Cruising tips and advice: Should I organise my own shore excursion?

Chances are that your cruise operator's shore excursions will be quite a bit more expensive than anything you can organise yourself through Cruising Excursions.com or Shore Excursioneer, so why not take the DIY route?

For the first-time cruiser in particular, the ship's own shore excursion offers a safety net. You will most likely get priority disembarkation, the excursion will most often be a quality product since the cruise line does not want to suffer any recriminations once you're back on board, and the ship won't leave you stranded if you're unavoidably delayed beyond sailing time.

Another time you might be better off with the excursions your ship offers is when the cruise terminal is a long way from the main attractions.

While some shore excursions are nothing more than a whiz-through of the main attractions, the better cruise operators are putting more effort into nuanced choices, which might be a cooking class on a klong in Bangkok or a cycle tour in a European city.

However, when the dock is close to the attractions, when you just want shopping, when you want to spend the whole time on the beach or snorkelling or in a special restaurant, or when you're part of a large family or group with specific interests, you're usually better off going it alone. Also, you might want quality alone time away from your fellow cruisers.