Princess - Can I book excursions while on the boat?

[oceanfun77]

Princess Cruises - Can I book excursions while on the boat? I just want to sign up for the Skagway train ride. Can I do it while on the boat? Can I even book the day of the excursion? Is there a big price difference from booking through Princess and booking with the train itself?

 

I've already booked the whale watching tour on my own.

[Yukon]

You can book on the ship but be prepared for long lineups. You pay about $15 more to book the train with Princess but you get picked up right at the ship that way - it's a half-mile walk or so to the train station. If you tell the railway that you're on a ship they won't even sell you a ticket.

[lknlady]

You may also find that some ship excursions are sold out. Go online and with the help of Cruise Critic, book your own.

[chipmaster]

Yes, all excursions are avaiable and you don't have to stand in the long lines. They have a drop box for signup, but if it is a high demand excursion I would suspect they could sell it out before they get to the drop box, and in some cases maybe sell out before you even get on board.

 

IMHO if you are rather certain you want to take an excursion, prebook it as soon as the personalizer opens up. They allow cancellations for everything, even the helicopter, but check the cancelation deadlines.

 

The train out of skagway won't sell out unless they max out 5 ships in port and everyone of the 10,000 coming off the boats want to take the same train.

 

Princess Cruises - Can I book excursions while on the boat? I just want to sign up for the Skagway train ride. Can I do it while on the boat? Can I even book the day of the excursion? Is there a big price difference from booking through Princess and booking with the train itself?

 

I've already booked the whale watching tour on my own.

[ostrich2]

Yeah, I actually booked the 3 hour White Pass train ride in Skagway at a kiosk Princess had setup on the dock a couple of hours beforehand - I walked the town in the morning and decided by early afternoon that I wasn't going to bother trying to go up to Haines and back, so I just booked myself on the 4:30 train ride. My impression was there was lots of room available (the train was far from full) but of course if you book in advance it's always safer.

[Yukon]

The train out of skagway won't sell out unless they max out 5 ships in port and everyone of the 10,000 coming off the boats want to take the same train.

 

While that's been the case in years past, many trains are selling out this year, even at times that surprise me. My guess is that there's been a cutback in staff - I haven't seen any passenger numbers yet, but I'm fairly sure that they're down. The late afternoon train never has sold well, though, and always has availability.

[ostrich2]

Yeah it was the 4:30 train I took and I had no problems getting on - got back a half hour before the ship departure so it was perfect.