0716ShoreExcursions

Shore Excursions

For many cruisers shore excursions are the highlight of the trip. But, without proper planning, they can just as easily
become a large disappointment. That's because many of the most popular ports of call may offer a couple of dozen
shore excursions, many of them seemingly identical. It's hard to decide which excursions to select, but the work
done to understand them is well worth the effort. If you book well enough ahead of time, most cruise lines will send
you a thick brochure with a synopsis of every shore excursion available. If you don't receive a brochure in the mail,
call the Cruise Center and we will arrange for one to be sent to you. Once you have one, sit down and study it
immediately. The first time through eliminate all the excursions you definitely are not interested in. Then identify
those that look interesting. Make sure to ask each of these questions:

1) Can I afford it? Some excursions cost a lot more simply because they spend more time or go to more expensive
restaurants or serve expensive wines or visit exclusive points of interest. Often you can see everything you want at
half the “elite” price.

2) How long is it? Excursions may be only an hour or two or may last 10 or 11 hours. If you are concerned about
your ability to walk, ride, or just stay awake for 10 hours, opt for a shorter excursion that lasts only half as long. And
remember that one long excursion may not be a problem, but two or three on consecutive days may be.

3) How much walking is there? If you want to see the best stuff, you're going to have to walk, because most of the
best stuff is either indoors or in an area where vehicles are not permitted. If your capacity to walk is limited, either
work on improving your endurance before the cruise or select those excursions that require minimal walking. Be
sure to take into consideration the amount of elevation involved. It's one thing to walk a mile inside a museum with
escalators and quite another to walk a mile over rocky uphill and downhill archaeological ruins.

4) Is this of interest to everyone? Ten hours can seem like an eternity to someone who's just being dragged along.
In particular, most small children are going to be bored out of their skulls walking through places like Pompeii. Not
everyone in your party has to go on the same excursion. Some might just want to stay on board.

Be sure to make your selections well before boarding, because the first thing you need to do after boarding, even
before pigging out on the buffet lunch, is to order excursion tickets. The choice excursions will often sell out on the
first day, so get in line as soon as possible. If you are given your tickets at the time you place your order, don't get out
of line until you have checked that you have the correct number and type (adult/child) of tickets for each excursion. If
you wait to check until getting back to your cabin and then find you have the wrong tickets, there's a strong chance
you'll miss out on that excursion. If your tickets are delivered to your cabin, check them as quickly as possible and, if
you find any errors, get back to the excursion desk immediately to have them corrected. Having verified tickets will
allow you to enjoy the rest of the cruise without worrying about missing something you are really looking forward to.

On shore days those going on excursions will meet at a designated place on the ship and then be escorted in small
groups to the appropriate boat or bus. Check your tickets the night before and make sure you know how and when to
get to the meeting place. If the excursion leaves early, you may have to get up earlier than usual so that you have time
to get breakfast before going to the meeting place. Adjust your activity schedule accordingly, because if you miss
breakfast it may be 4 hours or more before you get another chance to eat. If 2 or more of your party or shipboard
friends want to do the excursion together, you must all be at the meeting place at the same time. The reason for this
is that each excursion bus will probably have a capacity of about 40 people. There will typically be far more than 40
people signed up for any given excursion. As people arrive at the meeting place the first 40 will be assigned to the
first bus, the next 40 to the second bus and so on. If you arrive at the meeting place and some of your party are not
there, don't get your group (bus) assignment. You must wait until everyone in your party has arrived so that you can
insure you all get the same group assignment. Otherwise you may end up on different buses and never see each
other.

If you have young children, it's probably best to leave them in the care of the children's club on your ship. The kids will
have a lot more fun playing in a safe environment well stocked with games, computers, food, swimming pools, and,
most important, a staff of caring and well trained attendants. The Kids' Club will have posted hours of operation,
which might include being closed for lunch and dinner. But don't worry if you are on shore during those times
because the attendants will feed and care for the kids for as long as necessary if you are on a ship sponsored
excursion, even if the excursion is late returning to the ship.

Finally, when you are about to leave, the cruise line will make sure you are provided with plenty of information and
recommendations about tipping your room steward, assistant steward, waiter, maitre d', and maybe some people
you never even met. But they never include the Kids' Club attendants. We recommend that if you have used this
service, you tip the attendants in proportion to the quantity and quality of service they provided your children and the
peace of mind they provided you.

Proudly serving our members since 2004!

Toll Free 888 - 407 - 5888

V2.0 070908 ITM