Recommendations if taking cruise ship’s shore excursions - mostly don’t

 I have taken over 40 cruises so have taken more than my share of  ship’s shore excursions.  I mostly don’t recommend taking ship shore excursions but below are my reasons for when to take them and when not to

When to take a shore excursion via the cruise line

- when it’s to difficult to get to the key sites from the port. For example Mont Michel is far away from port and there is no easy public train or bus access or taxis are more expensive than the shore excursion 

- when what you want to see is far away from port and you want to to be guaranteed the ship will wait if your tour comes back late

- the port is known to be dangerous. There are several places where there are muggers etc. and it’s well reported on the internet. I personally found Martinique to be intimidating.

- when you are using up your on board credits. After I use up credits to pay for gratuities and the internet, I sometimes have enough to pay for a shore excursion.

When not to book

- you have done your research pre cruise and found there is easy public transport . It will always be cheaper and more interesting. Just print out the schedules and buy open return passes for trains so you have maximum flexibility 

- when you can share a cab with other passengers. In Japan I did this in several ports and had great experiences

- when the port is walkable. There are lots of printable maps on the internet

-you have read the online reviews of the shore excursions and they are universally bad

Overall, doing it on your own will be cheaper and more adventurous. 

Hope this helps 

Marcia

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