When do YOU book the ships port tours?

If you book some of your port tours through RCI, when you do book them as a general rule? Do you book when you first book your cruise, when you pay your final deposit or onboard? Anyone miss out on getting the tour they wanted by leaving it too late?

We booked our cruise 12 months from departure date and its now less than 6 months away and I am thinking about booking some tours now but I wonder if its too early.

(& yes I realise its often cheaper and better to book private tours and I plan to do a mix of both) but I am curious as to when other CCs book their RCI tours.

Onboard, if at all.

We have booked tours which have limited space once final payment is made, like the train into Rome reason as long as you are on the train the ship will wait if there are any delays, also the St Kitts train tour which we like to do the early tour as it give you a chance to look around afterwards. Some tours / trips are more popular then others.

Some people will say book private tours it cheaper but if something does happen you'll being having a private sail away party on the jetty, that my personnel feelings anyway.

We usually book specialty restaurants and any tours a month before embarkation.

Do you book when you first book your cruise, when you pay your final deposit or onboard? Anyone miss out on getting the tour they wanted by leaving it too late?

I believe, from experience, but not based on any fact that RC cancels some tours by lack of participation. On a couple of occasions I was notified before my cruise and at least 4 times I found out when I got on board the ship that the excursion was canceled. Would one more person signing up earlier make a difference? Probably not. At a point a couple of cruises ago, Royal had canceled a third of excursions I had purchased so I mainly started going private. (not the topic I know) But that has rebounded after my Jewel cruise last May where 0 out of 5 were canceled.)

We have all of our June 2015 Alaska Jewel cruise tours booked.

One of them has a limited # of people 20, so having missed out on this years ago. Went ahead and paid for a few weeks back.

One less expense to worry about next year

Have a great cruise.:)

We like to have everything paid for if possible before we cruise.

I usually will book several excursions a few months ahead of time, and do some on my own…I never have had any of the ship's excursions cancel on me…………….

It really all depends on the tour. If it is one that you can only do through the ship and has small availability do it ASAP (one that comes to mind is the America's Cup in St. Maarten). On the other hand if it is a generic tour where they take as many as want it I wait as long as possible.

Sometimes private tours are cheaper/better, but not always. There is certainly the perception on this board that they always are.

I do a mix of both, depending on my comfort level with the port, the availability of private excursions, who I'm traveling with, etc.

If it's something I'm really excited about, I book early, and I can check it off my to do list!

Most excursions I book as late as possible and the day after my RCI credit card statement drops. I usually don't get the bill until after the cruise is over.

I hate wasting my cruise time standing in line at the Explorations! desk or on the TV. Sometimes there is one excursion that we absolutely want that we may book it 30-60 days out.

Last December we did a few self directed tours in the Caribbean and even though it was a exciting to be 'out on our own' I was a little on edge all day. I kept looking at my watch, and was more concerned about getting back to the ship on time than having a good time. It did get better the 3rd-4th time but I prefer the guarantee the ship offers even if if it more expensive. In Alaska we did our own land tour to Denali with another couple and saved at least $1,500.

Kinda of the same we stopped using RCI transfers years ago. We get our own cabs or shuttles and save a lot of money.

There was a specific tour I wanted to do in Riga and was unable to find anyone on the roll call to join me in a private tour to lessen the expense. I booked with RCL about 4/6 weeks out in the end. It was very well subscribed and was extremely informative with an expert in the specific field. Could not have asked for more.

From my mobile so apologies for predictive text

Pre-cruise if using the cruise line (selling point is not getting left behind if tour is late).

3-6 mos prior.

You can always cancel if you change your mind, but some will book up if you don't pre-book.

But there are always options.

If you book some of your port tours through RCI, when you do book them as a general rule? Do you book when you first book your cruise, when you pay your final deposit or onboard? Anyone miss out on getting the tour they wanted by leaving it too late?

 

We booked our cruise 12 months from departure date and its now less than 6 months away and I am thinking about booking some tours now but I wonder if its too early.

 

(& yes I realise its often cheaper and better to book private tours and I plan to do a mix of both) but I am curious as to when other CCs book their RCI tours.

If a popular tour, about 8-10 weeks before the actual sail date. If a cabana in Labadee as soon as they become available.

You have to really want the tour and be sure- otherwise wait until onboard.

Enjoy your cruise.

I book once they have become available and we are not doing private tours. During our Australia trip last March/April, we had to reschedule two as they got cancelled and 1 never got on my Pre Cruise Planner nor was charged. Fortunately it wasn't full as it turned out to be one of the most interesting tours, during the Hawaii back to Vancouver cruise. ( Land of Frozen Fire ).

Usually about 3-6 months out. If it is a ships tour and I am absolutely sure it is the one I want, I will go ahead and book it. I also like to have everything paid off ahead of time.

depends on the tour and the destination. If its a tour that we really want to make sure we go on, we will book it a few months ahead - this really just applies to European cruises. Can't think of any excursion in the Caribbean that would be a must do since we've been on dozens of cruises there.

Marianne

if you do a little research, you can get tours cheaper...basically RCI is the middleman of the transaction....so you pay alittle more

One concern however is that if you book a ship sponsored tour, and the tour bus returns late, the ship will wait for you. If you go on a private tour, and the bus gets stuck- too bad so sad. This did happen to my son when he and friends stopped in port canaveral and spent a day a disney- fortunately, it was a ship sponored tour.

Consider paying a little more as insurance, which does cost additional. When we sail to Bermuda and stay at the port a few days, I have no problem going off on my own- as long as we have a cushion of time.

We book a few months out. I've never really wanted to wait in line once aboard.

Why wait? I'm confused? Why not book ASAP?

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When we see one we know we absolutely want to take, we go ahead and book!

LuLu

I book my tours right after final payment.

If I want to go on a specific one where there is a limit, I will book earlier.

I am looking now for airline fares and the last thing I do after paying for the cruise, excursions and airline tickets is purchasing OBC.

On my last cruise in Feb on AOS, I had paid for everything by the time I boarded. What an awesome feeling!!.

Another thing to consider, is that in some cases, due to contract negotiations, some tours may not be available at all privately. I've seen a few in particular where the tour was for cruise passengers ONLY. If you booked on your own independently, there were a few places they could not go with violating their contract. I would do some heavy research and see if a private tour operator offers the same/similar tour independently if you're looking to save money and are comfortable doing so. I have seen excursions sold out before even boarding the ship, and I've also seen other tours cancelled due to lack of participants.

We have all of our June 2015 Alaska Jewel cruise tours booked.

One of them has a limited # of people 20, so having missed out on this years ago. Went ahead and paid for a few weeks back.

 

One less expense to worry about next year

Have a great cruise.:)

I feel the same way - Our November 2014 cruise excursions have all been in place for almost a year. I have almost all of or Alaska July 2015 booked also. When I get onboard, standing in the line to book is the last place I want to be.

I book my tours right after final payment.

 

If I want to go on a specific one where there is a limit, I will book earlier.

 

I am looking now for airline fares and the last thing I do after paying for the cruise, excursions and airline tickets is purchasing OBC.

 

On my last cruise in Feb on AOS, I had paid for everything by the time I boarded. What an awesome feeling!!.

We always have the delima of when to book the tours. If we book before boarding we have to pay for them from cash flow. If we wait until we are on board to use our sizable OBC we run the risk of the more popular ones being sold out.