Booking Shore Excursions

[karinad]

If we book our shore excursions before our cruise through NCL, do they charge our cc right away?

 

Thanks!

[snow1]

Yes!

 

 

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[karinad]

Well, that sucks! I guess I'll wait to get onboard!

[gra2172]

Well, that sucks! I guess I'll wait to get onboard!

 

The problem with booking on board is that if the excursion is full, you lose out. If theres one we really want to do, we book it ahead.

 

Some excursions are booked full pretty much right away as soon as the desk opens.

[karinad]

The problem with booking on board is that if the excursion is full, you lose out. If theres one we really want to do, we book it ahead.

 

Some excursions are booked full pretty much right away as soon as the desk opens.

Yes, I could remember seeing the Shorex desk with very big lines!

[watchdiva]

If we see an excursion that we want and Iit's only offered at a single time for a limited number of people, we will book it before we board.

[karinad]

If we see an excursion that we want and Iit's only offered at a single time for a limited number of people, we will book it before we board.

I'm always afraid of that happening! They changed the number of days that we're in San Juan, so we have an extra day there to do another excursion.

[FreestyleNovice]

I'm always afraid of that happening! They changed the number of days that we're in San Juan, so we have an extra day there to do another excursion.

 

Not trying to hijack but... After the old town and the rain forest you should not miss out on the #2 beach in the world, Flamenco beach on the nearby small island of Culebra (US territory). Even worth a nights stay if you have done the other SJ things.

 

Best beach I've ever seen (and stayed there for a week :D)

 

[FreestyleNovice]

Well, that sucks! I guess I'll wait to get onboard!

 

Understandable point. Why not book it from home/precruise hotel a few days before you sail; "You can book your adventures ashore up to two days prior to sailing"

 

Only works if your creditcard is charged to your account every end of the month and your moment of booking is within that timeframe.

 

Could save you a dash to the shorex desk and have a cocktail on deck instead. ;)

[karinad]

Not trying to hijack but... After the old town and the rain forest you should not miss out on the #2 beach in the world, Flamenco beach on the nearby small island of Culebra (US territory). Even worth a nights stay if you have done the other SJ things.

 

Best beach I've ever seen (and stayed there for a week :D)

 

The beach looks beautiful! Thanks for the suggestion! We'll have the extra time there and would like to get to a beach!

[karinad]

Understandable point. Why not book it from home/precruise hotel a few days before you sail; "You can book your adventures ashore up to two days prior to sailing"

 

Only works if your creditcard is charged to your account every end of the month and your moment of booking is within that timeframe.

 

Could save you a dash to the shorex desk and have a cocktail on deck instead. ;)

Well, what I was thinking of also was that we'll have some OBC's to use. We just got the NCL credit cart last month and not quite sure how to put the point earnings to the best use. I don't know if I want to carry them over for if we cruise NCL next year. I have a few of the cruise ships credit cards and I hate to have credits sitting around for years.

 

I see u live in Amsterdam. We loved Amsterdam and have visited a couple times. My dh would love to stay a couple weeks! Very pretty, clean, city!

[kimyk69]

Not trying to hijack but... After the old town and the rain forest you should not miss out on the #2 beach in the world, Flamenco beach on the nearby small island of Culebra (US territory). Even worth a nights stay if you have done the other SJ things.

 

Best beach I've ever seen (and stayed there for a week :D)

 

 

 

How do we get to Flamenco beach? Is it an excursion or do you just ask someone when you get to port? We leave on the Gem over thanksgiving and are doing the Easter Caribbean for 9 days.

[Cruisin'Jenny2]

We will be on the Jewel in January 2015. We bought the all-inclusive package which gives us $200 each in shore excursion credit - but I've been clearly told by concierge that we can't use the credit to pre-book excursions, and that we will have to wait until on board to confirm anything.

 

There are ONLY 2 excursions (different stops) we have ANY interest in, and we have no 2nd choices in either destination. I would be happier "throwing away" the $400 credit than getting on a bus with 50 people to go see something just in order to spend our credit.

 

QUESTION... We will be in the Haven so will have access to a concierge upon boarding. Do they have any "pull" to get us on sold-out excursions once on board or should I pony-up the $$$ now to confirm what we want in advance???

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Jen

[FreestyleNovice]

How do we get to Flamenco beach? Is it an excursion or do you just ask someone when you get to port? We leave on the Gem over thanksgiving and are doing the Easter Caribbean for 9 days.

 

See http://www.islaculebra.com/puerto-rico/transportation.html or Tripadvisor. You can fly in from the smaller Isla Grande airfield or drive to Fajardo and take the ferry. On the island itself you can rent Jeeps or a road legal golf cart(! :D).

 

I don't think there is a NCL excursion to Culebra island. Google showed several hits, like a cataraman day trip from Fajardo offered by third parties. Be sure to read about the island and the (beautiful) lack of commercial development to set your expectations right. :)

[mitsugirly]

Yes, they charge your card right away. It really sucks that they do this now (you use to be able to book and you weren't charged until you actually TOOK the tour). Of course if you book ahead of time (and have to pay) this means that you won't be able to use any OBC you might have on your account. (But if you are anything like me, I find ways to spend it no matter what). :D

 

 

If we see an excursion that we want and Iit's only offered at a single time for a limited number of people, we will book it before we board.

 

I have to ask....how would you know that's it's "only offered at a single time for a limited number of people"??? I don't recall ever seeing anything telling you how many people they allow to book for an excursion or that it's only offered a single time? Actually, what do you mean offered only a single time? Most excursions are only for the day you are there in port, which is normally 1 day (unless you are referring to places like Bermuda where you are in port for days). Sorry, just trying to understand and would like to know. (Since I just put off booking an excursion for the shark swim and decided to go ahead and book because I was afraid it would sell out)<---but can't figure out how you tell how many spots are left. :confused:

[EyeSeaEwe]

If we book our shore excursions before our cruise through NCL, do they charge our cc right away?

 

Thanks!

 

Yes they do. Note that often an excursion will have a price increase as it starts getting full and/or on board. You can cancel your excursion up to 24 hours before it is scheduled with no penalty. They will just apply it to your on board account. Also if there is a weather situation and they decide to go ahead with the excursion, they will usually let you cancel at the last second with no penalty. On a recent cruise there was some pretty heavy rain the morning of one of our excursions. It did stop raining but it was still quite overcast and I just did not feel comfortable getting in the water with a thunder and lightning storm having just passed over. They made the decision to go one with the excursion about 10 minutes late but I opted nto to go and they fully refunded the price of the excursion to our account within about an hour.

[LAatl]

If we book our shore excursions before our cruise through NCL, do they charge our cc right away?

 

Thanks!

Don't forget there are reputable tours off ship as well. Search ones with good reputations and good reviews, but many times they'll be cheaper.