Caribbean Shore Excursions - Things To Keep In Mind

If you are reading this article, you probably already know how many days you will be at sea and what ports of call will be included in your Caribbean cruise. Your next step is to choose your Caribbean shore excursions from the list of shore excursions that your cruise line is offering, and you have to pick the right ones based on their prices and the activities offered. That's up to you, of course, but this text can help you to get some idea about the shore excursions prices.rnThe cost of shore excursions vary from about $30 per person (the "Discover Mexico Park" excursion, Cozumel, with Carnival Cruises 2012, for example) to about $190 (five hours of "Tierra Del Sol Golf" on Aruba), and the activities offered are very different– from port tours (shopping tours, hiking / walking tours, sight-seeing, local cuisine cooking and tasting, pirate encounters, jungle adventures, cultural tours), beaches (swimming, beach parties), sea experiences (snorkeling, diving - with scuba and helmet diving, submarine expeditions, sailing, deep sea fishing) to sport activities such as golfing, kayaking, parasailing, motorcycle tours, zip lines – and salsa dancing. Many people, when they first think about the cruises, aren’t aware that they are not restricted only to the excursions that the cruise line offers. You can make your own excursions, or you can choose to go with the local tour guides that offer excursions and tours in the port of call. There are however a few things to keep in mind if you do your own exploration of a port: • Make sure you have color copies of your passport and ID with you. • Prior to your sailing date, do your homework. Surf the Internet or ask the prior cruisers, check out each port. It’s sometimes better to go with a group of other tourists, because there are places that aren't safe to go to alone. If you do choose to go by yourself, be sure not to take a taxi waiting in the port; just a corner or a street further, you'll find taxis with much more reasonable prices. • Try to have cash with you, in smaller denominations. Some stores in the ports have a lot of US dollars to work with, but with the most of them you can end up with a bunch of non-US money you'll get as change. Take one credit card, and use it only if you have to. • You may want to learn some basic phrases on the local languages, like “Hello” or “How much is this”. Since you'll be visiting places that are tourists-friendly, it is not necessary - the locals will most probably be speaking English, but it feels good to know just the basics. • If you book independently, make sure you are back to the ship in time. If you're late returning to the ship, it is very possible that your ship won't be here waiting for you. • Check if the port of call you're visiting has tax free shopping, you could get some great deals that way ;) In the article How much does a cruise cost you can find out more about the cruise prices.