Shore Excursions for the Experienced Cruiser

Part of a cruise experience is taking advantage of the shoretrips. In fact shoretrips are an integral part of any cruise experience. Shoretrips allow travelers to get a real taste of the destination beyond port attractions.

Shore excursions offered by the cruise companies are fine but for the more experienced cruiser can become a little stale. So the more frequent cruiser may wish to check out other companies such as Shoretrips. Today there is a much broader range of shore excursions on offer.

So what does a company like Shoretrips have to offer?

Well as a starter the tours are just long enough for the average port docking which is good.... each tour is designed in a smaller way than the average shoretrip offered by the cruise line and the guides are passionate about what they do and are trained to be ambassadors of where they live.

Shoretrips was founded by Barry and Julie Kemp, who are both former travel agents, back in 2003. They noticed although their clients were coming back full of praise for the cruises they usually had little to say regarding the shoretrips. Being travel agents and experienced travelers the Kemps recognized a niche opportunity.

So they took off to the Caribbean for approximately 6 months returning to open a website that offered 14 ports of call. The goals that the Kemps had were simple, they wanted to provide a unique and authentic experience of each port in an intimate setting.

The idea caught on and most families returned from their cruises with great memories of their shore excursions as well as the actual cruise. The Kemps had discovered what turned out to be more than just a niche.

The Kemps have designed shore excursions that are unique and exciting based on their own knowledge of each destination. For example the Kemps discovered that in Nassau their clients who didn't want to spend the day at Atlantis had little else to do. So what could Shoretrips offer?

Well, the Kemps discovered a great little hotel within walking distance from the port called Graycliff, which is a Relais and Chateaux property. Here they put a package together that gives a great day out. For a mere $90 you can tour the wine cellar, which is the third largest in the Caribbean and then, enjoy some of that wine with a multi-course lunch.

After lunch you can stroll over to another portion of the building to a cigar rolling factory. These are excursions that most cruisers do not know about. So instead of rushing round the island with a hundred others you can have a wonderfully relaxing day that is affordable.

In Belize Shoretrips offers cave tubing. Here they have teamed up with a company that is run by three guys who are all from different parts of the world - a local, an African and an Indian.

Of course in Costa Maya everyone has to take a trip to the ruins but even here Shoretrips goes above and beyond. Because of the small size of its group Shoretrips cave experience is much more intimate and afterwards you will go into the village to meet the locals, learn how to make tortillas and sit down to lunch.

Whichever shoretrip you choose from this company you will find it inexpensive with the average shore excursion being approximately $78.

Source: Recommend