Shore Excursions - Are there any deals if we wait to book onboard?

[nycmode]

Just wondering, if we decided to book shore excursions on board, are there any discounts? I just wanted to see before I start shelling out $$$ ahead of time. Thanks!

[cruisestitch]

None that I am aware of. I suspect that if there were, we would have seen something posted here on Cruise Critic.

 

The advantages to booking ahead of time are to be sure you don't get locked out of the excursion you want, since some do sell out.

 

On the other hand, if you wait until you are on board, you'll have a better feel for the weather and if there's any possibility of bad weather, you wouldn't be stuck with something you might not enjoy.

[nycmode]

On the other hand, if you wait until you are on board, you'll have a better feel for the weather and if there's any possibility of bad weather, you wouldn't be stuck with something you might not enjoy.

 

Right on the money :) There are so many things we want to do, and I'm just concerned we may book all this stuff, only to find that there was some deal offered later on, which would make me sad :( And yes, weather is definitely a factor too. I remember booking an excursion in Florida, only to get soaked that day!

[Lsimon]

I don't think I've ever seen discounts offered for ship sponsored shore excursions.

 

Many cruisers opt for purchasing shore excursions from private operators in advance or on the dock who might have lower prices. Of course there are positive and negative aspects to this depending on what activities one is anticipating and one's comfort level in planning their own trips and their ability to manage time on their own so they don't have to worry about getting back to the ship in time for departure from port.

 

I did notice that you might be on a Caribbean sailing and if you're looking for some beach time most people would agree that the best way to get to a beach is to head there on your own via taxi rather than taking an excursion. For more involved tours and activities the decision can be a bit harder.

[nycmode]

 

I did notice that you might be on a Caribbean sailing and if you're looking for some beach time most people would agree that the best way to get to a beach is to head there on your own via taxi rather than taking an excursion. For more involved tours and activities the decision can be a bit harder.

 

 

Indeed we are! My wife was gravitating towards the guided walking tours. I wonder if that's really worth the money, or maybe just walking around the area with a Frommer's guide might be better.

[ladylemondrop]

NYCMODE - I know this is not related, but I LOVE your monkey!!!! How cute is that?! My brother had something similar when he was a child, and he took it everywhere, when he lost it, it was a major drama!!! Love it.

[CruisinNole]

I've never seen any discounts offered on a shore excursion but on our Med. cruise, a fairly large number of excursions were sold out. Also, if you are U.S., your excursions are in $$ instead of Euros which can save some money depending on the exchange rate.

[nycmode]

NYCMODE - I know this is not related, but I LOVE your monkey!!!! How cute is that?! My brother had something similar when he was a child, and he took it everywhere, when he lost it, it was a major drama!!! Love it.

 

@ Louise - LOL we bring this little guy everywhere and take a photo. It's like a gnome thing. What's funny, when we brought him to our wedding, he got lost on that day (the hotel staff took him with the dirty laundry) and it freaked us out. However, after non-stop complaining on my part, the entire housekeeping staff went through the entire stash of dirty laundry in the hotel, and somehow miraculously found him. Whee!

[CaroleLee]

Just wondering, if we decided to book shore excursions on board, are there any discounts? I just wanted to see before I start shelling out $$$ ahead of time. Thanks!

 

In June on Solstice (RT BCN) if yiu waited there were some discounts if you purchased pkg of tours-ie 1 ea port.These were the left over spaces. This was the 1st time I've seen discounts offered-so it might just be that fewer people booked shorex and that why there were so many tours available.

 

Enjoy your cruise. Try your roll call,do your homework you may be able to book pvt at less $. Also depending on your port you may be able to do everything on your own.

 

Carole

[Xport]

But on my recent Eclipse trip--Western Mediterranean and Adriatic Coast--there were two tour packages offered [via an insert in the embarkation day issue of Celebrity Today] that offered a tour--they claimed those included were among the top-rated; I'm inclined to think that was true--at each of our seven ports and which allegedly [i'd made my purchases and didn't validate their assertion] were being offered at a discount...

 

• The Signature Package descriptor said "Experience the Highlights of the history and culture of all seven cities. All tours are under four hours duation which allows time for additional tour or independent exploration." It was priced at $357.50 per adult, $230.50 per child, and claimed to offer a $50 savings relative to having purchased each of the included tours separately...
  
• The Connoisseur Package descriptor said "Experience the Highlights of the history and culture of all seven cities... Full day tours to provide the full experience of these fascinating cities." It was priced at $519.75 per adult, $355.75 per child, and claimed to offer a $75 savings relative to having purchased each of the included tours separately...
  

I don't know if this is a new trend in Celebrity's marketing of Shore Excursions--it's a nice concept if all of the component tours appeal--or if it was an attempt to overcome slow advance bookings [many guests on that sailing seemed to have a preference for striking out on their own and staying local]...

[nycmode]

Yeah I'm hoping I do get lucky, I may opt this time for something local, but I am just hoping maybe there was some discount policy onboard that I might have missed before. Thank you for all your tips!

[phoenix_dream]

In my opinion in the Caribbean there is rarely a need to book ahead of time, and you are most often better going local. The one possible exception might be some type of special boat excursion - but even then I would do research about local options.

[ladylemondrop]

Yes but where can I get a MONKEY like yours?!! lol!!! I NEED one!!!:)

[nycmode]

Yes but where can I get a MONKEY like yours?!! lol!!! I NEED one!!!:)

 

LOL well they don't make them anymore, but you can still find them online ..

 

This is the exact same one as mine, though he's got other clothes on ...

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000663QY/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0002HYBHO&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=02F5Z04Y24SYWFC6PQKC

 

A great gift for yourself or a youngling! :) All this one needs is a change of clothes :D

[ghstudio]

The only time we take a ship excursion is if the excursion is long enough that if we are delayed at all, we would miss the ship. For example, visiting the ruins in Belize. For any other tour, you generally can save money and have a smaller group by booking it yourself ahead of time. In fact in general, if youare four adults, you can often book a private tour for what the ship charges you for their mob excursion. Finally, at every stop, there are folks waiting on the dock to "help" you find an excursion, if you haven't booked one. Personally, I wouldn't trust any of them, but I'm not a trusting sole.

 

You should know that if something happens on an excursion booked thru Celebrity, they will assert that it is not their responsibility and tell you to contact the company that they hired to give the excursions. That in itself stops me from dealing with celebrity on excursions. We almost always either book our own guides/tours or take a taxi to where we want to go.

[ladylemondrop]

Thank you - I am getting my monkey! YAY! :)

[mcrcruiser]

Ship shore excursions are very pricy .We always do our own research & then book our own shore excursions.Over the years we have saved many thousands of dollars:D.

[nycmode]

Thank you - I am getting my monkey! YAY! :)

 

I hope you love him as much as we do! :)

[Lsimon]

Ship shore excursions are very pricy .We always do our own research & then book our own shore excursions.Over the years we have saved many thousands of dollars:D.

 

This is often true. But while the ship's shore excursions will never be the least expensive way to tour sometimes they offer the best options and sometimes they have a great tour all locked up and it cannot be booked independently.

 

We never make a blanket decision ahead of time such as we won't book any ship's excursions or we'll only book ship's excursions. Instead we evaluate all of our options and pick the activity that is best for us under the circumstances.

[nycmode]

Based on what I've seen so far, I think I'm less worried about stuff like segway tours, jet skis or ziplines ... but I am a bit more on the fence about stuff that requires a lot of time away, such as bus tours, etc. I wonder if those things offered by Celebrity are really the best options versus just walking about by ourselves ...

[Lsimon]

Based on what I've seen so far, I think I'm less worried about stuff like segway tours, jet skis or ziplines ... but I am a bit more on the fence about stuff that requires a lot of time away, such as bus tours, etc. I wonder if those things offered by Celebrity are really the best options versus just walking about by ourselves ...

 

I think it really depends on what you want to do and where. There is a big difference between what you'll see just walking about the port area on your own vs. taking a bus tour. In some cases, especially in the Caribbean, there are much better options with private tour guides, or even a taxi tour hired on the spot at port, than the cruise line tours.

 

It all boils down to what you'd like to see and do. For that I'd recommend at least a minimal amount of research. The two easiest ways to research are to:

(1) download the Celebrity Excursion brochure from their web site. Even if you don't think you want to book a ship's excursion this is a great guide to the types of activities offered at a given port. And sometimes you'll find a unique tour that can only be booked through Celebrity - for example a specific day sail excursion. This is true because if the tour is unique and Celebrity has a contract with the tour provider they are not usually allowed to take independent bookings from ship guests. http://www.celebritycruises.com/plancruise/shoreExcursions/home.do?cS=NAVBAR

 

(2) Browse through the Cruise Critic port of call forums for your specific ports. If you look back in each of these boards you'll find discussions about what to do generally on each island. For those that want general extended tours there are often private tour guides reviewed and recommended by other Cruise critic members. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

[BSinPNS]

There were special deals on a package of poorly selling tours on Connie's Baltic cruise in May.

[Crazy Cruzer]

There were special deals on a package of poorly selling tours on Connie's Baltic cruise in May.

 

I guess that means that at least there is hope we can get a discount on an unpopular excursion that few others want to take. Cool! I love saving money.