Excursions/When to book

[DEZERTRATZ50]

Myself, DH and DS are sailing on the FOS 6/3/12. Should I wait to book our excursions upon final payment which is next month, I believe, or should I go ahead and start booking them now.

[cruiseguy1016]

You can start booking them any time. If you book them before you get on the ship, you will have to pay for them at that time. If you wait until you board, they will go on your Sea Pass. If there is an excursion that you really want to go on, book it now so that you know you will have a spot. If there are several that you can't decide between, wait until you are on the ship and you can make your decision then. We usually book with outside operators. You (obviously) can't book those on the ship so we usually end up booking ahead of time.

[DEZERTRATZ50]

Thank You for your help. Guess I will start booking this evening.:)

[island lady]

I just finished booking excursions for my upcoming Alaska cruise in August. This way

I know I will get into the excursions we want, and everything is paid for in

advance. Tickets are always waiting for us when we check into our cabin

on embarkation day. Very easy.

 

Have had one reimbursed to us a couple of cruises ago due to bad weather.

That credit went on our sea pass account, no problems. Though you will

need to find "something" to use that credit on. We did not have a problem

with that either. ;)

[Teeara]

I prefer to book shore excursions in advance since RCI allows you to pay in advance. That way I'm not hit with a large SeaPass bill at the end of the cruise. And some excursions do sell out prior to sailing so if there's something you really want to do, definitely pre-book.

 

Happy sailing!

[cruiseguy1016]

I prefer to book shore excursions in advance since RCI allows you to pay in advance. That way I'm not hit with a large SeaPass bill at the end of the cruise. And some excursions do sell out prior to sailing so if there's something you really want to do, definitely pre-book.

 

Happy sailing!

 

Unless they have changed their policy recently, RCI holds some spots on all excursions for booking on board. Some people get on board and head straight to the Explorations Desk to make their bookings.

[DonnaK]

Before you book a ship's excursion, have you looked at the ports of call board for recommendations for things to do ashore on your own. For FOS, the ports of call lend themselves to using private guides that are less expensive and less crowded, for a better experience. The ones that come highly recommended on Cruise Critic are very reputable and will make sure you get back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. You didn't say if you were on the eastern or western itinerary, but here are some examples for you http://www.bernardstours.com for St Maarten, or http://www.havefunwithus.net for St Thomas.