booking shore excursions online

I heard that you could book shore excursions on the web and it was cheaper than booking through the cruiseline on the boat. Does anyone have more information on this or a website I could check out. Thanks a bunch!

I heard that you could book shore excursions on the web and it was cheaper than booking through the cruiseline on the boat. Does anyone have more information on this or a website I could check out. Thanks a bunch!

[NancyN]

Most people who save money booking excursions online do serious research on the port, then book directly with the tour operator on their websites. If you are willing to put in the time, here is how I would proceed: First check out the port at www.portreviews.com and the cruise lines website for the excursions they are offering. Then, do a google search of the excursion you are interested in and you will be given a wealth of websites & booking choices. As an example, if you are interested in doing the Dolphin Swim or Encounter in Nassau - just typing Dolphin Swim in Nassau will provide the link to the Blue Lagoon website where you can book the excursion directly (thus saving lots of money).

Nancy, thanks. You have obviously done some research yourself! Do you happend to have any suggestions for excursions in Grand Caymon or Belize? The stingrays sound like fun but I've heard that the cruise ship tours take way too many people at once and it can be quite crowded.
Thanks again.

Hi There,
I noticed you are from Canada, so am I, We just got back from the Western Caribbean on the Paradise (Jan.11) It was fabulous (nice to get away from the cold here!!)
I booked an excursion for Cave tubing through Reggies. If you do some research, there are a lot of positive reviews from him. It is considerably cheaper than booking it on the ship. We booked it with 3 other couples and that was it!! We had our own private tour, while the people on the ship had groups of 50 or more!!! We paid $65 each, and the ship charged $85-$100!!
I would highly recommend Reggie!!
As far as the other ports we visited, Roaton we went snorkelling, took a taxi to the west side beach, very cheap as we had our own snorkel gear. In Cayman DDO the stingray city. If you can book with Sosos cruises, it is only $24, but they left early on their tours, so they were unable to accomodate us, so we went with Captain Marvin, again we were fortunate to go with only 2 other couples we had met on the ship and again got a private tour!! It was really neat and cost $34. We also went snorkelling with them.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I'll help you out!!
ldgdesign@shaw.ca

Best of luck
Kelly

[NancyN]

I agree with Kelly. I would definitely do Stingray City in Grand Cayman and Cave Tubing in Belize. If possible, I would plan to book both of these excursions on your own, rather than through the cruise line as the cruise tours DO tend to get very crowded.
Nancy

thanks nancy for the info. i agree, dont miss the stingrays, its so amazing. and no they dont bite and wont sting u. my daughters stayed on the boat cause they were afraid, now they want to go back also the viedo is worth its weight in gold when u get back home.)) they do a really nice job. music and great scenes

When you booked the Stingray City from home, did you give them your credit card number online? Has anyone had any problems doing this?
We leave in two weeks, and are trying to make some plans.

[steveNcindy]

pics - if you are looking at the snorkeling in Belize, I have been dealing with a company called Coral Breezes www.coralbreezelimited.com and Paul there has been very good to deal with. They are quite a bit less than the ship excursion and takes smaller groups.

Definitely check out

Grand Cayman Cruise Excursion we did the Captain Bryans Catamaran snorkeling excursion to stingray city...excellent $34!
and
Belize Cruise Excursions we did the X-Stream Cave Tubing excursion for $60.