Booking excursions while on board

[21yearHitch]

Has anyone booked excursions while on board?  I think a lot of us will be doing that with our OBC...but I was wondering what the process is like?  Do you have to sit down with a person and go over options or do you do it from some sort of device...or something in between?  Are there huge lines and pressure to do excursions that you may not be interested in?  I've been looking through this board for quite awhile (about a year) and haven't seen much discussion on this subject.  Thank you for input.  

[phoneman69]

12 minutes ago, 21yearHitch said:

Has anyone booked excursions while on board?  I think a lot of us will be doing that with our OBC...but I was wondering what the process is like?  Do you have to sit down with a person and go over options or do you do it from some sort of device...or something in between?  Are there huge lines and pressure to do excursions that you may not be interested in?  I've been looking through this board for quite awhile (about a year) and haven't seen much discussion on this subject.  Thank you for input.  

I just booked mine threw the app while on board. You can also just go to the excursion desk but there's normally a line.

[hurricane0226]

Go to the excursion desk onboard, they have pamphlets, flyers on the excursions that are available, sometimes

the lines are long, and sometimes not bad, usually long when they cancel ports or change them. There is no 

pressure, you can buy the ones you want if they are still available.    

[matymil]

We have a ton of OBC on our next sailing as well but we also got some gift cards back. In my opinion, if you can its probably wiser to buy in advance because its looking like if you want to leave the ship you are going to have to do a Carnival excursion (at least at first) so that means most of them will probably sell out. Also most of the people on the ship will probably have a bunch of OBC as well. Id rather be safe than sorry and use the OBC on drinks or slots 🙂 

[Saint Greg]

I do it first thing when I want to use OBC. I haven't had more than 1 or 2 people in front of me doing it that early, They have pamphlets and some sit there and talk to the person about various excursions. I know what I want so when I get to the front of the line I book exactly what I want and I'm done. 

 

I recommend knowing what you want ahead of time and booking it first thing.

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by Saint Greg

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, 21yearHitch said:

Has anyone booked excursions while on board?  I think a lot of us will be doing that with our OBC...but I was wondering what the process is like?  Do you have to sit down with a person and go over options or do you do it from some sort of device...or something in between?  Are there huge lines and pressure to do excursions that you may not be interested in?  I've been looking through this board for quite awhile (about a year) and haven't seen much discussion on this subject.  Thank you for input.  

There are some ships that have a kiosk. I think it was blue maybe with red. No one seems to use them much. I booked my excursions at the kiosks on ships that have them. Didnt have to stand in line. 

[skrufy]

Never have seen a long line at the excursion desk. The guest services desk is another story. Just go to the desk, select your excursion, tell the person which one and you will have your tickets in a minute. Be aware that the popular excursions sell out early. We usually book a few while onboard.

[mtnesterz]

13 hours ago, 21yearHitch said:

Has anyone booked excursions while on board?  I think a lot of us will be doing that with our OBC...but I was wondering what the process is like? 

The process of buying is no problem. Drop box, counter sale, app. Easy.  The main advantage of ship booked is if the excursion is delayed, the ship will wait for you. If you're on your own, the ship will leave without you. We've seen it happen.

Edited September 30, 2020 by mtnesterz

[firefly333]

9 hours ago, skrufy said:

Never have seen a long line at the excursion desk. The guest services desk is another story. Just go to the desk, select your excursion, tell the person which one and you will have your tickets in a minute. Be aware that the popular excursions sell out early. We usually book a few while onboard.

I like using the kiosks. I can go thru the choices and enter my card number and not have to deal with a real person. But not all ships have them. The one I used was near the counter, at the end past it. Might be one near the thing near shops where you can print out your charges. 

[Honolulu Blue]

17 hours ago, 21yearHitch said:

Has anyone booked excursions while on board?  I think a lot of us will be doing that with our OBC...but I was wondering what the process is like?  Do you have to sit down with a person and go over options or do you do it from some sort of device...or something in between?  Are there huge lines and pressure to do excursions that you may not be interested in?  I've been looking through this board for quite awhile (about a year) and haven't seen much discussion on this subject.  Thank you for input.  

 

I've booked excursions from the app, from the TV, and from the excursions desk.  I didn't have any problems with any of them.  I've never booked through the kiosk; maybe I'll try it sometime.  If you book remotely, you'll get your ticket(s) eventually; either the cabin steward will deliver them to you or they'll be dropped in your box.  The line at the excursions desk varies a lot, but they do have answers (but not a lot of sales pressure in my experience) that the flyers/brochures may not.  

[21yearHitch]

Thank you for all the replies!  We're going on the Panorama in May and have our eyes on an excursion for each port and a couple of back-ups if they are sold out.  Since this is only our second cruise and our first Mexican Riveria trip...we're pretty flexible with what we want to do.  Glad to here there are ways to book on-board that don't require queuing up and trying to find the correct brochure...etc. 

[FTLCruiseGal]

I have booked through the app and the television.  Very convenient.

[Tippyton]

The mechanics of purchasing are simple.  Understand though some are very popular so do your homework in advance.  Research cruise vs. private tours on multiple sites including this one.  Decide what you want to do and work from there.  We look at the port and unique opportunities.  For example, in Belize don't snorkel because there are ruins to see there...snorkel in Cozumel (not telling what to do, just an example).  

 

For a real life example we did a horseback riding excursion in Puerto Vallarta.  Good value, there were some private options, but due to distance from port and security uncertainty we decided to go through the cruise line.  Booked before we left, one less thing to worry about.  We look at value and risk (never been a runner!).  

 

Most of all dont fret.  You will have fun!

Edited October 16, 2020 by Tippyton

[kona_wahine]

We missed Roatan last cruise and went back to Cozumel, so everyone had to scramble to get an excursion. I stood in line for probably an hour, and in the grand scheme of things not that bad. Just had researched online while I stood there and figured out what we wanted and was able to book in minutes.