Booking Excursions -- how far out?

[AnneBonney]

We're doing the relocation transatlantic cruise on the Noordam in April. Everytime I try and see wat shore excursions are available I get a message saying that shore excursions are not available for this cruise. Anyone have any idea how far out the information on this would be available online?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Begin trying in December -- HAL may still be working on contracts with the vendors.

[LADYLAYLA]

We're doing the relocation transatlantic cruise on the Noordam in April. Everytime I try and see wat shore excursions are available I get a message saying that shore excursions are not available for this cruise. Anyone have any idea how far out the information on this would be available online?

 

Thanks in advance![/quot

 

Just keep checking -- as HAL has them set up and verified they will start adding. We sail in March and the first to hit (in May 08) was HMC, now they are slowly showing for the additional ports!

[Beebob1]

Begin trying in December -- HAL may still be working on contracts with the vendors.

 

We sail in April and was wondering also. Do you have to be paid in full to book :confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

No -- you do not have to pay in full to start booking excursions. Just have your booking number and credit card handy when tours start to open up.

TransAtlantic cruises tend to open up the excursions later as there aren't as many ports there.

Caribbean excursions open sooner as the cruise lines temd to use the same vendors year after year.

Many people book the HMC Cabanas up to 6 - 8 months in advance.

[cptlapcat]

No -- you do not have to pay in full to start booking excursions. Just have your booking number and credit card handy when tours start to open up.

TransAtlantic cruises tend to open up the excursions later as there aren't as many ports there.

Caribbean excursions open sooner as the cruise lines temd to use the same vendors year after year.

Many people book the HMC Cabanas up to 6 - 8 months in advance.

 

You do have to pay in full with a credit card when you book the HMC Cabana. I booked one 7 months before my December cruise. I notice that they now are all booked.

[cruz chic]

You do have to pay in full with a credit card when you book the HMC Cabana. I booked one 7 months before my December cruise. I notice that they now are all booked.

I think there may be a bit of a misunderstanding here. I think (?) the person was wondering if the cruise needs to be paid in full....no it doesn't. Yes, you do have to pay for the excursions when you book them.

[Beebob1]

I think there may be a bit of a misunderstanding here. I think (?) the person was wondering if the cruise needs to be paid in full....no it doesn't. Yes, you do have to pay for the excursions when you book them.

 

Thank lorekauf that is what I was asking, if the cruise had to be paid in full. I just booked yesterday, so guess we had better look at the excursions next.

 

Thanks for all the great help :)

[medfordgirl]

I was wondering, if we book and pay for an excursion and then we were to cancel the cruise for whatever reason, would we get the money back for the excursion? I have no intention of cancelling my cruise but you never know. I want to book the horseback riding on HMC but you never know. Or what if you book it and then say you break your leg just before the trip. You can still go on the cruise with a cast on but horseback riding would be out of the question. Just curious about that.

[DesertDogs]

I was wondering, if we book and pay for an excursion and then we were to cancel the cruise for whatever reason, would we get the money back for the excursion?

 

No problem. Per HAL website.

 

Q:What if I decide to cancel a tour?

A: In the case of online cancellations made by you (which cannot be made during the 5-day period prior to cruise departure) or cancellations made by us more than 5 days prior to cruise departure, we will issue a credit on the credit card that you used to pay for the booking. For all other cancellations (whether by you, Holland America Line or the shore excursion operator), a credit will not be issued on your card. Instead, we will apply an ONBOARD CREDIT ONLY policy under which the refund (less any cancellation fee) will show up as a credit on the shipboard account of the person who was to take the shore excursion. If the credit is not fully utilized during the cruise, the balance will be paid to that guest by the ship's Front Office. If you cancel a Signature of Excellence private car or minivan shore excursion within 5 days of sailing, a 100% cancellation fee will apply since transportation and services will have already been arranged. Optional excursions during the land portion of your Alaska cruisetour are non-refundable at 5 days prior to cruisetour departure.

Q: How do I cancel a tour online?

A: 1. On the Book Shore Excursions page, enter your booking number and last name, and click "Continue" to see your current tours. 2. Go to the day with the shore excursion you want to change and click "Make Changes." 3. To cancel the tour for individual guests, select "Cancel" in the drop-down menu next to each guest's name. To cancel the tour for all guests in the booking, click the "Cancel Tour for All Guests" button located next to the tour. 4. When finished, click "Update" to return to the Your Tours page. 5. Repeat this procedure for any excursion you wish to cancel. Then, proceed through the remaining screens, following the instructions until you receive your reference number.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I was wondering, if we book and pay for an excursion and then we were to cancel the cruise for whatever reason, would we get the money back for the excursion? I have no intention of cancelling my cruise but you never know. I want to book the horseback riding on HMC but you never know. Or what if you book it and then say you break your leg just before the trip. You can still go on the cruise with a cast on but horseback riding would be out of the question. Just curious about that.

 

Yes -- you will get your money back - via credit card -- we had to cancel a cruise 10 day before we were to leave for Montreal a number of years ago -- had prebooked cruises -- it took about 6 - 8 weeks once all the paper work was completed and we did get everything back on our credit crd.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You do have to pay in full with a credit card when you book the HMC Cabana. I booked one 7 months before my December cruise. I notice that they now are all booked.

 

Yes -- you do have to pay for all excsurions in full via credit card before you cruise -- including Cabanas.

But you do not have to pay for your cruise in full!!

[RuthC]

I was wondering, if we book and pay for an excursion and then we were to cancel the cruise for whatever reason, would we get the money back for the excursion?

 

No problem. Per HAL website.

 

Q:What if I decide to cancel a tour?

A: In the case of online cancellations made by you (which cannot be made during the 5-day period prior to cruise departure) or cancellations made by us more than 5 days prior to cruise departure, we will issue a credit on the credit card that you used to pay for the booking. For all other cancellations (whether by you, Holland America Line or the shore excursion operator), a credit will not be issued on your card. Instead, we will apply an ONBOARD CREDIT ONLY policy under which the refund (less any cancellation fee) will show up as a credit on the shipboard account of the person who was to take the shore excursion. If the credit is not fully utilized during the cruise, the balance will be paid to that guest by the ship's Front Office.

I see one potential problem here. There's no mention of what happens if you cancel your cruise/shore excursion within 5 days of sailing. You can't cancel the shore ex on-line, as it's too late; and you can't cancel on board if you're not there. You can call Seattle to cancel (or specify that when you're canceling the cruise), but the policy is silent on how this will be handled.