Pre Booking Excurions

Hello All...

Im a first time cruiser on going on the Diamond Princess going to South East Asia for 21 days it will be a cruise of a life time for myself. Im wondering if i should pre book all my shore excursions prior to sailing to guarantee me being on them or should i wait, i wondered if you get better deals once on board the ship....

I'm not sure it is, but while it may be possible to have discounts offered on board, you do run the risk of having limited availability on what you want and the times you want to do them. If ship based excursions are the way you want to go, I would book them as they are available to assure your selection. Each cruise line may be different, but in our experience, I don't recall significant discounts available on board. That might also be unfair to those who paid a higher price in advance.

Have cruised with Princess for many years and don't recall discounts on tours being available on board. If you are using the ship's tours, I would pre-book to ensure you get the tours you want.

They can always be cancelled on-board, at no cost.

Pre-book the ones that you absolutely have to do. I have been on cruises where I booked all in advance and some where I have only booked the "must do" ones in advance. I have never seen a discount for booking on board, in fact you actually pay a few dollars more booking on board on Cunard.

It depends. If it's something that I must absolutely must do (e.g. Alaska Whale Watching, Glacer), I will prebook it in advance.

If there is a certain excursion that you do NOT want to miss, go ahead and book now. If it's a "so-so" wanna-do....you can wait and take your chances.

Also, research your ports...perhaps that which interests you can be done on your own!

Since this is a 21 day dream (maybe once in a life time) cruise, definitely pre-book your excursions so that you won't disappointed if they are sold out once you are on the ship.

Having sailed on different cruise lines, there were no discounts for excursions once we got on the ship.

Thank you to all this has really helped me in planning my excursions, it seems pre booking is advised.... so thank you all....

Thank you to all this has really helped me in planning my excursions, it seems pre booking is advised.... so thank you all....

I don’t know the Princess policies, but on Royal and Celebrity you can cancel up to 24-48 hours ahead of the excursion with no penalty. Go ahead and pre-book the must-do’s. And continue your research. Once onboard, talk to fellow passengers. If you hear of something you would rather do in a given port, book it and cancel the first one.

Stan

You might find others on your sailing (Check the roll call board) who are putting together a private excursion that will be more personalized and usually cheaper than anything the cruise line is offering. I would go and visit the forum and see if that is so for your sailing. Also please utilize the PORTS OF CALL boards for Asia/Pacific you might find some information on DIY as well as other options that aren't offered by the cruise line.

I would wait. I went on a Princess cruise and the excursions were usually more money and there was no reason to book through the cruise line. I was a first timer and I bought everything in advance through Princess and if I ever Cruise again I would not do it. In fact I am still waiting on refunds from Princess over a month later on excursions that were cancelled due to weather. Book local and you will probably get better quality.