P&o excursions

What I'm wondering is if they actually have many places on tours left to sell on board or whether there are just dribs and drabs left i.e. the ones that haven't been pre-booked because they're not very popular?

Might seem a silly question if you've been on lots of cruises and booked lots of trips onboard but I have no idea. And the fact that someone is wait-listed 5 weeks before their trip is a worry.

Personally I usually go for independent travel do not know what I'm dealing with and want to find out ahead of time to make sure Mum gets a great experience.

Unless there are specific tours that we will be disappointed if we miss, we tend to wait until onboard and book then.Sometimes they put on an extra coach if tours are waitlisted and there is the demand..For instance we are cruising to the Greek Islands soon but haven t booked any in advance because there are a couple of tours in each port that we would be happy with.If there is a particular tour that we feel is a 'must see'we book that before we go. Sometimes there are port talks onboard and occasionaly we have changed our minds about an excursion after watching.

As someone else pointed out any obc will soon be used if you leave the tips on and buy a few drinks.Alternately pay to eat in one of the speciality restaurants.Whatever you decide enjoy your cruise! :)

P.S. I think a lot of people wait until they get onboard to book shore excursions.In my experience there are usually a lot of places left but we always try and go to shore excursions desk on the first day or two

I think the point isn't that there's anything wrong with inside cabins as a bedroom, but anyone who uses them as a cheap drinking zone might just be slightly too much in need of alcohol :(. I always have an inside cabin, but wouldn't want to hang out there.

yes thats what I meant!

I can understand a drink on your balcony bit seems to me to be a bit miserable to sit drinking in a windowless room just to save money

What I'm wondering is if they actually have many places on tours left to sell on board or whether there are just dribs and drabs left i.e. the ones that haven't been pre-booked because they're not very popular?

Might seem a silly question if you've been on lots of cruises and booked lots of trips onboard but I have no idea. And the fact that someone is wait-listed 5 weeks before their trip is a worry.

Personally I usually go for independent travel do not know what I'm dealing with and want to find out ahead of time to make sure Mum gets a great experience.

Most tours still have spaces available when you get on board; but not all. Often, the more popular ones have a warning to that effect in the brochure.

What you suggested in another post is exactly what we do - if a tour looks like exactly the thing for us, we book in advance; if there are two or three roughly equivalent choices, or we simply don't know and want more information, we wait until we're on board. The port lectures give a lot more information than the tours brochure.

One thing is certain, they never all sell out. You will always find a tour with space; you won't be left on board with nowhere to go.

Thank you Ann141 - that answers all my questions

We're seriously looking at the big trips now and will probably book one specific trip beforehand and pick up anything else that takes our fancy while we're on board. Mind you, Mum's already decided "Rome will probably be too busy", so wants to visit gardens! Needless to say, I/we've decided we won't necessarily be going on the same trips and I have pointed out that we're on this trip to see corners of the world she's never seen (won't fly), we're out of the holidays to avoid the main rush and we can see gardens in England a lot more cheaply!!!

Think we'll make an early visit to the booking office once on board!

And I reckon she may enjoy the quieter private lounge area if we hit some good weather - not something we looked at with fog on sea days when we went to Norway and a few brave souls shivering under blankets!

Further to my post about two weeks ago saying how disappointed I was that I had to be 'Waitlisted' for a ship's tour that I wanted to take on the Arcadia (J715), I have this morning been offered a place (72 hours to make up my mind). To anyone else who finds themselves having to be 'Waitlisted' for a tour of their choice, it is worth it.