worth it.
Most of the time, I do not book excursions through the cruise ship. I either explore independently (the most often) or else book a cheaper third-party tour or activity instead. When I do book a shore excursion, it’s one I’ve researched that has good reviews and seems to be a good value for money.
I don’t think you should blindly book cruise ship excursions, especially ones where it’s a blatant rip-off like $100 for a two-hour walking tour. However, they can absolutely be worth it if you’re willing to splurge for special activities or if you don’t mind spending more to have a relaxing, hassle-free experience.
Happy cruising!
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