Included Excursions Waitlisted

[RetiredandTravel]

Our cruise is over 9 months out and several of the "included" excursions are waitlisted.  Is it reasonable to think that if we go on the waitlist we will actually get on the excursions?   I looked at a few different room types and I'm guessing this cruise is 2/3 full.

 

thanks

Edited February 19 by RetiredandTravel

[Gourmet Gal]

It’s very possible.  With some excursions SS may add another departure to accommodate a big waitlist.   Be aware that SS might also change an included excursion to one that requires a fee.

[RetiredandTravel]

Say What?

 

So if I sign up for an included excursion the may come back later and charge me?

 

thanks

 

 

Edited February 19 by RetiredandTravel

[gnome12]

31 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Say What?

 

So if I sign up for an included excursion the may come back later and charge me?

 

thanks

 

 

No. If you booked it when it was no cost they will honour that. It shows up in MySilversea with the cost crossed out, and shows as zero cost in My Activities. 

[RetiredandTravel]

Just now, gnome12 said:

No. If you booked it when it was no cost they will honour that. It shows up in MySilversea with the cost crossed out, and shows as zero cost in My Activities. 

 

 

Thank you.  Any experience with waitlisted excursions?

 

 

[gnome12]

Just now, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Thank you.  Any experience with waitlisted excursions?

 

 

No. This is my first Silversea cruise, and I booked all my excursions when I first booked the cruise 21 months before departure. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Here's my experience with a just-concluded cruise on Silver Whisper Jan. 29-Feb. 14.  I booked a combination of included and extra-cost excursions as soon as they became available.  Several included excursions filled up, and Silversea added a second (and third) departure to accommodate new bookings – I used these opportunities to cancel the early-morning departures and move to later ones.  They also increased the cost of some excursions – in all cases I was protected at the original price of my booking.  They did NOT change any included excursions into extra-cost ones [IIRC there has only been one report here about that happening]

[RetiredandTravel]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Here's my experience with a just-concluded cruise on Silver Whisper Jan. 29-Feb. 14.  I booked a combination of included and extra-cost excursions as soon as they became available.  Several included excursions filled up, and Silversea added a second (and third) departure to accommodate new bookings – I used these opportunities to cancel the early-morning departures and move to later ones.  They also increased the cost of some excursions – in all cases I was protected at the original price of my booking.  They did NOT change any included excursions into extra-cost ones [IIRC there has only been one report here about that happening]

 

 

Thank you!!  Considering the cost and time to get to Australia from the Eastern US I don't want to get shut out.

 

 

[gnome12]

7 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Here's my experience with a just-concluded cruise on Silver Whisper Jan. 29-Feb. 14.  I booked a combination of included and extra-cost excursions as soon as they became available.  Several included excursions filled up, and Silversea added a second (and third) departure to accommodate new bookings – I used these opportunities to cancel the early-morning departures and move to later ones.  They also increased the cost of some excursions – in all cases I was protected at the original price of my booking.  They did NOT change any included excursions into extra-cost ones [IIRC there has only been one report here about that happening]

They did change one of my included excursions to an extra cost one.

 

@Host Jazzbeau when did they start adding additional later departure times for early morning departures? We are just past final payment, and I have only seen additional times on two  excursions. Every other one is still early. In particular, the one that moved from included to extra cost has a 7 am departure time for a 3 hour excursion that includes a visit to a museum that doesn’t open until 10 and is supposed to inclde a light lunch!

Edited February 19 by gnome12

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 minute ago, gnome12 said:

They did change one of my included excursions to an extra cost one.

 

@Host Jazzbeau when did they start adding additional later departure times for early morning departures? We are just past final payment, and I have only seen additional times on two  excursions. Every other one is still early. In particular, the one that moved from included to extra cost has a 7 am departure time for a 3 hour excursion that includes a visit to a museum that doesn’t open until 10 and is supposed to inclde a light lunch!

That added information about your excursion confirms my suspicion that it is a one-off!  Clearly that excursion is all fouled up!!!

 

I kept checking my excursions because I was having trouble getting restaurant bookings [La Dame was showing sold out for every night, starting from the day the bow ties finally showed on the website, and La Terrazza had me waitlisted on 2 of the formal nights.  Those bookings remained waitlisted until we got on board; I asked the Maitre 'd at La Terrazza about it, and he immediately confirmed them.]

 

The added excursions showed up randomly over the course of the last few months before the cruise.  I suspect [without any evidence, but heh this is the internet!] that they wait until the waitlist reaches a certain size to justify the added bus and guide.  On the one excursion that went to three buses, we had a much older bus that the others [stick shift, and clearly in need to a clutch job] and the driver also served as the guide [to his apparent surprise] – so we had obviously reached the limit of that vendor's capacity.

[Observer]

17 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

In particular, the one that moved from included to extra cost has a 7 am departure time for a 3 hour excursion that includes a visit to a museum that doesn’t open until 10 and is supposed to inclde a light lunch!

 

I have noticed several 7 AM departures on excursions for a forthcoming cruise. I am fairly certain that this is a placeholder for a time to be determined later. 7 AM is the time the ship docks.

[Host Jazzbeau]

11 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Thank you!!  Considering the cost and time to get to Australia from the Eastern US I don't want to get shut out.

I have followed three cruise lines with included excursions.  On Viking and Regent, the included options didn't give me what I wanted so I would have been taking extra-cost excursions or private tours in every port.  Silversea was a pleasant surprise in that the included excursion list is long and varied, and I could find something satisfactory in each port.  

 

We did book four extra-cost ones, because there were some don't-miss things and we don't expect to be able to make this long trip again; all were things that include heavy admission fees so I could see why they were extra cost [Tauranga – Hobbiton; Picton – Sheep Farm & Winery (there were other visits to a sheep farm and many to wineries that were included); Hobart – Exclusive Night at Bonorong (regular daytime visit was included); Phillip Island – VIP seating area (regular area was included – and port was dropped in an itinerary change)]

 

Some of the included excursions were surprising [I'm sure they would be extra cost on those other cruise lines]:  Kaikoura – Whale Watching cruise; Hobart – Port Arthur Discovery (6 hours); Geelong – Great Ocean Road (9+ hours).

 

All in all I was very happy with the included and extra-cost excursion choices on our cruise, and felt that Silversea is offering good value with this new inclusive strategy [assuming they continue to offer similarly rich choices].

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 minutes ago, Observer said:

I have noticed several 7 AM departures on excursions for a forthcoming cruise. I am fairly certain that this is a placeholder for a time to be determined later. 7 AM is the time the ship docks.

Yes, that happened with several excursions on our cruise.  And it's important to check the excursion tickets left in your cabin, because many of ours had slightly different start times than my bookings had showed – a call to the shore excursions desk confirmed that the tickets are correct.

 

[BTW, the shore excursions and guest relations personnel on Silver Whisper were the friendliest of any cruise we have taken.  Even when a Pilot strike delayed our arrival to Hobart by three hours and forced a last-minute scramble to rearrange all the morning tours!]

[Gourmet Gal]

43 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

No. If you booked it when it was no cost they will honour that. It shows up in MySilversea with the cost crossed out, and shows as zero cost in My Activities. 

But the question is if one is waitlisted for an included excursion there could be a charge for it by the time one clears the waitlist - does SS honor the original status of the excursion when one goes on the waitlist?

[Gourmet Gal]

44 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Here's my experience with a just-concluded cruise on Silver Whisper Jan. 29-Feb. 14.  I booked a combination of included and extra-cost excursions as soon as they became available.  Several included excursions filled up, and Silversea added a second (and third) departure to accommodate new bookings – I used these opportunities to cancel the early-morning departures and move to later ones.  They also increased the cost of some excursions – in all cases I was protected at the original price of my booking.  They did NOT change any included excursions into extra-cost ones [IIRC there has only been one report here about that happening]

There have been multiple reports of booked included excursions becoming excursions with a fee before the sailing date.  I believe the policy now is SS will honor the booking as no-charge.  But if you’re just waitlisted then what happens?

[mchell810]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Our cruise is over 9 months out and several of the "included" excursions are waitlisted.  Is it reasonable to think that if we go on the waitlist we will actually get on the excursions?   I looked at a few different room types and I'm guessing this cruise is 2/3 full.

 

thanks

 

As others have said SS will often add additional tours when there is a waitlist.  I strongly recommend you keep checking on MySilversea as I have never be notified of the additional tours when I was on a waitlist (perhaps I was too fast?)   When I saw additional offerings I canceled my 2nd choice and reserved a place on the waitlisted tour. 

 

[Pptarmigan]

We had a couple of excursions that were already waitlisted (one included, one paid) when we booked our cruise to Alaska 10 months in advance.  I joined the waitlists and we have cleared both (we're 4.5 months out now).  Since you're so far out, it may also be that they haven't fully confirmed the tours with the operators and leave people on the waitlist until they are sure that it is going to happen.

[RetiredandTravel]

56 minutes ago, Pptarmigan said:

We had a couple of excursions that were already waitlisted (one included, one paid) when we booked our cruise to Alaska 10 months in advance.  I joined the waitlists and we have cleared both (we're 4.5 months out now).  Since you're so far out, it may also be that they haven't fully confirmed the tours with the operators and leave people on the waitlist until they are sure that it is going to happen.

 

 

Our cruise is 9+ months out.  It would be a very poor showing if waitlisted excursions don't open up.  Napier for example has 1 included excursion.  New Plymouth has zero included excursions, waitlisted or not.  In my experience Regent offers a much wider variety of included excurions.  IMO if SS wants to be in the "all inclusive" game they need to ramp up the included excursion component.