Been reading a few threads that got dredged up from back when (on purpose or not), about booking with tour operators not "blessed" by the cruise line. That usually means you bought them on the pier, or online, but NOT onboard or from your cruise line directly... save a few bux, more choices, etc etc. Folks seem to fixate on their claims they "guarantee" getting back to the ship. I have no clue what that means. Things happen. Buses hit trees..Traffic jams, someone on your tour gets hurts, whatever...a delay! mebbe a big delay. You buy it from your cruise line, they wait...till hell freezes over, but they wait. I suppose there really is a limit, but I wouldn't know how to begin to guess what it is. On the other hand, you buy it "on your own", and that ship will wait out of courtesy, mebbe 30 min tops, but not for long, They wouldn't even let you run down the pier...you'll get stopped at the gate, because the ship has already cast off. So whats your "guarantee" get you? a nite in your swimmies in a motel? air fare to catch the ship at the next port? (HAH!) Never could understand the "risk management" involved.
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THOSE TOUR OPERATOR "GUARANTEES"
13 Answers
Generally when a third party tour company that hasn't been booked through the cruise line makes a guarantee, it means that if the ship does leave you in port, they cover accommodation costs and the price it takes to fly you to the next port to meet back up with the ship. So not the same guarantee as the cruise line excursions, but a guarantee nonetheless that at least you won't have to pay for the arrangements to get back to the ship.
I've never tried a 3rd party excursion. I thought about it once in Cozumel, but RCI was actually much cheaper for the same excursion ($97 vs $150). Going with RCI was a no brainer!
Moral of the story: check all of your prices and make a decision. The cruise line offers better guarantee and isn't always the most expensive.