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Forbestraveler.com
November 1, 2006
World's Most Extravagant Shore Excursions
Motorcoach tours are sooo last century. Today’s discerning cruise ship passengers are excitement-mongers addicted to new experiences and posh surroundings. The words “tour” and “group” don’t enter into the picture.
“Our guests are true ‘been there, done that’ travelers, so they’re looking for adventures that have an element of uniqueness or exclusivity,” says Silversea Cruises President Albert Peter.
Try to top Crystal Cruises’ MiG-29 jet fighter ride from St. Petersburg, Russia, for a cool $21,900 per person. The 30-minute flights accommodate just two: the pilot and the passenger.
Cruise lines, especially in the high-end, are racking their collective brains to wow jaded passengers with shore excursions that are truly special, not easy in places like St. Petersburg and the French and Italian Rivieras that are swarming with cruise ships. They’ve also got an eye on the bottom line: pricey shore excursions are a huge revenue source for the cruise lines.
“Crystal is designing itineraries with more time in port, allowing for more creative shore options,” says John Stoll, Crystal’s director of land programs. “Today, we’re offering more than 1,300 Crystal Adventures, whereas, just a few years ago we had fewer than 800,” he says, adding that many guests are repeating itineraries, so they want something different the second time around.
Keeping pace with a demanding clientele, in 2007 SeaDream Yacht Club is sending its twin 110-passenger ships to some 43 countries, including nearly 30 different ports in Italy alone.
”Our guests are looking for excitement and personal accomplishment – the unusual,” says Claudius Docekal, senior director Land Adventures and Hotel Development for SeaDream.
Hang gliding over Rio de Janeiro sure qualifies. For $175 a person, SeaDream offers passengers the chance to check out the ultra picturesque city and its famed beaches from above, far far way from pick pockets and tour buses.
For those ports where fighter jets and hang gliding aren’t available, some passengers opt for private shoreside lunches arranged at historical sites or in exclusive restaurants, or they chuck it all and go off exploring on their own.
“Many cruisers are doing more homework on the destinations and finding out certain things they want to see,” says Patrick Schneider, account manager for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity’s Shore Excursions & Explorations! department. “We notice this especially in Europe, with the demand for private cars.”
What’s more indulgent than a chauffeur?
“A growing trend are requests for private car and driver/guide so guests or a small party can set their own pace and see what they want when the want,” says Mark Conroy, president of Regent.
Holland America offers a hip version of this concept, offering a private Hummer and tour guide combo in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Though the most exclusive, extravagant shore excursions tend to sell out first, in part because they have limited capacity and often include transport via helicopter or small planes, cruise line executives say the humble bus tour still has its place.
”The traditional motorcoach tour is not dead,” says Schneider. “We have plenty of first time cruisers, or at least first time visitors to the destinations, and often the traditional motorcoach tour is an excellent overview of a destination.”
We arrived at our list of most exclusive shore excursions by focusing on the traditional full- or half-day excursions offered by cruise lines in ports around the world. We favored tours that only accommodated 10 or fewer passengers at a time, and we didn’t include anything that’s part of a pre- or post-cruise land stay or multi-day excursions mid-cruise that require a hotel stay. Prices quoted are per person and most shore excursions can be pre-booked online through the cruise lines’ websites.
Slideshow:
SeaDream Yacht Club
Hang gliding over Rio de Janeiro
From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
$175 a person
Far above the maddening crowds, hang-glide with an instructor in a tandem flight above Rio’s super scenic harbor. The flights are about 7-12 minute (pending the winds) and the whole amazing thing is documented from cameras attached to the wing.
For more information, visit www.SeaDreamYachtClub.com.
Crystal Cruises
MiG Jet Fighter Flight
From St. Petersburg, Russia
$21,900 per person
A Russian pilot flies one guest at a time on 30-minute high-speed, high-altitude flights of fancy over Moscow at Mach 2, complete with thrilling acrobatic maneuvers.
For more information, visit www.Crystalcruises.com.
SeaDream Yacht Club
Private Chef’s Luncheon
From Santorini, Greece
$235 per person
On the sunbaked isle of Santorini, a local restaurant chef/owner invites a maximum of 10 guests for a private 3-course lunch of Greek-Mediterranean specialties. Sample a local wine called Visanto and drink in the surroundings.
For more information, visit www.SeaDreamYachtClub.com.
Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Cruises
Two-Man Bubble Sub
From Grand Cayman
$198 per person.
Like diving without the gear, the totally transparent submersible pod with 360-degree views has space for just two people. Get a close-up gander at eagle rays, nurse sharks and other creatures that inhabit the area’s reefs, walls and wrecks. A scuba diver outside the sub is the pilot guide.
For more information, visit www.royalcaribbean.com.
Seabourn Cruises
Lapland Expedition by Private Jet.
From Helsinki, Finland
$5,999 per person
A luxury private jet (sometimes used by the Finnish president himself) flies up to six guests to Rovaniemi, the “capital of Lapland” on the Arctic Circle. Local Laplander guides take guests on a champagne river cruise through the forest to a reindeer ranch for lunch.
For more information, visit www.Seabourn.com.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Amalfi Coastline by Helicopter and the Island of Capri
From Sorrento, Italy
$1,850 per person
A private helicopter ride to the Island of Capri passes by the lava river of Mount Vesuvius and the ruins of Herculaneum. After landing, enjoy a traditional lunch at the famous Grand Hotel Quisisana.
For more information, visit www.rssc.com.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
Exclusive Alaska: Guided Fishing & Wilderness Dining
From Ketchikan
$305 per person
A max of four passengers board a 20-foot skiff and head out into the wilderness to try their hand at catching rockfish, red snapper, lingcod, halibut and the prized salmon. Your catch becomes lunch and it’s served in a remote campsite among towering spruce trees and cedars.
For more information, visit www.NCL.com.
Seabourn Cruises
Private Car & Personal Shopper
From Hong Kong, China
$590 for up to two people
For serious shoppers, this excursion comes with private car and driver, and the services of a knowledgeable, English-speaking shopping expert to guide the way to the Ferragamo or Gucci boutiques and the like as well as the local haunts for one-of-a-kind antiques, jewelry and other luxury goodies.
For more information, visit www.Seabourn.com.
Silversea Cruises
The Art of Venetian Cuisine
From Venice, Italy
$TK per person
An intimate group of 10 or fewer guests boards a private motor launch and cruises through the canals of Venice to a private home, where a local chef will conduct a cooking demo. Learn about Venetian cuisine, and then enjoy lunch along with local wines and desserts.
For more information, visit www.Silversea.com.
Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Cruises
Private Cruise in Gulf of Naples
From Naples, Italy
$998 per person.
A motor launch takes small groups on a cruise through the scenic Gulf of Naples for stunning views of Mount Vesuvius. Stops include storybook Sorrento and the isle of Capri, where lunch is included at the elegant Grand Hotel Quisisana.
For more information, visit www.royalcaribbean.com.
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