Port Adventures...book on my own or with Disney?

[KaityB]

On our next cruise, we've decided that we want to do some port adventures since we'll be in a new area and aren't totally sure what to expect. My question is, should we book on our own or go through Disney's port adventures? I know it can be cheaper to do it by yourself, but is there a "Disney difference"? Maybe it's a little less stressful, etc.? I would love to hear any experiences either way! Thank you!

 

[skfulkers]

Disney typically provides a guide for excursions booked through them, which takes a level of stress off of being in a new area. Also, from our experience, port adventures through Disney are usually let off the ship first in the mornings, or through a separate gangway, and then the group is shuttled to/from whatever location is needed. But probably our biggest reason for booking through Disney is that you won't be left in port if your excursion arrives late back to the ship. Booking on your own.....you have the possibility of being left in port if you return to the ship late. It's usually a small possibility, but has been worth the cost to mitigate the risk for us.

We just finished a 7-day Mediterranean cruise last week, and booked all 4 excursions through Disney. Each morning, we stepped off the ship and didn't worry about logistics of travel or timing for the entire day since Disney had us covered.

 

[lklgoodman]

In addition to doing it on your own being cheaper, you can also be with a smaller group. Probably the biggest advantage of booking with Disney is, if something were to happen and you arrive late for reboarding, the ship will wait for you. If you do it on your own the ship won't wait if you arrive late.

 

[KashasMom]

Of all of our cruises we've only booked a handful of times with the(any) cruise line. The only time we did was if the excursion was not offered otherwise. Our biggest reason for booking on our own is not necessarily the cost but just the freedom to do what we want, go where we want, etc. One memory is our excursion in Costa Maya (with Native Choice - excellent!). We left before the Disney buses and upon arrival went in a different direction than the cruisers. We ran into them a few times - including when we were leaving. There were people all over that were holding up the bus - shopping, using the restroom, etc. Waiting for people in that way is not how I want to spend my holiday. We recently did the stingray excursion on Castaway Cay (obviously through DCL). It was packed - and really such a poor experience. We've had more interaction in a touch tank at the local aquarium.

On the other hand one of the best excursions we ever did was a Sea Turtle Release in Cozumel through RCI. There were about 20 people and we were split into smaller groups on the beach. We only went with RCI because at the time it was not offered any other way. I don't believe there is a Disney difference but of course others will disagree. As far as those who will tell you that the ship will leave you behind if you're not back in time...well they are correct. They ship will leave you. However, the companies running private excursions are well aware what it would mean to their business if any of their guests missed a ship. (That would sweep through social media very quickly.) Could there be an emergency? Of course, but hundreds of thousands of people do private excursions each year. I don't believe that a Disney excursion is less stressful at all. Any good company is going to create a great experience for you - they depend on word of mouth to stay in business. What ports will you be visiting?

Edited to add: Forgot about this DCL excursion! Snorkeling in Nassau. Small group - maybe 10 people on an even smaller boat. We were supposed to go to a few islands and snorkel. As we cruised out of the harbor we couldn't even hear the "captain" pointing out highlights. The water was so choppy that we couldn't even see anything while snorkeling and I spent so much time keeping my daughter above water. My husband just about drowned because the current kept dragging him out away from the boat. The waves were so high we could not even get near the islands we were supposed to see/visit. Definitely no Disney love on that excursion!! Flip side was that we had booked a boat one year (privately) in Bermuda. Water was so rough that they canceled the excursion. Would rather have it that way than feel we had to go in very poor conditions just so someone made money.

 

[anjuan]

I just got off of the med cruise last week and booked all of my excursions through Disney. I had looked into doing some private ones separately but there was just my daughter and myself so there wasn't that much difference in price. However, if I ever end up going to the med again I would consider at least some private ones or doing things on my own. On some days I really felt like I was subject to the heard mentality. There were some sights that I would have liked to have more time at and others not as much, but we had to stay with the pace of the group.

On the other hand, I never had to think about the details of where we were going because I knew Disney was handing it which was great to me!

So there are pluses and minuses to both.

 

[Kate_45]

Disney tends to use local tour operators. They vet them, but I don't believe there's a Disney difference.

I've never been on a Disney excursion. Just not my style of travelling. I make sure I get back in plenty of time, which worked well anyway as I like to change before dinner.

 

[Pens Fan]

You will get a lot of varying responses to this question. The fact is some people are just not comfortable leaving the Disney bubble and that's perfectly fine. Everyone should do whatever makes them happy on vacation. Others don't like to take the time to research independent vendors and would rather just pick one of Disney's excursions. That's fine too.

As for our family, we almost always do independent excursions. We often find for the the same money (sometimes even less) we can do a completely private tour for just our family vs a bus tour through the cruise line with 40 to 50 of our new best friends. We've gone the bus tour route a few times and it's just not something we enjoy. There is always that family that is late everywhere, or the kids that whine and cry. Even if everyone cooperates, just the simple logistics of loading / unloading that many people at every stop slows things down and limits what you end up doing. Busses often are too large to go to some of the more remote and unique spots. I could go on and on, but bus tours just aren't for us.

I love doing the research and have the time to do it, so that's not an issue for us. I also don't worry about the whole missing the ship thing. Could it happen? Well, yes, but it's highly unlikely. All it would take is for one tour to miss their ship, post bad reviews all over the internet and that guide is done - out of business. We have found that most guides work within a network. Yes, they are competitors, but they also help each other out. They have back up plans should something go awry. Also - it's a misnomer that Disney will hold the ship for you if you are on a Disney tour. They will hold the ship as long as they can, but at some point they will leave regardless. The advantage ship tours have at that point is Disney will be responsible for getting you to the next port vs. being on your own. Though I feel completely comfortable saying that every independent guide we've ever used would have done whatever it took to help us out had we missed our ship. Again, this is their livelihood. It's how they feed their kids. They aren't going to just abandon you to trash them on every social media website.

As for getting off of the ship first on ship sponsored tours - that only applies to tender ports. If the ship docks - which it usually does - you can line up and get off as soon as the ship is cleared. We are often one of the first groups off the ship. The few times we took ship tours, we had to meet up on board somewhere, sit around and wait - sometimes for a very long time - and then be escorted off. We get off much faster on our own - no contest.

As for the "Disney touch", the answer is sometimes. Most of the time, Disney just contracts with the same companies all the other cruise lines use. However, I have seen a few excursions offered that have a Disney element to them. I remember some Frozen themed ones in Norway, for example. I seem to recall some in Alaska that did as well, but it's not the norm. I did see that they are now offering some more exclusive excursions that are pretty unique on some cruises. But the prices - holy cow! I could take another cruise! No thanks.

 

[KaityB]

Of all of our cruises we've only booked a handful of times with the(any) cruise line. The only time we did was if the excursion was not offered otherwise. Our biggest reason for booking on our own is not necessarily the cost but just the freedom to do what we want, go where we want, etc. One memory is our excursion in Costa Maya (with Native Choice - excellent!). We left before the Disney buses and upon arrival went in a different direction than the cruisers. We ran into them a few times - including when we were leaving. There were people all over that were holding up the bus - shopping, using the restroom, etc. Waiting for people in that way is not how I want to spend my holiday. We recently did the stingray excursion on Castaway Cay (obviously through DCL). It was packed - and really such a poor experience. We've had more interaction in a touch tank at the local aquarium.

On the other hand one of the best excursions we ever did was a Sea Turtle Release in Cozumel through RCI. There were about 20 people and we were split into smaller groups on the beach. We only went with RCI because at the time it was not offered any other way. I don't believe there is a Disney difference but of course others will disagree. As far as those who will tell you that the ship will leave you behind if you're not back in time...well they are correct. They ship will leave you. However, the companies running private excursions are well aware what it would mean to their business if any of their guests missed a ship. (That would sweep through social media very quickly.) Could there be an emergency? Of course, but hundreds of thousands of people do private excursions each year. I don't believe that a Disney excursion is less stressful at all. Any good company is going to create a great experience for you - they depend on word of mouth to stay in business. What ports will you be visiting?

We will be visiting Cozumel, Costa Maya and Castaway Cay. I'm not worried about Castaway Cay, that's a beach day all the way for us! I'm mostly worried about getting to and from places in Mexico. A little about the language barrier too, though i've heard there are plenty of people in major areas that speak English. I would like to try on my own, but my hubby is skeptical. We did it in Nassau. It was by chance, we got off and met a driver that was offering tours at the end of the pier. $45 for all 3 of us. We jumped on it and it turned out to be awesome! Just us and another family with a child the same age. All around the island with facts, a stop at a private beach for 45 min., rum cake factory, Queen's Staircase and the Fort Fincastle, a look at Paradise Island and going into Atlantis. Our driver even gave us, a piece of all their currency, up to a $1 bill!

 

[Bethany10]

Disney cruise line mom blog (are we allowed to mention other bloggers here? I know Scott gets mentioned often, but please delete if I'm in violation of the TOU) anyway, her blog she details her excursion in Cozumel, that was non DCL. They have three girls and she details out transport, booking all of it. Were we to ever find ourselves cruising to Cozumel I'd do this. You might check Scotts blog as well, they did a nice mix of DCL sponsored and non DCL excursions on their recent trip to the med.

If my hoped for Key west cruise pans out then I'm planning to just get off the ship, but it's Key West, I'd have a much less laid back attitude if I was going to Mexico or the Caribbean and would probably look to do a mix of things.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Disney use the same operators every other cruise line use. They aren't running these themselves.

I would check reviews for any non-DCL excursion. Tour operators live and die by their online reviews. They will get you back in time.

The main places I might use caution are things like glacier tours in Alaska, or some of the city tours in Europe. Traffic and fog.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We're always used DCL shore excursions because they have been fun and informative (we do the historical, food, wine type tours). And it's one or two or three less things to plan (going through all the reviews and narrowing down a third party excursion operator, picking the excursion, booking, paying, etc.).

If you are experienced and comfortable doing it on your own, GO FOR IT. You may save money and convenience researching and booking yourself. Try a DCL for one island and a third party for another island and determine which you enjoyed (for the time and money) the best.

 

[MomOTwins]

I think this depends a LOT on the location for me. In the Mediterranean, I would probably venture out on my own because it is pretty safe and there are lots of easy resources (e.g. lonely planet guides) that I could use to research what is worth doing. Alaska, unless I was staying very close to port (e.g., a nearby hiking trail) I would only ever use DCL for an excursion because with the weather issues and somewhat remote sightseeing locations, I've heard of people getting stranded because they could not get back to the boat in time. Nassau or Mexico - only DCL because of crime risk in using an unvetted company.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I don’t like large, cattle herding types of tours. And my impression is by and large the Disney excursions are exactly that. I like to scour websites for tour options and check out their reviews on trip advisor. I prefer smaller groups, especially on boat/water related excursions.

I also don’t really enjoy doing exactly what other people are doing at that exact moment. On our honeymoon in St. Lucia we took a bus/boat tour of the island and it was awful. The bus stopped every few miles along the way and several other tour buses were following the same route and stoping at the same time. The scenic overlooks were crowded with hundreds of people from all the buses and there was a ton of vendors at each one trying to push us into buying stuff. Then the boat ride back was like 100 people crammed on a huge catamaran with no where to sit. And when we stopped to snorkel it was completely congested. Never again. Now we do small tours and places off the beaten path or at times when not everyone is doing the exact same thing.

The only time I’d consider a Disney tour is if there was truly a chance of arriving late.

 

[KashasMom]

I think this depends a LOT on the location for me. In the Mediterranean, I would probably venture out on my own because it is pretty safe and there are lots of easy resources (e.g. lonely planet guides) that I could use to research what is worth doing. Alaska, unless I was staying very close to port (e.g., a nearby hiking trail) I would only ever use DCL for an excursion because with the weather issues and somewhat remote sightseeing locations, I've heard of people getting stranded because they could not get back to the boat in time. Nassau or Mexico - only DCL because of crime risk in using an unvetted company.

We've done Alaska twice (3rd time in August) and always book on our own. We've been up in the air (helicopters, seaplanes) four times - never had any issues. We also do Nassau and Mexico on our own as well. With all of the reviews available online there is no reason to use an "unvetted" company - there are too many companies with good reviews.

 

[Shanti]

On our next cruise, we've decided that we want to do some port adventures since we'll be in a new area and aren't totally sure what to expect. My question is, should we book on our own or go through Disney's port adventures? I know it can be cheaper to do it by yourself, but is there a "Disney difference"? Maybe it's a little less stressful, etc.? I would love to hear any experiences either way! Thank you!

No, Disney excursions are typically equal to or not as good as what you can book independently. There are exceptions, but in general, there is no Disney difference for excursions. They contract the excursions out to local companies, and typically no Disney excort is with you at all.

We booked independent excursions in Alaska & they were both better and cheaper than what we could have gotten from Disney. We booked a Disney excursion on Tortola and it was absolutely terrible. The one Disney excursion we liked was the post-cruise Vancouver excursion they offered after our recent Alaska cruise. It was very nice. Nothing I couldn't have done myself for less money, but I wanted the convenience of having them plan & manage it, and it was a good experience. But even then, no one from Disney was with us. It was contracted out as usual.

 

[Ravenne]

IMHO it depends on your comfort level.
I've always booked them through Disney because I wanted that layer of protection, and not having to worry about it, but for our last cruise, it was Alaska, and being that it was US, I felt comfortable enough to book independently, and it worked out well! I was very happy booking independently. I found the same vendors that DCL books through, and went directly through them. The savings weren't huge, but it was still a savings, and I was happy to support their businesses directly. We went on our excursions right along with people who booked with DCL. There was a minor hiccup in that one of our excursions: a train ride through the Yukon was cancelled due to a rock slide. I'd heard about it from other cruisers as they mentioned they got a letter from DCL about it, and DCL took care of it, whereas we didn't know until we heard about it through the grapevine. The vendor didn't contact me to tell me about it, so we just met with them the day of the excursion to see what our options were. We could've done it by bus, but opted not to, and in order to get a refund, we had to call their and request one. Thankfully they were honest and issued the refund no problem, but it did take a few calls as they're a small business with limited help. In a situation like that, booking through DCL would've been easier as they take care of things like that on their end.

 

[valee]

We’ve done both DCL and independent excursions. For the independents, I do extensive research (trip advisor, cruise critic, and even a google search for the tour operator’s and the port name and “tour accident” to see if anything turns up to scare me off). I look at the reviews posted to the company’s website – if they include reviews from several years ago, which helps me identify new, potentially inexperienced firms or a firm that may have rebranded themselves after a previous incident.

For this year’s TA, we booked an independent tour to the Alhambra, since Disney didn’t offer any excursions there. Granada was several hours away from the port, but the operator made sure that we got back an hour before all aboard time. They understand that missing the boat with one group would mean they lost all future cruise business.

I recommend checking several tour operators, rather than just the first name that pops up on cruise critic or trip advisor. A large group from our cruise went with an independent operator for a day long tour of St. Petersburg. On the Facebook page, I saw lots of discussion about how they could add a lunch break, what the additional cost would be, and what part of the tour would need to be cut short to accommodate the lunch break. The firm we went with included a box lunch which was distributed as we boarded the catamaran – no additional time or expense.

In Europe, some of the tour companies offer tours in several ports. Be sure to check if they offer a discount for bundling tours in more than one port.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We tend to do more private excursions because we travel with our neighbors who have a daughter in a wheelchair and a lot of Disney's port adventures do not except wheelchairs. However, we have done DCL excursions and have had good ones and some not so good ones. We had a wonderful DCL excursion in Allesund that included a DCL photographer who came with us and took pictures at the places we visited. That is the only time I noticed a
"Disney difference." On this upcoming cruise, we are only doing 2 DCL excursions because our neighbors are going other places while we go to Rome and Florence, all other excursions are private.

 

[mab2012]

I think the biggest reason some people prefer ship excursions is simple convenience. No need to think much about it or plan in advance. All you have to do is show up at the right place on the ship at the right time, and they'll take care of the rest. There's something to be said for that. Also if something happens that the ship doesn't make port, there's no need to worry about cancelation terms or refunds. It's just all around easier.

I can't bring myself to pay the prices, and I also don't care for the large groups, so we nearly always do our own thing in ports. We occasionally book an independent tour operator, but most often we just rent a car or use public transit (depending on the port) to get wherever we want to go. If you have kids, that can sometimes be another reason to prefer DIY over the ship excursions; there are often age restrictions on the ship tours that might exclude your kids from activities in which they are perfectly able and willing to participate.

 

[oakleycat]

We do mostly private excursions or explore on our own because I hate all the waiting associated with DCL excursions - wait in line for the check in, wait in the theatre, wait for the bus, etc. On our cruise last month we went to the beach on our own and sat right next to the DCL group, but paid less, got there 2 hours earlier when the beach, left an hour later, and had no wait for a taxi back while the DCL group had to wait for the assigned taxis to ferry people back. That said, we do use DCL excursions for long travel distances where we have concerns with getting back on time or safety issues, like in Cozumel where there is a ferry then long bus ride and I would not be comfortable using local taxi services.