The 3 biggest cruise industry myths about booking independent tours

Don’t believe the hype! Book independent tours and save money!

When you’re on vacation, you don’t want to spend your time worrying. As a cruise ship passenger, you are in a unique situation because you have to follow a relatively rigid schedule. Cruise ship companies realize this, so they use it to their advantage from a marketing perspective. Their Number-One goal is for you to spend all of your money on board the ship. To accomplish this goal, they make you worry about all sorts of things. In today’s blog, we are going to explore these myths so you can save a pile of money on your cruise to Alaska.

A word about local Alaska economies

The cruise ship industry certainly boosts the economies of many small Alaskan towns. However, it also puts a great strain on local infrastructure. Here in Skagway, we enjoy a robust seasonal economy, but we also have to care for the needs of 1 million cruise ship passengers every year. For a town of fewer than 1,000 people, this means we need a bigger waste plant, incinerator, police force, fire department, etc. This stuff isn’t cheap. Whenever possible, spend your money in town at a gift shop, restaurant, or tour company. Shop local and support the communities you visit. If you don’t, these cities simply cannot survive.

Myth 1: “If you buy an independent tour, you could miss your cruise ship.”

Well, you certainly could miss your ship, but this doesn’t ever happen. Think about it. If tourists were missing their ships because of a tour that ran long, you would hear about it and the companies would go out of business. You can book independent tours and save money without any risk of missing your cruise ship. At M&M Tours, we guarantee it.

Myth 2: “If you don’t book a tour early, it will sell out.”

This is true of some tours. Helicopter tours, for example, are very popular and usually sell out. However, many tours are available on the day of your arrival. If you’re about a tour’s availability on the day of your arrival, contact us ahead of time and we will let you know. There are a number of reasons why you may want to book your tour after you arrive in port, and we will help facilitate that goal.

Myth 3: “It’s a hassle to book tours independently.”

You can purchase tours on your ship. It’s a simple process that may require standing in line at the kiosk. However, you can book a tour independently online from the comfort of your home. We will send you a confirmation with direction on where to meet. We also have a kiosk set up on your cruise ship’s dock. There may be a line but it won’t be very long. So, really, neither option is a “hassle” at all. The only real difference is that you’re going to save a pile of money when you book with us.

Savvy cruise ship travelers already know these secrets. You can find online forums where they tell you all about booking tours independently. If you like saving money, then book independently. If you’re rich, I suppose it doesn’t really matter.