Planning what to do at each port is part of the fun, but sometimes a bit overwhelming. That’s why we are sharing our best cruise port tips designed to help you choose the ideal activities and options for your interests and budget.
Below, we’ll share our insights and personal experiences with cruise line shore excursions, independent tours, private guides, and DIY adventures. Jeff and I have done them all many times.
We are passionate about cruising. To date, we have spent more than 160 days at sea and have been on seven different cruise lines. As a result, we have a wealth of experience to share when it comes to cruise port tips.
This page should help understand how to choose the right shore excursions for your trip.
What is a shore excursion?
Shore excursions are organized activities that allow cruisers to explore and experience the destinations where their ship docks. Cruise port activities can be anything from a bus or walking tour to a sporting activity like hiking, kayaking, surfing, or even a special foodie tour.
While the cruise line will offer a variety of cruise port excursions, there are other options. The key alternatives include booking through independent companies, hiring a private guide, or creating our own itinerary.
Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, making it easy for everyone to find the perfect way to enjoy their time ashore, but not necessarily the same way others will select at each port.
Understanding your options when choosing the best shore excursions for you
Cruise line shore excursions
These are pre-arranged tours and activities organized by the cruise company and usually include transportation, guides, and entry fees. They offer the convenience of hassle-free booking through the ship with reputable tour companies that are vetted by the cruise line.
Often we have booked these well in advance of sailing.
Typically, cruise line excursions provide a variety of options, from cultural tours to adventure activities, catering to different interests and fitness levels. Importantly, once onboard the ship, there are presentations highlighting each of their port tours.
For this reason, one of our top cruise excursion tips if booking through the ship is to read the cancellation policy. We have changed our top tour pick after a presentation, but either way, we had the security of a booking.
One of the main advantages the cruise line will present is the guarantee that the ship won’t leave without you if you take their tour (and if it does, they will get you back onboard). However, as we share below, some independents offer this as well.
On the other hand, cruise line excursions are more expensive than similar independent options. The tour groups are typically larger and, therefore less personalized. Plus, there is no option for customization of the tour.
Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of cruise line shore excursions
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| + Convenience + Guaranteed return to the ship + Reputation – ship vets the tour + Refund if we skip the port + Priority when getting off the ship + Cruise line may have reserved all seats. | – Higher cost – Typically larger group size – No option for customization – Tour start time may keep you waiting longer on the ship to disembark |
Independent tours
Independent tours are organized by third-party companies not affiliated with the cruise line. Comparatively, these tours often offer unique experiences, are more cost-effective, and have smaller tour groups.
As the guides seem to work harder, independents have provided some of our best shore excursions
Booking an independent tour requires a bit more research and planning, but for us, the cost-savings and smaller groups make it worth it.
Cruise lines argue that the main drawback of independent tours is the risk of missing the ship. However, many independent tours, especially from companies like Viator or Get Your Guide, offer guarantees to eliminate this issue. We always check these guarantees carefully to ensure we won’t be left behind.
If the port gets cancelled for weather or other short-notice reasons, we often can’t get our money refunded.
PRO TIP: Our best cruise port advice for independent tours is to choose tours that pick up at the dock, delay their start if the ship is late to port, and either end hours (for us, not less than 90 minutes) before you need to be back onboard or guarantee to get you back to the ship.
Note that the port end time in your literature is typically the time the ship is planning to set sail; the all-aboard time will be at least 30 minutes before that.
Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of independent tours
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| + Lower price for a similar tour + Typically smaller group size + Larger range of options + They are often better tours | – Limited option for customization – More research required – No guarantee of on-time return – No refund if a port gets cancelled |
Hiring a private guide
Hiring a private guide is another favourite option for us. Although it is usually the most expensive option, it gets us exactly what we want, often with more than we anticipated.
Private guides can tailor our tour to our specific interests, allowing us to explore at our own pace and focus on what fascinates us most. To obtain this, we need to have time to do the research and to talk with the guide in advance before making the booking.
What we look for in a private guide is their command of English, that they are licenced, flexible, and will pick us up at the port.
If we are in a more crowded area, we also want our guide to have a driver and skip the line passes. We think these two are worth paying extra for, especially as we have limited time in each city. The driver means we get dropped off and picked up at each location.
We book well in advance, as the best guides are limited, and there are lots of other passengers arriving on the same day. We usually start here to find our private guide.
While there is no official guarantee of return to the ship on time, we have never had a problem that we couldn’t adjust by changing our plan on the spot, so in some ways it’s an advantage over set tours.
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Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a private guide
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| + Total flexibility + See much more + Personalized experience + No waiting for others + Knowledgeable local guide that we pick to match our interests | – Higher cost – More research (or trust) required – No guarantee of on-time return – No refund if a port gets cancelled |
Walking off the ship on your own
For the more adventurous or the budget-conscious, DIY explorations allow you to walk off the ship and explore the port on your own.
We actually do this quite often and for a variety of reasons, but only when we dock in town. It offers the ultimate flexibility, letting us set our own pace and choose our activities spontaneously.
Our DIY explorations have been as simple as strolling through local markets, visiting nearby beaches, meeting up with friends, or if there is just one or two places nearby that we want to see.
Alternatively, we have hired a taxi at the dock to tour us around for the day. This involves advanced research so we know exactly what we want to see or do, a level of comfort with negotiating a fair price, and cash. Sometimes, the excellent English speaker on the dock is just recruiting tourists for other drivers, so be sure to meet your driver and see the vehicle before you agree.
The main downside of DIY is the lack of a local guide, which means we often miss things or walk right by them without discovering their significance. Other disadvantages include the difficulty of getting to faraway places and the responsibility of managing our time.
Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of DIY excursions
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| + Can be cost-free + Total flexibility + Authentic experience | – No local knowledge that comes with a guide – More research required – Safety concerns from lack of local knowledge |
The questions we ask ourselves to determine the best cruise port activities
We know first-hand that we have different needs at different ports, but they always fall into the four options we discussed above. Here are the basic questions we ask ourselves for each port:
What is our budget for the port?
In order from least to most expensive:
1. Walking off and doing it all on our own
2. Independent shore excursions
3. Cruise line excursions
4. Private tours for two of us (Splitting the cost with more people, it’s less per person)How much time do we have at the port?
If we have loads of time and little to see we have lots of options. However, if we have little time and/or lots to see, we will want some kind of guide, and often a private one if our budget allows.
What are our must-sees, and how easy is it to get there on our own?
If it’s a port where we dock in the city, like Auckland or Sydney, we are more likely to go on our own. (We live in New Zealand, so for us, these are cities we will return to.)
If we want to travel far, like to a rainforest in Costa Rica, we will either take a tour or hire a private guide.
Do any of the existing tours go to all of our must-see destinations?
We figure if we are in somewhere for only one day, we want to maximize it. Therefore, we frequently get a private guide for flexibility. We have done this in big cities like Rome and also in places very unfamiliar to us, like Ho Chi Minh City.
How important is it to us to have smaller group Tours?
One of the big advantages of independent tours is smaller groups, but sometimes it really doesn’t matter.
The queue to see Christ the Redeemer in Rio is the same for everyone, but the cruise’s tour offered to skip the line passes and saved us up to two hours (it was New Year’s Eve weekend).
Where is the port located in comparison to the next port?
When we find ourselves at ports that are quite off the beaten path, we choose a guide that guarantees they will get us back to the ship on time.
On our Alaska cruise, we had limited time in Juneau. This amazing port is not accessible via road, so missing the ship would mean a creative and very expensive option to get back.
Here, we opted for a cruise-organized excursion.
Don’t miss our best cruise tips
More tips and resources for your cruise
Below are our go-to companies when we cruise. We believe this list to be the best in each category. You can’t go wrong using them on your trip too.
- Cruise: We find great deals at Cruise Direct.
- Flights: we use Expedia for the best and cheapest flight options.
- Accommodations: we use Booking.com (hotels), VRBO (self-contained), or Hostelworld (budget).
- Cars (gas or electric): we use RentalCars to search for deals and dealer ratings.
- Set up private guides at the ports: Looking to maximize our limited time at a port, we often hire private guides.
- Travel Insurance: while not required, we always opt for travel insurance and start at InsureMyTrip to compare coverage plans.
Check out our travel resources page for more companies that we use when you travel.
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Poornima
This article is very informative, liked how you mentioned pros and cons for each of them
Maria Dol
Great post! I always try to find excursions with local guides. My biggest concern with them is not returning on time onboard. I find the ship excursions to be way overpriced. I book them only if there’s no other way to see something I want to and return on time.
Dina
Going on a cruise has been on our minds for over a year now and it just always seems a bit daunting – so many options. I loved this article and the questions you offered. Now, I can use these questions to direct my research and hopefully be a bit more efficient at it.
Tess
I haven’t yet traveled by cruise, but these are such great tips for when I do! I love how you broke down the pros and cons of each option. Thanks for such a helpful post!
Alex+J.+Cavanaugh
New Year’s Even weekend? Yeah, I bet that place was packed.
We’ve explored on our own and done an independent tour. That last one involved horses, ruins, and and an open bar at the end, so it was a lot of fun!
Hege
Great post! Having worked with organizing tours in cruise ports, I know the arriving in a new cruise port for the first time can feel a bit “crazy” – this is a great guide for how to do that in the best possible way!
Sonia
Either walking independently or hiring a private guide is the most appealing to me. Thanks for sharing the questions you ask yourselves to decide on the best approach.
Marilyn
Would always be my first choice to disembark and find my way. However, always open to a private guide, as local knowledge is priceless. The thought of walking with a crowd would make me cringe.
Megan
It’s quite amusing how no matter your mode of transport, from sailing to caravan, you have to plan out the same