A. Logistics: 1) Transportation, & 2) Food 
   1. Transportation: Shore Excursions vehicles range from very large touring bus to various appropriate smaller vehicles and when appropriate other conveyances : boats, electric rickshaws, etc.

Anecdote:  My Mekong Delta multi-day excursion: included 1) large tour van, 2) ferry, 3) large wooden river cruising boat-hotel with overnight room & meals, and 4) a native’s swamp canoe. 

YT Embed: Mekong Delta canoe footage

    2. Food: Most long (4-7 hours) Cruise Shore Excursions may provide dining options, or if a cultural Shore Excursions, authentic local dishes. 

B. Guest’s care/special needs/concerns: 1) monitors guest constantly, 2) bonds with guests, 3) resolves guest issues

SEE [pplk: TRAV KINDs B for detailed ‘big bus Cruise’ vs ‘small bus Cruise’ differences for each of these factors.

Your Shore Excursions guide is trained & experienced to: 
    1. monitor constantly your safety & security ever alert to pickpockets, lurking thieves, bogus vendors, a broken step or a nasty dog.

    2. bond with guests & encouraging a group camaraderie; perhaps even searching out those introverts in the shadows.

    3. solve guest issues & questions: 1) guest needs: if pre-arranged & agreed to in advance, and 2) unforeseen issues: emergencies, illness, accidents.

    NOTE: Cruise & local Shore Excursions companies should disclose standard of guest fitness etc required before you book, particularly if a demanding, unusual activity to ensure a worthwhile trip for all.

Anecdote: Florence Cathedral’s double dome: The climb up between Brunelleschi’s famously designed Florence Cathedral’s double dome involves 463 steps, through winding staircases, sometimes steep, & narrow corridors. No elevator. Demands fitness & agility. [ytlk: Italy: Dome climb]

    NOTE: Not ethical to complain on Shore Excursions when you ignored ‘physical ability’ warning advice. You must solve YOUR issue, perhaps, by staying on bus or wandering the surrounding area’s shops etc.

SEE [pplk: TRAV KINDs B for detailed ‘big bus Cruise’ vs ‘small bus Cruise’ differences for each of these factors.

C. Guide’s Commentary Quality: Your guide’s goal to expose a site’s Charisma of Place.

Charisma of Place, is a term implying a compelling emotional admiration inherent in a tourist site or person that the world has long revered or that you learned about in school. [jlk: Charisma of Place]

Anecdote: Standing in the drizzling rain in the ancient Roman Forum: I saw, “…. a small mound which was the altar, a few bits of the walls, and not much more, covered by a modern roof.” (Trip Advisor) — one of billions of nondescript mounds in the world, BUT, this is the site of Julius Cesar’s cremation.

I was emotionally overwhelmed by its Charisma of Place. The emotional awareness of standing so near to Caesar absent the transparent glass of ‘time passed.” The vague 1000 yr Roman history somehow, Caesar’s Imperial power and his assassination felt very real.           Not religious, but spiritual.

Your Shore Excursions guide’s narration hopefully will re-ignite your research-inspired, pent-up excitement by summarizing a sight’s cultural importance, exposing its unique history & today’s relevance with bristling exciting & intriguing insights adding to your original curiosity & anticipation. 

Presumably, you are visiting a site because you researched it or have been intrigued since school, a movie or a book you read.  Something about this ‘travel bud’ [jlk] tickled your imagination AND now you are REALLY here. 

        Smaller-sized Shore Excursions Guide’s commentary:
PROs:
    1. Personalized, intimate
    2. Mix of humor & confidence with entertaining insights.
    3. Tailored info to guest’s interests 
    4. Greater depth & detail of information
    5. Encourages guest-guide interactive discussion.
    6. Usually guest’s language although English often added

CONs:
    1. May distract from your contemplation, but probably tour so relaxed you roam a bit with guide’s approval.