Here at EstAdventures, we get a reasonable number of people who book a shore excursion with us but would rather be part of a bigger group. While we can certainly try to find people to add to your group, very rarely do we have people from the same ship on the same day who are also looking to join in with others. One option is to join our scheduled walking tours if it matches your schedule. Another option, which we have found works extremely well is to use the website Cruise Critic in order to find other people traveling on your ship who are also looking for a local, high quality and fun tour. This helps to lower the overall cost and gives you a chance to make new friends. If you do try the Cruise Critic option, here are our tips to make sure it works well.
- Be very clear when posting on Cruise Critic about what tour you are hoping to take, how much it costs, and what time it will start. Having people joining in on tours that are different to what they expect is a recipe for dissatisfaction, and you don’t want some grump ruining your one day in Tallinn.
2. Make sure you have contact details of the people you arrange to join in on your shore excursion. Ideally, it is best to meet up with them early on your cruise, have a drink and get to know them a little. Who wants to be waiting with your guide in the harbor wondering if those people you emailed are ever going to turn up.
3. Don’t recruit too many people. Sometimes if you post on Crusie Critic you will get an overwhelming response, and think the more the merrier. However, if you want an overcrowded tour, stick with the ones offered by the cruise line. One of the main reasons you’re choosing an EstAdventures tour is because you want s nice small group!
4. Don’t forget to recruit on board. If no one responds to your requests on Cruise Critic, perhaps try your table mates at dinner. At least this way you can wait and see if you like the people before you invite them to join your tour!!! Just make sure you check with us to see how much room we have if there’s a driving component to your tour.
