St John ship excursion...use obc or book now?

[bigsky]

I'm torn whether to book the excursion to St John now or wait til I board using my obc, which is what I want to use it for. I rarely ever book the ships excursion, so not sure if this is the norm to sell out prior to boarding. I just called and she didn't confirm that they hold back 25% which is what I read. She said they're private tours that do the bookings and they get the list 3 days prior to sailing. No idea if this is true. I would think since I'm booking online to Royal, it's Royal. But I do know they use the private companies. Anyone have any advice? I decided after posting the question about going over there by private or by the ship, decided easier just to go thru the ship.

 

Thanks for any suggestions :)

[Clarea]

If you want to be sure there will be space for you, then book now.

[Bigbluegal]

We booked all of our excursions after arrival on the ship. It was our first cruise and I wasn't really sure in advance how our days would plan out. We had no difficulties booking the tours we wanted (usually the day before) with the exception of one tour. For the one that was sold out on the ship, we walked outside the port and picked up a taxi to the same location and just paid our way into the attraction. The same taxi driver actually picked us back up at a designated time of our choice.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

If you want to be sure there will be space for you, then book now.

 

This. If not going on the excursion will ruin your cruise, book it in advance. If you want to do it but it being sold out will not ruin your cruise, hold off.

 

But if you elect to hold off please don't be that person yelling at the shore excursions desk about it being sold out. (I witnessed that person on Radiance in Alaska last year who wanted a floatplane excursion but wanted to wait and use his OBC and strangely discovered that these uber popular excursions were all sold out. It was not a pretty sight.)

[PTAngel]

I was going to book an excursion on board last year to use my OBC so I waited. To my surprise, the price was higher than if I had booked online. It was (I think) about $49 online & about $59 on board. I decided then I would book online any excursion I was interested in. It is cheaper & I will admit I am a cheapskate.