PV1 Shore Excursion Questions

[MoBro713]

I have a PV1 cabin reserved on the British Isles Explorer cruise on August 23.  Excursion reservations open 77 days before departure.  What are the chances that I will be able to reserve the excursions of my choice or will some already we sold out?

 

What happens if I book an independent excursion and the port is cancelled?  Will I lose my deposit?

 

Many thanks.

[TayanaLorna]

16 minutes ago, MoBro713 said:

I have a PV1 cabin reserved on the British Isles Explorer cruise on August 23.  Excursion reservations open 77 days before departure.  What are the chances that I will be able to reserve the excursions of my choice or will some already we sold out?

 

What happens if I book an independent excursion and the port is cancelled?  Will I lose my deposit?

 

Many thanks.

If you are  PV you have an excellent chance of getting exactly what you want.  Still reserve and pay for each optional one as soon as you can.  As far as independent, you need to scrutinize their cancellation policy.  Some do give refunds if cruise line cancels port.  If their policy is to cancel 24 hours before, then know exactly what that means - by what date and time you must cancel.  Also know exactly who and where you need to call/contact them to cancel.  

[molymoo]

We always book a PV cabin and based on our experience (twice on the British Isles itinerary) the chances are good that you will be able to book the excursions you want.  No guarantees, but I would say the chances are good.  Even after you book, watch the site (MVJ) as they will sometimes add excursions after the booking windows have "come and gone".

 

As far as independent excursions go that would be something to "discuss" with the vendor when you book.  Some will certainly refund any monies paid if a port is cancelled ... but I am guessing some will not.

 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, MoBro713 said:

I have a PV1 cabin reserved on the British Isles Explorer cruise on August 23.  Excursion reservations open 77 days before departure.  What are the chances that I will be able to reserve the excursions of my choice or will some already we sold out?

 

What happens if I book an independent excursion and the port is cancelled?  Will I lose my deposit?

 

Many thanks.

 

When researching private tours, one of the first criteria should be checking their cancellation policy. Personally, I don't consider any vendor that doesn't provide full refunds, if the ship is late or unable to dock. I also prefer vendors that get paid on day of tour, but they are becoming a little harder to find.

 

Many private vendors, especially when you fill their vehicle, are open to negotiation, so I don't book any unless they are open to negotiate price and payment terms. No negotiation, I move on to another preferred vendor.

[Twitchly]

We book PVs, and we have been able to book most but not all of the excursions we wanted. If you can’t initially book something, however, all hope is not lost. Let Viking know, and they may add more times or capacity for a tour.  You can call or email them prior to your cruise, and you can also see the customer service folks after you board and ask to be put on a waiting list. We did that our last cruise, and Viking ended up adding us to a second group for the tour. We didn’t find out until a couple days before the excursion, so you have to stay flexible.

[janetcbl]

We have almost always booked PV and gotten all the excursions we wanted. Things I have learned: Start checking at 12midnight; they are sometimes open then, believe it or not. Book one, pay for it; book another pay for it, etc. (Not necessary for Included Excursions.)

[Snowcat1]

We have a PV1 cabin booked for our May Homeland Cruise and we were able to get all the excursions we wanted, at the times we wanted, except for one and that was not a big issues.

[CCWineLover]

8 hours ago, janetcbl said:

We have almost always booked PV and gotten all the excursions we wanted. Things I have learned: Start checking at 12midnight; they are sometimes open then, believe it or not. Book one, pay for it; book another pay for it, etc. (Not necessary for Included Excursions.)

Janet - 12 midnight which time zone ?  Does Viking base it on Eastern?

I know for our just recent bookings it was 9:00 AM Pacific.  I kept checking several hours ahead and promptly at 9:00 it opened up.  Have heard people say however that sometimes (unpredictable?) they open the shades early for some reason.

[loriva]

12 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Janet - 12 midnight which time zone ?  Does Viking base it on Eastern?

I know for our just recent bookings it was 9:00 AM Pacific.  I kept checking several hours ahead and promptly at 9:00 it opened up.  Have heard people say however that sometimes (unpredictable?) they open the shades early for some reason.

 

Not Janet, but our experience is that shorex reservations opened exactly when Viking said they would, which was 1200 hours (noon) Pacific time (so 1500 hours for us on the East Coast).  Dining reservations were supposed to open at the same time when that date arrived, but we found they were open as soon as we checked in the morning--so maybe they opened at 0000 hours (midnight) Pacific time?  We are taking our first VO cruise, but our experience matched what those on this board had led  to us expect.

[janetcbl]

17 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Janet - 12 midnight which time zone ?  Does Viking base it on Eastern?

I know for our just recent bookings it was 9:00 AM Pacific.  I kept checking several hours ahead and promptly at 9:00 it opened up.  Have heard people say however that sometimes (unpredictable?) they open the shades early for some reason.

CST, my time.  In our experiences Excursions opened hours early, exactly on time, slightly late. It was an uneducated guess what time to check.

Edited April 14, 2023 by janetcbl

[WanderingBrit]

Our 77 day out reservations opened to the minute as Viking said they would, and we secured all the reservations (both included and upcharged) that we wanted.