Shore Excursions
September 13, 2023
We recently completed a three-day journey to Bimini, Bahamas, on the Carnival Liberty cruise ship. The trip was part of a reunion of 143d Expeditionary Sustainment Command members from various periods in the organization’s history. Although we didn’t plan this cruise, each outing is an opportunity to learn more that will benefit our clients — especially those who are interested in doing group cruises.
Each cruise for us is an opportunity to learn lessons and gather ideas that we think can help our cruise family. This post is the first of a series that will discuss the following topics:
• Shore Excursions
• Picture Packages
• Internet and Phone Connectivity
• Things to Bring
• The Cruise App
• Group Travel Tips
This Week's Post
By Sheldon abd Lolita Smith
Part of what makes a cruise such an incredible value is the opportunity to experience the culture at ports of call through excursions. You can purchase such excursions well before you sail, and we recommend that you do so because there is no guarantee that slots will be available the closer you get to the sail date. If you purchase excursions pre sail, your room attendant will deliver them to your stateroom.
When you arrive at any port, you will likely find people waiting to take you on a tour. We paid a local islander to take us on a tour of Nassau. We visited several sites, including a high point that offered a breath-taking view of the seaside community. We even had an opportunity to purchase some rum cake at the end of our tour. The excursion worked out well, but that might not always be the case. Therefore, it’s important to know the difference between sanctioned and unsanctioned cruises.
Sanctioned excursions are tours that you can purchase within your cruise manager. These excursions have been vetted and your payment is secure. Unsanctioned excursions are tours that you purchase from the locals on the island and have not been vetted. Rule of thumb, if the excursions are not listed within your cruise manager, it has not been vetted. This topic is worth an entire blog post by itself.
When disembarking at your ports of call, there are basic items you’ll need before leaving the ship. You’ll need your cruise card as well as an acceptable government-issued identification card or passport. We’ll do a future post on the differences between a driver's license or state non-driver ID card, a passport, or a passport card. It’s best to keep your ID and cruise card on you at all times when you leave the ship. At most ports of call in North and Central America, and the Caribbean, a birth certificate and state-issued ID, or a passport card alone will suffice, but locations beyond will require a passport.
We also strongly recommend that you take cash and a credit card that offers no foreign transaction fees. We don’t recommend debit cards because they don’t offer the same level of protection in the event of loss or theft as do credit cards. Cash is king for many of the vendors who don’t take cards for services and gratuities. If you want to rent a golf cart or be driven on a tour by one of the locals, you won’t be able to use your credit card. We found this to be true when we arrived at Bimini.
There are some brick-and-mortar shops that accept credit cards, but not all have tap-and-pay capability. So, relying on your phone to make purchases is not a good idea. While on the ship, the cruise card serves as both your money and identification. It would be prudent to add your credit card to your cruise manager so that all charges will be charged to your card. Therefore, you will be able to manage spending in the Account Summary area within the cruise manager.
Finally, we want to discuss precautions everyone should take when going ashore on hot, sunny days. Although you may be surrounded by water, dehydration is a real danger. Cruisers should ensure they hydrate before disembarking and continue to hydrate throughout their excursions. One would think sunscreen would be a no-brainer, but even darker skinned people who are not conditioned to the sun can be susceptible to skin-damaging sunburn. In addition to sunscreen, we recommend wearing protective clothing. Hats in addition to shirts or blouses with sleeves that are made of light-colored, breathable material can keep you stylish and protected.
If you plan on doing other activities like jet skis or just frolicking in the surf, water shoes are a good choice to protect your feet in and out of the water, although they don’t offer much arch support.
We recently completed a three-day journey to Bimini, Bahamas, on the Carnival Liberty cruise ship. The trip was part of a reunion of 143d Expeditionary Sustainment Command members from various periods in the organization’s history. Although we didn’t plan this cruise, each outing is an opportunity to learn more that will benefit our clients — especially those who are interested in doing group cruises.
Each cruise for us is an opportunity to learn lessons and gather ideas that we think can help our cruise family. This post is the first of a series that will discuss the following topics:
• Shore Excursions
• Picture Packages
• Internet and Phone Connectivity
• Things to Bring
• The Cruise App
• Group Travel Tips
This Week's Post
By Sheldon abd Lolita Smith
Part of what makes a cruise such an incredible value is the opportunity to experience the culture at ports of call through excursions. You can purchase such excursions well before you sail, and we recommend that you do so because there is no guarantee that slots will be available the closer you get to the sail date. If you purchase excursions pre sail, your room attendant will deliver them to your stateroom.
When you arrive at any port, you will likely find people waiting to take you on a tour. We paid a local islander to take us on a tour of Nassau. We visited several sites, including a high point that offered a breath-taking view of the seaside community. We even had an opportunity to purchase some rum cake at the end of our tour. The excursion worked out well, but that might not always be the case. Therefore, it’s important to know the difference between sanctioned and unsanctioned cruises.
Sanctioned excursions are tours that you can purchase within your cruise manager. These excursions have been vetted and your payment is secure. Unsanctioned excursions are tours that you purchase from the locals on the island and have not been vetted. Rule of thumb, if the excursions are not listed within your cruise manager, it has not been vetted. This topic is worth an entire blog post by itself.
When disembarking at your ports of call, there are basic items you’ll need before leaving the ship. You’ll need your cruise card as well as an acceptable government-issued identification card or passport. We’ll do a future post on the differences between a driver's license or state non-driver ID card, a passport, or a passport card. It’s best to keep your ID and cruise card on you at all times when you leave the ship. At most ports of call in North and Central America, and the Caribbean, a birth certificate and state-issued ID, or a passport card alone will suffice, but locations beyond will require a passport.
We also strongly recommend that you take cash and a credit card that offers no foreign transaction fees. We don’t recommend debit cards because they don’t offer the same level of protection in the event of loss or theft as do credit cards. Cash is king for many of the vendors who don’t take cards for services and gratuities. If you want to rent a golf cart or be driven on a tour by one of the locals, you won’t be able to use your credit card. We found this to be true when we arrived at Bimini.
There are some brick-and-mortar shops that accept credit cards, but not all have tap-and-pay capability. So, relying on your phone to make purchases is not a good idea. While on the ship, the cruise card serves as both your money and identification. It would be prudent to add your credit card to your cruise manager so that all charges will be charged to your card. Therefore, you will be able to manage spending in the Account Summary area within the cruise manager.
Finally, we want to discuss precautions everyone should take when going ashore on hot, sunny days. Although you may be surrounded by water, dehydration is a real danger. Cruisers should ensure they hydrate before disembarking and continue to hydrate throughout their excursions. One would think sunscreen would be a no-brainer, but even darker skinned people who are not conditioned to the sun can be susceptible to skin-damaging sunburn. In addition to sunscreen, we recommend wearing protective clothing. Hats in addition to shirts or blouses with sleeves that are made of light-colored, breathable material can keep you stylish and protected.
If you plan on doing other activities like jet skis or just frolicking in the surf, water shoes are a good choice to protect your feet in and out of the water, although they don’t offer much arch support.