It’s one of the questions that comes up constantly when planning a cruise:

Should I book my shore excursions through Princess Cruises, or should I find a local tour company and book it myself?

The mildly annoying answer is…

It depends.

I know. Very helpful.

But there really isn’t one correct answer, and after cruising for a while, we’ve done it both ways. Sometimes booking directly through Princess makes perfect sense. Other times, an independent excursion is less expensive, has fewer people, goes somewhere the cruise-line tours don’t, or simply gives you a better experience.

Here’s how we look at it.

The Case for Booking Through Princess

The biggest advantage is peace of mind.

When you book an excursion through Princess, the tour is coordinated with the ship’s schedule. Princess currently states that if one of its excursions is delayed returning to the ship, the ship will wait for the group. If circumstances make that impossible, Princess will arrange transportation to get you to the next port. Princess-booked tours may also receive priority when passengers are getting ashore, which can be particularly useful at ports where tenders—or “water shuttles,” as Princess now calls them—are involved.

That’s a pretty significant benefit.

Because watching your cruise ship sail away without you would definitely qualify as a bad ending to an otherwise lovely day in port.

There’s also convenience. You can browse available excursions through Princess before your cruise, book them through your reservation, and have everything tied to your sailing. If the ship misses the port or Princess cancels the excursion, Princess says the excursion will be refunded.

For a first-time cruiser, I think there’s a lot to be said for this approach.

You’re already learning how embarkation works, where to be, when to be there, what time the ship leaves and why apparently everyone on board suddenly needs an elevator at exactly the same moment. Having the excursion logistics handled for you eliminates one more thing to worry about.

But Booking Through Princess Has Some Downsides

The most obvious one can be price.

Depending on the port and excursion, you may find essentially the same activity available directly from a local company for less money. You’re paying in part for the convenience of booking it through the cruise line and for the protections that come along with that.

There’s another important detail that some passengers don’t realize: Princess generally isn’t operating all those buses, boats, Jeeps and zip lines itself. Princess’s excursion terms explain that it acts as an agent for the independent local operators actually providing the tours.

So that snorkeling boat with 40 Princess passengers aboard may be operated by the same local company you could potentially book directly.

Cruise-line excursions can also involve larger groups.

We’ve all seen it: follow the person holding the numbered sign, climb onto the bus with 48 of your newest friends, wait for the guy who disappeared into the gift shop, climb back onto the bus…

It’s not necessarily bad. In fact, sometimes it’s exactly what you want.

But it’s not always how we like to explore a destination.

The Case for Booking a Local Excursion

Once you’ve cruised a few times, independent excursions can become much more appealing.

We’ve found local operators offering smaller groups, private tours and itineraries that allow considerably more flexibility than the standard cruise-line excursion. Just check out the featured image for this post. This was an AMAZING excursion, booked through an independent excursion company in Alaska.

Sometimes you can find a guide who will take four or six people rather than 40.

Sometimes you can customize the day.

Sometimes you can spend longer at the place you actually care about instead of being told, “You have 17 minutes here, and the gift shop is conveniently located directly beside the bus.”

You can also often find activities that aren’t offered through the cruise line at all.

And there’s something to be said for dealing directly with a good local operator. These people live there. They know the area. A great local guide can completely change how you experience a port.

But There Is One Big Catch

The ship doesn’t have to wait for you.

If you booked your excursion independently and your vehicle breaks down, traffic comes to a standstill, your boat has mechanical trouble or your tour simply runs late, getting back to the ship is ultimately your responsibility.

Yes, reputable excursion companies in major cruise ports know exactly when the ships arrive and leave. Their livelihood depends on getting cruise passengers back on time.

But the risk isn’t zero.

And this is where I think experience makes a difference.

If you’re an experienced cruiser, know the port, have researched the company, understand transportation options and leave yourself a very comfortable margin before all-aboard time, an independent excursion may be a perfectly reasonable choice.

If your independent tour promises to have you standing on the pier exactly seven minutes before the ship leaves…

Maybe don’t do that.

Think About the Port, Too

We don’t necessarily make the same decision at every port.

If we’re somewhere with easy transportation and we’re staying relatively close to the ship, we’re much more comfortable exploring independently.

But if the excursion involves traveling an hour or two away from the port, taking ferries, crossing borders, traveling into remote areas or relying on several different forms of transportation, booking through Princess starts looking considerably more attractive.

The farther away we’re going, the more interested I become in having that Princess guarantee behind us.

It’s one thing to be 15 minutes from the ship.

It’s another thing to be sitting in traffic 70 miles away while watching the departure time approach.

That’s when your vacation becomes an action movie.

So Which Should You Choose?

For first-time cruisers, I’d probably lean toward Princess excursions, particularly for longer trips away from the port. They’re easy to book, the logistics are handled for you, and that guaranteed return to the ship removes one fairly major source of stress.

For experienced cruisers, I wouldn’t hesitate to look at independent operators as well. Read reviews. Research the company. Look at exactly where you’re going. Find out how far it is from the ship. Check the cancellation policy. And most importantly, build plenty of extra time into your return.

We routinely look at both options before deciding.

Sometimes Princess wins.

Sometimes the local tour company wins.

And sometimes the best excursion is no excursion at all. We get off the ship, walk around town, find somewhere interesting to eat and explore on our own.

That’s part of what makes cruising fun.

You don’t have to travel the same way in every port.

The real question isn’t necessarily “Should I book through Princess or book independently?”

It’s:

How much convenience do I want, how much flexibility do I want, and how badly do I want to make absolutely certain I’m standing on the correct side of the railing when the ship leaves?

Because waving goodbye to the port from your balcony is fun.

Waving goodbye to your ship from the port?

Not so much.