The Magical Mermaid Mama

You will often hear people, myself included, say one of the great things about cruising is that there is something for everyone. While I much prefer onboard fun, excursions are another great option to customize your vacation. So are they actually worth booking? Well, the short, and frustratingly unhelpful, answer is it depends. So let’s jump right into a few things you should consider before booking excursions.

1. What’s Your Budget?

It is no secret that Disney cruises are quite lavish, and they are quite expensive before adding any bells and whistles. If you know that you want to do excursions, take the time to look through the different itineraries before booking your cruise. It may be in your best interest to book a cheaper sailing date in order to allow your budget to stretch. However, keep in mind that sailing in the “off season” might mean fewer excursion options. Ultimately, you have to determine what you really want. Personally, I would rather do a 7 night cruise with no excursions than a 4 night with multiple excursions, but your budget and preferences might be different! Just be sure not to spend your entire budget on base rate sailing if you know excursions are a must for you. Also, keep in mind excursions can include “hidden costs”. Depending on the excursion, it might be customary to tip. If you are doing a dolphin encounter, you will likely want pictures, and they will cost you. Pictures from excursions are notoriously overpriced (as in you could easily spend $200 for 10 photos or fewer), and many businesses prohibit you from taking your own photos. So when booking an excursion, keep in mind it could be more expensive than meets the eye.

2. What Ports?

In my opinion, ports greatly determine whether or not you should book excursions. For example, I don’t have much desire to book excursions on the basic Caribbean cruises, but if I were going on an Alaskan cruise or Mediterranean cruise, I absolutely would. This is partly because I am not a huge fan of ports such as Cozumel or Nassau. I don’t necessarily feel safe walking around in general in these ports, and I wasn’t impressed with the snorkeling excursion my husband and I did in Grand Cayman. It was fun, but it was a one and done for us. I will say my dad, who is a certified scuba diver, really enjoyed the scuba excursion in Cozumel. So, if scuba is your thing, you may want to check it out. I tend to be more like my mom. We both love history and touring. My parents went on Disney’s Mediterranean cruise several years ago, and it was their absolute favorite. They were able to take a thorough, guided tour of places such as the Vatican and the Colosseum and had nothing but great things to say about it. If you are spending more money by going to a more luxurious destination, I think it’s absolutely worth it to go all out with the excursions. But, if you’re going on a basic Caribbean cruise, I would prefer more nights to excursions.

3. Will It Be Relaxing?

Your vacation should be something relaxing, energizing, and fun. If you know you will be stressed out the entire time about your belongings, safety, the activity itself, whether or not you make it back to the ship for all aboard time, etc., it’s best to just stay on board. You probably figured out this describes me based on how I rattled off that extensive list of stressors. 😂🫠 I know people who absolutely love going on excursions at every port, I am just not one of them. I’ve said it a million times before. Do your homework. Be familiar with the area you’re going to be in, and don’t assume everything is safe because you’re on vacation. For example, a very common practice in the Caribbean is for people to take bottles of water, fill them with tap water, reseal them, and sell them to tourists. Don’t ever buy water from street vendors. One of our friends made this mistake and was violently sick with stomach poisoning for the remainder of the trip. That being said, make sure you have what you need to relax when you disembark. I will say there are plenty of risky cruisers out there who will tell you to book third party for cheaper excursion options. It’s a hard no for me. The first reason is safety. Third-party vendors obviously haven’t been vetted by Disney, but also, Disney will not hold the ship for you if you are late from your excursion. If you book an excursion through Disney, you will be assigned a meeting place on board and will be escorted exactly where you need to go. If, for some reason, your excursion group is delayed and misses all-aboard time, Disney will not leave you. They will wait for you to make it back (assuming you didn’t just ditch the group and go do your own thing, losing track of time). If you are with a third-party group, Disney will try to contact you, but ultimately, they are not obligated to wait for you. So if you’re going to book, do it through Disney. Don’t go cowboy.

4. Don’t Forget About Castaway Cay

Obviously, not every itinerary includes a stop at Castaway Cay, but we always try to book one that does. There are so many great activities available at Castaway Cay, including plenty of excursions such as snorkeling, parasailing, etc. If you’re wanting something more relaxing, an excursion on Castaway Cay may be perfect for you.

5. The Empty Ship

It won’t take you long to figure out how hard it is to get uncrowded pool time onboard, especially on sea days. Port days are the absolute best time to plan full pool days. The pools and aquaduck (or aquadunk) and splash pads are basically empty. It’s also the perfect time to explore the ship. Our girls loved having a day full of splash pad time and then running around in the Atrium with other toddlers and Ariel. The ships are incredible, and there’s always something new to discover. If you choose to spend the day onboard, you’re definitely not missing out!

Ok, so in conclusion, excursions can definitely be worth the price depending on what activity it is, where it is, and what time of year it is. However, you can still have a wonderful cruise without them. Whatever you decide, be sure to thoroughly research and plan ahead! Go ahead and call that travel agent! Happy sailing!