Can anyone who has been on the Radiance of the sea cruise from Hawaii to Sydney tell me whether it is worth paying for the expensive day excursions when the ship is in port. We are travelling with extended family, including 3 and 5 yr olds and my elderly mother. The costs are the same for children as adults and it will work out very expensive. Are there things to do in ports if you don't go on day trips? thanks for any advice.

In almost all instances, you can do any tour or excursion or activity yourself that the ship can do for you for much less money. What you are paying for is not having to do all that planning and execution. So it really depends entirely on the tour. (The side benefit of a ship's tour is that if for some reason you miss a port, you don't have to pay, as you might if you had pre-booked something on your own.)

But let's say you want to visit something that's pretty far from where the ship docks or puts down anchor; a ship's tour guarantees you early exit and a return before the ship sails---not to mention not having to drive 2 or 3 hours to see the thing you really want to see. For many people, that's well worth the cost. Others just freak out at being in a foreign land and having to deal with foreigners and prefer tours.

With a large group, however, a very viable option is to arrange a private excursion for just your extended family. You can travel at your own pace and see and do only the things that interest you. This can (and usually does) cost a bit more than a ship's shore excursion, but most ships offer this for larger groups, and it can be a much more pleasant way to spend your time on shore.

I was on a cruise a couple of weeks ago docking in Izmir, and we (a group of 10) wanted to see Ephesus. We didn't want to deal with the driving or crowds, so we organized a private van excursion and had a great time.

We didn't do this in Athens and had a lousy time because of the crowds. Later, one group of people we met told us they had a private tour in Athens, ended up seeing twice as much as us, and got to enter through a back entrance to the Acropolis, where we were almost crushed to death in 95-degree heat. So there's a real advantage sometimes in going the private route. But we didn't take any other ship excursions, doing everything else on our own and had a great time in all the ports.

But you can often arrange private tours at the dock and save yourself a huge amount over what the ship pockets in addition to the cost of the tour (just budget to tip your guide about $10 per person if you are doing a full-day tour), plus a bit more for the driver.

The short: I rarely take ship tours, but I did really enjoy my private tour experience immensely.

Basically, there are three ways to tour when docked on a cruise.One is to simply get off the ship and wander about and see what there is to see. And then you can hire a local tour guide -or cab driver, etc. and see the sites. And then you can take a ships tour. The first two tend to be cheaper and more adaptable to your needs. The third is expensive and planned to meet the tour companies needs, including (especially including) the dreaded shopping opportunity. It costs a lot to spend a lot of time in a preselected store.
All this needs a lot of planning by you to figure out the best options.

My elderly mother on her last cruise enjoyed her time on the ship while in port - she enjoyed the relative quiet.

Thanks everyone. My daughter is taking her two small children and begrudges spending $100 plus each to take them on tours such as a small boat trip to play on a beach and have a swim, even if it is Bora Bora. The children are too young to snorkel, walk great distances to hike or enjoy wine tasting in New Zealand. We might just take our chances and see when we get there.