Confused on excursion offerings....

[necruiser3]

We'll be on Explorer Feb 17th. We were really interested in doing the Atlantis Aquaventure

 

In the list of available excursions for Nassau,Bahamas it shows up. However, when I go into the available for our cruise it does not show.

 

Does anyone know if what is showing now is it,or would it possible more things would be added the closer we get? Or does this really mean that its not available?

 

TIA !

[spookwife]

might be too soon? or it is possible they are in the middle of negotiating a new contract with the vendor. or it may not be an option on that particular sailing.

 

so uhh..yeah.. doesn't answer the question, does it?! heheheh

 

check out the Port call board as well as your Roll call.. there maybe others who have had this happen to them or can offer a private excursion option.

[sharonlacey]

It might be to early to reserve.

[necruiser3]

Thanks ~ Ughh... guess I'll just keep checking ...hahaa! So excited about going, I suppose I may be getting ahead of myself .:D

 

Thanks again !

[Smurphy]

Also, head over the ports of call page. I remember a few years ago doing some research and finding out that people would book a day room at Atlantis to gain access to the slides/grounds/etc and it was much cheaper than going through the ship. Plus the bonus of having a room for the day.

[Mom.to.2]

Being your sailing is during school vacation week (at least in the NE), Atlantis may be full and not offering day passes to RCCL or anyone.

 

If you have your heart set on Atlantis, I might look into booking a room there or the neighboring hotel that grants you access (Comfort Suites.) Especially if they have a flexible cancelation policy?

[SnappyNappi]

OP... DH and I are going to be on the Explorer for the Feb 10th sailing. We have stops in Port Canaveral, FL, Coco Cay, and Nassau. We were thinking maybe doing the Atlantis for the day in Nassau but there is also no available excursion for our sail/port date. I am pretty positive that we are sailing the same itinerary. We do not dock in Nassau until 2:00 in the afternoon and we leave at 11:59 PM. It is my understanding that the day pass to Atlantis is offered for ships that dock early in the morning. No one wants to pay $150/$250 for a full day pass that only gets you a few hours... There are very few excursions listed for our cruise in all 3 of the ports. We are doing Disney in Florida, on-our-own day at the beach in Coco Cay (private island) and we decided not to do an excursion in Nassau since we would pay a lot for any of the all-inclusives and we will not be able to utilize the facilities for the entire day.

 

If you have your heart set on Atlantis at that port, you can probably find an outside excursion company to arrange something for you, or if you used a TA, they can help you...

[akcruz]

OP... DH and I are going to be on the Explorer for the Feb 10th sailing. We have stops in Port Canaveral, FL, Coco Cay, and Nassau. We were thinking maybe doing the Atlantis for the day in Nassau but there is also no available excursion for our sail/port date. I am pretty positive that we are sailing the same itinerary. We do not dock in Nassau until 2:00 in the afternoon and we leave at 11:59 PM. It is my understanding that the day pass to Atlantis is offered for ships that dock early in the morning. No one wants to pay $150/$250 for a full day pass that only gets you a few hours... There are very few excursions listed for our cruise in all 3 of the ports. We are doing Disney in Florida, on-our-own day at the beach in Coco Cay (private island) and we decided not to do an excursion in Nassau since we would pay a lot for any of the all-inclusives and we will not be able to utilize the facilities for the entire day.

 

If you have your heart set on Atlantis at that port, you can probably find an outside excursion company to arrange something for you, or if you used a TA, they can help you...

 

Good points! OP what are your hours in port? The water park closes early in the winter (4 or 5??). If you aren't' getting into port until 2, like this poster, by the time you got there you would only have about an hour. If this is the case I would look for other options in Nassau.

 

Also, check out the Nassau (Bahamas) forum. Sounds like they have been having a lot of issues since the resort changed hands a few months ago. Personally I would wait to go there, let them get back on their feet.

[pcur]

Every so often RCCL's shore excursions portion of their web site goes wonky. I think it's when they are updating it, and you get a big white screen.

 

The only way I've been able to see shore excursions for my upcoming cruise, and I've looked over a year in advance sometimes, it to go to RCCL's Ports of Call, or their Shore Excursions pages on their web site by using the "Plan a Cruise" link on the header of their home page. This is kind of a back door way to get to your ports and see what's available.

 

If you go straight from your "My Cruises" page and from the actual cruise you have booked, it frequently won't show you the excursions. So, going in from a generic seach works better, most of the time.

 

This is a tip I picked up from Merion Mom a while ago.

[Kenlorz]

If it usually is offered and it's suddenly not.... then call. Better yet, find out the email for the excursions department and email them directly. Why? Because I'm finding out there are LOTS of things missing from the pre-cruise planner that are actually available.

 

Case in points for our upcoming Allure cruise:

1. We wanted to book Rita's Fiesta for first night. Every cruise compass I've seen for the western itinerary lists it being on day one at 6pm, but it's not an option for our sailing according to the pre-cruise planner. I called and spoke to a cruise enhancements specialist. They said, "hmmm... guess it's not available for this sailing." I emailed RCCL directly and got same response. I emailed the dining department via the email that is consistently posted here and, lo and behold, they emailed back that there is a 'glitch' with the planner and it IS available. They gave me a direct line to the dining department and helped us book it over the phone.

 

2. Same thing happened with Lunch at Giovanni's. The pre-cruiser planner did not list the day and time we wanted. I called that direct line and, again, it was a glitch and never loaded, so we had to book over the phone.

 

The pre-cruise planner is not always accurate AND the RCCL reps that answer the phone often do not have accurate information either (IE... a rep told one of our roll call members that the 2nd formal night was day 6, when it is day 5). So, if it is something you really have your heart on, my advice would be to contact the excursions department directly to see if it's available. It could just be a glitch.

[BillOh]

might be too soon? or it is possible they are in the middle of negotiating a new contract with the vendor. or it may not be an option on that particular sailing.

 

 

That was my guess. To me, the excursion section of RC's website is the most inconsistent and most prone to problems/errors. Check again in a month.

[necruiser3]

Good points! OP what are your hours in port? The water park closes early in the winter (4 or 5??). If you aren't' getting into port until 2, like this poster, by the time you got there you would only have about an hour. If this is the case I would look for other options in Nassau.

 

Also, check out the Nassau (Bahamas) forum. Sounds like they have been having a lot of issues since the resort changed hands a few months ago. Personally I would wait to go there, let them get back on their feet.

 

Excellent points!! Didn't even think of the late arrival into Nassau! Btw...why IS that arrival so late?? I guess this excursion isn't gonna happen. Bummer ! :(

 

Thanks for the input ! :)

[necruiser3]

I am pretty positive that we are sailing the same itinerary. We do not dock in Nassau until 2:00 in the afternoon and we leave at 11:59 PM. It is my understanding that the day pass to Atlantis is offered for ships that dock early in the morning. No one wants to pay $150/$250 for a full day pass that only gets you a few hours... There are very few excursions listed for our cruise in all 3 of the ports. We are doing Disney in Florida, on-our-own day at the beach in Coco Cay (private island) and we decided not to do an excursion in Nassau since we would pay a lot for any of the all-inclusives and we will not be able to utilize the facilities for the entire day.

quote]

 

Yes, it is the same itinerary. Wasn't all that jazzed about the ports offered.The major draw was it leaving from NJ. We were trying to avoid the overpriced school vacation week airfare costs. It's carzy!

 

You are right , there is not much offered in way of excursions in any port. I wanted to do do the Disney in Florida( LOVE DISNEY :D ! ) , then realized its school vacation week and we'd probaly spend more time waiting in lines then going on rides. I said to my DH , we could just go and do Chef Mickeys ....LOL ! I think we'll just check out Cocoa Beach and Ron Johns instead. Don't know what we'll do in Nassau now ??

 

It's funny I keep getting emails from RCL , saying " your Explorer cruise is going to be wonderful " and they keep refferring to ot as an Eastern Caribbean cruise. I called my TA and asked if this was changed, and obviously it hasn't. I told her if they'd like to jam a typically 9 day cruise into a 7 ... I'm for it ! LOL!!

 

Thanks for the reply ! :)

[SnappyNappi]

Yes, it is the same itinerary. Wasn't all that jazzed about the ports offered.The major draw was it leaving from NJ. We were trying to avoid the overpriced school vacation week airfare costs. It's carzy!

 

You are right , there is not much offered in way of excursions in any port. I wanted to do do the Disney in Florida( LOVE DISNEY :D ! ) , then realized its school vacation week and we'd probaly spend more time waiting in lines then going on rides. I said to my DH , we could just go and do Chef Mickeys ....LOL ! I think we'll just check out Cocoa Beach and Ron Johns instead. Don't know what we'll do in Nassau now ??

 

It's funny I keep getting emails from RCL , saying " your Explorer cruise is going to be wonderful " and they keep refferring to ot as an Eastern Caribbean cruise. I called my TA and asked if this was changed, and obviously it hasn't. I told her if they'd like to jam a typically 9 day cruise into a 7 ... I'm for it ! LOL!!

 

Thanks for the reply ! :)

Yes, we live about a half-hour west of Bayonne so traveling from NJ was a major reason we chose this cruise as well... There was also a wicked good deal on balcony rooms in June when we booked that I just couldn't pass up! So... For DH and I, Florida and Bahamas for Valentine's week it is! -- You are sailing President's week and you do have that school break to deal with. Airfare is just out of control whenever there is any kind of school break, so I really understand the benefit of sailing from a port so close to home. Also - you are right about the crowds in Disney during any kind of school break. We went to Disney over the Christmas break last year and will NEVER do that again... took forever to get anywhere and it was so crowded we couldn't get on half the rides.

 

Since we are cruising the week before you (Feb 10th), we won't have all of the crowds to deal with so that is why we chose to do Disney. We LOVE Disney and would kick ourselves if we missed it while we were so close. :)