Antigua without a tour: the three options
There is no public shuttle to fall back on. As of September 2026, none of the main Antigua shuttle operators list Puerto Quetzal on their timetables, so the choices are the ship or a private car.
The cheapest is the cruise line's transport-only trip - Norwegian's Antigua On Your Own was published from US$49.99 per person in 2026, a 6.5-hour excursion with a map and no guide. A private transfer with a bilingual guide meeting you at the pier started at about US$140 in the same year. The drive itself is roughly 80km and about 1 hour 20 minutes each way.
Who waits for whom
The difference between those options shows up only if the road is slow coming back. On a full ship-sold tour, the ship waits if the tour runs late. On the transport-only version, missing the return bus is your problem. On a private transfer, the ship owes you nothing at all.
With close to three hours of driving in the round trip, an eight-hour call leaves around five hours in Antigua once you allow for getting off the ship and back before all-aboard. That is enough for the centre and one viewpoint, not enough for a side trip as well.
Sources: livinginguatemala.com