Excursion Question

[egh170]

We are sailing on Equinox 9/23/19 and want to book excursions through Celebrity. Do we have to make final payment before the booking?

[cb at sea]

When you book anything, you pay then and there.  If you wait until you're ON the ship, you will pay via your shipboard account.  Up to you!  Many things require NO excursion at all...but if you're dead-set on a ship's excursion, you pay when you book, whether it's before the cruise or during.  You may book your excursions PRIOR to making the final payment.  They are happy to take your money at any time!

[leaveitallbehind]

You do not need to make final payment on the cruise first.  You can book your excursions anytime through your cruise planner once you have a booking made by way of a deposit. However, when you book the excursions, the amount of each is charged at that time in full to your credit card.

 

Should you cancel an excursion anytime before 48 hours prior to sailing, the full amount is refunded to your credit card.  Should you cancel after that and on on board up to 24 hours before the excursion the full amount is issued as a refundable on board credit. Cancellations day of can result in a loss of your payment.  However there are some exceptions to this.

[evandbob]

I booked some Celebrity excursions for the 10/14/19 Equinox sailing and have not yet completed final payment.

 

I did have trouble reserving dates and times for our specialty dining package.  I was only able to book one dinner the first night, and was told I could make the other 3 reservations after we board the ship.

[leaveitallbehind]

21 minutes ago, evandbob said:

I booked some Celebrity excursions for the 10/14/19 Equinox sailing and have not yet completed final payment.

 

I did have trouble reserving dates and times for our specialty dining package.  I was only able to book one dinner the first night, and was told I could make the other 3 reservations after we board the ship.

 

The dining packages are separate from the excursions, and that is actually the better way to do it IMO.  They typically only reserve your first night for either day 1 or 2 and let you choose the rest on board.  (If you prefer to not have a specialty restaurant on day 1 you can change it when you board). We have never had any issues selecting the days and times for our packages on board and prefer the flexibility of doing so after we are on board.  You can also change the dining reservations as needed during the week.

Edited March 29, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[NantahalaCruiser]

19 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

You do not need to make final payment on the cruise first.  You can book your excursions anytime through your cruise planner once you have a booking made by way of a deposit. However, when you book the excursions, the amount of each is charged at that time in full to your credit card.

...

If you have any OBC from Celebrity, then you can use it to purchase a shore excursion prior to boarding - so need not always be billed to a credit card.

[MicCanberra]

17 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

If you have any OBC from Celebrity, then you can use it to purchase a shore excursion prior to boarding - so need not always be billed to a credit card.

A good way to spend some OBC if you have any.