Availability of shore excursions

[Mocamps]

Sorry if this question has been asked before. We are new to Regent (actually sailed once with them in Alaska in 2017 and that was great!!) and considering booking a cruise with them in January. The reason we're attracted to this particular cruise is that we like a number of the included shore excursions.

 

Is there a way of knowing if there's availability on them before we book?

 

What I don't want to happen is to book the cruise and then, because it would be a late booking, we're left with all the excursions that no-one wants!! But I can't see a way of finding this out. So reaching out to all you more experienced Regent cruisers!

 

Many thanks in anticipation

[1982CruzStart]

I don't think there is anyway to find out online as shore excursion selection is tied to your booking number. What you might be able to do is make a list of the excursions you want and ask your TA to check with Regent on availability. Good luck. 

[rkaratsu]

Something else that you could possibly try is go to the roll call for this cruise and ask there about the shore excursion availability.  I'm pretty sure that some kind soul there would be willing to see what was available.  (Maybe pick your top two or three things you want to do and start with those.  If I were on a roll call and a request like this came in, I would help!)

[irishwitchy]

What  cruise are you thinking about?  I’m sure someone on that cruise,  will give you some details!  The roll call is also a great idea.  

[Mocamps]

I'm looking at the Miami-Barbados cruise on 23rd January and I have already posted a question on that roll call but unfortunately there seems to be only the OP on that roll call and he/she hasn't responded but I would imagine they have given up checking!!

 

If anyone here happens to be on that cruise, my husband is particularly interested in doing the two tank Scuba dive in Aruba so if anyone IS able to see if there is still availability on that excursion he would be most grateful. 

[RetiredandTravel]

If worst comes to worst you may be able to set up you own private (semi-private) excursion.  Not sure if you are going to Bonaire but they are renowned for scuba diving.  have fun!

[edgee]

Pretty sure you can call Regent and ask. Give them the excursion you are interested in and they can look it up. If you are satisfied with availability then book the cruise and with your booking number you can likely book within minutes to assure your space on the tours you want.

[SusieQft]

I have not tried this, but someone on another thread posted that if you have your TA put a "hold" on the cruise, and you have a week or at least a few days before the deposit (or probably full payment in this case) is due, then you will have access to look at the shore excursion availability.  The window of opportunity would be brief, and you would need to be prepared to proceed with payment if you are satisfied.

Edited November 14, 2022 by SusieQft

[2012_Alaska_bound]

On 11/13/2022 at 11:52 PM, SusieQft said:

I have not tried this, but someone on another thread posted that if you have your TA put a "hold" on the cruise, and you have a week or at least a few days before the deposit (or probably full payment in this case) is due, then you will have access to look at the shore excursion availability.

 

Correct. This happened on the cruise we just booked. Our TA put a hold on it so that we could book under the Black Friday offer a few days later. I was able to get the PDF of offered excursions (since booking for excursions had already opened) and start planning which ones I wanted.

 

However, that won't indicate if any are waitlisted for your particular cruise, just if they will be offered.

 

[cwn]

No Amos,

We are on Splendor on Dec 3 stopping at Aurba later in the cruise. Just checked the two tank drive and it is still available. There have never been many divers on any of our Regent cruises. I don’t think that will be a problem for you either. However, be warned that Aurba is a terrible dive unless you just like to breathe compressed air😂. There is usually a lot of wind that stirs the sea up so visibility is often poor. We have dove there three times and that was always the case so we passed the last time we were there and still diving. Wreck is ok.  Cozumel, Virgin Is and Cayman are much better choices. But sometimes you have to go with what you have.

[WNcruiser]

On 11/15/2022 at 9:32 AM, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

 

Correct. This happened on the cruise we just booked. Our TA put a hold on it so that we could book under the Black Friday offer a few days later. I was able to get the PDF of offered excursions (since booking for excursions had already opened) and start planning which ones I wanted.

 

However, that won't indicate if any are waitlisted for your particular cruise, just if they will be offered.

 

Anyone can request the .PDF, on hold or not. Just go to the cruise description and request it. Once it is on hold you can book or check availability under "Manage reservation", no deposit needed. 

[as3369]

On 11/16/2022 at 7:35 PM, WNcruiser said:

Anyone can request the .PDF, on hold or not. Just go to the cruise description and request it. Once it is on hold you can book or check availability under "Manage reservation", no deposit needed. 

I'm booked on the Splendor for Baltics in June.  When I attempt to book shore excursions, there are only a limited amount of "premium selections" available.  Do they allow you to book the free excursions prior to sailing?

[WNcruiser]

5 minutes ago, as3369 said:

I'm booked on the Splendor for Baltics in June.  When I attempt to book shore excursions, there are only a limited amount of "premium selections" available.  Do they allow you to book the free excursions prior to sailing?

Yes, depending on your stateroom category you can book up to a year before. 

[RetiredandTravel]

20 hours ago, as3369 said:

I'm booked on the Splendor for Baltics in June.  When I attempt to book shore excursions, there are only a limited amount of "premium selections" available.  Do they allow you to book the free excursions prior to sailing?

 

 

Yes excursions are booked well in advance to sailing.  Not only do concierge suites and higher rooms get priority (extra time) on booking excursions but so do frequent cruisers (Silver).  I'm a little confused by your question are you saying only a few "free" excursions are available or pay extra excursions.   Honestly this is a little late in the excursion booking process for a June sailing but there still should be a good number of free excursions left.

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by RetiredandTravel
added update

[Scout16]

I am on a Tokyo to Vancouver cruise in April and the initial offerings for some ports in Alaska were only premium tours.  They have added regular tours since then, my guess is that some of the offerings depend upon what is currently available for them to offer.  I have heard that there is still a problem with the limited number of people in the tourist industry.  

[as3369]

8 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Yes excursions are booked well in advance to sailing.  Not only do concierge suites and higher rooms get priority (extra time) on booking excursions but so do frequent cruisers (Silver).  I'm a little confused by your question are you saying only a few "free" excursions are available or pay extra excursions.   Honestly this is a little late in the excursion booking process for a June sailing but there still should be a good number of free excursions left.

 

 

I was able to reserve several but a few ports are saying trips not yet available.  I just received my booking number a couple of days ago so this is the earliest I could reserve them.  Thanks

[cwn]

There are at times no tours available for the port. Sometimes for what ever reason tours are very late showing up.

[Gilly]

We sailed Tokyo to Vancouver in 2019 and tours for (I think) Dutch Harbor never materialised, because it's such a tiny place that there's nowhere really for a tour to go.  Many of us simply appreciated the shuttle bus down into "town", enjoying the commentary from ?the driver? (sorry, I'm dredging my memory here!) and visited the small museum and coffee in the hotel there before walking back.  

(I just did what I ought to have done first - read my blog!  here   I *nearly* remembered correctly 🙂 )

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, as3369 said:

I was able to reserve several but a few ports are saying trips not yet available.  I just received my booking number a couple of days ago so this is the earliest I could reserve them.  Thanks

 

OK I understand.  Generally if an excursion is full the system would say wait listed just not be shown.  Unless its a newer port I'm still surprised there aren't any excursions showing.  You did after all pay for the excursions.  May I ask what ports aren't showing any excursions?  The Baltic is very frequently travelled and I find this surprising.

 

We were at a new port for Regent in Japan and it took a while for the excursions to show up, in your case that's an advantage (edited).

Edited December 18, 2022 by RetiredandTravel

[as3369]

On 12/18/2022 at 4:12 PM, RetiredandTravel said:

 

OK I understand.  Generally if an excursion is full the system would say wait listed just not be shown.  Unless its a newer port I'm still surprised there aren't any excursions showing.  You did after all pay for the excursions.  May I ask what ports aren't showing any excursions?  The Baltic is very frequently travelled and I find this surprising.

 

We were at a new port for Regent in Japan and it took a while for the excursions to show up, in your case that's an advantage (edited).

Ports not available for shore excursion reservations are:

 

Rostock (Berlin)

Gdansk

 

 

[RetiredandTravel]

11 hours ago, as3369 said:

Ports not available for shore excursion reservations are:

 

Rostock (Berlin)

Gdansk

 

 

 

 

Those are both popular ports for Baltic cruises.  I'm surprised there are no excursions showing but think there definitely will be, I'd check with my TA or Regent and get an explanation to make sure there is no error.  When you look at the Regent marketing material for that cruise they show probable excursions.

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL230630/summary

 

We went on a land vacation that included Berlin last summer, I'm a bit of a WW2/Cold War history buff and found Berlin fascinating.  If you have never been to Berlin you can do a walking tour of about 3-4 hours which will give you the highlights of the 1930's - present era including Brandenburg Gate (very crowded).  The Russians basically flattened Berlin at the end of the war so its important to have a quality tour guide.  If you have questions about Berlin I'm happy to help.  

 

 

[as3369]

5 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Those are both popular ports for Baltic cruises.  I'm surprised there are no excursions showing but think there definitely will be, I'd check with my TA or Regent and get an explanation to make sure there is no error.  When you look at the Regent marketing material for that cruise they show probable excursions.

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL230630/summary

 

We went on a land vacation that included Berlin last summer, I'm a bit of a WW2/Cold War history buff and found Berlin fascinating.  If you have never been to Berlin you can do a walking tour of about 3-4 hours which will give you the highlights of the 1930's - present era including Brandenburg Gate (very crowded).  The Russians basically flattened Berlin at the end of the war so its important to have a quality tour guide.  If you have questions about Berlin I'm happy to help.  

 

 

My husband and I are also fascinated with WW2 History and many excursions we have chosen are geared towards this.  We understand it is a 3 hour bus ride each way from Rostock so we are keeping that in mind when we do reserve. 

[labonnevie]

3 hours ago, as3369 said:

My husband and I are also fascinated with WW2 History and many excursions we have chosen are geared towards this.  We understand it is a 3 hour bus ride each way from Rostock so we are keeping that in mind when we do reserve. 

Still worth it, IMHO. 

[as3369]

50 minutes ago, labonnevie said:

Still worth it, IMHO. 

See you are from Orange County... One of our travel partners is originally from Orange County (Brea), but has relocated to Tennessee.  Have you done this itinerary before?

[labonnevie]

On 12/21/2022 at 3:55 PM, as3369 said:

See you are from Orange County... One of our travel partners is originally from Orange County (Brea), but has relocated to Tennessee.  Have you done this itinerary before?

I was referring to a tour we took from Warnemunde/Rostock to Berlin from the Navigator way back in 2006. It was our only visit to Berlin and made for a very long day, bus ride was about 3 hours each way. But the tour was excellent, saw a lot; Brandenburg gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the Reichstag, pieces of the Berlin Wall, several war memorials and many other sights. Also had a fun lunch. Would do it again.