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David We booked through Royal Caribbean. The trip lasted 8 hours and we were late returning to the ship by tender, as were those who went snorkelling on Phi Phi Island ,an 8 and a 1/2 hour trip. The delays were due to all excursions visiting a large souvenir showroom and the limited number of tenders available. The delay of nearly two hours in leaving Phuket was made up overnight and we reached our next port of call in time. Those making private arrangements were back at the tenders before the time indicated by the staff and were on board before us. Your ship is smaller so the tender crowding may be avoided. I am sure that privately arranged trips are possible and in theory time ought to be saved by omitting visits to showrooms, but our friends' experience was that the taxi drivers still required guests to visit shops where they got a card stamped which enabled them to claim free petrol for their cars. The solution is to book through the cruise line or go privately but ensure you are back at the beachhead before the last sailing of the tender. For the record the Phang Nga trip included a motorboat trip in the bay amongst the limestone stacks, passing James Bond Island and calling at a water village, a buffet lunch in a hotel, a visit to a temple in a cave with wild monkeys roaming around and the ubiquitous shopping stop. A long day but a restful motor boat cruise and a not unreasonable Thai lunch included. I hope this is helpful. Denis

Denis, thanks for the comprehensive reply. I now believe that there are two options:- a ship arranged tour, or a private charter (assuming enough participation from other passengers) where we set the time frame. The bottom line is we don\'t miss the ship departure. I have seen this happen in Barbados a few years ago where two female passengers got mashed drinking Pina Colada on some local beach and fell asleep. I shudder to think what it must have costs them to catch up with us which they did eventually manage. Thanks again. David