Our experience with Royal Caribbean tours is, in a word mixed. While we have enjoyed many of the tours we’ve taken, we’ve had some serious problems with others.

Once we booked an expensive submarine tour in Mexico. We walked the mile long pier in torrid heat only to be told the tour had been delayed to later in the day. When we once again made a return trek we were told the tour had been cancelled. When I demanded a refund the man suddenly forgot how to speak English.

We stormed back to the ship in a huff. By luck, the Royal Caribbean shore tour representative just happened to be standing on the gangplank. I grabbed him by the arm and let him know how bitterly disappointed we were with their tours. He asked me for my shore tour ticket stubs. I just happened to have an envelope in my pocket that contained all the receipts for all our tours taken during the past two weeks.

That night I returned to my cabin to find a white envelope with a receipt that showed that we had been given a full refund for ALL the tours including those we had taken in Europe during the first week of the cruise!

 

The motto here is a clear one. If you have a problem with a tour – complain loud and clear!

Cruise Tip: Many experienced cruisers prefer to wait and buy their tours when they arrive in a port. They claim they get a better assortment of tours from which to choose and save money as the fees they pay are less than the cruise line fees.

While in Alaska we took a gamble that paid off very well. We didn’t reserve a tour for Juneau. When we arrived we found a little store right near the pier where we purchased a two hour boat tour of Auke Bay where we saw whales frolicking – a very memorable experience. The cost was only $68 each. Royal Caribbean charged over a hundred dollars for a shorter tour.

But then you might run into a problem if the tours are all fully booked. Once again you’ll have to take a gamble and hope for the best or pay top dollar and risk paying far too much for an inferior product.

We’ve always been uncomfortable with taking tours late in the day that arrive just before the ship departs. If you don’t have tours booked for earlier in the day you’ll have to get to the tour desk as soon as it opens on the first day of the cruise or you will be disappointed. Problem is – that desk is VERY busy that first day.