Cruise Shore Excursion

There are so many ports of call around the world that it would be tough to list them or discuss them all in great detail here. Even more plentiful are the types of cruise shore excursions at each port. Depending on the type of cruise vacation, shore excursions can run the gamut from “flightseeing” and guided tours on foot to shopping and adventure trips. If you want to enjoy everything your port of call has to offer, go ahead – sign up for one or more cruise shore excursions!

Types of Cruise Shore Excursions

If you’re cruising to a place like Alaska, chances are most shore excursions will include a variety of wildlife tours and scenic glacier tours. These shore excursions can take place either by air, on foot or even on a smaller vessel such as a sailboat or a river boat. A Mediterranean cruise may take you to beautiful Belize where shore excursions will range from snorkeling and fishing to wildlife tours. The types of shore excursions may fall into many different categories such as activity/adventure, sightseeing or shopping.

Activity or adventure shore excursions may include exciting activities such as hiking, horseback riding and diving. Bicycling tours may be part of a shore excursion package, speedboat adventures or even cooking lessons at a famous restaurant. Sightseeing shore excursions include a variety of sightseeing programs, group tours and even individual sightseeing tours. Sightseeing tours may include guided tours of historic sites, ancient ruins or even quaint towns and villages.

When it comes to shopping shore excursions, passengers may opt to shop alone or they may take group shopping trips to designated shops and stores. Many cruise lines will also offer combo shopping/museum tours as well.

Sample Cruise Shore Excursions

Depending on the cruise line and destination, each line has its own set of offerings. For example, Carnival Cruise Lines offers the following shore excursions on its San Juan itinerary: Bacardi evening experience, bike adventure, bay kayak tour, horseback riding, entertainment (Juan Carlos & his Flamenco Rumba), museum tour, night horseback riding, sunset tour, walking tour, rainforest tour, city and shopping tour, Bacardi distillery tour, city and museum tour and nightlife tours.

How to Book Cruise Shore Excursions

Once you have paid a deposit on a cruise, you can also begin planning your cruise shore excursions. Booking your shore excursions and cruise simultaneously can save time and it can secure your spot on the excursion.

Keep in mind that certain cruise shore excursions may fill up quickly and depending on itinerary, some might not be available for every ship and sail date. Passengers can feel free to book at the ships shore excursion desk, but again, cruise shore excursions fill up quickly, so most people tend to book ahead.