Shore Excursions-book now? pay later?

I had called HAL today to ask for pricing for a pre cruise hotel/transfers in Rome for October of 2018. One of the hotels had already "sold out". Now I'm wondering about shore excursions, does that happen the same way?

Is it possible to reserve the shore excursions and pay either on the ship or with final payment? Or do they demand payment at time of booking???

I had called HAL today to ask for pricing for a pre cruise hotel/transfers in Rome for October of 2018. One of the hotels had already "sold out". Now I'm wondering about shore excursions, does that happen the same way?

Is it possible to reserve the shore excursions and pay either on the ship or with final payment? Or do they demand payment at time of booking???

 

Yes, popular shore excursions can and do sell out well before the cruise. As I recall HAL asks for a credit card when you make the reservation.

You must pay at booking time, and yes, popular excursions do often get sold out pre-cruise.

If there is a shore excursion that you really want to take, book it now.

All too often we have seen people disappointed when they got to the ship and found a couple of tours sold out.

Yes you do have to pay for shore excursions that you book on line but if for some reason you want to cancel once you get on the ship you can and they will just apply the refund to you onboard account.

 

As others have said some excursions that are very popular do sell out even before you get on the ship. If you pre book and it is sold out you can get on a waiting list and if enough people request that excursion they will get another bus.

Yes, you must pay at time of booking, but I believe that if you change your mind, even 48 hours before the excursion once on the ship, the money can be refunded. I'm sure others will let me know if I'm mistaken.

Yes, shore excursions sell out and even have waiting lists.

 

 

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... and if enough people request that excursion they will get another bus.

Some excursions require more than just another bus, for example ones that use a small boat or a train. These are marked as "limited capacity" in the brochures, and if you're interested in one of those you should definitely pre-book it.

I ended up calling HAL. Excursions are payable at time of booking. Can cancel with no penalty 4 days out. Once on the ship, can cancel within 48hours/thanks for the responses.

I agree with other posts. Better to book now and not be disappointed. You can always cancel once on the ship.

Enjoy your cruise and tour!

I have also been on a waitlist and have cleared. It never hurts to be waitlisted, and you aren't charged until you have cleared/

If you pre purchase excursions will that count towards cruise credits? ( Towards the $300 for 1 credit )

If you pre purchase excursions will that count towards cruise credits? ( Towards the $300 for 1 credit )

 

Yes they do :)

If you pre purchase excursions will that count towards cruise credits? ( Towards the $300 for 1 credit )

 

Yes, it certainly will - any pre-purchases will count toward cruise credits (wine, spirits, excursions, OBC, etc.).

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

We always pre-book our EXC tours (shore excursions). But we also visit their desk to get more specifics. There are some details (like amount of walking, stairs, etc) they have in their system that they don't publish.

 

Once onboard, the navigator app has the best description of shore excursions short of their desk.

 

They listened to our complaints, and step stools appeared for boarding the buses. Also, we had to enter secured port, and on our New Zealand itinerary the bus pulled right up to the gangplank.

 

They were much more stringent about mobility. I had a cane, and they limited me to Mild only. Some tours changed activity level after sailing. Our knitting group had a really nice lady, the First Officer's wife, that explained they'd gotten much more stringent about activity. Because they'd had people booking a strenuous activity (something I've never done, even 20 years ago), then complaining about it later.

I have also been on a waitlist and have cleared. It never hurts to be waitlisted, and you aren't charged until you have cleared/

 

That has been our experience, as well, that we have sometimes cleared the wait list. It never hurts to try (y)

Celebrity now allows passengers to use OBC to pre-purchase excursions, dining, drinks packages etc. prior to the cruise. It would be nice if HAL did the same.

Thanks all thought so!!!! Cathy