Celebrity New Zealand shore excursions sold out

[missm]

About three weeks ago, we started looking at shore excursions for our New Zealand cruise in late October.  We were shocked to find that, with seven months to go, many of the most popular excursions are already sold out.  In all our cruises with Celebrity, we have never encountered this before.  When I contacted the Captains Club about this, I was told that they often sell out one year in advance! I wish I had known this when I booked our cruise in June, 2018. I have written for assistance to the Shore Excursions Department, and they have been very slow to respond. We are filling in with private tours and other, less desirable Celebrity tours, just to make sure we have something to do in each port. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, and to say that we are disappointed is an understatement. We want those of you who are thinking of making this trip to avoid the same dilemma we now face.

[lynncarol]

This may be the perfect opportunity to take an independent tour excursion.  The last time we used a ship excursion was to Peggy's Cove near Halifax years ago. All other cruises (Caribbean, Alaska, South America, Europe and Baltic) we used independent tours. Spent three weeks in New Zealand on our own awhile back with a rental car so I can't comment on tour agencies there but am sure with a bit of research you can have a wonderful time!  

Edited March 16, 2019 by lynncarol

[cruise kitty]

1 hour ago, missm said:

About three weeks ago, we started looking at shore excursions for our New Zealand cruise in late October.  We were shocked to find that, with seven months to go, many of the most popular excursions are already sold out.  In all our cruises with Celebrity, we have never encountered this before.  When I contacted the Captains Club about this, I was told that they often sell out one year in advance! I wish I had known this when I booked our cruise in June, 2018. I have written for assistance to the Shore Excursions Department, and they have been very slow to respond. We are filling in with private tours and other, less desirable Celebrity tours, just to make sure we have something to do in each port. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, and to say that we are disappointed is an understatement. We want those of you who are thinking of making this trip to avoid the same dilemma we now face.

 

May I ask which ports you're concerned about?  If you head over to the New Zealand ports board you'll get lost of tips for DiY or private tours, where you'll see more & pay less with less people on your tour. :)

[missm]

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. We have explored all of those ideas and have booked some of them. Maybe I'm alone in preferring to book Celebrity tours because I know the vehicle will be comfortable, the guide knowledgeable, and our return to the ship guaranteed. Our experience with private/independent touring leaves all of those elements in doubt. We usually seem to get the ones with the uncomfortable mini-vans or tiny taxis, and the driver/guide trying to talk and drive at the same time.

 

My primary complaint is with Celebrity's lack of planning for capacity in reserving tours through operators. We are paying a lot of money for this and the preceding three cruises and would like to have plenty of open tours from which to choose.  The tours that are closed are the full-day tours to the most desired locations, i.e. Hobbiton, as just one example.

 

I am also kicking myself for not getting started on this earlier, but didn't think I needed to, based on many cruises with Celebrity.

[opa&oma]

Give them a bit of time, as they see the need they will be offering some soon.

[Covepointcruiser]

There is a capacity problem on the Hobbit tours.   The one that actually goes to the WETA Lab is very limited as it is very small and only  so many folks can be in the public area of the labs at one time.   You shouldn’t have a problem going to the Hobbit village.   It can handle quite a number of tourists.   If you can’t get the Celebrity tour you should be able to get a local tour.

[lisiamc]

You may find that you get a better result by not being able to book ship’s excursions.  We’ve just finished a cruise with lots of New Zealand ports, and didn’t do a single excursion from the ship.  We booked three through a company called Trip and Shore Tours, and they were all excellent.  We booked online, but you can easily book tours with them and other reputable companies on shore, too.  At every port, we’ve had easy access to the I-site Tourist Information offices, and lots of local volunteers to help with any questions.  New Zealand is one of the easiest countries to pick up really good tours off the ship.

 

The only exception has been Taieri Gorge train trip at Dunedin.  That excursion is block-booked by the ship, and you are unlikely to get tickets independently.

[ccotting]

Same here and we are visiting in April. I have booked through some private operators but the one we are most concerned about is a day with a shortened schedule.  I empathize.  I learned this lesson in South America and should have been better prepared.  Smaller towns, smaller tour opportunities.  We are hoping when we get on board they may open up and book more.  Try for that.  Sympathies from a fellow sufferer!

[Tucker in Texas]

While I can't speak for Celebrity as we were on Princess, when we cruised Australia/New Zealand, we booked all the tours we could with Viator.  They were cheaper than what Princess wanted, they had less people, no shopping opportunities (lol), and guides who really were enthusiastic about sharing their country with you.  

 

We got our tour for Taieri Gorge train trip at Dunedin from Viator..  It was significantly cheaper and included a tour of the town which Princess did not.   

[lisiamc]

2 hours ago, Tucker in Texas said:

While I can't speak for Celebrity as we were on Princess, when we cruised Australia/New Zealand, we booked all the tours we could with Viator.  They were cheaper than what Princess wanted, they had less people, no shopping opportunities (lol), and guides who really were enthusiastic about sharing their country with you.  

 

We got our tour for Taieri Gorge train trip at Dunedin from Viator..  It was significantly cheaper and included a tour of the town which Princess did not.   

 

Something to consider is that Viator is actually a consolidator, and not directly a tour provider.  So results can be mixed in some ports.  I’m glad you had a good experience with them.

[XtaSea]

9 hours ago, missm said:

Maybe I'm alone in preferring to book Celebrity tours because I know the vehicle will be comfortable, the guide knowledgeable, and our return to the ship guaranteed.

Maybe...maybe not. Haven't done NZ but we did a Celebrity tour in Pisa where the vehicle was rickety, uncomfortable and reeking of diesel fumes, and the guide was anything but knowledgeable. Our best excursions have been the independent ones we arranged on our own. Independent tour operators know the importance of returning their guests to the ship in a timely manner...their livelihoods depend on it.

[GastroGnome]

We've had the same  - well not issue because we always booked well in advance and have never not been able to get the excursions we wanted - but we have been with other cruisers who have experienced the same problems. Whether  it is a desire to keep something more exclusive by restricting numbers or a limitation in the nature of the tour.  Although we've not made it to New Zealand yet I would expect this would be a trip of  a lifetime for many, if not most, on board which would add to the pressure.

 

OP - I shared your preference for official tours for many years before venturing out on a roll call organized private tour.  It was pointed out to me that tour companies that cause guests to miss their ship will not get any more clients.  All the reputable ones have insurance to cover getting you on to your next port.  Obviously you don't want that to happen - but at least you won't be left high and dry (no pun intended).  Check out their reviews, check they have suitable insurance and go for it!  You will probably pay less, and certainly have a tour more tailored to exactly what you want.

[chemmo]

OP, I don’t know if you are in a suite but the Michael’s Club Host will priority wait list you for tours. 

 

We did North Island as part of a TP cruise. Bay of Islands hole in the rock tour and Hobbiton are two tours not to be missed. We had lots of OBC so used Celebrity but there were lots of private providers. 

 

I would keep checking to see to see if the tours you want open up. For many tours Celebrity will add extra coaches, boat trips etc if demand is high enough. 

 

Sincere best wishes that you manage to sort out your tours.

Edited March 17, 2019 by chemmo

[missm]

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

OP, I don’t know if you are in a suite but the Michael’s Club Host will priority wait list you for tours. 

 

We did North Island as part of a TP cruise. Bay of Islands hole in the rock tour and Hobbiton are two tours not to be missed. We had lots of OBC so used Celebrity but there were lots of private providers. 

 

I would keep checking to see to see if the tours you want open up. For many tours Celebrity will add extra coaches, boat trips etc if demand is high enough. 

 

Sincere best wishes that you manage to sort out your tours.

Thanks so much for the support and great ideas. We are not in a suite, but even if we were, I like to have everything organized before we leave. Hopefully this will all be resolved soon.

[upwarduk]

You might like to go to the Azamara board, where the blogging officer Bonnie, has suggestion about what to do in N.Z.

Post 7 also has suggestions worth noting.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2643974-what-to-do-in-nz/

[justcrusn]

I can only add that in our experience MORE excursions open up as the cruise gets closer. We have also been able to wait list once onboard and sometimes it works, sometimes nyet, but worth a try as people and plans change and someone may cancel the tour you want.

[missm]

31 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

I can only add that in our experience MORE excursions open up as the cruise gets closer. We have also been able to wait list once onboard and sometimes it works, sometimes nyet, but worth a try as people and plans change and someone may cancel the tour you want.

We are hoping this will be the case, but do want to have good alternatives as a backup. Unfortunately, on our sailing every single port has many good excursions that are already full. We know what we would like to do, having done extensive research just after booking last year, just didn't plan on having to do it for so many ports!

[ccotting]

Not an issue knowing what we want to do but difficult to manage timing given the ship’s schedule.   We prefer a ship’s tour to make sure we have no issues for the sold out excursion because of tight timing due to distance hence the difficulty.   Like the OP we will aim for a wait list.   As I mentioned earlier, this happened for our South America cruise as well, in that case I was one of the lucky ones who booked early.  In this case, I missed a port by oversight.  Heads up to the rest of you to do your excursion planning early.

[Wendylaguna]

I used private companies exclusively in New Zealand. If you do .

your research ( yes Ports of call helpful and TA) and we were so pleased with each and everyone. The Kiwis bend over backwards to make your visit fantastic! Enjoy.

[Tucker in Texas]

On 3/16/2019 at 8:55 PM, Tucker in Texas said:

While I can't speak for Celebrity as we were on Princess, when we cruised Australia/New Zealand, we booked all the tours we could with Viator.  They were cheaper than what Princess wanted, they had less people, no shopping opportunities (lol), and guides who really were enthusiastic about sharing their country with you.  

 

We got our tour for Taieri Gorge train trip at Dunedin from Viator..  It was significantly cheaper and included a tour of the town which Princess did not.   

You are correct that they are consolidators.  However, we booked every tour we could in Australia and New Zealand and had no complaints at all.  We did have to take a ship's tour in Melbourne because of timing and it reminded us why we don't do ship tours (lol).  We have used Viator in other ports and never had a problem.  

 

I know on Princess, they actually chartered train cars for their tour so I can see why it could be "sold out" if their cars are full if that is what Celebrity does.  While their tour included some food and ours did not, it was the same views we saw and the huge difference in price from Viator would have bought a lot of food (lol) plus they didn't include a town tour that we got.

[DebInAntigua]

Even on Caribbean cruises, excursions seem to start selling out early. Some are no longer available on our November cruises this year. Pays to book early and check back often in the Cruise Planner!

[missm]

Having given Celebrity's Shore Excursion Department every opportunity to help with this problem, I can report that they are pretty close to being absolutely useless. Yes, I can see that all the decent tours are booked. Yes, I know about your Private Journeys program. Of course, I will keep checking back to see if any tours have opened up.  And I will also check onboard to see if additional spots have become available.  I didn't send you detailed e-mails and wait two weeks for you to tell me the obvious.

 

We have booked additional tours through Viator and other vendors so we will get to see most of what we had hoped for.  Please learn from our mistakes and book your excursions when you do your cruise reservation.

[Traveling*Two]

On 3/16/2019 at 1:02 PM, missm said:

About three weeks ago, we started looking at shore excursions for our New Zealand cruise in late October.  We were shocked to find that, with seven months to go, many of the most popular excursions are already sold out.  In all our cruises with Celebrity, we have never encountered this before.  When I contacted the Captains Club about this, I was told that they often sell out one year in advance! I wish I had known this when I booked our cruise in June, 2018. I have written for assistance to the Shore Excursions Department, and they have been very slow to respond. We are filling in with private tours and other, less desirable Celebrity tours, just to make sure we have something to do in each port. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, and to say that we are disappointed is an understatement. We want those of you who are thinking of making this trip to avoid the same dilemma we now face.

I was surprised at the Celebrity prices and limited availability.  If you are interested in a private small group shore excursion,  I have posted one for the Bay of Islands.  See posting #286.

Victoria

[missm]

6 hours ago, Traveling*Two said:

I was surprised at the Celebrity prices and limited availability.  If you are interested in a private small group shore excursion,  I have posted one for the Bay of Islands.  See posting #286.

Victoria

Thank you, I saw that, but we are sharing a tour with friends that we are traveling with. Your tour sounds so interesting and the price was amazing as well. Hope you have a great time!