If Excursion Says "Sold Out", Is It Really?

[GradUT]

We are booked for a Caribbean cruise during Christmas week. Prior to the final payment date, I tried to book an excursion on Christmas Day on Roatan, but the excursion was shown as "Sold Out". I asked the Princess rep whether there was a waiting list for this excursion when I called to make my final payment and she said that there was no waiting list which indicated that all the spots for this excursion had been paid in full. I found that extremely unusual because Princess does not require payment until the time of the excursion. (I always book any excursions I want and then pay once the cruise is underway.)

 

Do you think this excursion is really "Sold Out" or is it possible that the excursion provider decided not to operate on Christmas Day?

[cherylandtk]

It could be either, or something else entirely. I would check once onboard to see if the excursion is actually running that day and to see if it is possible to snag any spots that may have been held back for onboard sales.

 

Princess has recently started to allow for payment of excursions upfront, which is a change from the past method you are accustomed to. So there may be more Sold Out notices in the future.

[JimmyVWine]

The easiest way to figure that out would be to go to a site of a private booking company and try to book a replica tour. For example, try this: http://roatancruiseexcursions.com/Index.html It is possible that you will be able to book the exact same excursion, or it is possible that it just isn't offered. With an economy so heavily weighted toward cruise ship passengers, I doubt that any business owner would skip a day when ships are in port, even if it is Christmas.

[paul929207]

It is likely to be sold out. Your two hopes are that they have some cancelations or they add another section for it. The lack of a waitlist does do bode well. Sounds like they have more than they need on the waitlist and that they cannot get equipment for another section.

[eandj]

What excursion are you looking at? How many people and date? Might be able to help you figure it out.

[bdjam]

Princess has started the practice of accepting pre-payment for shore excursions, so it could in fact be fully sold and paid for.

 

But since Princess is in the business to make their stockholders happy, what would their reasoning be for not selling as many excursion tickets as possible?

[lovevacadays]

You might try a private tour. We booked with Victor Bodden tours when we were in Roatan. It was fabulous. You can get a private tour and do just about anything you want to do for $40pp if there are only 2 of you and $25pp if four or more. And he has other types of tours as well. Prices may have gone up since we did it. You can google him and get info. I email him on occasion asking questions and he responds even though I am not booked with him currently. I wouldn't even think of doing a Princess tour on Roatan. But, if you don't feel comfortable booking private, once you get onboard check in with the shore excursion desk to see if anyone has cancelled the tour you are interested in.

 

Enjoy Roatan. I have to say, my day there was one of my favorite days in port in my 16 cruises. Granted, I've only done Mexico and the Caribbean, but still.:D:D:D

[paul929207]

Princess has started the practice of accepting pre-payment for shore excursions, so it could in fact be fully sold and paid for.

 

But since Princess is in the business to make their stockholders happy, what would their reasoning be for not selling as many excursion tickets as possible?

Available space. An attraction may not be able to handle more than X people in the time Princess would be there. We have been on excursions where they should have cut off the groups a bus or two earlier.

[PenguinLife]

If you tell us which excursion it is we may be able to give better advice

[OCruisers]

In January while on a B2B, I was also curious about some excursions that were Sold Out on line so went by the Shore Excursion Desk to check what was posted there.

No new cruisers were on the ship at that time and the excursions that had been Sold Out on line were also marked Sold Out at the excursion desk.

Bottom Line: Seems they do actually Sell Out and none are held back.

LuLu

[AKman2495]

I've been on Roatan and I can tell you that because of the narrow streets they do not use big buses. They use smaller vans that hold about 8-9 people max. So, you can see how they can fill up fast.

[M4dC0w]

There is a waitlist while booking online, also it is cheaper than booking at the excursion desk.

 

I like the fact they allow prepaying now, as it should be, as too many people hold the spot and wait till last minute to cancel. Hurts the excursion, and the people that actually want to do the excursion.

 

Alway check up till the day the personlizer is locked, spaces do open up.

[CruisingJs]

You might try a private tour. We booked with Victor Bodden tours when we were in Roatan. It was fabulous. You can get a private tour and do just about anything you want to do for $40pp if there are only 2 of you and $25pp if four or more. And he has other types of tours as well. Prices may have gone up since we did it. You can google him and get info. I email him on occasion asking questions and he responds even though I am not booked with him currently. I wouldn't even think of doing a Princess tour on Roatan. But, if you don't feel comfortable booking private, once you get onboard check in with the shore excursion desk to see if anyone has cancelled the tour you are interested in.

 

Enjoy Roatan. I have to say, my day there was one of my favorite days in port in my 16 cruises. Granted, I've only done Mexico and the Caribbean, but still.:D:D:D

 

Another vote for Victor Bodden. He provides quality tours at a really reasonable price. We did the Best of Roatan tour where you can totally design the tour to see what you want.

[bdjam]

Available space. An attraction may not be able to handle more than X people in the time Princess would be there. We have been on excursions where they should have cut off the groups a bus or two earlier.

 

I guess I meant of the number of spaces in the excursion in the first place. If there's room for 120, why would they sell 110 and say they were sold out?

[paul929207]

I guess I meant of the number of spaces in the excursion in the first place. If there's room for 120, why would they sell 110 and say they were sold out?

I do not see any reason for them to hold back spots. We all have the same access to the Cruise Personalizer

[beg3yrs]

 

I like the fact they allow prepaying now, as it should be, as too many people hold the spot and wait till last minute to cancel. Hurts the excursion, and the people that actually want to do the excursion.

 

 

Makes zero difference. Allowing prepayment is very much different from requiring a prepayment. Those who hold the spot and wait till last minute to cancel can still do that without penalty.

 

That said, they did make a change a while ago, not allowing passengers to book multiple conflicting excursions. That probably made a bigger difference.

[caribill]

We are booked for a Caribbean cruise during Christmas week. Prior to the final payment date, I tried to book an excursion on Christmas Day on Roatan, but the excursion was shown as "Sold Out". I asked the Princess rep whether there was a waiting list for this excursion when I called to make my final payment and she said that there was no waiting list which indicated that all the spots for this excursion had been paid in full. I found that extremely unusual because Princess does not require payment until the time of the excursion. (I always book any excursions I want and then pay once the cruise is underway.)

 

Do you think this excursion is really "Sold Out" or is it possible that the excursion provider decided not to operate on Christmas Day?

 

I highly doubt that explanation. Even if true, people could cancel and get their money back.

 

An excursion will be listed as sold out once all the spots have been reserved, paid for or not.

 

I would keep checking and see if any spots open up.

 

If the excursion is really being offered and you were not successful before embarkation, once you board go to the excursion desk and fill out the request form for that excursion. If the form says "sold out", write on the form to be put on a wait list. Drop the form in the box set up for reserving excursions. Do not wait for the desk to be staffed as the earlier you get the form in their drop box, the better the chance you can get a reservation if there is one to be had.

Edited October 17, 2014 by caribill

[Mommypig]

You might get a better deal booking a private excursion. Sometimes the Princess excursions are not the best value.

 

 

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[lovevacadays]

You might get a better deal booking a private excursion. Sometimes the Princess excursions are not the best value.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

And, they can be crowded!

[OCruisers]

[ Some don't realize Private Excursions actually can be VERY crowded. :rolleyes:

LuLu

Edited October 17, 2014 by OCruisers

[AKman2495]

As I said, the excursions on Roatan use small buses that hold no more than 8 or 9 people, so you don't feel crowded. Even if there are 5 or 6 buses.

 

Rotan was one of my favorite places. It felt like a true tropic island.

 

Our princes tour was guided by a very lounge lady-I think she was 18 who had broken her arm in a scooter accident before we got there. She was very nice. First we went to a little shopping mall to look for souvenirs but she also took us upstairs for a view of the bay that was great.

 

next we went to an iguana farm. We could feed them leaves. I thought it was some kind of conservation center until I asked one of the guys there how long the iguana lived. He said Here? Not very long!...

 

Then we went to a house on a hill that had a magnificent view and wonderful gardens. It was owned by a former fire fighter from Florida and his wife. They has a bar and some jewelry for sale, but there was no pressure and the location was almost heaven.

 

Finally, she took us to a place called the Parrot Tree Resort. On the way she told ous about the owner "John"-about hoe nice a guy he was. When we got there, we went down t the beach and there was a big hut that served drinks and food. Sitting at one of the tables was John, having his lunch. She led us over and introduced us and he invited us to sit for a while. He was an interesting guy.

 

But the place was amazing-white sand beach for miles, lounger chairs under thatch umbrellas, a lagoon that you could wade in. That was heaven.

 

All in all, I could not have asked for more on a tropic island.

[ggprincess2004]

Yes it probably is sold out (all spots reserved), but it is worth checking back frequently to see if any spots do open up. People change their minds, cancel before final payment, etc., so the situation may change.

 

One of the great things about Princess is that they do not require prepayment, so a passenger can change their mind without any difficulty. In fact, I just did the shore excursion reservations for our Alaska cruise next summer, for our group of 9. I have asked the "kids" to take another look this weekend and make sure they have selected the excursions they really want. We knew there were a few with very limited space that we wanted to do as a group, so we planned very far in advance, and were paying close attention when the bookings became available.

[GradUT]

Thanks for all the helpful comments. The excursion is the BOSS Underwater Adventure and I can imagine that the number of people they can accommodate is small, so that may be why it sold out so quickly.

 

I have made a deposit on an alternative private tour, but will keep checking to see if the BOSS tour opens up.

[Mommypig]

[ Some don't realize Private Excursions actually can be VERY crowded. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

 

 

I suppose that is possible if one doesn't do their homework when booking a private tour. Haven't personally experienced that.

 

Linda

 

 

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