Deadline for Booking Alaska Shore Excursions on Board?

I have a question about booking Shore Excursions on board for an upcoming Alaska cruise. I have booked several HAL tours over the years, but never at the last minute. I have been on sailings where passengers were allowed to buy from the representative outside the bus, but know that is not the norm.

I have most of our independent plans and HAL shore excursions in order, but know that the weather in Alaska can be unpredictable. I have several "Plan B" or "See if We Have Time" Options, some of which are offered by HAL. I was curious if recent Zaandam passengers could tell me what the cut off time was to purchase excursions like the Mt. Roberts Tram in Juneau or the Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan, for example. I know I can buy those independently, subject to availability, but also like that buying on board gives Cruise Day credits.

THANKS! :)

I have a question about booking Shore Excursions on board for an upcoming Alaska cruise. I have booked several HAL tours over the years, but never at the last minute. I have been on sailings where passengers were allowed to buy from the representative outside the bus, but know that is not the norm.

 

I have most of our independent plans and HAL shore excursions in order, but know that the weather in Alaska can be unpredictable. I have several "Plan B" or "See if We Have Time" Options, some of which are offered by HAL. I was curious if recent Zaandam passengers could tell me what the cut off time was to purchase excursions like the Mt. Roberts Tram in Juneau or the Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan, for example. I know I can buy those independently, subject to availability, but also like that buying on board gives Cruise Day credits.

 

THANKS! :)

I think you can buy the tour right up to the time it is supposed to go. On our cruise in March, I cancelled one hour prior to the meeting time and got a full credit, as someone was on the waitlist for my spot.

One more thing - a couple of years ago we purchased the Mt. Roberts Tram ticket from HAL, as they had a full refund policy in place, where you could take the tickets back even after the ship sailed from Juneau! Great deal if you are not sure of the weather or not sure if you can work it in to your schedule. Plus of course, credit towards your Mariner spending if you do use it!

Thank you, DaveOKC, for the very helpful information! That would be great if they still have the Tram refund policy, I want to go, but am unsure if I'll have time. Thanks again!:)

The booth to buy the tram tickets is so close to the dock I would not worry about getting these ahead of time. We exited the ship and bought our tickets and headed up the tram.

I think you can buy the tour right up to the time it is supposed to go.

Except someone has to be at the excursion desk to do that. On a port day, the excursions desk might not be open until after the ship leaves port because the excursions people are busy directing people to the right bus and such. Check your When and Where for excursion desk hours.

You can also use the Navigator to purchase online. They cut that off late the night before the port day and your tickets will be slid under your door overnight.

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Wanted to report back how things went . . .

The Zaandam policy still allowed you to pre-buy the Mt Roberts Tram tickets and return unused tickets for a full refund. Although we had planned to go, it was so cloudy that you could not see across the Channel, so we opted to skip the tram after our whale watching excursion. It was very simple to return the tickets and the charges were immediately removed from our statement.

I asked about the Lumberjack Show for Ketchikan. I was told if I decided at the last minute, to find a shore excursion rep outside at the meeting point and they would help me. It was such a beautiful day when we were there, we were still out hiking, but it was nice to have a backup if the weather had been different.

Thanks to all for your advice, it’s much appreciated!!! :)

Thanks for coming back with your update.

Thank you for coming and reporting on what you learned about the Mt Roberts tram refunds and the Lumberjack show possibly buying right on the pier.