Are cruise excursions worth it?

Hmmm . . . There are all sorts of opinions, and everybody has legitimate points. Yes, ship-sponsored excursions are more expensive. However, the ships will deal only with people on shore whose personnel speak English, who carry appropriate insurance, who are not pickpockets or hucksters, who have safe equipment, and who have a good track record with providing good service. The ship will have sent their own social crew members on those trips many times just to be sure, and some ships ALWAYS have a ship's crew member present just in case there is a problem -- somebody gets sick or injured, etc. Also, if for any reason a ship-sponsored excursion gets hung up in traffic, etc., and is late, the ship will wait. As to going on what you arrange for yourself, you will clearly save money, and you may have a wonderful time, too! If you run into trouble, if you are injured, if you are lost, if you are abandoned (such as on a beach), if you are late -- the ship cannot help you, and will leave without you. My personal choice is to go on ship-sponsored excursions -- and over my first 5 cruises TWO ran late and they held the ship! (I would have been left in Alexandria, Egypt if not on a QE2-sponsored tour! Can you imagine?!?) Cunard always has had a ship's social crew member on excursions, and they have always been great. On the other hand, if I am just planning to poke around and shop, I go on foot on my own, make sure my watch is accurate, and get myself back to the ship an hour before they pull the gangplank.