booking excursion on carnival....

[ladyduarte]

what are your thoughts on this we are going infebruary and we are interested in a few excursion, what are the policies and the pros and cons of doing it through carnival?
thanks for your help

Lesa

[tef43]

Usually you can book the identical tour directly with the tour operator for less $.

The one significant advantage to booking the tour through the ship's excursion desk is that in the event of "something happening," the ship will wait for you. I recall back in the day on the old Star Princess, a couple missed the ship when we departed Martinique (ugh) because their private island tour taxi broke down on the way back from the ruins. Any $ they saved by going off on their own was more than offset by what they had to shell out to get tendered out to the ship by the pilot boat.

Not to mention the instant recognition they received for the rest of the week. The ship had stopped and we were waiting for them. Everyone on deck got a good look at them as they climbed aboard.

[B]Tom <--- Curmudgeon of the Seas[/B]
[img]http://members.aol.com/guitarzen/detroit100.gif[/img]
Eleven cruises so far. Up next:
Shhhh, it's a surprise!
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And then:
Carnival Spirit 12/10/05 Mexican Riviera
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Perhaps something else in the works as well. Watch this space.
[I]Dance like it hurts, love like you need money, and work when somebody's watching.[/I]

[imatarb]

I think it's worth booking directly with the tour companies to save some money. They have been doing this long enough to allow enough time to get you back to where you need to be in plenty of time. I'm not saying things won't happen, but it's worth saving money on the front end.

Head over to the Ports of Call board and you'll find more tour operators than you can imagine. Most are very reputable and have websites that can answer most of your questions.

Lisa [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[b]Monarch of the Seas - 1994
Royal Majesty - 1996

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Until VICTORY is ours


<MARQUEE>A day at sea is better than any day at work</MARQUEE>