Can you really slash the cost of excursions?

CRUISE lines offer a vast choice of organised excursions from the ports they visit. For many, these are a major reason to take a cruise, and for the cruise companies they are a big source of revenue – except on a few very upmarket ships, excursions cost extra.

While a sightseeing tour in a large group might be £30 per person, a small group or activity-based tour could cost £100 a head. So it makes sense to keep the cost down. Most excursions are booked direct with the cruise lines, but there are a few independent agents worth considering.

Cruising Excursions (cruisingexcursions.com, 0800 091 8274) offers 12,000 excursions from more than 700 ports worldwide. By selecting your ship and dates of travel on its website, you can view your itinerary and available excursions in each port.

Cruising Excursions boldly claims ‘prices lower than the cruise lines’. Putting this to the test, I found it true sometimes, but not always. Cruising Excursions charges £34pp for its Rome On Your Own trip – basically a coach transfer from the cruise port of Civitavecchia to Rome, taking in sights such as the Colosseum, pictured, and back. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Rome On Your Own transfer costs about £90, almost three times as much.

For its Rome The Complete Tour, an eight-hour guided walking and bus tour, Cruising Excursions charges £64. Norwegian Cruise Line’s eight-hour Rome Highlights walking tour costs about £133. However, I found marginal differences in prices on some Caribbean islands. A half-day tour of Antigua taking in Nelson’s Dockyard costs £40 with Cruising Excursions, compared with £42 with Royal Caribbean. On St Lucia, a Rainforest Aerial Tram excursion costs £90 with Cruising Excursions, and £98 with Royal Caribbean. When making comparisons, be sure to compare like for like: whether lunch and entrance fees are included and the size of groups.

And remember, some ports are perfectly suited to independent exploration. In Barcelona and San Juan (Puerto Rico), ships dock within walking distance of the old city centres. And in the Caribbean, often the best thing to do is head to the beach for the day, and you don’t need to sign up for an expensive excursion to do that.

Also, consider renting a taxi for a half-day or day. Drivers can make good guides and the experience is more personal and cheaper – particularly for a family. But fix the price in advance.