Is the ship's excursion worth it? Compare it with booking yourself.
ShoreGap puts the cruise ship's excursion price next to the independent price for the same kind of tour, port by port, and tells you how safe it is to go on your own: distance from the pier, tender queues and the buffer you need before all-aboard.
Biggest gaps right now
| Port | Tour type | Ship | Independent | Saving for 4 | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ketchikan | Nature / waterfall / park | $293 | $125 | $673 | 5/5 |
| Skagway | City / island tour | $235 | $75 | $640 | 5/5 |
| Civitavecchia (Rome) | Food & tasting | $240 | $100 | $558 | 5/5 |
| Santorini | Catamaran / sail & snorkel | $232 | $95 | $551 | 4/5 |
| Ketchikan | Food & tasting | $287 | $161 | $506 | 5/5 |
| Mykonos | Beach break / beach club | $170 | $56 | $457 | 5/5 |
| Cozumel | Beach break / beach club | $113 | $26 | $350 | 5/5 |
| Aruba | Snorkel tour | $150 | $69 | $324 | 5/5 |
| Maui (Kahului) | Snorkel tour | $219 | $140 | $314 | 5/5 |
| Puerto Limon | Kayak / paddle | $112 | $35 | $310 | 5/5 |
| Aruba | Scuba / helmet dive | $183 | $110 | $292 | 5/5 |
| Mykonos | City / island tour | $130 | $61 | $274 | 5/5 |
Carnival prices recorded 2026-11-02; independent prices from GetYourGuide. Royal Caribbean, NCL and MSC did not publish prices we could read from our location; their port pages show independent prices and safety scores so you can compare with your cruise planner.
Pick your cruise line
Royal Caribbean Carnival Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) MSC Cruises
Pick your port
- Cozumel
- Costa Maya
- Roatan
- Belize City
- Grand Cayman
- Ocho Rios
- Montego Bay
- Falmouth
- Progreso
- Key West
- Harvest Caye
Western Caribbean
- St. Thomas
- St. Maarten
- San Juan
- Grand Turk
- Amber Cove (Puerto Plata)
- La Romana
- Tortola
- St. Croix
Eastern Caribbean
- Cartagena
- Colon (Panama Canal)
- Puerto Limon
- Puntarenas
Central and South America
- Bermuda
Bermuda
- Halifax
- Bar Harbor
Canada and New England
Why compare by tour type?
Cruise lines often contract local operators not to sell the same tour independently on port days, so hunting for the exact same tour rarely works. ShoreGap compares like with like instead: a catamaran snorkel trip against other catamaran snorkel trips in the same port, a beach club day against other beach club days.