What's the rush? A shore excursion is the chance to put some distance between you and the ship. Photo / Hello Lightbulb, Unsplash
What's the rush? A shore excursion is the chance to put some distance between you and the ship. Photo / Hello Lightbulb, Unsplash
"Going to sea to see the world" is cruising's great paradox.
Like the obligatory cruise line buffet, it's a tantalising spread of opportunities that you have precious little time to try.
The choice of activities can be paralysing. How would you know if, while you're snorkelling with stingray, that elsewhere there isn't a life-changing experience to ponder existence in Mayan ruins?
With every leisurely multi-stop itinerary comes some painstaking decisions between sights, places and experiences you might never get a second chance to visit again. The perfect shore excursion is a fine art; executed with surgical precision, maximum leisure and the hanging prospect that one mishap could see you miss the boat. Time, tide - and cruise ships - wait for no man.
Doing a shore excursion "right" is a big concern for sailors.
Face it: while on a pleasure voyage, with cooking, cleaning and most other needs tended to by someone else, picking on-shore activities might be the hardest decision you ever have to make on a cruise ship.
With every leisurely stop comes some painstaking decisions on once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Photo / 123RF
In-depth or broad brush
Ships rarely spend longer than 12 hours in a port. With these scarce moments, one has to decide how to allocate them.
Talking to David Mutton, a cruise convert who prior to Covid spent 600 days at sea over five years, there are few places he has yet to sail through. His advice on visiting a new port is to go sightseeing and get an overview. If he's been before, "it's nice to do something more specialised", he says.
The shore excursions desk is a busy part of most ships. With experienced crew working closely with operators, they'll have no shortage of recommendations or advice - should you need any. However, booking on board is often more pricey than organising your own adventure. Excursions run by these operators are made to please, but it can feel like you are surrendering the opportunity to tailor a trip to you and your interests.
A self-researched, self-booked excursion can often be more rewarding and cheaper than booking through the ship's excursion planner, though they take time to co-ordinate and arrange. And it's a case of buyer beware - getting back to the ship on time is your own responsibility and at your own risk.
A key, redeeming feature of a ship-run excursion - one that some people are willing to pay over the odds for - is you will never miss the boat.
Doing a shore excursion 'right' is a big concern for sailors. Photo / 123RF
Be open to suggestions but know what you want
Destinations that get a lot of ships develop a strange sub-economy – the shore hawker. Whenever a ship pulls in you'll notice shops/cafes/museums will spring into life to prey on the poorly researched and easily distracted. If you don't want to be trapped looking at displays of art-deco doilies or paying for over-priced tea – it's worth having a plan before disembarking.
Yes, seek local advice, but be careful who you take it from. You'll need to know your own mind.
Are you wanting the confidence afforded by a large group tour or do you want to get away from the crowds? Are you spending every hour on shore or will you have seen enough by midday? Yes, there's the chance to jump off the world's longest flying fox, but are you zipping past a local speciality? Some piece of culture that you'll not find anywhere else?
Having one activity or destination in mind can help anchor your plans.
When a ship is in town, the must-do excursions and top-billed experiences tend to fill up quickly. It pays to book ahead.
It can be expensive, not to mention exhausting, trying to fit in an excursion at every port. You're far better saving your energy and budget for something you definitely want to see and do.
