Payments for excursions

[tejmar]

I guess I've been spoiled by using the Carnival fleet for most of my last cruises. We're going on an Italian cruise in June and I booked a few excursions online and I was shocked to see that RC has already charge to our credit card. On HAL and Princess I booked and sometimes re-booked excursions and was never charged until we actually went on the excursion. We just had to make the final payment and now we're going to have to pay thousands more up front on this cruise. That stinks! That's another plus in the Princess column.

[Sue L]

I think coming home AFTER the cruise to face a huge bill stinks, I would rather go on the ship with a clear credit card balance. You can make all the changes you want between now and the cruise, online up to 10 days before and once on the ship until 24 hours before, not a big deal.

[scgirlatheart]

We love having everything prepaid. So far for our cruise in August we have the cruise itself paid off, the tips are prepaid, our shore excursions are paid for, and the soda package for my husband & daughter. It's a much more relaxing vacation knowing that we won't come home to a huge credit card bill.

[robtulipe]

I think coming home AFTER the cruise to face a huge bill stinks, I would rather go on the ship with a clear credit card balance. You can make all the changes you want between now and the cruise, online up to 10 days before and once on the ship until 24 hours before, not a big deal.

The 10 days before didn't sound right to me so I checked the terms and conditions for shore excursions for our next month's Radiance cruise and you can change or cancel online up to four days before the cruise starts which with a cancellation will get a refund on the billed to credit card. After that you must change or cancel onboard by the indicated deadline for that excursion and if you cancel, the refund will be put on your Seapass onboard account.

 

Refunds and Cancellations

No refunds are made for failure to use all of the described services included in the excursion price. Cancellations by guests must be made prior to the closing deadline advised directly onboard the ship or during your Alaska Cruisetour. Under no circumstances will refunds be made after an excursion has commenced. Remember, you may change or cancel your Shore Excursions on this website up to 4 days prior to your cruise start date. You may change or cancel your Land Excursions on this website up to 4 days prior to your Alaska Cruisetour start date.

Cruise Enhancements must be purchased in the same currency as your cruise ticket purchase or Alaska Cruisetour reservation. Exchange rates are determined by a competitive pricing program and may be subject to change without notice. All monetary exchanges processed onboard are paid out in U.S. Dollars directly to your SeaPass account unless otherwise specified.

[tejmar]

I think that having to pay for everything at once is worse than paying half now and half after the cruise. I don't like to have to pay for something this far in advance for something that I may not even use. RCI already has all my cruise money in advance, why do they need the excursion money in advance also, especially given the possibility that the ship could miss the port, the cruise could be canceled, or I may decide that I don't want to take that excursion. I've booked private tours before and for this cruise and I've never booked with anyone that wanted the money up front like this. Other cruise lines do it that way. How much upfront money does RC need?

[MAZANDSTEVE]

We love having everything prepaid. So far for our cruise in August we have the cruise itself paid off, the tips are prepaid, our shore excursions are paid for, and the soda package for my husband & daughter. It's a much more relaxing vacation knowing that we won't come home to a huge credit card bill.

 

 

I agree, I like the fact I have paid up front for excursions and also the wine package and speciality restaurants, hopefully not a shock huge bill at the end of cruise now.:) ............hopefully, LOL.

[Sue L]

The 10 days before didn't sound right to me so I checked the terms and conditions for shore excursions for our next month's Radiance cruise and you can change or cancel online up to four days before the cruise starts which with a cancellation will get a refund on the billed to credit card. After that you must change or cancel onboard by the indicated deadline for that excursion and if you cancel, the refund will be put on your Seapass onboard account.

 

Refunds and Cancellations

No refunds are made for failure to use all of the described services included in the excursion price. Cancellations by guests must be made prior to the closing deadline advised directly onboard the ship or during your Alaska Cruisetour. Under no circumstances will refunds be made after an excursion has commenced. Remember, you may change or cancel your Shore Excursions on this website up to 4 days prior to your cruise start date. You may change or cancel your Land Excursions on this website up to 4 days prior to your Alaska Cruisetour start date.

Cruise Enhancements must be purchased in the same currency as your cruise ticket purchase or Alaska Cruisetour reservation. Exchange rates are determined by a competitive pricing program and may be subject to change without notice. All monetary exchanges processed onboard are paid out in U.S. Dollars directly to your SeaPass account unless otherwise specified.

 

 

It used to be 10 days before, I guess they updated it.

[kyriecat]

I guess I've been spoiled by using the Carnival fleet for most of my last cruises. We're going on an Italian cruise in June and I booked a few excursions online and I was shocked to see that RC has already charge to our credit card. On HAL and Princess I booked and sometimes re-booked excursions and was never charged until we actually went on the excursion. We just had to make the final payment and now we're going to have to pay thousands more up front on this cruise. That stinks! That's another plus in the Princess column.

Apparently you're in for a surprise on HAL also. They have changed their excursion policy to pay as you book. I was charged immediately for the excursions that I booked on my upcoming HAL cruise.

[temple1]

I think it protects me and helps to ensure I go on the excursion I want. I like having a paid receipt in hand.

 

If the port is missed or because of bad weather the excursion is cancelled I should get my money back. If I cancel my cruise - less than 4 days before departure, I'm going to lose a lot more than the excursion cost.

 

I've got to pay for it at some point. If I order Broadway tickets or an airline ticket - I pay in advance.

[lovemylab]

I also like having it paid for before we leave. If I was booking excursions that cost in the thousands I'd much rather have it paid for before we leave than dealing with it when I get home.

[tejmar]

Apparently you're in for a surprise on HAL also. They have changed their excursion policy to pay as you book. I was charged immediately for the excursions that I booked on my upcoming HAL cruise.

 

We cruised with Princess that last 3 times including January 2009 so I know Princess still charges after the cruise. Haven't used HAL since 2004. Sad to hear that charging in advance is becoming the norm. I guess I'll have to add this to my list of things to research the next time I pick a cruise.

[temple1]

Another reason I like paying in advance - I know what it costs. Too many times I read on here how you think something is going to cost one amount only to find out at the last minute it is quite a bit more. If it is paid for - no surprises.

[wrp96]

If you don't like paying in advance, consider looking for independent excursions. Frequently you can find good, reliable independent excursions for less than the cruiselines and most don't require payment in advance. Check out the Ports of Calls board for suggestions.

 

I personally prefer to have stuff like this prepaid. That way I leave all the limit on my credit card for onboard spending and any emergencies that might come up.

[NancyIL]

Apparently you're in for a surprise on HAL also. They have changed their excursion policy to pay as you book. I was charged immediately for the excursions that I booked on my upcoming HAL cruise.

 

That was also my experience with HAL in Alaska last year - pay when you book the excursion.

 

I like having the excursions added to my shipboard account, especially if you have onboard credit to use. The cruise price and airfare are the two biggest expenses that are paid for in advance, and I like spreading out the payment of other things when possible - like excursions.

[tejmar]

Another reason I like paying in advance - I know what it costs. Too many times I read on here how you think something is going to cost one amount only to find out at the last minute it is quite a bit more. If it is paid for - no surprises.

 

I always knew what the price of the excursions were when I booked them with Princess and HAL. They always displayed the prices of the excursions and spa treatments when you booked them online. So there were no surprises regarding the price and you knew what the gratuities were going to cost also. The difference is paying a large sum of money all at once versus payments. On a relatively low cost 7 day Caribbean cruise in the off season the difference between paying everything upfront and payments is not as much as for a 12 day European cruise which is very expensive in comparison. The airfare and cruise fare itself is very expensive and the shore excursions are almost as much as the cruise. I can see that if you just have the money laying around in a checking account no big deal, but when you have already shelled out thousands for airfare and cruise, having an additional 2-3 months to save up to pay the rest is helpful.

 

Regarding the no surprises by paying in advance, on our last cruise the port charges had increased since our final payment and the additional charge was placed on our account. If you read the cruise contract, they have the option to pass on any additional costs to the passengers. I would assume that if for some reason the Euro would increase substantially versus the dollar, the additional costs of the excursions would also be past on to passengers.

[torpeedo]

We always pre book excursions so we don't have a big bill at the end also. The other benefit is that you can select the time you want and also books excursions that tend to fill up to assure your slot. It's not a pretty scene at the Explorations desk when people find out an excursion is sold out that they had their hearts set on. You can always book one excursion a month to spread out the payments.

We just booked excursions for October and my recollection was that the website advised you upfront that your credit card would be billed..

[temple1]

tejmar - That was almost in jest - read a few topics on what everyone says they are quoted for a variety of things by RCCL call center staff and you would think there were 50 different answers for every 3 questions. That has not been my experience - but just reporting what I've read on here.

 

As I put in my longer post - I do not find it unusual to pay in advance for tickets. When I go to NY I pay in advance for theater tickets, when I would go to concerts I pay in advance to get good seats, when I go to certain museums, I pay in advance for tickets, when I book most anything I pay for it in advance. I don't see any difference and trust me - (at least in the past) good seats at many Broadway shows are not cheap.

 

Like others have noted on here - it's got to be paid for eventually. I prefer to not have a $1,000+ credit card statement waiting for me at home.

 

On our upcoming cruise I've paid for one excursion in advance, I have left over museum tickets from a previous trip and I might wait to get onboard to book our 3rd excursion because I'm not sure yet what I want to do.

 

I would be more concerned to book an excursion and not see a charge for it. I would be worried the entire time that it was not properly booked. :confused:

[judyzoo]

Carnival also charges when you book the excursion. I too like having the excursions paid for before sailing, but it's a bit of a pain if you cancel and book something different before sailing.

[torpeedo]

Tejmar, you can cancel your excursions and it will be credited back to your card. Then book one or two and then a couple on the ship. That would give you spread out payments??