Excursion question

[jerrysnj]

I'm one the Seaside June 8-15 and was looking over the excursions and noticed none have start times. They do show the length of times but some of our times in port are limited and I don't want to go on an excursion at 7am. I wondering if anyone has found a link to the excursions for these dates that would show the start times. I've searched but can't come up with anything helpful.

[Beamafar]

Excursion times are never notified - even onboard, you don't find out what time your excursion is until you receive your tickets.  I believe this is for logistical reasons:  there's never any guarantee that the ship will arrive in port on time until the sailing.

 

If there are any dailies posted in the weeks before your cruise, keep an eye out for the times indicated of the meeting points for the excursions you have in mind.  That'll give you some idea.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Beamafar

[Aloha 1]

So why is it every other cruise line can pre post excursion times but MSC can't?? Anyone who's done Eastern Carib on Seaside have any insight on the St Thomas snorkel excursion departure times??

Edited January 10, 2019 by Aloha 1

[hamrag]

3 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Excursion times are never notified - even onboard, you don't find out what time your excursion is until you receive your tickets.  I believe this is for logistical reasons:  there's never any guarantee that the ship will arrive in port on time until the sailing......

 

To confirm that has been our experience....we find it most irritating, but it is what it is! Your itinerary though is easy to self tour.

 

San Juan is an evening stop, so you might choose to not even go off the ship or simply go out into town to eat....it is easily walkable. Any ship tour you choose should not be problematical time wise. 

Charlotte is a good stop, and there are trolley tours offered by vendors right at the dock when you exit so no time restriction there....they load the trolleys, something like 10/12 seats, and off they go.

St Maarten, there are tours offered at the main centre in the cruise port, both on the Dutch and French sides of the island....or simply walk into St Maarten.

Nassau we do not like, and now stay on board at that particular call. Your arrival is lunch time so no early rise for any ship tour you might choose.

[shukapaw]

HI, 

We'll be joining you on the June 8 Seaside sailing.

 

The trip listed on MSC's website is for the Castaway Girl. We sailed the Castaway Girl last year during a stop in St Thomas on a Princess ship. That ship docked at about the same time as the Seaside will and our excursion was at 8:30. I know this isn't a guarantee but it should give you some idea.

 

The catamaran was a short walk from the ship (as a group). It was a pretty decent trip

 

~Brian 

 

[Carolina Girl 99]

OP- I am in a similar situation to yours. Going on Divina next month and interested in the Zip Like excursion in St Kitts. It's listed as lasting 3 hours but we also want to taxi to a nearby beach for a couple of hours and trying to figure out if it will be zip line then beach or the reverse. I haven't been able to get the answer from anyone in our FB group, so I DM'ed MSC Cruises who said that 'most' of their tours start at 9 am. I've also sent an email to MSCShoreExcursions@msccruises.com trying get the info