When to book Carnival excursion??

[tasmith09]

Is it a good idea to book a carnival-sponsored excursion sooner rather than later? Do they tend to fill up fast? Do I need to pay in full to reserve? Is it too risky to wait until getting on the ship to book?

We cruise in 75 days, final payment is tomorrow. My mom and me are wanting to do a dolphin encounter in Roatan and DH and my dad want to do the beginner's scuba diving.

[firefly333]

If you click to reserve it then its booked and it will charge you NOW. They can fill up but Iv waited until Im onboard to book too and booked it as soon as I board, but there is a small risk of filling up.

 

Sometimes prices go up too, and if you book it now, then you lock in the price.

[shof515]

if there is a specific tour you want, then book it as soon as possible because they can fill up and become sold out

[Catrin]

If you are 100% sold on that is what you want to do, I would book and pay before you sail.

 

That is one less charge on your Sail and Sign Acct!

 

We have only booked and paid once - but come to find out, the trip was canceled due to "Lack of Interest!".

 

Make sure you also visit the Ports of Call Boards.. for the many alternatives to Carnival Excursions!

 

Have fun!

[k2excursion]

Even if you're not completely sure on what you want to do, go ahead and book it just to be safe. You have up until 7 days prior to sailing to cancel the shore excursion and receive a full refund. (That cutoff window was recently increased to 7 days prior to sailing.) The refund would go back onto your credit card. I always prefer to pay for things later rather than sooner (so that the money can earn interest in the mean time), but it's best just to book your shore excursion while you can, just in case it fills up or the price increases. We have seen price increases on shore excursions with our cruises. In fact, while debating what we wanted to do at one port, the price went up on the excursion we were looking at, which made our decision easy--to go with the other option (not going through the ship). I've also seen prices higher on board than they were online (not always, but I have seen it).

[Sailingstagediva]

I called carnival on this issue and was told you have 3 days before to cancel.

[elcuchio24]

Those dolphin type excursions tend to book up quick, so probably not a bad idea to book well ahead of time.

[van buren girl]

book early for sure but not too early we booked ours when we made final payment and had alot of issues getting our tickets. two of three were not delivered to our room. had to go to guest services and get hand written slips showing that we paid.

[JRock59]

book early for sure but not too early we booked ours when we made final payment and had alot of issues getting our tickets. two of three were not delivered to our room. had to go to guest services and get hand written slips showing that we paid.

 

 

This is why I book early, print out the page showing I have a confirmed reservation and bring it with us on the Cruise. So far we've never had a problem but there's always the 1st time...............:)