How to avoid one of the biggest cruise ship rip-offs

Planning to take a few shore excursions on your next cruise? You’ll need deep pockets if you’re booking through the cruise line. Basic tours such as a three-hour city highlights excursion can run upwards of $200 a person on some ships, while more elaborate days out can cost $500 or more. That really adds up, especially as many tours on American-owned ships are quoted in US dollars.

Walk off the ship, grab a tourist map, set off and save money.Credit: Illustration: Greg Straight

If the ship is docked in a location central to key attractions (and assuming you’re a reasonably competent, independent traveller), it can be a better, cheaper option to go it alone. Simply walk off the ship, grab a tourist map and set off. I’ve explored cities from Christchurch to Copenhagen this way, always making sure I’m back on the ship an hour before the all-aboard curfew. Bonus: My step count for the day increases, helping to burn off some of the Aperol spritzes enjoyed on the pool deck.

If the tour you’re considering is described as a “beach break” or includes a hop-on-hop-off bus ride, you can almost certainly do the same activities on your own. In many ports, you can sign up on the pier with independent tour operators offering the same attractions as the ship’s “shorex” team, for a fraction of the cost.

Some shore excursions involve multiple modes of transport and complicated logistics. In those situations, it might be worth forking out the bucks and letting the experts handle the details. On a daytrip from Naples to Capri and the Blue Grotto, my maritime Russian doll journey from mega-ship to ferry, speedboat to rowboat would have been a time-consuming headache to organise by myself.

If you can afford it, it’s also worth coughing up to enjoy exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime experiences made possible by the cruise line’s insider contacts. A helicopter joyride over Arctic fjords and glaciers will be remembered long after the credit card bill has been paid.

Some luxury cruise lines such as Regent Seven Seas and Viking include free shore excursions in each port of call – a significant cost saving. There’s no financial outlay, but you’ll still want to make sure you choose well so that you’re not wasting your time in places you might only visit once.

Do research in the weeks and months before departure and read online reviews of excursions. Seasoned cruisers are an opinionated bunch and many write detailed critiques of their experiences on sites such as Cruise Critic. If you book through a travel agent, ask them for input.

It’s not all about the bottom line, of course. There are some compelling reasons to pay the premium tour prices charged on board. The option to cancel at no charge if you don’t feel well or change your mind is handy, though conditions will apply. Participating operators will have been vetted to meet quality standards. They’ll be insured, and in most cases, will have extensive experience.

Perhaps most importantly, you won’t have to worry about missing the sail-away, a mistake that could cost you thousands of dollars in travel costs. If a ship-endorsed tour is late returning to the pier, the captain will wait.