Prepaid excursions, worth it or wait until cruise?

[Chicken_Lips]

Have you ever seen an excursion sold out before the cruise even starts? Just curious. We will be departing Ft. Lauderdale on a Saturday, arriving in Nassau on Sunday. Will I be able to order my Bahamas excursion on the room TV that Saturday afternoon and have my tickets delivered to my room by Sunday morning? You know those lines at the excursion desk will be **** on the first day, just trying to avoid it.

[rummenroman]

Have you ever seen an excursion sold out before the cruise even starts? Just curious. We will be departing Ft. Lauderdale on a Saturday, arriving in Nassau on Sunday. Will I be able to order my Bahamas excursion on the room TV that Saturday afternoon and have my tickets delivered to my room by Sunday morning? You know those lines at the excursion desk will be **** on the first day, just trying to avoid it.

 

Yes excursions sell out, some much faster than others. My suggestions is to be one of the first to be at the excursion desk to ensure you get the one you want.

[willco]

If you book before you cruise, you will already have paid for it, so it won't be on that final bill.

[wales4ever]

If you book before you cruise, you will already have paid for it, so it won't be on that final bill.

 

Thats why I pre book trips and restaurants.

[Trainman-2]

Pre-Book before the cruise and the tickets will be waiting for you in your cabin.

 

- No lines to wait in

 

- No missing out on sold out excursions

[alaskawdw12]

If there's an excursion that you already know you really want to do, and will be upset if it's sold out - why not just book it now? :)

[B-52]

Pre-Book before the cruise and the tickets will be waiting for you in your cabin.

 

- No lines to wait in

 

- No missing out on sold out excursions

 

 

True....I like to get everything out of the way and paid for before we board. Excursions, wine, specialty restaurants....I've seen those lines at guest relations before entering a port.

[praline3001]

The excursion my family wanted to do in St Martin was booked when we tried to pre order :(

We were at the 70 day mark before sailing.

[BillOh]

Yes, I have seen them sold out, I've also seen them canceled before you get on the ship. My luck with RC sponsored excursions is about 75% for several reasons.

[BillOh]

Pre-Book before the cruise and the tickets will be waiting for you in your cabin.

 

-

 

Or a note telling you they have been canceled! :mad: Your right though, I prebook mine as they are already paid and you don't get sold out as well as the excursion desk lines can be long. I'm still mad over getting the note that an excursion was canceled in my cabin as that gave me no time to plan something else. Probably unavoidable, but still irritating.

[SGM Arty]

We like to prebook excursions for a few reasons. Popular excursions will sell out, sometimes even before you board the ship. There are often long lines at the excursion desk especially if the first day is an at sea day. We like knowing up front what the cruise will cost including excursions. It is one thing less to add to the shock of seeing you Sea Pass bill on the last day.

[sherilyn70]

Depending on the size of the tour will increas/decrease your odds of getting it after boarding. For a tour that has a limit of 12 people you might not find any slots available if you wait. I prefer to book those smaller more intimate sized tours, which also have a higher chance of being canceled before the cruise starts if not enough people sign up.

[Esmerelda]

FWIW; we never book excursions through the ship. They are always more expensive and you can book most all of them yourself online before you go. (as well as pay for them before you cruise also) I know someone is going to say; "but if you book on your own, you might not make it back to the ship on time!".

 

In 8 out of 9 cruises, we've NEVER not made it back to the ship. :) The only cruise I booked excursions on the ship was my first one out back in 2001. I learned after that the cruise lines really marks this stuff up in price. Yowzaaa...

[akcruz]

FWIW; we never book excursions through the ship. They are always more expensive and you can book most all of them yourself online before you go. (as well as pay for them before you cruise also) I know someone is going to say; "but if you book on your own, you might not make it back to the ship on time!".

 

In 8 out of 9 cruises, we've NEVER not made it back to the ship. :) The only cruise I booked excursions on the ship was my first one out back in 2001. I learned after that the cruise lines really marks this stuff up in price. Yowzaaa...

 

We usually book excursions on our own, but there are times when it definitely pays to book through the ship. Looking at some for our upcoming cruise and the ship is actually LESS expensive! Another one to book on your own is one that takes you a long way from the port with not a lot of time to get back. It really all depends there is not one answer.

 

As to the OP, I agree with one of the above posters, if there is an excursion you really want to do and will be upset if it is full once onboard book ahead of time. If you are on the fence, wait and take your chances.

[bigque]

Myself, I just like the idea of pre-paying my excursions, specialty restaurants and gratuities online and not having it added on to my bill while on board. The only thing I pay for on board is drinks (And that is not big), and souveniers. I did however on my last cruise book an excursion in St. Maarten with an outside vendor cause I had heard so many good things about it here on Cruise Critic, but that too was not a expense for my ship's bill. Yes the excursions on board can be more expensive, but that is just cost that I figure into the vacation expense. It's pay now or pay later, the choice is yours!

[negc]

FWIW; we never book excursions through the ship. They are always more expensive and you can book most all of them yourself online before you go. (as well as pay for them before you cruise also) I know someone is going to say; "but if you book on your own, you might not make it back to the ship on time!".

 

In 8 out of 9 cruises, we've NEVER not made it back to the ship. :) The only cruise I booked excursions on the ship was my first one out back in 2001. I learned after that the cruise lines really marks this stuff up in price. Yowzaaa...

 

Your advice has some value, but the fact that you have NEVER made it back to the ship on time doesn't mean it hasn't or can't happen. When we book a private tour we always make sure that it is due to return us to the ship much earlier than the all aboard deadline. We have had occasions when the van broke down and the operator had to scurry to get us back to the ship. Had our return been scheduled to arrive closer to sailaway time, we might have been SOL. However, there are also some excursions that cannot be booked separately because the cruiseline has an exclusive arrangement with the tour operator that doesn't permit the tour operator to sell the excursion privately to the ship's passengers. In such instances you have no option but to book through the line.

Our general rule of thumb is that when we are simply looking for a general sightseeing, beach, or shopping tour, we will wait until we get off the ship to make our private arrangements, but when it involves something that is capacity controlled and we would be sorely disappointed to find ourselves shut out, we will book through the cruiseline and book in advance or as soon as we board.:)