Canadian Tammy Cecco wasn’t a fan of cruises.
“The thought of being on a ship with thousands of other people and not being able to get off,” she said, “was something I wanted to avoid.”
That didn’t change when Cecco, editor of a travel magazine, boarded a surprise cruise her husband booked to renew their vows in front of family and friends.
“When I got on … I was like, ‘Oh my god, what am I doing here?'” she said. “I’m not at all the type of person who likes to be looked after.”
She said she envisions “a little tiny cabin and no window.” However, she found that some cruise lines feature spacious suites with floor-to-ceiling windows. Plus, floors with fewer cabins give the feel of a “boutique” travel experience, she said.
Travel pro Tammy Cecco described the Celebrity Edge cruise ship featured here as one with spacious suites and great window views.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Once she “got into it,” Cecco said, she began enjoying cruise ship travel.
“Cruises have really evolved,” she said. “Now there’s something for everyone.”
A strategy on the shore
Cecco has also found a way to enjoy “private, personalized” experiences ashore. She said.
On her last two cruise vacations, she booked private excursions rather than organized cruises — one to Russia and Scandinavia and one to southern Europe, she said.
Tammy Cecco and her family and their guide Josep in front of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. “When you’re with a big busload full of people, it’s difficult to get very deep into the city,” she said.
Courtesy of Tammy Cecco
Cecco, who often travels with her family of five and her mother-in-law, said private tours cater to all needs and interests.
“There were six of us and we wanted a private tour because the kids are often not interested in these big, long tours,” she said. “Typically when you book an excursion with a cruise line or an organized tour, you’re traveling with a group of other people and you have to stick to their itinerary.”
More people are returning to cruise in 2023, but even more people are looking for private experiences.
Luciano Bullorski
President and co-owner of ToursByLocals
Cecco said she booked a private tour at “pretty much every stop” on her most recent cruise, plus Rome.
“We had a day where we wanted to do both the Colosseum and the Vatican, and each of those could be a full-day tour in its own right,” she said. “I asked the tour guide if he could give us the best of both in a single day and he expertly managed to combine the two.”
Private shore excursions on the rise
Cecco booked guides through ToursByLocals, a Canada-based travel company that operates in 188 countries, according to its website.
The company said private shore excursions will account for nearly a third of all tours booked in 2023 – up from 12% in 2022.
“In 2023, more people are returning to cruising, but even more people are looking for private experiences when they return to sea,” said Luciano Bullorsky, the company’s president and co-owner.
He said people want the ability to use private transportation, interact with a local guide and hit the sights “before the busloads of tourists arrive”. Plus, they can visit places that buses can’t get to, like smaller restaurants, boutique wineries and even a “family-run sled dog farm,” he said.
Giuseppe D’Angelo (centre) with travelers in front of the Victor Emmanuel II national monument in Rome.
Courtesy of Giuseppe D’Angelo
Bullorsky said most private excursion bookings take place in Europe, particularly along the Mediterranean Sea. But Alaska and Puerto Rico are also popular, he said.
Top bookings include ‘Best of Ephesus’ in Turkey, full day tours of Santorini and Athens, an island tour of Bermuda and a shore excursion to Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia with a PhD guide. in Canadian history.
Giuseppe D’Angelo runs a popular tour of Rome, but he also takes travelers to explore Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and other parts of Italy’s Campania region, including “11 of Italy’s 53 UNESCO sites,” he said.
“I’m able to create itineraries and itineraries, including sights and attractions that are unique and not followed by crowds of large cruise excursions,” he said. “Sometimes cruise lines send me a list of very popular places including Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius or the Sistine Chapel… In these cases I will arrange for them the best order of visits to see each place when it is less congested. “
He said many customers ask for restaurant recommendations “with the best food and no tourists,” he said.
In addition, Paul Melhus, CEO and co-founder of ToursByLocals, said the company guarantees travelers return to the ship on time — or the company pays for overnight hotel accommodations as well as transportation fees to the ship’s next destination.
How much private excursions cost
According to finance website Money We Have, cruisers can expect to spend around $100 per person for cruise-organized excursions.
Cecco paid about $600 for each of her privately organized full-day tours, which included entrance fees and private transportation for six people.
She said for what they did, she “definitely” saved money and time because private tours switch between locations faster. Plus, she said she has an insider’s perspective and the often elusive “authentic” experience that many travelers seek.
She said in Sicily she ate at bakeries hidden in small villages. On Santorini, she snapped photos without hordes of tourists in the background.
Whether private shore excursions would take her more to cruises in the future: “Absolutely,” she said.