Question about shore excursion times

[tiller]

I'm a little confused about the shore excursions offered by Oceania. When an excursion says the available times are "11:30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m.," do they mean that's the length of the excursion, or that they have one departure at 11:30 a.m. and a second departure at 1:30 p.m.?

 

What's throwing me off is that I'm looking at the excursions offered for the Coasts to Canyons cruise in December, and the two times are almost always a match for the duration of the tour. For example, a tour that starts at 10:30 and is 2/12 hours will have for its times "10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m."

 

I'm used to larger ships, where most excursions under 4 hours will have multiple departure times. Is that not the case here?

 

Thank you!

[LHT28]

I am going to take a guess & say it is probably the departure time & return time of the tour

Less people on the ship so less tours to the same destination

we rarely take ship's tours but I seem to recall only 1 time for each tour

[bitob]

On long days in port with late evening departures they will schedule a morning and afternoon session of the same tour but that is not the norm. What you are seeing is start and end of tour

[tiller]

Thank you! I feel Oceania could make things clearer.

[roothy123]

Once in a while there's something unusual like an excursion that's estimated to be 3 1/2 hours but listed, for example, as 8:30 - 11:30. Once in a great while you may see an excursion offered for a time when your ship isn't even scheduled to be in port! That's the case for my upcoming cruise, anyway - although only in the blue booklet, not online. I'm guessing that something was just copied from the info provided for the cruise before us, which has almost the same itinerary as ours but in reverse.

 

What's online in "My Account" seems to have everything spelled out pretty well, though - perhaps a little better than the blue booklet we received. Also, I see that 5 completely new excursions have been offered that aren't in the blue booklet. Therefore, I'd suggest you look at excursions online rather than relying on what's in the booklet (if you have one - ours came really early this time, but that's not always the case). One thing to keep in mind is that for some excursions, there may be multiple times in a drop down box, and it's easy to miss that if you're not used to it. If you're not an early bird and want a later excursion, check the drop down box to see if there's a different time offered. Also, if anything is showing up as sold out/no longer available, check the drop down box to make sure there isn't an alternate time offered that can be booked. If one of two times, for example, is sold out, it will look like the excursion is completely sold out. It's not. For our upcoming tours, I'd say about a third of the excursions are offered at more than one time, although the majority of times are morning.

 

Sometimes another time will be added, particularly if the first one is sold out and lots of people are asking about that excursion.

 

If you book online, you can cancel an excursion up to 72 hours pre-embarkation, I think.

 

If you have your heart set on an excursion and it shows up as being sold out, I'd suggest going to the Excursions desk when you embark to tell them you'd like to be added, if possible. That happened to me once and they were able to get me on the excursion.

Edited August 2, 2016 by roothy123

[tiller]

We haven't received our Blue Books yet--I'm guessing that will come in the next month or two.

 

We have a lot of onboard credit, so the plan is to book excursions on the ship. Hopefully the ones we like won't sell out before then.

[plimsol]

When we booked our cruise(s), we received and Oceania PDF invoice document and also a PDF available excursions outlining departure times. I've added an example of a Cadiz tour with two optional times. Over the years of cruising with Oceania, we have always received this information at time of booking as long as excursions are already available. Hope this helps with your planning.

 

CAN-018 A PANORAMIC LOOK AT CADIZ

Tour Price: $79.00

Date: November 22, 2016 11:00 AM, 02:00 PM

The ultimate overview of Cadiz, this panoramic driving tour passes a multitude of landmarks that offer a sweeping look at this ancient town perched on a tiny

peninsula in southern Spain.

Depart from the pier and begin driving through Cadiz, a town founded as a Phoenician trading post in 1100 B.C. Considered the oldest continually inhabited

city in Europe, Cadiz exudes history, particularly through its glorious architecture.

The wonderfully ornate Town Hall was erected in 1799 upon the foundation of another building that was constructed at least 100 years earlier. Sprawling

across land reclaimed from the sea, tranquil Plaza Espana is filled with historical monuments, including one that celebrates the constitution of 1812. Then,

there is Cadiz's golden-tile domed cathedral, which was started in 1720 but not finished until 116 years and seven architects later.

But architecture is only one of the highlights viewed on this panoramic city tour. For serenity and natural beauty, few places rival Alamada Park and Genoves

Park, where you will enjoy a bit of free time. Unexpected ocean views occur frequently during the drive, but the absolute best perspective of the sea will be

from the late 16th-century Santa Catalina Castle. It overlooks spectacular Playa Caleta, an isolated yet popular stretch of sand featured in the James Bond

movie "Die Another Day." After approximately two hours of driving, you will return to the pier.

Please note: This tour is panoramic in nature with very limited optional walking at the stops. The tour is available

[LHT28]

CAN-018 A PANORAMIC LOOK AT CADIZ

Tour Price: $79.00

Date: November 22, 2016 11:00 AM, 02:00 PM

 

The difference is there a dash or a comma between the times listed for the tours

a comma suggests two tours