skiladyldp Posted April 3, 2012 #1 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hello I see that the excursions are listing on the Oceana's website 6 month before the cruise. Can I book excursions even if I have not made final payment? I understand they book up fast so I would like to book as soon as I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 3, 2012 #2 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hello I see that the excursions are listing on the Oceana's website 6 month before the cruise. Can I book excursions even if I have not made final payment? I understand they book up fast so I would like to book as soon as I can. Yes you can book as soon as they are available but you have to pay at the time of booking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 4, 2012 #3 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Maybe we've been lucky, or maybe we were never looking for the most popular tours, but we have always booked on board and never had a problem. It is true that we are far more likely to go out on or own or with a private tour, but we do use ship's tours occasionally ... many of those tours were booked before you could book online, however, which could be a factor. That being said, we booked three tours on Marina last October and had no trouble getting space on any of them. Now, if you are going to be in Malaga and want to go to the Alhambra -- I can see wanting to book ahead. But personally, I don't think it's all that necessary. As usual, I could be wrong! I'm certainly not an expert on ship's tours since I prefer NOT to use them. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiladyldp Posted April 4, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I aprreciate all the responses. We have never been on a cruise before so we feel a little more comfortable booking with the cruise ship this time. I am sure on our next one we will more comfortable being on our own. This trip is our trip of a lifetime and we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary so we want it as special as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 4, 2012 #5 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Despite what I said above, there is no right or wrong way of deciding how you will do your shore tours. Many people (especially newbies) are leery of going out on their own, especially if you don't have a clue as to the language. And there are some real advantages -- such as knowing the ship won't leave without you if there is some problem that prevents you from getting back on time. On our first cruises we only did ship's tours because it hadn't occurred to us (this was before I discovered internet message boards) that you could arrange your own. There were a couple of small places where we just walked around town, but if we did a real tour it was on a ship's tour. What I was really trying to say that I don't know that it is absolutely essential to book tours far ahead of time. However, since you intend to use ship's tours this time around, I would suggest that you consider the packages offered by the ship. The discounts you get by booking a package are NOT insignificant. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiladyldp Posted April 4, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thanks Mura for your information. We are not afraid of the language barrier since my husband speaks fluent Italian. We are just so new to cruising and only know what I read here. I also want to just book these excurisons so that I can be finished with a lot of our planning. I had to do all the research myself to book air fare, pre/post hotels, travel insurance ect. We picked a real loser for a travel agent. Next trip I will book everything myself. My husband even had to call all the Italy hotels himself to get information. We used a travel agent since we were so green and needed help but that did not happen. The smart person in me would have fired her right from the beginning but that did not happen either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 4, 2012 #7 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I was thinking more of traveling along the Black Sea as we are going to do in August, or China ... languages that North Americans aren't likely to know! I will say that our driver-guide in Sorrento was delighted when he discovered I could speak some Italian and after that, he dispensed with English. I've had that happen in Morocco, too, with a French-speaking guide. We use a wonderful TA that we met way back in Renaissance days, but that is just for booking the cruise itself -- we get great perks that way. But I always book all of our hotels, cars when we need one, and so on. It's much easier with the internet than it used to be! Back in May 2002 we did a two-week road trip from Bern to Paris via the Jura Mountains and Burgundy. I found a french agent who would have loved to book the entire trip for us, but was willing just to suggest an itinerary, so that I had an idea of how much time we would be spending where. Then I booked all the hotels myself. Best $100 I ever spent! Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledobles Posted April 4, 2012 #8 Share Posted April 4, 2012 We choose our tours from the booklet sent about 6 weeks prior to the cruise and book when we board, usually the first day. We've never had a problem getting space. The tours we want to take on our own or with friends are arranged via the internet through recommendations from Cruise Critic, which is a fabulous resource. It's always worked out just great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 4, 2012 #9 Share Posted April 4, 2012 If it is something popular or places that are difficult to get ashore (Murmansk) I would book in advance otherwise wait until you board They have excursion sheets at the Destinations desk just fill it out & deposit in the tray there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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