Is it crazy to book an excursion a year out?

[Torfamm]

21 hours ago, MudderBear said:

I learned a good lesson on my upcoming Barcelona to Rome cruise this year.  Book your excursions early.  I was lucky as I grabbed two in Italy months ago, and now had a hard time booking for Gibralter and Marsailles.

 

Anyway, with that in mind, we are sailing Princess in Alaska summer of 2025.  This will be a repeat cruise.  I'd like to book that special boat in Hubbards' Glacier ($299 pp YIKES!!!) now before we get locked out of that.  Its the boat that takes you as far as it can go right up close.  And yes, I've done the cruise before, but stayed on our ship and envied those that did the excursion.

 

Am I crazy to book over a year in advance?  My full payment isn't even due until next March 2025.  What do ya'll think?

 

Thanks.

 

 

If you know that you want that opportunity and that availability is limited, why wouldn’t you book it? You can always cancel if you cancel the cruise or change your mind.

[Therese S.]

On 3/25/2024 at 12:56 PM, MudderBear said:

I learned a good lesson on my upcoming Barcelona to Rome cruise this year.  Book your excursions early.  I was lucky as I grabbed two in Italy months ago, and now had a hard time booking for Gibralter and Marsailles.

 

Anyway, with that in mind, we are sailing Princess in Alaska summer of 2025.  This will be a repeat cruise.  I'd like to book that special boat in Hubbards' Glacier ($299 pp YIKES!!!) now before we get locked out of that.  Its the boat that takes you as far as it can go right up close.  And yes, I've done the cruise before, but stayed on our ship and envied those that did the excursion.

 

Am I crazy to book over a year in advance?  My full payment isn't even due until next March 2025.  What do ya'll think?

 

Thanks.

 

 

  Is the Hubbard glacier small boat a Princess excursion?  Would you find it listed under the day you cruise the Glacier?  We're taking the 22 day Ultimate Alaska cruise June 2025 and Ive been waiting and checking to see if something like this shows up but so far no luck. 

[Paula_MacFan]

58 minutes ago, Therese S. said:

  Is the Hubbard glacier small boat a Princess excursion?  Would you find it listed under the day you cruise the Glacier?  We're taking the 22 day Ultimate Alaska cruise June 2025 and Ive been waiting and checking to see if something like this shows up but so far no luck. 

Yes and yes. Here's what it looks like on my app.

[eltigre]

So very worth the money. Book as soon as you can! We loved it.

[Therese S.]

49 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Yes and yes. Here's what it looks like on my app.

Thanks a bunch...now I know what to look for.  How far in advance of your June 2024 cruise did it show up to book?  And if you dont mind me asking how much?  Our cruise is June 2025, I'm probably looking for it to show up too soon

[Paula_MacFan]

23 minutes ago, Therese S. said:

Thanks a bunch...now I know what to look for.  How far in advance of your June 2024 cruise did it show up to book?  And if you dont mind me asking how much?  Our cruise is June 2025, I'm probably looking for it to show up too soon

 

You're welcome!  I looked obsessively every day until excursions opened up.  I show we booked it on 7/8/23 so almost a year in advance for $299.  It didn't seem like very long until it was noted as 'waitlist' only and I saw the price go as high as $429.  Good luck!

[NavyVeteran]

8 hours ago, JordanF said:

How far in advance of the cruise to Princess Excursions become available?

No fixed answer. It depends. Usually earlier at ports where Princess has a lot of cruises.

Keep looking at your Cruise Personalizer to see when they show up.

[NavyVeteran]

3 hours ago, Therese S. said:

  Is the Hubbard glacier small boat a Princess excursion?  Would you find it listed under the day you cruise the Glacier?  We're taking the 22 day Ultimate Alaska cruise June 2025 and Ive been waiting and checking to see if something like this shows up but so far no luck. 

 

2 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Yes and yes. Here's what it looks like on my app.

Any excursion on a Glacier Scenic Cruising day in Alaska, like any excursion in the middle of the Panama Canal would have to be a ship's excursion. The ship does not dock. The excursion would pick up passengers directly from the ship, and only ship's excursions would be able to do that.

I am booked on September 2024 B2B cruises with Scenic Cruising days at Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park, and Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier; and on the May 2025 Ultimate Alaska cruise with Scenic Cruising days at Glacier Bay National Park, Hubbard Glacier, and College Fjord; and none of the Scenic Cruising days on any of these cruises has any excursions listed. I will keep looking to see if they show up. I wonder if September is too late in the season and May is too early in the season for these excursions.

[no1racefan1]

You're not crazy. That excursion was sold out by about 5 months in advance on my May 2024 cruise. And the price went up a LOT before it sold out.

[Rick&Jeannie]

14 hours ago, nomoe said:

I am booked on Caribbean Princess European Capitals for September 2024.  I booked excursions months ago. Several weeks ago I had a refund on my credit card from Princess Cruise Line without explanation. I researched my trip and one of my excursions was canceled.  A few days ago the same thing happened. I received a refund from Princess and upon checking it was another excursion canceled. I am annoyed as there was no communication from Princess about the cancelation, or was there available options to book.  I emailed my cruise personalizer but have not heard back from him.  Does anyone know if there is a customer service address or website where I can register a complaint?

Are you sure that any notices did not end up in your spam folder?

[MudderBear]

Thanks all.  I am the OP and yes, I did book the excursion.  Now I just have to decide by March if I want to do the Alaska cruise (again) or the Greece land/cruise.

[90scruzer]

On 3/25/2024 at 12:56 PM, MudderBear said:

I learned a good lesson on my upcoming Barcelona to Rome cruise this year.  Book your excursions early.  I was lucky as I grabbed two in Italy months ago, and now had a hard time booking for Gibralter and Marsailles.

 

Anyway, with that in mind, we are sailing Princess in Alaska summer of 2025.  This will be a repeat cruise.  I'd like to book that special boat in Hubbards' Glacier ($299 pp YIKES!!!) now before we get locked out of that.  Its the boat that takes you as far as it can go right up close.  And yes, I've done the cruise before, but stayed on our ship and envied those that did the excursion.

 

Am I crazy to book over a year in advance?  My full payment isn't even due until next March 2025.  What do ya'll think?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Depending upon the cruise, you are crazy not to.

 

We were looking at Greenland.   I *REEEAAAALLLLYYY* (can you tell how much more?) wanted to book either Celebrity or HAL (I don't recall which) as the itinerary was in almost all ways superior to Princess'.   It just had one less stop in Greenland.

 

We didn't as 100% of the Greenland excursions were booked. 

 

So we booked Princess' instead.  If they only added one more port stop between NUUK and New York, this would be a great itinerary as well.   But that is ofc a personal opinion.   So our sailing is almost 1.5 years out.   We are already waitlisted on one of the Greenland ports.    Now as for the Canadian part - unless someone informs me otherwise, I assume it is like 'normal' and we won't be looking at those ports until 6 months pre-departure.   For example, definitely want to get to signal hill on st johns and hope there are some really enormous icebergs off the coast.

 

Tom

 

PS.  I would prebook that boat ride as others mentioned.   

[wolfie11]

On 3/26/2024 at 10:34 AM, Sudoku said:

If you book this privately through Phillips Cruises, the 26 Glaciers cruise is $189.00 per person. It is the same boat that Princess uses.  We did it and it was definitely worth it.

Totally different things.  26 Glaciers is a shore excursion out of Whittier.  These are Allen Marine boats that pick you up off the ship, take you up close to the glacier, and then return you to your ship or the nearest port.

[Sudoku]

8 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

Totally different things.  26 Glaciers is a shore excursion out of Whittier.  These are Allen Marine boats that pick you up off the ship, take you up close to the glacier, and then return you to your ship or the nearest port.

Sorry, totally misread the post.

[BamaVol]

I held off booking an excursion while I waited for my daughter to check in her family for the same cruise.  I didn’t want to have to cancel if there was no room for all six of us.  Result: the price increased $10 pp.

[JordanF]

Wow--I just read a news story about NCL passengers who took a private excursion, got back late, and were stranded on an African island.  Best advertisement for ship excursions ever!

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/cruise-passengers-including-pregnant-woman-32488918

 

[90scruzer]

3 hours ago, JordanF said:

NCL passengers who took a private excursion, got back late, and were stranded on an African island

This is indeed the risk you take when you book private.   Though we were on a Mediterranean cruise, where the ship changed the time (earlier), and the tour guide said they were told that the ship had gone back to the original departure time.   We walked back to the ship immediately, which was fortunate as a couple dozen people on our tour alone were left as they went shopping and exploring with the "new found" time in port.   They were of course transported and met at the next port, where we learned of their adventure.    in this case, nothing like your case.

 

That said - I heard at least one operator indicating that they have never had a client left behind.

 

Tom